Note-(I know its an oxymoron, and I dont care for the Barf much myself-but its a good read)
From:http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=38&u_sid=2020927
Big 12 Football: When will NU's West Coast investment show promise?
BY LEE BARFKNECT
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
You'd think a guy with an eight-pound playbook could figure out how to score more than seven points at home against a winless football opponent.
(Phil Tillman, No. 81, and the Pittsburgh Panthers held quarterback Zac Taylor, No. 13, and his Nebraska offense to 267 total yards on Saturday, an average of 3.9 yards per play on a day when the Huskers won 7-6.)
Yet that's where we're at with Nebraska coach Bill Callahan's West Coast offense, which is having difficulty moving in any direction.
We keep hearing offensive success is only "one or two blocks away." What we didn't know is that the coaches must have meant New York city blocks.
Concession stands in Memorial Stadium may soon stock mouthguards like the players wear. It will be to prevent injury for spectators who gnash their teeth as this once-proud program struggles to simply line up properly.
Stop! Hush! How dare you, we're told. It's un-Nebraskan to challenge this coaching staff, which is only in its second year of major change.
Actually, folks, it's your duty to ask questions. Blind loyalty is dangerous. You are Nebraska football stockholders, whether you donate $1 million a year or simply own a beat-up red hat you wear while listening to games on the radio.
You have invested financial and emotional capital in this program for a long time. Like any good investors, you need to periodically review your stash and assess your rate of return.
Hey, don't worry, the optimists say to those of you holding shares in the West Coast offense. It's just growing pains, we're told. Be patient, is the plea. We've got so many young guys, say the coaches, and not the exact talent we want for this system.
All good points worth careful consideration.
Then there is another way to look at it.
Since Callahan and offensive coordinator Jay Norvell arrived, they have collected a combined salary of about $3 million. They also have conducted 158 practice sessions and coached 14 games.
Here's what that investment in the West Coast offense has returned:
• More interceptions (26) than touchdown passes (18).
• A completion rate of 47.9 percent (197 of 411), the worst in the Big 12 in that stretch and in the bottom 10 nationally.
• An average of 175 passing yards per game. Just for fun, note that Texas A&M quarterback Reggie McNeal on Saturday passed for 227 yards in the first nine minutes of the third quarter.
• One victory over Division I-A teams that finished 2004 with winning records or have them now.
• A lack of execution so stark that ABC announcer Gary Danielson, a former college and pro quarterback, said Saturday he would expect more out of a high school team.
This isn't a call for a return to option football or to rehire Tom Osborne or Frank Solich. Those days are gone. Not forgotten, but gone.
Also, stay far away from criticizing the players. They are doing the best they can with what they've been handed.
The current questioning all goes to Callahan and Athletic Director Steve Pederson, who didn't want NU "gravitating toward medocrity."
Well, sirs, even with a 3-0 record, gravity has taken effect on offense. Three touchdowns in three games against marginal competition don't cut it.
Yes, we know Nebraska used a first-year quarterback in the system last year (one who some people owe an apology). We know there is another first-year quarterback this season. And it's no secret there might be another first-year quarterback in charge next season.
So where does that learning curve begin and end? And when is this system going to be recalibrated so college kids, who spend as much time thinking about school and girls as football, can operate in it?
You'll be sorry someday Mr. Negative, the nasty e-mails will say, only in far more-colorful language. Long-term investing is the way to success, and that's what the West Coast offense will be in good time.
Truly, that would be great. We have nothing against Callahan. We're simply in favor of watchable football.
Yet in the short-term, some market erosion in Nebraska football already is showing.
Tickets for the season-opener, traditionally one of the toughest to get regardless of the opponent, were available on the street 30 minutes before kickoff for $5.
The last two games, $45 tickets were sold on eBay and through brokers for less than face value days in advance, which is almost unheard of. Last Saturday, an Omaha businessman had two tickets he tried to sell at $25 each. He found no takers, so in frustration he stuck them back in his pocket.
No one expected the West Coast offense to score 50 points a game right away. But no one expected a coaching staff that took over a 10-3 team to devalue the offensive product to this extent this fast.
As more seats are constructed in the north end zone, you wonder how many will find it worth the investment to sit there. Or anywhere.
OU changes
Oklahoma junior quarterback Paul Thompson, who lost the starting job after one game to redshirt freshman Rhett Bomar, will start practicing at wide receiver this week, coach Bob Stoops said Monday.
Thompson will remain as the backup quarterback.
"It's not the best for the team in that you don't have a No. 2 that is taking all the snaps," Stoops said. "But he's going to take enough to still know it.
"He has worked hard here and been a great team player. We want to give him more opportunities, and he's excited about that."
