Guy Chamberlin

Well that's the thing, how many big games does Boise State have to win to prove they're in the mix? It goes both ways: a tough schedule can wear you down, but a weak schedule can leave you unprepared to face a high-caliber team. Every time Boise State is asked to play with the big boys, they look comfortable in the role. Strength of schedule already plays into the BCS rankings, so I don't think Boise State is being coddled. But the rub on the new powerhouse Big 10 is going to be a team that emerges from their conference championship at 11 - 2 and already out of the BCS NC game.

And how would you know they're not? If you look at the two programs and their record of victories against ranked teams over the last few years, it's not even close. Maybe this current Husker team can beat Boise State. It would be a good game and it certainly wouldn't be an upset if either team won. But Boise State just keeps stepping up to the plate every time they're put on the national stage, and the team that just beat Western Kentucky as it warms up for Idaho and South Dakota State probably shouldn't be lecturing anyone.

You haven't surfed the internet much, have you?

When Nebraska is good enough to beat Boise State, Nebraskans can whine about this.

With all due respect, Watson and Bo dumped Lee midseason and put in an untested freshman last year. Green looked really shaky, so they put Lee back in with a limited playbook and not a ton of confidence. That's not what I'd call strong loyalty. It was merely doing the best with the hand you're dealt. This season they looked at their hand and went with speed and athleticism. They may well need Lee's leadership and slightly better passing skills at some point, and that's a luxury we should be grateful for. As a betting man I'd also put money that something went down in practice, something in the realm of pure mind games, that worked against Zac Lee. But that's not really strange, either. Just part of the mix.

Eric Crouch, bless him, simply wasn't a good passer. Good enough in high school when you want your best athlete getting every touch, but not in any college program unable to dominate via the running game. Because the Huskers had so many rushing options and ran to set up a dozen or so passes a game, Eric Crouch passed only in very favorable high-percentage situations (and still wasn't a high-percentage passer, only 48% that first year). They gave him a lot of slow-developing screens, sideline routes and that great two step drop from the option where you can catch a guy breaking deep and the interception risk is lower. But Crouch wasn't good at hitting guys in step, rarely worked a crossing pattern and possibly never looked off a receiver in his life. Back then Husker qbs only threw to the primary receiver. If the second option was wide open waving his hands in the end zone, they probably still threw it to the primary receiver because that's how they practiced it. Crouch had tons of instinct and ability watching how the defensive line broke and improvising on the run, but he wasn't good enough to improvise in the passing game and that's why he could never be a professional quarterback. While I pine for those great winning years of triple-option football, as a fan I enjoy watching this style of offense better.

At age 19, Martinez is already better at hiding the ball and selling his fakes than Lee, the Senior who's been working longer with the same guys. That's not magic, but it is instinct. Zac Lee can be really competent at times, but he telegraphs almost every play. A coach sees that and there's no way you don't want the kid with instinct in there. That being said, there's a good chance Zac Lee will have to come in and save this team's bacon at some point this year. Some of you more seasoned fans may remember a qb named Mark Mauer who had a young qb behind him named Turner Gill. The fans all wanted Gill and thus wanted Mauer out. Gill soon replaced Mauer, the Huskers rolled and then Gill got hurt and it was poor Mark Mauer who had to go up against Oklahoma. Well Mauer and the Huskers actually crushed OK that year, the first time in many seasons. Nobody fogot Turner Gill but Mauer was given a nice exit and a piece of redemption.

Oh hell, Martinez is already a better passer than Crouch ever was. And Green and Lee are better back ups than Bobby Newcombe and Monte Christo, even if Monte Christo had the more awesome name. Also, Martinez is too cocky, but that will get pounded out of him soon. And Pelini is too testy with the media. You don't get to create a circus then complain about the circus. Bigger concern is a Nebraska defense getting shredded by a Western Kentucky running game. But I think it was enough to wake them up. Looks like an exciting year.

1) Every demotion is a slap in the face. There's no way around it. But sometimes it has to be done. 2) Zac Lee delivered the ball pretty well last year (and far better than Eric Crouch or Scott Frost ever did). Zac Lee's problems were decision-making problems. They have nothing to do with injuries. 3) Zac Lee would definitely do better with an improved offensive line and more seasoned receivers and backs. He will no doubt have the chance. 4) Promoting an untested frosh phenom over last year's starting qb (as well as last year's frosh phenom) is the kind of thing bored and exitable message board denizens want to do. So if a guy like Bo Pelini, a coach who hates the circus and bears the program's entire reputation on his shoulders is willing to do it, he must be seeing some amazing sh#t during practice.

If you have a qb who is absolutely blowing everyone away, you have no loyalty to the nice guy who persevered in leading the 99th best offense last season. But you'll still feel better knowing you can turn to Zac Lee on the sidelines. Really hate to go there, but you gotta admit Joe Dailey was a revelation in his first start against substandard competition.

Is it really three more months before actual games will be played?

The farmer's mortal enemy: the gopher. Ergo: Minnesota. You're welcome.

I'm a little concerned about the Huskers being overconfident when they play in the BCS National Championship game. Otherwise I see nothing but clear sailing. Then again, I'm drunk.

