Jeremy

I remember Shatel roasting Osborne after losses to Washington, Colorado and Miami, and ESPECIALLY after ISU '92. Shatel didn't seem to care much for Dr. Tom, even after the Glory Years.

Do horn fans need to look up the Texas-Nebraska series' results for themselves? No, let's put 'em right out there so everyone this side of the Mason-Dixon knows what's what. Nebraska is gone. We're glad we beat them, and we're going to parade 9-1 around so it's clear how dominant orange was over red, forgetting the fact that the '96, '99, '02, '06, '07, '09, and '10 wins could EASILY have gone the other way. No one needs to know that if we step back and look at the big picture, we've been luckier against the Huskers than almost any team. Ever. We own the Huskers in baseball, softball (sweep this year is salt in the wound), and basketball. They got us by a lot in volleyball, but who cares? We'll own the Huskers money-wise, too, with our Longhorn network - everyone oughta know that, as well. And they'll be colder, which matters because everyone hates playing out in the cold, dern it. We own Nebraska. In every way. They should change the name of their state to Nebexas. Or Texaska. Either one. [Let's also forget to mention the fact that we're normally one of the 3 or 4 LARGEST colleges in the country while the University of Nebraska in Lincoln has barely a third of our enrollment in the middle of frigid flyover country yet has twice the honor and tradition we have.]

Good Lord, Michigan fan... Anyway, I make sure my wife, son, and daughter are wearing a Husker shirt on gameday mornings. Then, I figure out where I'm going to watch the game and head on out. Normally, it's at a sports bar with my brother. Before and during the game, it's Bud Light with tomato juice. I know most of you gents think that's ruining a perfectly good beverage, but there are 2 reasons why I partake in this particular drink. 1) I love tomato beer - nutritious and delicious. 2) It's called RED beer.

Michigan fans...

I'm already addicted to HuskersRecap. Those '83 highlights are great - I don't think we'll ever see our offensive line open up holes that big again.

What was conservative about all that passing on 3rd-and-short? The conservative side - the not-believing-in-the-offense part of things - came directly from Bo. He even admitted after the Holiday Bowl after seeing the results when he allowed the Rexcat turned loose that it might've been a mistake to pull the reigns back as far as he did. Only after Taylor got injured, it was basically the same approach with Green, and even Lee in the second half of the Missouri game. I think this is just Bo's philosophy: play to win the game, and with a strong defense you just need to grab a lead and hold onto it. We should probably get used to it. I'm a little concerned about QB depth but it could be very good, too. A lot of unknowns right now is all. I would agree with this - he's almost conservative to a fault. I've always contended that we have no one to blame for the loss to Texas in the '09 Big 12 Title game but ourselves, and the extra second shouldn't have mattered. After Gomes' incredible fighting-tooth-and-nail-proving-we-want-it-more interception, we actually drove the field down to the Texas 35 where it was 3rd and 6. Kinnie had just made a good catch near the end zone but came down 6 inches out of bounds. It was almost Texas '06 all over again. Little over 2 minutes left, and a first down most likely seals it, given Alex Henery was already one of the best kickers in Nebraska history. We had some options instead of a dive play to Rex to set up the field goal. If you want to win, you GET THAT FIRST DOWN. Roll-out. Play action. Pitch to Rex with a pass option. Sure, there's some risk involved, but as soon as I saw the I-formation, I knew what Pelini was thinking. Get the field goal and play D for the win, which had already failed vs. Virginia Tech. I knew we were going to lose at that point, and I really didn't want to watch the trainwreck unfold, but sure enough, I was right. Something tells me Beck goes for that first down and it doesn't matter whether it's Carnes or Martinez. And Pelini's okay with it. Maybe it's blind hope. But I think I'm right again.

I would. By all accounts he has no pocket awareness and the arm strength of a 12 year old girl. Not according to the money-changers in the temple after He cleared them out with a whip, creating His own pocket. (Very funny, by the way)

2:06 and 2:51 - ha ha ha - that's the way I remember Lord. The problem with him, though, was that he couldn't hardly go through any kind of progression. If his first read was covered, and he felt any kind of pressure (which was about every play with our porous pass blocking), he would take off. I remember being at that wretched '02 Penn State game, and if he just would've seen the open receivers downfield, we would've made a game out of it. As most of you know, it's easier to see the receivers finding openings in person than on TV. And while he did make a good throw every now and then (like the bomb to Herian vs. ut in '02), they were few and far between. He made a lot of BAD throws, some straight to defenders. All that said, he gave it all every play, often sacrificing his body to pick up a first down. Looking back, I'm proud of the way he played, and I'm glad he's a Husker.