OU's No. 3 quarterback, after the August transfer of Tommy Grady to Utah, is walk-on Hays McEachern from Austin, Texas.
Future is now
True freshman tailback Jamaal Charles is making Texas fans forget about four-year starter Cedric Benson in a hurry.
Charles dashed for 189 yards and three touchdowns in 16 carries against Rice. Without starting yet, he is 15th nationally in rushing at 116.7 yards a game and appears to have supplanted junior Selvin Young.
"He's very mature," UT coach Mack Brown said of Charles. "We think he can be a special player.
"The most impressive thing to me is he is a very savvy player. A lot of freshman running backs do not know what to do. He knows what to do. He stepped in and played like he was older."
Charles was a Parade All-American and rushed for 50 touchdowns in high school the past two years. The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder from Port Arthur, Texas, has a brother and three cousins who have been or now are college athletes.
A redshirt year was talked about until Charles started dazzling in fall practices.
"I knew if I wanted to play that I had to work hard at blocking and picking up blitzes," he said.
Texas lineman Will Allen said after the Rice game that Charles' work has paid off.
"A couple of times they ran some pretty tricky blitzes, and he did a great job of picking them up," Allen said. "For him to be that advanced at this point is pretty incredible."
Safety dance
Oklahoma State's Donovan Woods, who lost his starting quarterback job to freshman Bobby Reid after two games, made the conversion to free safety in four days and played 19 snaps in a 20-10 win over Arkansas State.
"He played at crunch time," OSU assistant Joe DeForest said. "One thing Donovan adds for us in the secondary is that he's got a great understanding of coverages and knows where the quarterback should look."
Stat of the week
Texas Tech's No. 16 ranking in the coaches poll this week is the school's highest since being voted 14th in 1977.
Bits and pieces
Oklahoma tailback Adrian Peterson's punishment for missing class was light. He didn't start at UCLA, but he entered the game on the fourth play. He finished with 58 yards in 23 carries, matching his career low rushing total. . . . OU, which threw 79 touchdown passes the past two seasons, has zero after three games this year. . . . Nebraska's Terrence Nunn is second nationally in punt returns with a 30.4-yard average.
Quotes of the week
• Kansas coach Mark Mangino on senior linebacker Brandon Perkins' school-record five sacks against Louisiana Tech: "That's a career for a lot of guys."
• Baylor coach Guy Morriss on the complexity of the NCAA rule book: "The NCAA is full of screwy rules that make you scratch your head."
• Iowa State coach Dan McCarney, in the wake of the school's hiring of a new athletic director Monday, reflecting on the personnel changes he has seen in his 11 years: "That's three A.D.s, two presidents, three men's basketball coaches and the list goes on. I'm a survivor. I'm glad to still be here."
NORTH DIVISION
1, Iowa State (2-0; at Army, 7 p.m. Friday, ESPN2): If Baylor can win at Army, the Cyclones had better. Having a Big 12 team's film to look at in preparation will help.
2, Colorado (2-0; at Miami, 11 a.m., ABC): Miami is ranked No. 12. CU has lost seven straight games to opponents ranked 12th or better.
3, Nebraska (3-0; idle): Check the depth chart closely. See if there has been a change at "home-field clock operator" after the end-of-game hubbub against Pittsburgh.
4, Kansas State (2-0; North Texas, 1 p.m.): The Wildcats appear improved, especially on defense, but enough questions remain to delay any predictions on what's ahead in conference play.
5, Missouri (2-1; idle): A week off to think about playing Texas might not be a good thing. Coach Gary Pinkel doesn't need to upset the No. 2 Longhorns to keep his job, but he can't afford to get blown out at home.
6, Kansas (3-0; idle): With open dates, road games and moving a home game to Kansas City, the Jayhawks don't play in their own stadium again until Oct. 29.
SOUTH DIVISION
1, Texas (3-0; idle): With a week off, it's hard not to look way ahead and drool about a Longhorns vs. USC matchup in the Rose Bowl.
2, Texas Tech (2-0; Indiana State, 6 p.m.): The Red Raiders lead the nation in per-game averages for points, passing offense, total offense and penalty yards.
3, Texas A&M (1-1; Texas State, 6 p.m.): Against SMU, QB Reggie McNeal became the first player in A&M history to run for 100 yards and pass for 300 yards in a single game.
4, Oklahoma State (3-0; idle): The Cowboys, working out of a new no-huddle offense, are struggling offensively much like Nebraska is. OSU was outgained 322 yards to 273 against Arkansas State.
5, Oklahoma (1-2; idle): The Sooners last failed to qualify for a bowl in 1998, the final season of John Blake's three-year "Reign of Error."
6, Baylor (3-0; idle): Don't laugh, but the Bears are halfway to bowl eligibility and are realistically thinking about playing in December for the first time since 1994.
