Lonestar_Husker

Alright. I'm just throwing this out there, possible(probable) paranoia happening. Could this have anything to do with Aaron Green's delay of expected commitment? I think we have honest coaches, as far as recruiting goes, did someone mention to Aaron that Watson is going to be interviewing for a head coaching position with Minnesota and he wants to see how everything shakes out? Recruiting thread says he is denying interview requests with Rivals. where's the popcorn?

Not really on edge, just paranoid. Planes from Minnesota... possible coach poach... living in Texas and getting the business has me all flustered. I hope Andrew likes it here. I know nothing means anything until February. Patience, young Jedi.

It's a toss up. It's hard to predict turnovers and such, usually, but if we turn it over, we will be toast. Our secondary is second to none, but even the best secondaries can't cover receivers forever. Gotta get a little pressure without giving up the run. Much like the police chief in Jaws, "I have a bad feeling about this."

Not a good feeling here.

The last year we had Callahan, there were rumors everywhere that we were talking to Bo and had face-to-face contact with him the week of the Texas game. Everyone denied them and acted like Callahan wasn't a lame-duck coach, but he pretty much was as long as he kept Cosgrove around. Oh. I thought this years Texas game was being referenced. Cool. Thanks BW.

What is most interesting is that they are allowing those talks to happen, at this time. We still have a lot to play for this year. The fact that they are willing to allow these talks at this stage of the season means they must not be too concerned about the guy the Gophers are interviewing. Eh, it isn't that. If a team wants to have the coach lined up quickly, you cannot slow their process down and hinder a coach from potentially moving up the ladder. I mean, we met with Bo in October as well about the HC position. All those rumors around the Texas game were not rumors. What rumors? With Rumorville gone I have been unable to keep up. I'm betting Watson is the target. Contrary to the opinions of the majority of HB, I think he's a good coach.

OK. Moving on. I'm heading to Austin this weekend and will get "the business", but at least I can say it will be too bad that we won't be able to play UT in Big 12 championship because UT won't get there. They will lose another game this year. I suppose that I will have to avenge this loss on the links by fattening my wallet at the expense of some of the few great Texas fans. I will be wearing Husker gear, and have those helmet headcovers, so NU will be represented in the ATX.

I think that the players feel a lot of pressure, but that is going to be the same at any big time program. I'm pretty sure the players at Alabama or Ohio St. are feeling some pressure, too. Maybe not as much, since the Huskers are the only game in town. I agree about the all the negativity, that there is too much of it. I think this could affect recruiting as well. Would you want to come and play here with all this venom spewed at you because you tried too hard to win.....for those from whom the venom spews? It was a close game, we shouldn't release all of our frustrations from the past UT games at these particular players. I could speculate as to why Texas plays out of their azz when they play us and why we always play tight, but that would take more time than I have available. I support this team. All sports, at the very heart of competition, are really just entertainment. It's enjoyable to watch the very best at any particular endeavor compete against each other. Whether it's golf, auto racing, the olympics football, etc etc..... There will be winners and losers in every competition. That's just the way it is. Hopefully these players are learning that it's not the end of the world if they lose, but are learning to keep getting back up and keep learning how to get better.

I had no problem with it. Zac and Taylor both played good enough to win. Gotta catch the ball. I think having a young QB will limit plays that are called in the beginning of a big game. I think coaches feel that they need to start with some easy throws, plays that we have been running so far this year, get him comfortable first, then the plays start to open up. You just hope that this is able to be done in one series not after 3 or 4 three and outs when the pressure starts building. I never thought that we would go undefeated, it just sucks it was Texas. Dammit!!!!

Do we know for sure this is the offense that Watson wants to run? Or is this Bo's affection for an offense that he has had trouble defending in the past? What if Watson wants a more varied attack with a more skilled Lee and Bo wants a safer zone read attack with a faster more athletic Martinez? There are a lot of questions that probably won't get answered. At least not to the fanbase. I think Taylor played good enough to win this game. He missed badly to a few open receivers, but he made enough good throws to loosen up UT defense. I think Zac played good enough to win. The defense looked to go to a more basic set, not looking to stop just the run when he was in there and lo and behold, we get some 2nd and 3s, 3rd and 1s, something manageable. Again, he made enough good throws to win in his short time in the game. Bottom line, to me anyway, is if NU could have just caught a few of those passes down by the goal line, the outcome would have been different. Domino effect. If we show a least a general ability to perform a few fundamentals(catching the ball... wrap up!, already) UT has to adjust their defensive gameplan and well....I'm sure everyone knows the rest.

I almost spit my water out when Jamal mentioned other Texas players coming to Lincoln. He mentioned Aaron Green coming here...then added "hopefully". I think he almost let somehing slip there. He might know more than he is letting on.