Yeah, I don't think the Austrians are very good, but Germany has a pretty good running game. Mexico and Japan are fun to watch, often going 4 and 5 wide, and Japan's QB could start for a FBS school. Both Japan and Mexico look like they consult Mike Leach and his air raid offense while New Zealand has copied some pages out of Switzer's wishbone playbook. The USA team is comprised mostly of FCS level and lower athletes, but we still roll over most everyone. If we ran the ball every play, we'd score 60 every game. It is my dream to see American Football one day be an Olympic sport, but that'll probably never happen.

First of all, I'm pretty sure I've read in here and other places that Watson had coached the QB's to avoid scrambling out of the pocket to look for open receivers? I could be wrong, but I'm pretty certain. Moreover, Martinez did show a good deal of improvisation vs. Okie State. Just youtube it. Second of all, one of the reasons Bo picked Martinez was because he was Tyrod Taylor in preparation for the Virginia Tech game, and Martinez was absolutely blowing past one of the best defenses in '09 (including Suh), and this trend continued all year. Carnes could start over Martinez, and that would be fine, but as of right now, Bo has said on record that Martinez would be the starter if they were playing a game today. I used to be a huge Cody Green fan, and while I like the kid, he's just not our starter, and never will be. I admit that now. It's okay to admit things sometimes.

I go to a few Husker basketball games every year, and we sit like three rows behind the opposing teams’ bench. So naturally, we'll yell things like "Who REALLY shot Joe Colombo, Frank?" when we played KSU, or we'd call Jeff Capel Kelvin Sampson all night, stupid things like that. Anyways, there is this old lady sitting two rows down and a little to the right, who turns around and glares at us all game long like we're doing something wrong. This...shockingly...actually agitates our desire to be obnoxious and distracting. It's just funny though...are we supposed to sit there silently? The blue hairs make NU great because they've been dyed-in-the-wool fans who've done anything they can to support their beloved Huskers for literally decades. The blue hairs make NU less of an imposing place to play then it should be because they mistakenly equate vociferous outbursts with disrespect. You've got to take the good with the bad, just like all things in life. But I could do without the Matlock fans who think they're the guardians of "appropriate" behavior at NU games. We're yelling because we support the Huskers with all of our might. If you don't like it, well...go play whisper Bingo while you watch the game on mute. Hey, I like Matlock.

10 grand for Mizzou. Nice. Not many more came to the '08 Big 12 Championship game. It does matter though - from a fan's perspective, this is how we really impact the program. Every college envies the kind of support Nebraska gets every single year. Bama can't even say that.

Yeah, I remember the spring games where guys like Joe Dailey, Pat Witt, and LaTravis Washington were all the second coming of Brett Favre and Danny Wuerfel. You can't judge much of anything by the flippin' spring game, except maybe the kickers and punters, and they looked pretty good, so we've got that going for us. September 3rd, fellow fans - that's when we learn real things about this team.

One game - Penn State '02. My brother was in the Navy, stationed in Norfolk, VA, flew me up there, and we drove up to State College (highways in the Northeast are MUCH different than what we have here). Right off the bat, we were treated horribly. I can understand the boo birds as we walked by in our red, but there were people calling us any and every cuss word you can think of. They threw empty, and not so empty beer cans at us, and this was common all around the stadium. Then, of course, we know how the game went. By the time Lord threw the pick 6 in the 3rd quarter, the whole stadium was in a frenzy, and several different people were getting in my face, just inches away, screaming 'YOU SUCK!' over and over and over. My brother ran over to get in their faces, but I held him back, because I knew even they were all plastered, there were a lot more of them than us. As were were surrounded by beligerent drunk PSU fans, a security guard grabbed us both by the arm and drug us to an upper concourse, and suggested that we either leave, or put blue on. We chose the first option, being heckled outside all the way to our car. Luckily, it didn't have Nebraska plates, so they left it alone. So yeah, that's why we left early. Other than that, I've never left a game early, nor shut one off before it was over, including '04 Texas Tech, '07 USC, '07 and '08 Missouri, etc. The good news is that with Pelini in charge, the ballooned scores will only be in our favor.

I'll be there with my 6 year old boy and maybe my brother. Sure it's just a scrimmage, but as mentioned, as long as the weather's nice and there's good vittles at the tailgate, it's a great day! Should be able to go down to the field with my boy for the drug-free pledge, I think. At least we know for sure that the Huskers will win!

