Tom Shatel

[np_husker]

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1921

 

NU better off a year later?

Published Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008

 

Has it really been a year?

 

There's an anniversary on Wednesday. Some people will celebrate. Do you remember?

 

For a hint, let's go back to the College World Series and a T-shirt I saw in the parking lot — worn by a Husker fan, we presume.

 

It read, "The six greatest dates in Nebraska history." On the back, there were six dates in history. Five of the dates were early January dates. Those were easy to guess. The dates of the five national football championships won by NU.

 

The sixth — Oct. 15, 2007 — took a little more time to figure out.

 

It was the day Steve Pederson was fired, a year ago Wednesday.

 

Has it really been a year since Pederson was ushered out on a Monday, and Tom Osborne was ushered back in on Tuesday? Yes. But it seems longer than that. In some ways, it seems like Osborne and Bo Pelini have been here all along.

 

So is Nebraska better off? Are you, the Husker fan, better off?

 

Nebraska is 3-3. When Pederson got the ax, two days after the Oklahoma State debacle, NU was 4-3. Donations are up, but not necessarily by a significant amount. The economy no doubt has a hand in that.

 

What is up is trust and confidence in the athletic department and the football team. The lines of communication with the public are wide open. The team is well coached (though the penalties need cleaning up) and looks like it's headed in the right direction. Except for a few Pederson and Bill Callahan diehards out there, the majority of Husker fans would say they feel better — by 180 degrees — about the future of football and athletics.

 

Just one year ago today (Oct. 14), that wasn't yet the case. Some year, huh?

 

So how will you celebrate this week? A year ago this week, Lincoln liquor stores ran out of champagne. Will you raise a glass again? Will this be one of those dates where everyone remembers where they were when it happened? Will this be a date that lives forever?

 

I doubt it. History is made for revising, but Pederson's place in NU annals looks pretty cemented. Still, as Nebraska becomes more successful in football, the Pederson/Callahan Era will become a footnote, not worth remembering. Even the end. So, for now, cheers.

 

• You want playoffs, you got them. This week's offering: Missouri at Texas. Yes, the Tigers are still in the hunt for national titles and honors. But this is last call for Mizzou and Chase Daniel.

 

• What if Texas and Missouri have to play twice, with the Big 12 trophy on the line in Arrowhead Stadium, located in Kansas City, Mo.? I can hear the screaming from Austin now.

 

• Mack Brown proved that it wasn't just Vince Young. Now, he's just got to prove it again. And again. And again.

 

• For evidence that nonconference schedules are overrated, I present Exhibit A: Oklahoma State. The Pokes played Nobody State. Didn't matter on Saturday night, did it?

[huskerjack23]

• For evidence that nonconference schedules are overrated, I present Exhibit A: Oklahoma State. The Pokes played Nobody State. Didn't matter on Saturday night, did it?

obviously it mattered to mizzou.