"Pud"

[junior4949]

Last year we finished the season 10-3 and were ranked in the top 25. "Pud" fires the coach because he "will not surrender to Texas and OU". I have to ask, where would NU rank this year with our record? Considering I believe we rank in the 50's or 60's, what in the hell is mediocrity? How far do we have to fall before we begin to rise again?

 

I know there is a lot of "just wait until next year" coming out. However, Texas and OU had very good recruiting classes coming into 2004. Do you really think true freshman will be able to overcome either redshirt freshman or true sophomores from those schools? We have to give both the talent coming in and the coaching staff time. However, this isn't the point of this thread. I want to know how far NU has to fall before any kind of recovery takes place.

 

I didn't get the chance to see the NU vs. OU game until Sunday, but I have to say that I didn't see a lot of talent difference between the two teams. When OU tried to run outside, we had guys there giving up very minimal gains. Our secondary played way too soft in my opinion giving up the short passes. The biggest problem I saw on D was that our secondary never and I repeat NEVER turns their head back to see the ball coming. Very few times were the receivers wide open. However, it is very difficult to defend against the pass if you're just going to tackle after the reception is made. On offense, our O-Line did a pretty good job moving the OU D which is ranked #1 in the Big 12 against the run. Corey Ross did a great job running the ball as did Jackson when given the chance. This team just isn't clicking.

 

I listened to the game on the radio. After the game, they always talk to some of the players. I have to say I was disappointed. There was only one player after the game who wasn't upbeat and satisfied with the way the team played. I guess I missed where getting your asses handed to you was satisfying. I don't think there is a talent issue going on at NU. I believe it is an attitude problem. Somewhere along the line, we have lost our fire and passion for the game. A better question should be: if Callahan goes 9-2 or 10-3 next year, do we fire him? The players especially the defense have been through a lot having 3 coaches in 3 different years. For some reason, I believe the A.D. has been given way too much power over the football program. Let's put the coaches on a 3 year probationary contract and fire the A.D. "Pud" should be blamed a lot more for the dibacle this year rather than the coaching staff or the players!

[gamecocks]

Are you kidding me, there is a huge talent difference between Oklahoma and Nebraska right now. There O-Line if more talented, better quarterback by a landslide, better back in Peterson than Ross, better and deeper recieving squad, and defensively they have more team speed than we could even dream about. Yes, we do have some talented athletes, but we do not have the talent across the board to compare to Oklahoma.

[Eric the Red]

Last year we finished the season 10-3 and were ranked in the top 25. "Pud" fires the coach because he "will not surrender to Texas and OU". I have to ask, where would NU rank this year with our record? Considering I believe we rank in the 50's or 60's, what in the hell is mediocrity? How far do we have to fall before we begin to rise again?

 

I know there is a lot of "just wait until next year" coming out. However, Texas and OU had very good recruiting classes coming into 2004. Do you really think true freshman will be able to overcome either redshirt freshman or true sophomores from those schools? We have to give both the talent coming in and the coaching staff time. However, this isn't the point of this thread. I want to know how far NU has to fall before any kind of recovery takes place.

 

I didn't get the chance to see the NU vs. OU game until Sunday, but I have to say that I didn't see a lot of talent difference between the two teams. When OU tried to run outside, we had guys there giving up very minimal gains. Our secondary played way too soft in my opinion giving up the short passes. The biggest problem I saw on D was that our secondary never and I repeat NEVER turns their head back to see the ball coming. Very few times were the receivers wide open. However, it is very difficult to defend against the pass if you're just going to tackle after the reception is made. On offense, our O-Line did a pretty good job moving the OU D which is ranked #1 in the Big 12 against the run. Corey Ross did a great job running the ball as did Jackson when given the chance. This team just isn't clicking.