The Omaha Buffetts? The Omaha Mutuals? The Omaha Obesity?

Arizona and Nebraska came into the Holiday Bowl on pretty much the same footing — happy to be there and representing their conference. Although not a major bowl, the Holiday has been notorious for some great shootouts, and they have college football to themselves for the night. I don't think the motivation excuse works. I think Arizona was seriously outcoached by the Pelinis & Watson. What was the year when a Top 10 ranked K-State got majorly disrespected, then tanked it against the lesser team in the crappier bowl? Their heads were seriously messed up that year.

Can't quite get past Berringer being handed the ball at the Miami 10 yard line and immediately throwing an unforced interception in the end zone. Had to be saved by Tommy coming off the bench. Crouch was just too horrible a passer to get my vote, but I've never seen a player his size take so many huge hits and pop right back up. Scott Frost ran perhaps the best play action fakes outside of Brett Favre. Probably as tough as Crouch, but bigger. And a little slower. But like Crouch had really poor passing technique. His play action was so good (and we ran to set up the occasional pass) that Frost almost always had guys wide open. But they were always catching the ball at their feet. Turner Gill. Sounds like he came before the time of you young people. Ran the option as well as anyone and passed better than Frazier, Frost or Crouch. Not quite as fast or strong of a runner himself, but ran a beautiful and prolific offense for three full years. And because I was a kid and he simply went out there and led the Huskers to their first two national championships: Jerry Tagge.

Cy, Don't go changin' xo Guy

I'm gonna miss hearing that next year You might be able to catch it at a St. Louis Rams game.

i respectfully disagree. the ranking is based on next year's team and next years expectations, not what we have or haven't done "in years". True enough. But if you're a voter and you keep giving Nebraska the benefit of the doubt and the Huskers keep failing to live up to their ranking, you start using a bit more caution. Still, a marginal Husker team will always be ranked higher than an up and coming Rutgers or Kentucky or Central Florida team because the legacy carries weight. However we might dish the pollsters and the ESPN pundits, they all want Nebraska to be relevant again.

I've spent plenty of time in NY, SF & LA.....and I gotta agree with this. There are a lot of very hot young women in Nebraska. Unfortunately, they don't stay that way. I blame deep fried food and chain restaurants.

I took my six year old boy to a Raiders game this year. I'm teaching him that everything Al Davis does is the OPPOSITE of wisdom. It's a valuable lesson. So naturally I took Kiffin's side when Davis fired him. But now I'm starting to wonder. Careful observers will note that Kiffin hasn't actually done anything worthy of being coveted, yet he's managed to make himself a liability at every turn. I'm a fan of Monte. But the kid looks headed for douchebaggery.

In fairness, that was a Nebraska team playing for the National Championship in 2001. And if you look hard at that team (and give a pretty awesome 2001 Miami Hurricanes its due), those 2001 Huskers went beyond expectations.

If I may be a little bit cranky.... I'm not buying that the Huskers' or Zac Lee's chances are tied to an injury to his throwing arm. To my eye the problems had to do with the feet and the brain, and given mulitple chances to prove the doubters wrong, Zac never got significantly better over the course of the season. His arm was good enough to make a couple good passes in the Holiday Bowl, but even then it wasn't a break-out performance. Just a competent game from a nice guy with limited skills. So I don't think our success in '10 hinges on getting a healthy Zac Lee back. I think there's a real danger of replaying this season with a Zac Lee who is as good as he's going to get, and a Cody Green who makes you yearn for the dull reliability of Zac Lee. While the fanbase is convinced any of the half-dozen untested phenoms should be handed the reigns. I do think an improved and healthy offensive line could be a game-changer, as Zac's decision making ability in the pocket would be greatly aided by an extra second or two. So there's no demonstrable reason to assume we perform better than #14. And it's a remarkable testemant to this year's D (and the Husker legacy) that a team with such miserable offensive stats ever got ranked that high.

No carries or receptions for Burton Burns, but he shows up in th 1976 stats under Total Offense as having two plays for seven yards. This has been another extremely useful 3 minutes of my day.

I've lived half my life in Lincoln, Nebraska and the other half in the San Francisco Bay Area. There's a pretty incredible diversity of things to do around here. I don't think I could move back. But my fellow Bay Area Huskers still block out a half dozen Saturdays a year to watch the Huskers on TV and talk college football smack with the alums of other schools who have likewise relocated here. If I've got a live football jones going, I can walk up and get cheap gameday tickets at virtually any Cal or Stanford game. Everytime a pundit wonders why a metropolitan area of 5 million can't sell out a college football game, they explain it away as "too many lifestyle choices." I'm happy to extol the virtues of Nebraksa to folks around here, though in honesty I find people here just as friendly and accomodating as those in the Midwest. Frankly I saw more violence one summer at a small town Nebraska bar than I did in 10 years living in the heart of San Francisco. And that was before the meth boom. I also know a lot of people who live in big expensive cities that don't take advantage of it at all. I think a lot of these people would be surprised how happy they would be in Lincoln or Omaha. Except during winters like this one. Cold is still a deal breaker for the wife.