HuskerFaithful

I think you can make a case for several individuals to be the team MVP this season. I think your final three have to be Zac Taylor, Cory Ross, and Corey McKeon. And I think that is the order of how they would finish. Zac because of the beating he took all season long and never really showing signs of cracking under the constant pressure. Cory, because he is a model Husker in every sense of the word. Both on and off the field he is exceptional. He will be missed. Finally, Corey I think deserves mentioning here because of the injuries our LB's suffered this year and he being the remaining constant on defense. He assumed the leadership role after Bradley went down in my opinion. I know everyone will have their own opinions on this, and like I said, cases can be made for a lot of players and their impacts.

"Our last big upset" can be interpreted two ways. Either you're thinking it's the last time that we can pull off an upset (meaning we're either favored or pretty even with our opponents), or you can read that to mean from an historical perspective. Looking forward to next season and taking on USC and Texas. We'll be underdogs in both, which is just the way we want it. I think it's a little unfair to look back on the Colorado game and say that win wasn't as big because of what happened to CU after it. Before the game, everyone was expecting Nebraska to get rolled, including the oddsmakers. Obviously what happened to that team after NU beat them had something to do with losing to Nebraska. Barnett would not have lost his job if they had beaten NU and then lost to Texas 70-3. I couldn't agree with you more though that Michigan was far more talented and should have won, especially with an 11 point lead in the 4th quarter. I have to give the NU coaches and players all the credit for taking the game to the fourth quarter and believing that they could come back to win it. Callahan showed the team the Ohio State comeback video from the game earlier in the year before the got to the AlamoDome. Proved to be a very good selection. I'm stoked for next season already. Sure will be a lot easier anticipating after a victory, especially over a team as good as Michigan.

He did have a pretty good year his senior season. It would have been kickass except for that one play. Which is pretty harsh, but those are the breaks. I hope he has an awesome bowl game to go out on a high note. He deserves credit for being a part of the team through some of its down years and helping to rebuild the program from the bottom up. Thanks Le Kevin.

I too think Young will be back next season. I was trying to come up with a scenario where he and Reggie both wouldn't be back next year. For instance, Bush wins Heisman and Texas wins national title? I still think Young comes back to make a run at the Heisman again. Since Young didn't win the Heisman and if he loses to USC then I don't see how he couldn't come back. Go pro Vince. I don't want to have to play you next year. Wait, I guess I don't have to. But the NU players do.

Can't find it dude. My apologies.

former, I don't see how not liking the A.D. has anything to do with being a Husker football fan. I like Callahan and what he's doing. I don't care for Pederson, just from what I've heard. I haven't personally met him either for that matter. Maybe I should reserve judgement. But like I said, I like what he is doing, just not how he's handled it. The building project needed to be done and it takes awhile to raise $50 million, so chances are that we would have started before the money was raised anyway. He seems to be much more proactive than Bryne was.

The one from the Colorado game I think is what you're referring to. Right before halftime, when he was told that four seconds disappeared off the clock. If not, that's just as classic as the other one. I'll try to find it for you.

Well said skers, Blackshirts, and Chicago. SP is a lightning rod for criticism because he changes things and people in general are against change, which is funny, because the only constant is change. And baseball...if I remember someone's sig line correctly.

First of all I don't link Callahan/Pederson like some. That implies that you can't like one but not the other, like its a package deal, which its not. I like Callahan, like what he's doing with recruiting and the improvements I've seen. I don't like Pederson as a person. He's a slimeball. If Nebraska doesn't win the North next year, it would be interesting to see why. I think the Huskers are a team on the rise. I see Iowa State as another team rising, but not as fast as us. Kansas and Missouri appear to be going sideways. Colorado is on the decline at least for now. Who knows about next year, but I would expect some kind of transition growing pains. All of this is just conjecture anyway and since none of us know what's going to happen, I would prefer to be optimistic rather than pessimistic. I'm not drinking cool aid or wearing rose colored glasses, but I think our program is going in the right direction and if it succeeds, all the credit goes to Callahan. Not Pederson.

Good news. Nice to see players get recognized for their hard work. I thought Nunn was a much better PR than Grixby, but maybe the coaches were protecting him a little since he was also a key WR. Maybe next year, he'll get a little more time at PR.

As bad of shape as the Big 12 North is in, I think it's utterly ridiculous to say that we should have won the division last year. What about the following scenario breeds that confidence: 1) New coach 2) Total change of offensive system 3) Third defensive coordinator in three years 4) Talent level was way down from that in the late 90's This proves to me that some fans have unreasonable expectations. This year, I will agree with you, we SHOULD have won the North. Next year, we WILL win the North and hopefully give the South winner a game in the championship. I don't understand where fans think that you can have overnight success. People look to coaches like Charlie Weis, who inherit a team full of talent and he tweaks the offense a bit, and they do well. He's a hero. A better example to compare to would be Mack Brown. He's in his 7th season and coaching in his first national title game. Their team has improved a little bit each year and now that they are an older team they are hitting their stride. The Huskers are a young team that continues to improve and get more talented. I share your optimism about the future of Husker football, but I think the improvement will be a little slower than some expect. Two years from now playing in a BCS game should be considered a reasonable goal.