 

I listened to the game on the radio. After the game, they always talk to some of the players. I have to say I was disappointed. There was only one player after the game who wasn't upbeat and satisfied with the way the team played. I guess I missed where getting your asses handed to you was satisfying. I don't think there is a talent issue going on at NU. I believe it is an attitude problem. Somewhere along the line, we have lost our fire and passion for the game. A better question should be: if Callahan goes 9-2 or 10-3 next year, do we fire him? The players especially the defense have been through a lot having 3 coaches in 3 different years. For some reason, I believe the A.D. has been given way too much power over the football program. Let's put the coaches on a 3 year probationary contract and fire the A.D. "Pud" should be blamed a lot more for the dibacle this year rather than the coaching staff or the players!

We will all refer to Steve Pederson as "Pud" from now on. This should be noted in your Huskerboard.com constitution's.....

 

"Pud" fires the coach because..."

[Benard]

Are you kidding me, there is a huge talent difference between Oklahoma and Nebraska right now. There O-Line if more talented, better quarterback by a landslide, better back in Peterson than Ross, better and deeper recieving squad, and defensively they have more team speed than we could even dream about. Yes, we do have some talented athletes, but we do not have the talent across the board to compare to Oklahoma.

your right we probs don't have the talent across the board but if we had last years coaches and system I bet we would of gave them everything they wanted and more. Look at okies 2 games before us and that will tell you what can be done to them. To bad we hired callahan.

[DaveH]

It's more than this year or next year for that matter. The course we have taken is a long one IMO and it is going take more than next year to get us up to the level of a USC or Oklahoma. I look for marked improvement in 2-3 years from now. Callahan's contract will be up in 2010 in its current form, if I am not mistaken.

 

I believe it only gets better from here. I'm not saying we will go undefeated or even have less than 3 losses next year, but it does get better from here.

 

Oklahoma has playmakers at key positions in the offense. Receivers that can go up for a ball and come down with it and a quarterback who puts the ball exactly where it needs to be just are two for starters.

 

The AD, at any university, runs the athletic department. That includes naming head coaches, etc. Should the football program be special and not part of this department? If so, who runs just the football team? By saying the AD has been given too much power over the football team and as a result implying that it should be by itself disassociates the team from the rest of Husker athletics. Putting them on a pedestal of sorts, this isn’t right in my opinion.

 

Putting coaches on a short term contract where basically the administration is has their head in a guillotine from month to month is ridiculous. Who would come and coach here if that was the case? No one. Then where would we be?

[DaveH]

Are you kidding me, there is a huge talent difference between Oklahoma and Nebraska right now. There O-Line if more talented, better quarterback by a landslide, better back in Peterson than Ross, better and deeper recieving squad, and defensively they have more team speed than we could even dream about. Yes, we do have some talented athletes, but we do not have the talent across the board to compare to Oklahoma.

your right we probs don't have the talent across the board but if we had last years coaches and system I bet we would of gave them everything they wanted and more. Look at okies 2 games before us and that will tell you what can be done to them. To bad we hired callahan.

OK, but would it have been sustained for the next, say, 5 years? Either way that's neither here nor there.

[AR Husker Fan]

your right we probs don't have the talent across the board but if we had last years coaches and system I bet we would of gave them everything they wanted and more. Look at okies 2 games before us and that will tell you what can be done to them. To bad we hired callahan.

Highly debatable, to say the least. During the OU game NU committed to the run more than it has all season - we even have some who have posted complaints about Callahan's insistence on staying with the run in the game.

 

Now, assume we were again running the option in the OU game. OU did not fill the box in this game the way they could and would have if we were running the option. In short, their defense was not set up to stop just the run, which opened it up a bit for Ross. It is likely that had we been running the option, OU would have chocked off even the runs we did get. Too much speed and too much discipline in the OU defense. So, if anything, our offensive output would have probably been even worse.

 

If OU's defense has a weakness, ironically, it's in pass defense - which is probably why they didn't commit more to stopping the run. The threat of the pass kept them at least a little hones.

 

On defense? OU's offensive line would have negated our line no matter who was coaching - they are that good. White is a pin-point passer; the throws he made on Saturday would have been there no matter if it was Cosgrove or Pellini or anyone else.