I don't know. Do we really want this? One of the issues I see is not really the whole 'we need an identity' thing, but when it comes down to it, and it's 3rd and 3, late in the game, what does Beck dial up that DOESN'T produce results like we saw vs. aTm and OU. Both times, with plenty of clock, we had a chance to at least come down and tie the game with one of the best FG kickers in the HISTORY of college football, and we could hardly pick up a first down both games. Saw that vs. ISU in '09, too. I remember a lot of games from the option days where it would be 3rd and medium and Osborne would send in some ISO, counter or FB trap. At first glance, it was like, "What the hell is he thinking?" But you'd see those linemen pull around and create driveway-sized holes for guys like Hipp, Rozier, Keith Jones, Calvin Jones, Phillips and Green who would bull through a tackle to move the sticks. The boys in red had those plays imprinted in their brains, and they just pushed opponents around. Then, of course, on 1st down, the all-expected ISO between the tackles suddenly became a deftly hidden play action fake, and then a deep spiral to Johnny Mitchell, Bostick, Rod Smith, Muhammed, Baul, etc. It worked because even if defenses knew one of those two plays was coming, they couldn't stop either effectively. If we're going to be consistent, we can't be a 'jack of all offenses, master of none.' Bread and butter's gotta be somewhere.

Look, I'm not saying the Huskers are chopped liver. I'm just saying that we must have respect for each of our conference foes, no matter what offense they run. Iowa's sluggish offense was able to put 27 up on Missouri in the bowl. Illinois also took it to Baylor with their roadkill offense, not to mention the Buckeyes running all over a pretty good Arkansas defense. I hope you're right and we roll over everyone, but to say we'll hold OSU scoreless? We'd have to play defense like we did vs. Texas in the '09 Big 12 championship game.

The B1G is not stuck in the 50's. One could contend that teams like Michigan State with their traditional sets and Wisconsin's power game undermine any sense of offensive 'progress' demonstrated by the changing college football landscape. However, Purdue, Northwestern, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Penn State and Ohio State have all ran some if not total spread. Hell, there are some games where the Hoosiers think it's a penalty to run the ball at all, and Purdue and Northwestern have been spread teams since the late 90's. The Purdue spread produced Drew Brees, Ohio State utilizes Pryor's mobility quite a bit, and while Michigan might be in transition, you can bet their jitterbug QB will be taking snaps out of the gun in some form or fashion. Illinois took their spread all the way to the Rose Bowl in '07 with Juice Williams, Rashard Mendenhall and Aurelious Benn while we were struggling to score against mediocre Okie State and aTm defenses. Dan Persa is a sniper when he's healthy. If you think we're going to shut everyone down, you have another thing coming. It will be as challenging if not moreso in our new conference digs, so the boys in red better buckle down.

Love it, 33

Doesn't matter whether we're going to look like Florida, Oregon, or whoever. We need an offensive line that can consistently sustain blocks, and can drastically reduce false starts, holding, and any kind of flag-worthy activity. We need our QB to make the right decision at the mesh, as we saw far too often that didn't happen. We need our QB to make good reads off play action and throw a good ball. We need our WR's to continue blocking well and CATCH THE BALL. If we do these things, the 'new' Nebraska offense will be as popular as the Os-bone from the 90's.

I thought about '00 ND, walks, but we had the game in the bag if it weren't for poor special teams play. We were clearly the better team, and the same goes with CU in '08. Though Henery and Suh's heroics were incredible, we shouldn't have needed to rely on them, but for the sloppy play that put us in that position in the first place against a less than mediocre buff squad.

Not an excuse, though. We're NEBRASKA, darn it! WE don't check out of games because we 'don't wanna be there.' WE buckle down and do our jobs 100% EVERY GAME, EVERY DOWN. That game was shameful.

