Red November

And when we get to that bowl game, we have to travel to support. A year off without my annual warm weather vacation game hurts. It's col in Nebraska

I'm on this bandwagon that's picking up steam. I'm a believer.

I understand you frustration. Callahan tends to do this once in a while. But I would say against TT that he madea strong commitment to the run. I think he was just trying to catch the other team off guard. And the pass Taylor skipped to NUnn(?) the play was there....the pass was not. But I wish he would have run the ball.

Rumors abound that he's N

WOrd on the street is this is as sure a commit as any come Saturday. The 2005 version of Zach Bowman.

Konrad Reuland's Mission Viejo' team will also be on FCSP-Fox College Sports next weekend against DeLa Salle.

Devin Johnson's Rancho Cucamonga Team will be on FCSP-Fox College Sports.

Devin Ross's Rancho Cucamonga Team will be on FCSP-Fox College Sports this week.

Josh Freeman's Grandview team will be the Game of the week on Metro Sports this week. In Kansas City on Time Warner Channel 30.

oh boy

The worst pic is 33, when Hardy decides to drop the damn ball in the end zone.

65 is the sweetest pic of them all. The ball hits the turf and ends the game.

That's big WR, 6'5".....get'em Callahan

That's damn funny, almost sounds like an Onion article.

No just a modern day beatles.

Best BAnd in America is coming to Omaha...

College football: Blythe will see different package from Huskers By JIM SULLIVAN, Courier Sports Writer AMES -- Todd Blythe ran through Nebraska's secondary like a kid enjoying a full day on the playground last season. Iowa State's wide receiver expects to see an obstacle course Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Burned too often during a disappointing 2004 that ended with a 5-6 record, the Cornhuskers have changed their defensive coverages. Man-to-man coverage in the defensive backfield is out; zone schemes are in. "Last year, they just kind of put their cornerbacks on an island and said, ‘We're going to shut you down one-on-one,'" said Blythe. "This year, it looks like they're hanging back a lot more and looking to break on the underneath routes. They also want to keep guys in front of them. There will probably be a different philosophy for us. Hopefully, we can be as successful as we were last year." During the 2004 meeting with Nebraska, Blythe went wild. He caught eight passes for 188 yards — all in the first half — and one touchdown. Fellow ISU wideout Jon Davis hauled in a 77-yard scoring strike from Bret Meyer, a key insurance play, in the Cyclones' 34-27 victory over the Huskers. All told, Meyer completed just 17 of 38 passes, but he racked up 345 yards. That's an average of just more than 20 yards per catch. Head coach Dan McCarney is not counting on that kind of explosive offense Saturday. "It's hard to find big plays in the throwing game against them now," he said. Just one veteran — strong safety Daniel Bullocks — returns from a year ago. A pair of sophomores — Cortney Grixby and Tierre Green — start at cornerback for the Huskers this season. Former Cedar Rapids Jefferson prep Blake Tiedtke is the free safety. That secondary is part of a defense that ranks No. 1 in the Big 12 Conference in total yards at 232 per game. Opponents complete just 42.4 percent of their passes against the Cornhuskers, the lowest figure in the league. "They're just aggressive," said Blythe of Nebraska's defense. "They've got a lot of great athletes out there. They have three new guys in the secondary they didn't have last year, but they're pretty much picking up where they left off as far as the talent level and speed and athleticism. They have a real good front seven with their d-line and linebackers. It'll be a real test for us." Keeping Nebraska's defense out of Meyer's face will be a real challenge for Iowa State and its offensive front. The Huskers have 20 quarterback sacks in three games, including five from end Adam Carriker and four more from running mate Wali Muhammad. According to McCarney, Nebraska gets a strong rush from the front four, allowing coordinator Kevin Cosgrove to rely less on his linebackers. "Cos will blitz you, that's for sure," said McCarney. "But they're getting great pressure from their down guys. Carriker is clearly one of the most improved players in the Big 12." ISU's blockers will face a unit that's bigger and more physical then it encountered in three non-conference victories, according to center Scott Stephenson. "Their defensive line is talented and fast," said Stephenson. "In order to succeed against them, we need to match their effort and their execution." Stephenson also said, "Obviously, I'm going to try my hardest to block for Bret. We don't want to give up as many sacks as the other teams did." The man who will be the target of the Husker pass rush dismissed the threat. "It doesn't do anything to me," said Meyer of the 20 sacks. "I don't care. It's an awfully good stat, but getting sacked is going to happen. It's part of football. We have to minimize it." Contact Jim Sullivan at (319) 291-1434 or jim.sullivan@wcfcourier.com