From:http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=38&u_sid=2020927
Big 12 Football: When will NU's West Coast investment show promise?
BY LEE BARFKNECT
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
You'd think a guy with an eight-pound playbook could figure out how to score more than seven points at home against a winless football opponent.
(Phil Tillman, No. 81, and the Pittsburgh Panthers held quarterback Zac Taylor, No. 13, and his Nebraska offense to 267 total yards on Saturday, an average of 3.9 yards per play on a day when the Huskers won 7-6.)
Yet that's where we're at with Nebraska coach Bill Callahan's West Coast offense, which is having difficulty moving in any direction.
We keep hearing offensive success is only "one or two blocks away." What we didn't know is that the coaches must have meant New York city blocks.
Concession stands in Memorial Stadium may soon stock mouthguards like the players wear. It will be to prevent injury for spectators who gnash their teeth as this once-proud program struggles to simply line up properly.
Stop! Hush! How dare you, we're told. It's un-Nebraskan to challenge this coaching staff, which is only in its second year of major change.
Actually, folks, it's your duty to ask questions. Blind loyalty is dangerous. You are Nebraska football stockholders, whether you donate $1 million a year or simply own a beat-up red hat you wear while listening to games on the radio.
You have invested financial and emotional capital in this program for a long time. Like any good investors, you need to periodically review your stash and assess your rate of return.
Hey, don't worry, the optimists say to those of you holding shares in the West Coast offense. It's just growing pains, we're told. Be patient, is the plea. We've got so many young guys, say the coaches, and not the exact talent we want for this system.
All good points worth careful consideration.
Then there is another way to look at it.
Since Callahan and offensive coordinator Jay Norvell arrived, they have collected a combined salary of about $3 million. They also have conducted 158 practice sessions and coached 14 games.
Here's what that investment in the West Coast offense has returned:
• More interceptions (26) than touchdown passes (18).
• A completion rate of 47.9 percent (197 of 411), the worst in the Big 12 in that stretch and in the bottom 10 nationally.
• An average of 175 passing yards per game. Just for fun, note that Texas A&M quarterback Reggie McNeal on Saturday passed for 227 yards in the first nine minutes of the third quarter.
• One victory over Division I-A teams that finished 2004 with winning records or have them now.
• A lack of execution so stark that ABC announcer Gary Danielson, a former college and pro quarterback, said Saturday he would expect more out of a high school team.
This isn't a call for a return to option football or to rehire Tom Osborne or Frank Solich. Those days are gone. Not forgotten, but gone.
Also, stay far away from criticizing the players. They are doing the best they can with what they've been handed.
The current questioning all goes to Callahan and Athletic Director Steve Pederson, who didn't want NU "gravitating toward medocrity."
Well, sirs, even with a 3-0 record, gravity has taken effect on offense. Three touchdowns in three games against marginal competition don't cut it.
Yes, we know Nebraska used a first-year quarterback in the system last year (one who some people owe an apology). We know there is another first-year quarterback this season. And it's no secret there might be another first-year quarterback in charge next season.
So where does that learning curve begin and end? And when is this system going to be recalibrated so college kids, who spend as much time thinking about school and girls as football, can operate in it?
You'll be sorry someday Mr. Negative, the nasty e-mails will say, only in far more-colorful language. Long-term investing is the way to success, and that's what the West Coast offense will be in good time.
Truly, that would be great. We have nothing against Callahan. We're simply in favor of watchable football.
Yet in the short-term, some market erosion in Nebraska football already is showing.
Tickets for the season-opener, traditionally one of the toughest to get regardless of the opponent, were available on the street 30 minutes before kickoff for $5.
The last two games, $45 tickets were sold on eBay and through brokers for less than face value days in advance, which is almost unheard of. Last Saturday, an Omaha businessman had two tickets he tried to sell at $25 each. He found no takers, so in frustration he stuck them back in his pocket.
No one expected the West Coast offense to score 50 points a game right away. But no one expected a coaching staff that took over a 10-3 team to devalue the offensive product to this extent this fast.
As more seats are constructed in the north end zone, you wonder how many will find it worth the investment to sit there. Or anywhere.
OU changes
Oklahoma junior quarterback Paul Thompson, who lost the starting job after one game to redshirt freshman Rhett Bomar, will start practicing at wide receiver this week, coach Bob Stoops said Monday.
Thompson will remain as the backup quarterback.
"It's not the best for the team in that you don't have a No. 2 that is taking all the snaps," Stoops said. "But he's going to take enough to still know it.
"He has worked hard here and been a great team player. We want to give him more opportunities, and he's excited about that."
OU's No. 3 quarterback, after the August transfer of Tommy Grady to Utah, is walk-on Hays McEachern from Austin, Texas.