How about one or both of the games where we beat the 4 Horsemen of Notre Dame? Or the game when we barely lost to them, but Knute Rockne called our defensive tackle Ed Weir (yeah, the guy the track is named after) the best player he's ever seen? Or when Weir and Co. shut down The Galloping Ghost Red Grange, being the only defense to ever stop him from scoring a TD? No Particular Order: 94 Orange Heartbreak, but led by Alberts and Frazier, the 17 point dog Huskers take the fight to the Seminoles and their friends, the refs. 95 Orange Breaking the bowl losing streak and getting his first National Title, Osborne dials in Schlesinger to score the winning TD and the Blackshirts smother Miami. 96 Fiesta Most dominant football team in college football history takes apart another incredibly dominant team in the Florida Gators as Frazier demonstrates why the wrong guy got the Heisman. 84 Orange The Offensive Explosion, led by the Triplets, come up just short as the 2 point conversion falls helplessly to the ground, though Osborne could've ensured a title with a kick. 09 Big 12 Title Ndamukong Suh and the Blackshirts smother an extremely talented Texas squad all the way to 0:00, only to see their hopes dashed with a second put back, and the ball sneak through the goalposts. 23 vs. Notre Dame Huskers mount the first of 2 wins over the famed '4 Horsemen.' Though the Irish were heavily favored, they could muster hardly any offense until late in the game against an unrelenting Husker defensive front. 25 vs. Illinois Ed Weir and the Nebraska defense knocks the 'Galloping Ghost' Red Grange out of the game and secures a victory over powerful Illinois 59 vs. OU The Huskers, after nearly 2 decades of lackluster play, upset the juggernaut Sooners for homecoming, ending their incredible run of conference wins. 92 vs. CU Nebraska dominates a very talented CU squad from the first snap, putting the Buffs back in their place after being unable to defeat them 4 out of 6 years prior. 09 vs. MU Bo Pelini showcases the new Blackshirts, as they put on a clinic as to how to stop the spread, and the offense ignites in the 4th quarter to put away a Tiger program that had humiliated the Huskers in '03, '05, '07, and '08. 71 orange Bob Devaney leads Nebraska to their first National Title, as QB Jerry Tagge stretches over the goal line to best LSU in a tough, defensive contest. 72 orange One of the other best teams in college football history, the '71 Huskers score early and often to bury Alabama and capture their 2nd straight national title. 99 Big 12 Frank Solich leads Nebraska over Texas in a dominant Big 12 Title win, the Huskers' last win over Texas, and last conference title. 76 Astro-Bluebonnet Osborne, on the brink of losing 4 games in one season, and his job as Husker coach, directs Rick Berns and Vince Ferragamo to a comeback win over Texas Tech. Had he lost and been sent packing, who knows where Husker football would be today. 60 vs. Texas In one of the biggest upsets in Husker History, underdog Nebraska upends the mighty 4th ranked Longhorns. 62 vs. Michigan Devaney and Nebraska surprise mighty Michigan with a resounding victory in Ann Arbor. 62 Gotham The first of 42 straight bowls, Nebraska outscores Miami in cold Yankee stadium before a crowd of 6,100, including Batman. 70 vs. USC Orduna and the big boys of Nebraska scratch out a tie against the flashy boys from Hollywood, which was a large factor for the Huskers at the end of the season... 77 vs. Alabama After losing a frustrating first game of the season, Osborne leads the Huskers over powerful 4th ranked Alabama in Lincoln to solidify Nebraska as a team to be reckoned with. 78 vs. OU Nebraska breaks a long losing streak to the land thieves, only to face them again in the bowl game. No one will forget one of the hardest hits in Husker history, as Ruud smacks Phelps so hard, he's unconscious before hits the ground. 98 Orange Osborne goes out in style, as the Huskers run all over Tennessee and the Blackshirts smother Peyton manning. Our 5th National Title would be announced early the next morning. 94 vs. CU Nebraska soundly defeats a CU team coach Osborne called 'One of the most talented we've ever played,' to propel the Huskers into the title race. 01 vs. OU Eric Crouch catches a long td pass in one of the most memorable trick plays in Husker history to best the 2nd ranked Sooners. 10 vs. MU Roy Helu, Jr. breaks the single-game rushing record as Nebraska defeats 7th ranked Missouri, their first victory over a top-10 team since defeating OU in '01. (13 straight losses) 00 Fiesta Nebraska runs over, around, and through Tennessee to capture their last BCS victory. Honorable Mention: 88 OU 05 Michigan

Get on your block. Footwork and leverage. Sustain your block. Make the right read and trust your teammates. Protect the ball. Fight for every inch. These things don't change, and it doesn't matter what we're running. If we focus on fundamentals and doing one thing really well, we'll move the ball. May not be pretty, but we sure as hell won't see the '10 Holiday Bowl again. That game was an absolute disgrace to our proud program, and everyone associated with the program should be ashamed. Oh yeah, and Cody Green over-throws more than half his passes. Good kid, but not the guy to be taking snaps when the game is on the line.

Doing more harm than good? How? I didn't know much of anything about potential recruits, off the field stuff, or practice field soap operas during Osborne's day; that is, until Lawrence Philips decided to drag his ex-girlfriend around, and then Berringer's death. But those were pretty big events. These days, players can't sneeze without Sipple, Chatelain and Shatel zooming in to grill them on their health and medical records. There seems to be this mentality that we're all entitled to knowing everything that happens in and around the program. Why? What does it matter? I just try to trust the coaches to do their jobs the best way they know how, and let them worry about off the field issues, well, because that's their job and not mine. My job is to wear red and be loud.