NU-OU has family feel

[np_husker]

Steven M. Sipple journalstar.com: NU-OU contest has a distinct family feel

 

Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini learned a lot in 2004 as an assistant under Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops.

 

One element perhaps stood above the rest.

 

“He showed me you can have success and have a lot of balance in your life,” Pelini said Sunday.

 

Hence the “family night” Pelini instituted at Nebraska. Husker staff members’ families gather Wednesday nights in the players’ lounge. It’s a way for everyone to play catch-up.

 

“Bob doesn’t come in at 5 in the morning and work until 2 at night,” Pelini said. “He takes his kids to school, just like our coaches do here. It’s family first.“

 

There will be a distinct family feel to this year’s version of the Nebraska-Oklahoma rivalry.

 

Pelini will be coaching against a close family friend. Indeed, Bo and brother Carl Pelini, the Huskers’ defensive coordinator, grew up a few miles from the Stoops family in Youngstown, Ohio, though competitors typically block out such matters after the opening bell sounds.

 

Meanwhile, Bo and Carl are preparing for Saturday night’s game while dealing with a difficult family matter. Bo said his father, 84-year-old Anthony Pelini, has been ill in recent days. The Pelinis are a tight-knit family. Bo has credited his parents for nearly everything in his life.

 

Yes, family first. The Pelini and Stoops brothers (Mike and Mark coach at Arizona) are almost like family. They all attended Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown. They all possess an unmistakable toughness that reflects the Steel Valley in Ohio and western Pennsylvania.

 

The Stoops’ father, the late Ron Stoops, had an “unbelievable” impact on him, Bo Pelini said. The elder Stoops, Cardinal Mooney’s longtime defensive coordinator, coached his four sons and all five Pelini boys.

 

“Beyond my own family — beyond my father — he had as big an impact on me as anybody I’ve ever come across,” Pelini said.

 

Pelini admired the way Ron Stoops carried himself, his work ethic, and the sacrifices he made for his family.

 

“He represented a lot of the same things we believe in, that my family believes in,” Pelini said. “He was a great man.“

 

As for Bob Stoops, “He’s a chip off the old block,” Pelini said.

 

In 2004, in the wake of Pelini’s sour dealings with former Nebraska athletic director Steve Pederson, Pelini wanted to work for someone he could trust, so he took over as co-defensive coordinator at Oklahoma. The Sooners finished 12-1 that season, the one loss a 55-19 defeat to Southern California in the national championship game.

 

Oklahoma has captured the last two Big 12 titles — and five overall under Bob Stoops — lending credence to Pelini’s assertion that you don’t have to be an office grinder to win big-time championships.

 

Work hard. Work smart. Be disciplined, committed and loyal. Put family first. That’s Bo’s enduring credo.

 

Pelini lives the loyalty he preaches to players.

 

We’re still getting to know Bo. Some Nebraska fans are having trouble getting used to his animated sideline demeanor. Others welcome and encourage such fire. He gets in the face of officials. At times, he gets in the face of players.

 

“I mean, when you make a mistake, Coach Pelini is going to get on you,” said Husker senior linebacker Cody Glenn. “He’s going to let you know about it. But he’s not yelling at you because he doesn’t like you; he’s just letting you know that, ‘Hey, you made a mistake, and it cost the team. It’s just not acceptable.’”

 

As for Pelini’s, ahem, discussions with officials, “He’s always out there fighting for us,” Glenn said. “Just as hard as we’re fighting, he’s fighting the same way. He’s got our backs no matter what.”

 

Nebraska will take a record of 5-3 overall and 2-2 in the Big 12 to Norman, Okla. Oklahoma (7-1, 3-1 Big 12) is ranked second nationally in scoring (48.25 points per game), but has allowed 45, 31 and 35 points in its last three outings.

 

“It’s disgusting football,” an angry Sooners defensive coordinator Brent Venables told reporters Saturday.

 

Nevertheless, Nebraska will need to play its best football to prevail, Pelini said.

 

“We haven’t even come close to doing that yet,” he said.

 

Defensive struggles notwithstanding, Oklahoma once again is in the thick of the national title chase.

 

“It’s obvious why he’s had great success,” Pelini said of Bob Stoops.

 

Balance in life is part of the formula.

[clone]

NU-OU has family feel

 

maybe if your family is pretty disfunctional. The OU game hasn't been pleasant for NU for a long time. Too many butt whoopins for comfort.

 

families like that I could do without.

 

 

BEAT OU!!

[BIGREDIOWAN]

I love how the coaches are so connected that it's going to make this game so much more spirited.

[husker_blitz]

This has a certain family appeal for me. My wife and stepson are Okies.

 

I'm hoping this season to finally shut them up.

[Husker_x]

I have a lot of respect for Oklahoma. Great fans at the Big XII Championship a few years ago. Very fine people. I'm looking forward to this game. It might be closer than the spread indicates.

[cornhuskers4ever]

OU does have a family feel. Coach Bo Pelini is heading back to Norman to ask he OU Coaches, "How do you like me now?"

I do like the way Bob Stoops is handling the Sooners. Maybe Stoops and Pelini can bring back the tradition of Osborne and Switzer and their image of chatting at midfield before the great rivalry games of the past.

We need to do some rescheduling and put Nebraska vs Oklahoma back to the day after Thanksgiving.

[I See Red People]

OU does have a family feel. Coach Bo Pelini is heading back to Norman to ask he OU Coaches, "How do you like me now?"

I do like the way Bob Stoops is handling the Sooners. Maybe Stoops and Pelini can bring back the tradition of Osborne and Switzer and their image of chatting at midfield before the great rivalry games of the past.

We need to do some rescheduling and put Nebraska vs Oklahoma back to the day after Thanksgiving.

[SkullandBones]

The best part of the old rivalry was hating Switzer. Coach Stoops is difficult to hate, hell he's difificult to even dislike. Arguably one of the classiest acts in college football.