Callahan has brought NU to a stage of growth

[Eric the Red]

Curt McKeever: Callahan has brought NU to a stage of growth

 

DALLAS — Nebraska arrives at today’s 71st annual Cotton Bowl with yet another chance to show it’s gaining steam on the winding chug toward the summit of the college football mountain.

 

But barring a train-wreck type of loss at the hands of 10th-ranked Auburn, be careful to make too much of the 22nd-ranked Huskers’ season-ending result.

 

Yes, a win would give NU some warm fuzzies heading into 2007, kind of like last year’s Alamo Bowl victory against Michigan did for this team. But Bill Callahan, Steve Pederson and company all know there’s plenty of rail to be laid before anybody can declare their program has made it to the station.

 

Of course, when that occurs, there’ll be a mighty debate as to whether Nebraska came in with an on-time arrival. On the outer surface — going from 5-6 in Callahan’s first season to 8-4 last year to a Big 12 North Division crown and 9-4 record entering today — it seems the Huskers are making good time.

 

As Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs would tell you, Callahan is moving past the dirty business of digging in the mud and building a foundation. But wherever he is at any time in his project, it will be a tough job.

 

What’s most apparent is that Callahan currently has the Huskers at a growth stage — where a good performance will allow them to hang with most teams. His clubs are 3-1 against ranked opponents outside the top 10. But against that upper tier, he’s 0-4.

 

Jacobs — who played at Auburn when the Tigers lost to NU in 1981 and ’82 and has been at his alma mater since 1985 before taking over as AD in December of 2004 — has seen firsthand that next challenge be conquered.

 

Tommy Tuberville, about to conclude his eighth season as coach of the Tigers, was 0-4 against the top 10 until his third team knocked off top-ranked Florida. Since then, Auburn has a sparkling 13-5 mark against the top 10, including eight wins in its last nine tries.

 

For those still rankled by Pederson’s decision that the Huskers were missing too many opportunities under Frank Solich — i.e., he and his staff weren’t recruiting the kind of difference-making players needed to sustain an elite program over the long haul — Auburn’s example is a good illustration of what Pederson was thinking.

 

“I remember the sentiment (then) was 9-3 at Nebraska wasn’t quite good enough,” Jacobs said. “Now that I’m in the role I’m in, (I understand) you have to look at what’s best in the long term. … Sometimes that means making tough decisions.”

 

Decisions that affect how his and Pederson’s careers are built, and how long they last.

 

Pederson’s was influenced by a concern that the Huskers’ national recruiting efforts were lagging — and because of their proximity, it’s critical to be able to recruit nationally.

 

Look at Tom Osborne’s career. Sure, NU was doing just fine, regularly winning nine games a season. Then, Osborne got Turner Gill and things took a turn for the better. And where did Gill hail from? Texas — where Nebraska is once again becoming a major player.

 

The same phenomenon occurred later when Osborne plucked Tommie Frazier out of Florida.

 

Pederson senses something similar happening now.

 

“I love the way we’re recruiting and built back all the way through,” he said. “The (Hawks Championship) facility was important, obviously, and I love the way Bill’s been able to use that.

 

“And he’s built a great staff. They’ve built inroads back into so many places. I also think they’re doing a fabulous job of coaching, and I hear the pros say that when they stop through.”

 

Jacobs also has taken notice, obviously, because the Huskers are his school’s bowl opponent. But what they’re doing under Callahan looks an awful lot like something he’s witnessed Tuberville produce at Auburn.

 

The year before Tuberville was hired, in 1998, Terry Bowden decided after a 1-5 start that he’d had enough of coaching. The Tigers finished 3-8, five fewer wins than any of Bowden’s first five seasons.

 

Tuberville took over in 1999 and went 5-6, then had seasons of four, five, four and five losses with three SEC West Division crowns before steering the Tigers to a 13-0 mark in 2004. That team had four first-round picks in the 2005 NFL Draft.

 

Callahan’s mark in the draft will start showing up in April. But it’s clear now that respected people in college football believe his thumbprint on the Huskers bears evidence that they’re on a fast climb.

 

“The faraway impression of Nebraska is a positive one,” Jacobs said. “For him to be back at the Cotton Bowl, that’s pretty doggone good.

 

“I played for Pat Dye, and now am here with Tuberville, and the thing that you can be proud of is the mannerism in which the head coach goes about daily business. If you have the integrity and class, like Nebraska and Auburn has, you’re going to have a chance (to win a national championship) some day.”

 

Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.

[ForRealBigRedFan]

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[BIGREDIOWAN]

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Nice post!!!!