Ross says NU needs to follow USC's example By Steve Ryan Publisher, Big Red Report Date: Sep 29, 2005 You only have to look at USC to find the standard in college football. Two time defending national champs and attempting to win a third in a row, something never before achieved at this level of play. For Nebraska players, especially on offense, there’s another reason they are the standard: They are apparently running the offense Nebraska has now. For senior running back Cory Ross, he sees USC as the bar and that’s what this offense is trying to achieve. You don’t have to ask anyone out there that has even a rudimentary understanding of division 1-A college football who the best team in the country is right now. The USC Trojans have won the national title two times in a row now, exhibiting an all around prowess at the game. Much of the praise they get nowadays, though, is the fact that amongst offenses, theirs is the gold standard of the game. Of the “West Coast” Variety, perfected by former San Francisco 49er head coach Bill Walsh, this offense can hit you quick, utilizes running backs that are just as good as receivers, plus enough pass routes to make a person go dizzy. And, if the right people are at the helm, both on the field and in the booth coordinating the process during the game, well, it’s one of the most sleek and deadly offenses you will behold. Players from Nebraska see the Trojans, but not as an opponent that will be hosting the Huskers next year as Nebraska heads to USC for the first half of a home-and-home series. They see them rather as where they are trying to get. Senior running back Cory Ross is one of those that watches the seemingly unbeatable west coast team, running their close to unstoppable version of the west coast offense and says that could be us. “They run the same offense we do, but they are running it right,” Ross said of the Trojans. “Everyone is doing their job and that’s all you need; guys doing their job and the offense will work.” Thus far this season, USC’s offense has clearly worked while the Huskers’ has clearly not. But, just to give you an idea of just how far away Nebraska could be, take a look at the current disparity: Perhaps one of the more modest statistics for USC is in rushing, but they still rank 13th in the country, averaging over 248 yards per game. Nebraska averages just over 138 yards per game, good enough for a ranking of 62nd in the country. In passing, Southern Cal ranks 5th in the country, averaging 367 yards per game. Nebraska averages 133 yards per game, good enough for a ranking of 108th out of 117 division 1-A teams. And in scoring, the Huskers rank 87th in the country with an average of 13 points per game. USC ranks 2nd, the Trojans averaging each game just over 59. To add a little more salt to the open wound, in passing efficiency, USC ranks 3rd in the country in division 1-A, while Nebraska also ranks 3rd……………………….from the bottom. You know what they say about the bottom, though, and Ross feels that from where they started, especially with the bye-week to work on anything and everything, the Huskers might not remind anyone of USC this weekend, but they could surprise some people in the end. “Watching what we did all last week and what we are doing this week, I feel we have a great game ahead of us,” Ross said. “Hopefully, we can make the people proud and have some yards and points on the board.” There’s been many reasons cited as to just why the offense isn’t working. Many think that it’s the offensive line, the unit already having given up seven sacks this year and struggling against teams like division 1-AA Maine and Wake Forest and Pitt, both teams sporting losing records at this time. Probably just as many feel it’s the quarterback position that’s lacking, Zac Taylor throwing the ball complete less than 44% of the time. Ross said that it isn’t any one unit or even one person that’s the problem and you can’t look at adding a west coast savvy QB like Matt Leinhart as the fix-all to NU’s current issues. “We don’t need a Matt Leinhart,” Ross said. “We just need everyone working together. It’s a team effort. You don’t need just one person.” “I feel that if everyone does their job, everything will definitely be fine.” So, Nebraska will take to the field this week to try and do just what Ross indicated was his expectation or at least, hope for their execution when Iowa State comes to town. More sustained drives, a higher completion percentage and the running game as a compliment, rather than the only weapon this NU offense has. That’s the goal, the overriding desire, so that the Huskers can get a little closer to being almost Trojanesque. The good news is that Nebraska does have something in common with USC in that both teams are undefeated going into the weekend. And if Ross does get his way and the offense works as one, chances are, they will both be undefeated coming out. For now, though, that’s where the comparisons will probably stop. The rest is as they say, a work in progress.

Keep the pressure on.

Being an alumni of the school, I wonder if that type of thing is really hard for him to say, or he hates the school, now, so much, that it's not a problem at all.

Why not?!??!?! NU 38 ISU 6 rush 245 pass 145 Side prediction: Ross Lucky and Hardy all have 100 yard games.