Morrison

couldn't agree more. this is a good sign.

Good point. Guys on this board call out players, coaches etc, but we get angry when a player makes a comment about the fans or the coach tells us to go f ourselves. Again, unleash this Bo again. Direct correlation of Bo getting more savvy and team sucking, This is spot on, by the way. I thought about making a thread about this awhile back, but you can practically pinpoint the aftermath of that aTm game back in 2010 - you know, when Bo promised to be nicer - as the moment the momentum started to dissipate within the program. Ever since, we've seen nothing but passive, unmotivated, unsure, and unconfident teams coming out of Lincoln. In other words, we lost our swagger when Bo was neutered. Ask yourself, what's more embarrassing, Bo's demeanor back then or the product we put on the field now? Granted, ideally it wouldn't be an either/or proposition, but that seems to be the boat we're in. A little OT, but had to get that one off my chest...

Precisely. When our players year in and year out consistently lack those fundamental skills (i.e. proper angles and tackling) there is no one else to blame but the coaching staff. Which makes me sad, because I genuinely like Bo and respect what he's done in terms of where we were when he got here and where we are now. I just don't think he can take us any farther

You know, I used to think this way too, back before the 2012 UCLA game. I still felt that things would get better after Ohio St., too. After the CCG against Wisconsin I began to have my doubts and after the bowl game against Georgia I was on the fence. After Wyoming this year I began to get really concerned, but after today it's become clear to me that its not a recruiting problem, it's a coaching problem. I mean, you can say we need to bring in better athletes, but we already have better talent than Wyoming, and at least equal to if not better athletes (per the last four years of recruiting rankings) to Wisconsin and UCLA. But we still managed to find a way to give up 500-600 yards of offense and 40+ points to each of these teams. We've upgraded players this year, but the product today looks remarkably similar to last year and 2011. For a myriad of reasons (location, weather, ethics, relevance over the last five years, etc.) we will never have a coaching staff that is able to consistently bring in top 5 recruiting classes and simply "out-athlete" the opposing teams to the point where we can afford to be out-coached on a consistent basis. Hell, it's even debatable if that can even be done anywhere (see Texas). The bottom line is that our problems are systemic within Bo's (and Beck's) schemes, preparation, and ability motivate. It doesn't matter who you plug in there at this point, experienced vets like last year or young studs like this year, the results are still the same. Blown assignments, missed tackles, lack of aggression, and stupid penalties have nothing to do with our recruiting (or lack thereof) - they are simply an extension of our coaching staff's shortcomings. Which really hurts to say because I have been an ardent Pelini supporter. Unfortunately, you can only say "this will get better when..." for so long and, for me at least, that point was reached today.

I only caught a few minutes of the game, but Anderson's backup - Porter? - looks to be the real-deal as well from the few minutes I saw. Is he a sophomore KBB? If so, what are you guys putting in the water down there!?

he's clearly concussed And he was back in the game literally two plays later. That's not enough time to even run 1/2 of the SCAT3. Not that I'm condoning putting him back in after he was clearly concussed, but he made a hell of a catch on that 4th and long on his first play back (which almost saved the game for Vandy). Tough dude, hope he's alright. And that he doesn't do that again...

Hats off to you guys Virginian, great game by the Cowboys. No doubt that alot of us around here underestimated you guys and your QB. While I mostly I attribute that to the pre-season koolaid enjoyed by every fanbase as opposed to a real lack of respect for your program, no doubt we are eating a bit of crow. Good luck on the rest of your season, hope you run the table in the MWC.

Okay, my bad tough to tell the passive-aggressive meltdown posts from some of the others tonight lol

To be fair, this kid just got significant playing time in a close game, as a true freshman, at the school he's dreamed of playing at since he was a little kid, in a game they won, in front of a stadium-record crowd. He should be able to enjoy it tonight at least before getting back to work tomorrow. I'd cut him a bit of slack.