Not all we care about anymore???? Don't tell me that during all of Osborne's years, winning didn't matter. If Osborne would have run the program with all the integrity he did, but not get it done on the field, he wouldn't have coached Nebraska for 25 years. The product on the field is all that has ever mattered. The Academic All-Americans and everything else is icing on the cake. While important, don't try to tell me that 77,000 fans would have sold out the stadium to watch a bunch of AAA's if they consistently went 7-5. The tradition that everyone talks about here is because of the success of the program. Whatever you want to point to, the continuity of the staff, the bowl streak, all the records, have to do with one thing...and that is winning. Husker Tradition = winning. The Husker Faithful are faithful because it was easy to be a fan from the early 60's to the late 90's. Bottom line...this aspect hasn't changed since Callahan took over. Winning is all that has ever mattered here. Winning with class. Winning with integrity. But bottom line, winning. Everything our program has today is because of the success on the field that we've had in the past.

Pretty ballsy to fire Solich. Pretty lucky to land Callahan. I think over the next two years, we will see huge improvements in the team and all of this talk about if Callahan is the right guy for the job will go away. Who cares if Pederson tries to take credit for it. I think all we care about is the product on the field.

will likely be proven to be correct. Firing Solich, hiring Callahan, the new building project, etc. Granted he has this Julius Caesar complex thing going on and he's an easy target for abuse, but if you take his personality out of it and judge him on what he's done (not how he's done it) I think time will show him to be correct in making these moves. I applaud the guy. He's got a tough job. Similar to the president of the United States, you either like him or you don't.

Purify has reportedly committed. I got an email from Scout.com. I'm not a premium subscriber with them, so I thought it was safe to report. 6'4" WR will be nice to have. He's rated 4 stars by Rivals and 5 by Scout.

I think it matters, but not nearly as much as success on the field. It should matter to recruits and their families, especially those who know they don't stand a good chance of going to the next level.

I sure hope our defense can get to their QB. With their offensive line injuries and the immobility of Henne, I think we can. And if our offense clicks like it seemed to against Colorado, I think we have a chance to win. It will be a fun game to watch. I can't wait. Two more weeks.

Heck ya!

This HuskerFaithful thinks the 95 Skers are the best ever. USC is great. Miami was great in 2001. But I think the 95 Skers could beat both. To quote a line from Napoleon Dynamite, "Like there's any way to ever know that."

JUCO's would be less of a shot in the dark than a high school recruit. Some great high school players just can't make the transition to college, just like some great college players don't make it in the NFL. I think JUCO's have the following going for them in this regard: 1) they are older and probably more mature; 2) they have faced some sort of adversity, such as not making grades or not being recruited out of high school; 3) they have gained more playing time at a level higher than high school; and 4) Nebraska is only taking the very best of the JUCO talent pool, we are seeking to plug holes in the ship and this is the quickest way of doing so. Now I don't want to see this become a trend, but on the same note, I see why we are doing it this way now and I applaud the staff for doing what it takes to improve the team as quickly as possible. The end result--the product on the field and their success is what we as fans care about.

It seems as though some fans on some boards are upset that we're taking several more JUCO's this recruiting season. I don't see the big deal. Some of these guys will be around 2-3 years, plus they already have experience at a level higher than high school. When a team has immediate needs, such as O-line and defensive backs, it is almost impossible to find a high school senior who can jump into the fray. My question is then, does it bother you that we're taking JUCO's or is it a sign of the times where we need those immediate impact players?

Washusker, I know for a fact that the players have an open invitation to attend practice. So far, not many have gone. It's a little awkward going down there when you don't know anyone. Knowing that Milt Tenopir attends practice regularly should encourage some of the former players. I thought the 1995 championship team reunion was handled very poorly, but that doesn't have anything to do with Callahan.

Absolutely not. I'm sure if someone did report that, they were just trying to stir the pot. John Blake is staying here for the forseeable future.

Didn't this year's team have the highest GPA ever for a Husker football team? I thought I remembered hearing something about that. One former player mentioned that he hoped NU didn't turn into a football factory where kids come here to get to the next level without getting an education also. In reading stories about the commits that we have so far, most of them mention meeting with academic advisors and speak highly of the University's academics. I don't see a difference between players coming here now versus the mid-90's. You're stud players are obviously looking to get to that next level. It just seemed to be a nit-picky kind of thing to bring up. I think most of the players coming here want the education as well as a chance at the next level. Anyone else have any thoughts about this?

Good to see the traveling fans are back. San Antonio is a good place to go, unlike Shreveport. Hopefully, Husker fans far outnumber Michigan fans and we get the home-away-from-home game.