I think a lot of it is on the position coaches. Mac McWhorter is a terrible O line coach. We're just now realizing it because these past two years are the first time in forever that we haven't had multiple future NFL guys, including some first rounders, on our O line. Now that the talent level is a notch lower, the line went from a strength to a huge liability. That screams coaching to me, specifically that a coach's defects were covered up for years by simply having better athletes than the guys on the other side of the ball most of the time. And WR coach Bobby Kennedy should be on the hot seat, too. Malcolm Williams, John Chiles, and DeSean Hales were all highly regarded 4-stars that haven't developed at all. Our routes are sloppy and there are way too many drops. Freshman Mike Davis looks to be better right now than guys that have been in Kennedy's system for two or three years. And then there's the playcalling. See avatar. But as bad as it is, we're not heading back to the 80's by any stretch. Worst case this year looks to be about 7-5, and we hardly lose anyone to graduation (Curtis Brown is the only one worth anything), plus we've got a 5 star tackle coming in along with Malcolm Brown next year. This is a dip in the road, not a decline, we'll be contenders for the conference again next year (not that y'all will care, lol). Hey TexArcher, nice to have a reasonable Texas fan here. I haven't lived in Austin for a couple years, so I don't have a finger on the pulse of UT anymore. Do you think there will be a staff shake-up after this year? Is there speculation that Muschamp is interested in the Georgia job? It's not open, yet, but could very well be open by the end of the year(month). On another note, Mack likes to clap....A LOT. Ze deal?

Austin is truly a beautiful city. I lived there for over 20 years and wish I was still living there. Most of the citizens are very warm and friendly, there is a lot to do, some great golf courses, although UT is trying to destroy one of the more historic ones in Lions Municipal. Very attractive females abound, like nothing you have ever seen, unless you have been to Southern Cali. I just have a hard time saying positive things about their fans. Bandwagon comes to mind. I used to get free tickets to both football and basketball games whenever I wanted. Just asked my manager at Thundercloud Subs and they were in my hands the next day, up to 6 at a time. This was all throughout the 90s. I'm pretty sure they have become harder to obtain, these days. Until they go to 3-3 and then I bet it will be pretty easy to score a ticket. The University itself is...well I hate to say beautiful again, but it is. The campus is awesome and the west campus area is really cool. The Drag was really neat, but it has become a haven for corporate food and clothing chains. The Hole-in-the Wall bar is crusty in a good way. I think Quackenbushes closed, so that is a bummer. Rent the movie Slacker, it shows what Austin was like 20 years ago. Richard Linklater's first movie. Interesting people, all kinds of viewpoints, actual discourse on topics, not just shoutdowns. Some friends and I used to ride our bicycles all around the city in 10 to 20 people packs. We all rode one speed 24" or 20" BMX bikes. We did some scenes for the film but ended up on cutting room floor for the most part. I think there is a 4 second shot of my friend bunnyhopping a transients legs while he was passed out on some church steps. Not sure though, it's been awhile since I've seen the movie. I still think this will be a beatdown of epic proportions. I'm really looking forward to that.

Just hang in there Tex and be glad you never had to go through the Callahan years like we did. It'll make this year a little easier for ya......well, that and 30 beers anyway. Actually, they did go through Callahan-like years. From about 1985 to 1998 or 1999, when they fired John Macovic and hired clappy Mack Brown. When they beat NU for the first Big 12 Championship, it saved Macovics job for 2 or 3 more years. They've really only gotten good the last 10 years. Big drought between Darrel Royal and Mack Brown.

Dammit Niles! C'Mon, if you want the ball more, you need to play smarter than that.

Nice long grind down the field would be good here. Just take the life out of 'em.

Sounds like we are pretty balanced, so far. Mixing some good runs with some good passes. i hope we open up the playbook just a little bit tonight.

Colorado is a home game for us, so no threat there. It would seem to be up to ISU to give us some creative crap. This example is pretty lame. Why would they tear out a piece of their stadium to write this example of KSU academics?

So it begins. Which road game will be the worst/best this year as far as fan taunts? This is setting the bar pretty low. I know Mizzou would've been the worst because we took their coveted Big 10 spot, but we have them at home. ISU could be fun. I don't think any of the B12 south teams will be that bad. OSU..not much as far as a heated rivalry goes. aTm won't do much, because I think they sympathize, they want out of B12, also. Is Colorado in Boulder this year?

Not really.....but, oh well, I'm over 40. Oh, I'M A MAN! BTW. Would like to get this player, but it's probably a longshot. Hawaii to Nebraska = culture shock.

I think this will hurt their recruiting.

So I listen to some sports talk radio here in DFW and I've been hearing about an electricity company that provides electricity that benefits both UT and aTm. www.texaslonghornsenergy.com www.texasamaggiesenergy.com Also, I know that UT has a position in their program filled by a "former" coach called something like a lifeskills coordinator. It's basically a coach who is allowed early and unrestricted access to recruits because his title is not listed as an official coach. The legislature was a big part of Baylor being forced into original Big 12 formation. Influential alums in govt. made that happen. They do things differently down here, take the whole "if you ain't cheating, you ain't trying" thing to higher(lower) levels. The energy thing struck me as kind of overboard. I don't know, at least it's warm here and one can play golf all year.

Hey, we're back. We're hanging with the big boys again. We're dispatcing pretenders, as we should. The mid 90s teams were very, very special. I don't see any program dominating like that again. I think we will have a shot every year, now. That's all you can reasonably expect, a shot. If things go right and players improve from week to week, and players focus on the team in front them, good things should happen. But, the game is played on the field, anything can happen. Gotta show up and play. But, we have a chance to win against any team we play, ANY TEAM, that is what I consider being back.

I always look forward to Cy's predictions.

We have a winner, here. #30 looks like a beast. Could use him on the D-Line.