Let me say this upfront: the defense was bad. No doubt, no excuses. That said, there are a few things I think we should take into consideration before throwing in the towel: Thing to take into consideration the first: The officiating was horrible. Wyoming had at least two scoring drives continued by phantom penalties (Gregory's "roughing the passer" (?) and the PI on Gerry), not to mention the holding that was consistently going on by their O-line. I think we will look better in the future assuming those things are not called consistently the same way this year. I hate the "blame the refs" excuse as much as anyone else, but look no further than the reviews - all three were easily overturned. This crew was pretty awful all night, which contributed to: Thing to take into consideration the second: Smith played the game of his life. Yes, for a variety of reasons he had all day to throw, but give the kid some credit: he completed more than a few passes into VERY small windows, including a number of times when he was flushed from the pocket. Hundley, while a much better runner with better weapons to throw to, does not throw the ball that well on his best day. In fact, we may not see another QB all year who can make some of those passes. Hats off the kid - very impressed with every aspect of his game. Thing to take into consideration the third: we knew this going in: we have a young, untested defense. What happens to defenses like that? Well, they get tested. I am encouraged by the fact that, when the chips were down with a minute left in the game and we needed a stop, those young guys, instead of living in their (many) mistakes of early in the game, were able to rally and make a game-saving stand on that last possession. I was not at all confident that they would do that and was very impressed with the poise we showed there. You can't simulate that kind of experience in practice, and I can only think being forced to step up in that situation now will have some value later in the season when/if we're in a similar position. Thing to take into consideration the fourth: How many true freshman played tonight on D? I count 4 (Gerry, Banderas, Maurice, Collins), not to mention numerous RS Fr in McMullen, Valentine, Curry, Moss, and Afalava (I think, didn't hear him in on any tackles though...?) All of whom are in our front 7. Not only is that virtually unprecedented at a school like DONU, it was an awful matchup against an experienced offensive unit, with a talented QB, and pretty darn good play-caller/schemer in Christiansen. You could almost see each of the young guys get better as the game progressed and hopefully they will continue to make strides week to week. Long story short: We are what we thought we were: the defense was bad, but there are a few reasons to think it will play better the next few weeks. Whether its improvement will be enough to keep us competitive, I don't know. Hopefully the O can iron out the TOs and stupid O line penalties that continue to plague us and stay on the field a bit longer as well. That was almost as frustrating for me, personally. GBR.

Good Job Bo.

Legacy recruit? Doubtful I agree, the legacy angle really makes me think this is a longshot, but the thing that gets me is that he just doesn't really fit the system they want to run. What if Shaw leaves for the NFL (yes I know he is a legacy there too...ugh!) and we finish with one loss, go to the Rose Bowl, and beat Stanford by a couple TDs? ( ) Might be a bit late for an optimal visit at that point without a game day for him to see, but stranger things have happened.

Agreed...I just about had a heart attack thinking we pulled the offer or something.

Sounds like this kid is pretty solid to Stanford, but watching him tonight he looks like a perfect fit for what we're looking to do in our offense. Obviously Stanford is in a great place right now (and the academics are a given), but it seems like with his versatility out of the backfield and his (relative) lack of size and power - at least compared to Stepfan Taylor/Toby Gerhart - he would be a much better fit in a spread-type offense like we run than than the 2 TE/1 FB power game that Stanford favors. I know he showed some early interest in us - does anyone see a scenario where we get him on campus for an OV? Cue the Lloyd Christmas Gif...

Wish it was possible to +1 someone from my phone... just... awesome Been waiting for a good time to use that one...seemed as good as any. Real excited about this kid

Haag 2.0, they'll make a position up to get him out there. Exactly. If this pans out....

That seems almost...amazingly reasonable. If I was nitpicking I'd say that Okie Lite and Texas are a little too high, but then I'm not sure who I'd move ahead of them...probably OU, Mich, and us but you can justify it the other way as well. Otherwise this seems pretty good.

Okay, yeah that's probably fair. I was just trying to draw a comparison as to how hard it is to get a read on Willis as compared Cook, but, as you say, that could easily be chalked up to different personalities as well. It definitely came off as a bit of a shot at the kid, which was not my intent.

????? huh? What makes you say that? We literally have no idea what's going on behind closed doors.

Well, I think it's pretty obvious that we're his favorite choice out the offers he does have. While he's been very outspoken about his desire for an offer from an SEC/Alabama school, I really don't have a problem with this. I mean, if we had to pick between him and Priest Willis (thankfully we won't have to), do you think we'd keep Cook out of "loyalty"? So its a two-way street in terms of where your loyalties and commitment lie when greener pastures come calling; in the end, everyone will do what they have to with their best interests in mind. Cook has just been very forthright where he perceives his best interests to be. In fact, I admire how candid Cook has been throughout the whole process. This is pretty rare - ironically, I like how he's handled this more than Willis. At least Cook has been transparent, Willis seems like a bit of a drama queen with the way his tweets have played out over the last few months. Maybe that's just me though...? That said, I hopefully one day we will be able to go toe-to-toe with the (current) big boys again, though I guess we will always be at some disadavantage due to location.