A division title by way of the cupboard

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

This is a tad "pro-Callahan" but only in the way of BC's recruiting. You have to admit, BC could recruit...he just couldn't coach worth a damn

 

NE Statepaper

 

A Division Title, By Way of the Cupboard

Talent the major difference in Saturday's win over Kansas State

by Samuel McKewon

 

November 22, 2009

 

Almost to his chagrin, Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini tasted a Gatorade bath Saturday night after NU's 17-3 win over Kansas State to clinch the Big 12 North title.

 

He earned it, you know, dragging this team off the canvas from a bewildering 9-7 loss to Iowa State, keeping it together through a string of injuries and a mess at quarterback, milking every last drop of turnover-making power of his secondary, about as useful at toe lint two years ago, now sparkling with playmaking ability, if not always the best concentration.

 

“Our kids have an attitude about keeping people out of the end zone,” Pelini said.

 

Expect him to be a foul mood Monday as he searches for a way to turn lame Buffalo into a challenge of the Huskers' manhood. We suspect he'll succeed – even in a short week. Nebraska by two touchdowns, while you pour gravy over leftover stuffing. (Kidding, of course – there's never leftover stuffing.)

 

Beyond that lies sure-to-be-undefeated Texas, in the world's glitziest football stadium, smack dab in the Huskers' DFW recruiting playground. Let that sink in for a minute. The Big 12 Conference sure is. Probably toasting a few Red Stripes as I write and you read. The league may not have the marquee game on Dec. 5 – that belongs to Alabama v. Florida – but it has one helluva dessert for football fans to devour: Tradition vs. Tradition. Bo vs. Mack. Suh vs. Colt. Big Red vs. Burnt Orange.

 

“The kids are hungry,” Pelini said. “On to the next challenge.”

 

Well then - grab a fork, drizzle an off-white plate with caramel, and dig in.

 

And while you're at it – leave a light on for Bill Callahan.

 

I doubt he was watching the game on one those double-screened computers he likes so much – surely, he was too busy toiling away at some throwaway detail as the New York Jets' offensive line coach. But he deserves an assist for Saturday night. Sure, I'm in a gracious mood. But not without a purpose.

 

Nebraska's scheme didn't outfox Kansas State. On the contrary; Bill Snyder's bunch was ready and then some. Aside from one gutsy call from offensive coordinator Shawn Watson – the 47-yard, game-changing bomb – NU's playcalling wasn't the difference.

 

It was the athletes on defense. To borrow an oft-mocked phrase of Callahan's, it was the “talent oozing all over the field.” Guys who were out of position, to be honest, but made plays through a combination of their innate skills and some solid, fundamental coaching from the current defensive staff.

 

NU clinched a North title because it had the better personnel. Much better. Ndamukong Suh. Barry Turner. Phillip Dillard. Larry Asante. Eric Hagg. Prince Amukamara. You and I may choke on the written words – but they're Callahan guys. From, let's see, Oregon, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Arizona, squared. Guys who'd probably never seen Nebraska before their 17th birthday. Guys who were probably coaxed to Nebraska for the wrong reasons – and coached into the right ones. But Callahan coaxed them here nonetheless.

 

KSU's Snyder showed Saturday night he's still got it as a coach. His offensive plan spread NU out and left the Huskers, often, with a six-man box against the run. Snyder managed to free one of KSU's two weapons – Brandon Banks – on a number of quick slants. He was creative with trick plays. His plan had the Brothers Pelini and the Blackshirts on skates for most of the second half.

 

Snyder probably outcoached Bo.

 

But Callahan, even in his short reign, badly outfoxed Snyder's successor/predecessor, Ron Prince, who showed, for maybe the final time Saturday night, what a grease fire his tenure really was.

 

The Wildcats were working with an empty cupboard Saturday. They have two offensive players of any repute, and one of them, running back Daniel Thomas, is some guy Snyder dug up out of a Mississippi junior college and spent all summer trying to get eligible. The other is Banks, one of the the nation's smallest receivers. Quarterback Grant Gregory is a sixth-year transfer who didn't start a collegiate game until two months ago. He missed at least five receivers with plain rotten throws. The defense is small, scrappy and reliant on funky fronts and run blitzes. KSU's kicker missed two field goals. The punter's so bright he hurt himself flopping after Justin Blatchford nudged his shoe.

 

KSU's coaching staff is all that kept the Wildcats within two touchdowns, much less four. And it didn't have a single bye week during the season. Not one chance to breathe, get healthy and retool.

 

And still – it took some excellent individual efforts for NU to clinch the North title.

 

Asante's strip of KSU running back Keithen Valentine was magnificent. His interception was another nice play. Hagg, responsible for trailing Banks for much of the second half, broke up a sure touchdown on one of Gregory's few good passes with a diving leap that left the junior injured. Suh battled clever blocking schemes and a moving pocket all night, but he still managed to get nine tackles, 1.5 sacks, deflect two passes and draw a holding penalty.

 

No question – the success of these individual players is in part to Pelini's coaching staff. We'd like to see similar development on the offensive side – we're still, ahem, waiting – but Asante especially is Exhibit A of the Pelini Way. That's a play he doesn't make – he doesn't even think of making – under Callahan/Cosgrove.

