deliveryman35

I wasn't referring to anybody in particular, Blackshirt, it's just a reflection on the current standing of several of college football's perennial powerhouses. I am a young 36 years old, but I cannot remember a season ever in my lifetime when all of those mentioned college football "big dogs" had a down season and were not ranked, all in the same season. Maybe the stars are aligned just right, once in so many years.....anyway, it sure is coincidence....

Am I dreaming? (pinch), ouch!!! Guess not....Congratulations on the win today. Even though it was against lowly Baylor, this game I think will do alot for the morale of the players. The west coast O works, and confidence-builder games like this will help in the transition. You all need to get behind Coach Callahan and his staff. He's taking you in the right direction. You folks are alot like us Bama fans--you've been to the mountaintop so many times you're spoiled. Today we were fortunate enough to beat Southern Miss 27-3, but I must say Southern looked totally flat compared to how they played in Lincoln. Anyway, we are rebuilding too, and, think about it, who woulda thunk if some team were to beat Nebraska, Alabama, Penn State, and Notre Dame all this season, you may not qualify for a BSC bid?! Whenever would that have happened in college football history??? ?Food for thought.... Anyway, congrats on the big win today. I'll be following you guys throughout the rest of the season.....

I know last saturday's loss was tough to take, especially when you guys are so used to being on the other end of that kind of game. But I really think Coach Callahan has your program going in the right direction. My advice--be patient. You guys are in transition and it will take probably several seasons to get the spread O firmly in place and get the necessary players to run it. From what I am reading and hearing on the internet, you guys are already having a great recruiting year. The Big Red Machine will be back!

We lost to a mediocre Ark. team, at best, imo. I'm afraid you're right, we've got more work to do. We play Southern Miss in couple of weeks. Don't feel bad losing to them, they have come to our house and beaten us before.

http://www.tidefans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17166. Hopefully we will sign this kid at Bama.

in opening up the Callahan era in Lincoln. Here in Alabama we managed to overpower a smaller Utah St. team and win 48-17. Here's hoping two traditional powerhouse programs are back on the right track. What I would give to be the QB in Lincoln this year--no telling how many records will be broken....

Interesting read.....Thanks for sharing it. this kid Gritton must be good for us(UA) to have offered him a scholly right off the bat. Something tells me though that this homegrown talent will give the Huskers a very serious look before making a final decision. I simply cannot imagine growing up and playing football in a place like Nebraska over the last eighteen years and not having a natural bent toward the school. I remember being told a long time ago kids in Nebraska literally "wait in line" to play there and with all of the rich tradition there I can certainly understand why, plus the fact you guys don't have an in-state Div I-A rival to compete against for in-state talent. I have nothing but respect and high hopes for you guys this year, but I hope we can snatch this kid off of your guys' home turf. If memory serves me well, you guys have come down here and gotten a few good players out of dixie. I can't remember his name, but one of them now lives back in B'ham and is all the time calling in on local sports talk radio talking about his days playing for Coach Osborne during the amazing run you guys had in '94-'98. I will try to get his name. I think he is originally from Bessemer, AL.

Redout, College football is practically a religious rite in the South, whether that's taking it too far or not. It is taken very seriously. I know you guys are in the Midwest, but I would imagine that most Nebraska folks take their football just as seriously as we do, and I mean that as a compliment. As far as the "scandals and stuff" goes, I could probably write a short novel explaining it all in detail, but, to make a long story short, Alabama was accused of trying to buy a player in the Memphis area through a prominent booster. Ultimately, it was not and never has been proven conclusively, but the NCAA Committee on Infractions saw it differently and imposed sanctions on the university. As you can probably imagine, there has been alot of debate in these parts on whether the NCAA was fair and reasonable in how it handled the matter, and the two assistant coaches at the center of the whole thing currently have major lawsuits pending against the NCAA. As far as scholarships go, we will have our full compliment back for the '05 season. I believe our limit this year was 19. That being the case, our team depth at almost every position is very weak. Our starting 22 can probably play with anyone in the country, like we showed against OU last season, but injuries and lack of depth had alot to do with our disappointing 4-9 season last year. For instance, in the Georgia game last year, we had three QB's knocked out of the game, two w/concussions, and all three suffered nagging injuries that lasted for weeks. Expectations for this season are surprisingly positive though, and several reasons are given. First, Shula had a banner recruiting season. We signed most of the top in state prospects, and were able to get some good players out of Georgia and Florida. Also, Phil Steele, a highly respected preseason pick guru, is high on us as well--he firmly believes Bama will win 8-10 games this season. Second, the players have had a full spring/summer to learn the system that Coach Shula and his staff brought w/them. And third, if you look back over time, Alabama has very rarely had back to back bad seasons. They traditionally bounce back well from disappointing campaigns. Personally, I think we have a chance to see some major improvement this year, but I think we are still a couple of years away from winning 9-10 games. I think it will come down to injuries or lack thereof mainly because of the depth issue. With our weak ooc schedule this season, along with the brutal sec part of th schedule that we play in '04, I think 7-4+ a bowl game is about where we will end up. Imo, Nebraska and Bama are two "sleeping giants" right now, but I don't think it will be long before we are both back in the NC hunt. Let's be honest--our fans and universities simply will not tolerate mediocrity in the football program and will do whatever we have to do within the rules to get the right coaches, players, and facilities to compete year in and year out for conference championships and the NC, and that's the way it should be. Do you think you guys can win the North this year? All the preseason hoopla I am seeing is around Missouri and K-State. I will be pulling for you guys to get to KC this year.

Sorry, I evidently misspelled Brent's last name--It is spelled "Gritton".

I just found out this young man's name--his name is Brent Gritten and he attends and currently plays at Lincoln East HS. The word down here is he is on the phone alot with HC Mike Shula and the staff members and is very serious about leaving the state. Anyone know about him or have a thumbnail sketch of this kid? On Nebraska's current transformation to a more two dimensional offense--you guys will be successful, I have no doubt. And I think that, if given time and support from the fans and university, Coach Callahan will have you guys back in the hunt sooner than later. Look at what Pete Carroll has done at SC--an NFL background helps, imo, especially if you are trying to introduce a passing offense. I think we all knew the days of being able to pitch the ball to an I-back thirty times a game and win 10-11 games a year was coming to an end in today's modern game. Oklahoma has made the transition--you guys will too.

Greetings from a Crimson Tide fan that has always respected the Husker program. I look forward to posting more on this forum especially as the upcoming season approaches. There's no doubt in my mind that folks in Nebraska and Alabama are more than ready for the '04 season to start. I've got a question perhaps you all can shed some light on--a local recruiting guru is reporting here in Alabama that a prospect in Lincoln is leaning toward signing with us after the upcoming high school season. His words were basically that Coach Callahan has decided to put a major focus on national recruiting over getting the top in-state prospects. I don't recall the recruit's name, but are any of you aware of this? I would like to hear any insight any of you might have....