Future is now
True freshman tailback Jamaal Charles is making Texas fans forget about four-year starter Cedric Benson in a hurry.
Charles dashed for 189 yards and three touchdowns in 16 carries against Rice. Without starting yet, he is 15th nationally in rushing at 116.7 yards a game and appears to have supplanted junior Selvin Young.
"He's very mature," UT coach Mack Brown said of Charles. "We think he can be a special player.
"The most impressive thing to me is he is a very savvy player. A lot of freshman running backs do not know what to do. He knows what to do. He stepped in and played like he was older."
Charles was a Parade All-American and rushed for 50 touchdowns in high school the past two years. The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder from Port Arthur, Texas, has a brother and three cousins who have been or now are college athletes.
A redshirt year was talked about until Charles started dazzling in fall practices.
"I knew if I wanted to play that I had to work hard at blocking and picking up blitzes," he said.
Texas lineman Will Allen said after the Rice game that Charles' work has paid off.
"A couple of times they ran some pretty tricky blitzes, and he did a great job of picking them up," Allen said. "For him to be that advanced at this point is pretty incredible."
Safety dance
Oklahoma State's Donovan Woods, who lost his starting quarterback job to freshman Bobby Reid after two games, made the conversion to free safety in four days and played 19 snaps in a 20-10 win over Arkansas State.
"He played at crunch time," OSU assistant Joe DeForest said. "One thing Donovan adds for us in the secondary is that he's got a great understanding of coverages and knows where the quarterback should look."
Stat of the week
Texas Tech's No. 16 ranking in the coaches poll this week is the school's highest since being voted 14th in 1977.
Bits and pieces
Oklahoma tailback Adrian Peterson's punishment for missing class was light. He didn't start at UCLA, but he entered the game on the fourth play. He finished with 58 yards in 23 carries, matching his career low rushing total. . . . OU, which threw 79 touchdown passes the past two seasons, has zero after three games this year. . . . Nebraska's Terrence Nunn is second nationally in punt returns with a 30.4-yard average.
Quotes of the week
• Kansas coach Mark Mangino on senior linebacker Brandon Perkins' school-record five sacks against Louisiana Tech: "That's a career for a lot of guys."
• Baylor coach Guy Morriss on the complexity of the NCAA rule book: "The NCAA is full of screwy rules that make you scratch your head."
• Iowa State coach Dan McCarney, in the wake of the school's hiring of a new athletic director Monday, reflecting on the personnel changes he has seen in his 11 years: "That's three A.D.s, two presidents, three men's basketball coaches and the list goes on. I'm a survivor. I'm glad to still be here."
NORTH DIVISION
1, Iowa State (2-0; at Army, 7 p.m. Friday, ESPN2): If Baylor can win at Army, the Cyclones had better. Having a Big 12 team's film to look at in preparation will help.
2, Colorado (2-0; at Miami, 11 a.m., ABC): Miami is ranked No. 12. CU has lost seven straight games to opponents ranked 12th or better.
3, Nebraska (3-0; idle): Check the depth chart closely. See if there has been a change at "home-field clock operator" after the end-of-game hubbub against Pittsburgh.
4, Kansas State (2-0; North Texas, 1 p.m.): The Wildcats appear improved, especially on defense, but enough questions remain to delay any predictions on what's ahead in conference play.
5, Missouri (2-1; idle): A week off to think about playing Texas might not be a good thing. Coach Gary Pinkel doesn't need to upset the No. 2 Longhorns to keep his job, but he can't afford to get blown out at home.
6, Kansas (3-0; idle): With open dates, road games and moving a home game to Kansas City, the Jayhawks don't play in their own stadium again until Oct. 29.
SOUTH DIVISION
1, Texas (3-0; idle): With a week off, it's hard not to look way ahead and drool about a Longhorns vs. USC matchup in the Rose Bowl.
2, Texas Tech (2-0; Indiana State, 6 p.m.): The Red Raiders lead the nation in per-game averages for points, passing offense, total offense and penalty yards.
3, Texas A&M (1-1; Texas State, 6 p.m.): Against SMU, QB Reggie McNeal became the first player in A&M history to run for 100 yards and pass for 300 yards in a single game.
4, Oklahoma State (3-0; idle): The Cowboys, working out of a new no-huddle offense, are struggling offensively much like Nebraska is. OSU was outgained 322 yards to 273 against Arkansas State.
5, Oklahoma (1-2; idle): The Sooners last failed to qualify for a bowl in 1998, the final season of John Blake's three-year "Reign of Error."
6, Baylor (3-0; idle): Don't laugh, but the Bears are halfway to bowl eligibility and are realistically thinking about playing in December for the first time since 1994.