 

Suh is another exhibit. Then again – he was around for the Pelinis to develop, wasn't he? Callahan getting Suh is a little like – OK, a lot – like NU landing 2010 recruit Owa Odigizuhwa, one of the nation's best prep defensive ends, who also happens to be from Suh's hometown. He took his official visit to Nebraska this weekend.

 

Division titles are not usually reflective of short-term growth alone – although in Snyder's case, it would have been. Titles take a good system, equal parts talent and development.

 

You already know Callahan's weakness. Heck, it might be Watson's weakness, too, considering Zac Lee made two or three inexplicable decisions Saturday night, the kind that earn most quarterbacks the hook.

 

But let's not kid ourselves here: Pelini, who can develop players, inherited a great raw product. While Snyder got chopped liver, Bo walked into a chophouse of T-bones and aged ribeyes.

 

He's got one more year – Callahan's 2007 recruiting class – to enjoy it. And he will. Nebraska can play double-digit wins next year. Maybe 12 wins. Maybe more.

 

After that, we'll truly see how well Bo's done at the grocery store.

 

For now, we can enjoy his cooking, and the resulting meal – a Big 12 North title.

[cscott2win]

A pretty good read. They do fail to mention however all of Bo's recruits that are filling in the cracks and looking like this is just the beginning. Two of our major contributors are walk ons (O'Hanlon and Henery) and came here because "it's Nebraska". Giving Callahan and Cosgrove credit for this year is really stretching it if you ask me.

[nepolo7]

I do not care how you spin it Callahan's team would have metlted down this season, while Bo has them improving late in the season.

[Paul in WI]

All this article is saying is that Pelini is benefiting from the raw talent that Callahan recruited and that we'll soon see how well Pelini's recruits fare in the future. There, I summed up the entire article in one sentence. Were you up against a deadline and needed to get a column written? That's fine, but tell us something that we don't know, Sam.

[NUpolo8]

I do not care how you spin it Callahan's team would have metlted down this season, while Bo has them improving late in the season.

 

 

That and while he could recruit talkent, coaching it was a complete other manner. Not one player got better in their time under him. See Lucky, Marlon.

[knapplc]

Weird article. It seems to imply that Bo wouldn't be having success without Callahan's players. It's an argument you can't make for another couple of years, until all of Callahan's recruits are gone.

 

At the very best, this article is a season or two premature. At worst, it's nonsense.

[huskerjack23]

I read it as another Callahan = good recruiter/bad coach article.

 

I just can't wait to get to next year and hopefully get back to scoring at least 28 a game again.

 

With our TE's, improving WR's, a more entrenched QB, and a better O-Line, I don't see why we can't have the ball-control spread that we had last year again.

[shyndy]

yeah im just unsure, look how many young players are on the two deep and whatnot

[Pedro Guerrero]

This dude fails to mention that Jared Crick and Pierre Allen are both Billy C. signed recruits as well. But I think he did that on purpose since it was probably easier to get Crick (Nebraska) and Allen (Colorado) here then the other guys from the states they are from. Dennard is really the only “base” defense starter that wasn’t signed by or committed to Billy C. Even Fisher and Compton were already coming before the firing went down.

[Karawithasmile]

A good enough read I suppose. But EVERY team benefits from the superiority of their recruiting. While K-State had inferior talent to work with as compared to Nebrasa, Nebraska has less talent than say, Texas. You build a powerhouse and you attract more high caliber players. However, it's the coaching that makes the difference. I would take a 3 star recruit and surround him with good coaches over a four star athlete with no direction. Coaching does matter. What Pelini did with the defense is case in point.

 

And I've been impreseed with the recruits he's landed so far this season.

[HuskerTrucker]

I think BC was a good salesman, sold recruits on the possibility of getting in the draft because they would be going to a coach with Pro experience. But he didn't know how to coach at the college level, and once they were brought in, then withered in all their talent gone to waste. They were never taught during the week, just expected to show up Saturday and do their job. Maybe they could have done that if the coaching staff had done their job during the week. Then Callahan gave no cover for his players in the post-game news conferences, he always just covered his butt with the same statement "The players did not perform to the level that was needed to win". It was never a "team" thing. It never had to do with the coaching. The coaches always left the players one or two steps behind, leaving them to be eaten on the field by any hungry opposing team.

 

BC could recruit...but I think after seeing the results he was getting on the field, that would have gone away very fast.

[Husker4lif3]

This dude fails to mention that Jared Crick and Pierre Allen are both Billy C. signed recruits as well. But I think he did that on purpose since it was probably easier to get Crick (Nebraska) and Allen (Colorado) here then the other guys from the states they are from. Dennard is really the only “base” defense starter that wasn’t signed by or committed to Billy C. Even Fisher and Compton were already coming before the firing went down.

 

Not trying to argue but wasnt compton undecided almost until signing day?

 

BC's players that he recruited can be termed as "sketchy". They had the stars and what not but if you go to rivals and look at how many never were heard of because they either left or didnt pan out. I will take 3 and 4 stars that stay for the 4 of 5 years and develop than the 4 and 5 stars that think they are great and dont being the intensity you need on a team. I have never liked Asante much, but this year, he has shown that you need those type of players to succeed, whether they are as skilled as others who dont really care.