np_husker
Starter
Fallout at Nebraska worse than ever
BLAIR KERKHOFF COLLEGES
The fallout is worse than the 70-10 aftermath.
At least Nebraska’s embarrassing loss at Texas Tech in 2004 could be explained by the lethal intersection of a first-year coach/system crashing into a mad bomber in Mike Leach. He had been scarred by a similar licking applied by Nebraska at Lubbock in his first year.
Inexperience and vengeance cannot explain the Huskers’ 41-6 dismantling at Missouri. Sure, the Tigers have taken beatings over the years, but they’ve now won three straight over the Big Red at Faurot. No Mizzou player entering the game could believe the programs were at no worse on equal footing.
No, this week fans wanted answers that weren’t forthcoming except for the declarations of disappointment and vows of improvement, the same fare that followed other head-shaking outcomes.
Coach Bill Callahan opened his weekly news conference with this statement: “It’s important to know that it destroys us to go through what we did last week.”
Worse than the USC debacle? The Ball State survival?
The midway point in the fourth year of the Callahan era approaches crisis stage, and it’s already there in one regard. The Husker Nation seems divided.
Fire everybody bubbles at one extreme, including athletic director Steve Pederson, who handed Callahan a two-year extension last month. Pederson’s line “We won’t surrender the Big 12 to Oklahoma or Texas” to justify firing Frank Solich after a 9-3 season rings hollow at a program that is 14-12 in Big 12 games since the change.
But a coaching revolving door plunges the program into a deeper spiral warns the opposite side. Programs with historically constant turnover such as Kansas, Missouri and Kansas State spent decades chasing their tails while getting pounded by the Nebraska concrete block of stability.
Those who preach patience wonder how a 4-2 overall record, 1-1 in league play and one week removed from the national rankings represent the sky falling. Division and conference championships goals remain. Besides, Nebraska had moved the chains over the previous two years, reaching last season’s Big 12 title game.
Some have dared not to not show up Saturday when Oklahoma State visits, threatening a legacy Nebraskans hold dear — a packed Memorial Stadium.
Others have suggested the booing could grow louder than the Ball State chorus, which could lead to the most unusual scene of Huskers voicing displeasure with their own team while applauding the Cowboys as they come off the field.
These two games — Oklahoma State, then Texas A&M in Lincoln the next week — are as important as any in the Callahan era. The Cowboys and Aggies carry their own fragile psyches but can be as potent on offense as any Big 12 team, which plays into Nebraska’s defensive woes.
A final thought: The Sooners and Cornhuskers could be running in parallel universes several years apart. Legendary coach leaves: Barry Switzer/Tom Osborne. Program turns to trusted assistant Gary Gibbs/Frank Solich to maintain continuity, and despite success — Gibbs won 65 percent despite probation shackles and Solich 75 percent — both are fired after six seasons when they can’t measure up to the high standard.
The Sooners plummeted, enduring the worst four-year spell in its modern history in the Howard Schnellberger/John Blake era.
Nebraska is 3½ years into its worst four-year run in nearly a half-century.
Oklahoma cut the cord and hit a home run with its next hire.
If things don’t improve in Lincoln, many will insist Nebraska turn to its old rival’s playbook.
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/colleges/story/313965.html
BLAIR KERKHOFF COLLEGES
The fallout is worse than the 70-10 aftermath.
At least Nebraska’s embarrassing loss at Texas Tech in 2004 could be explained by the lethal intersection of a first-year coach/system crashing into a mad bomber in Mike Leach. He had been scarred by a similar licking applied by Nebraska at Lubbock in his first year.
Inexperience and vengeance cannot explain the Huskers’ 41-6 dismantling at Missouri. Sure, the Tigers have taken beatings over the years, but they’ve now won three straight over the Big Red at Faurot. No Mizzou player entering the game could believe the programs were at no worse on equal footing.
No, this week fans wanted answers that weren’t forthcoming except for the declarations of disappointment and vows of improvement, the same fare that followed other head-shaking outcomes.
Coach Bill Callahan opened his weekly news conference with this statement: “It’s important to know that it destroys us to go through what we did last week.”
Worse than the USC debacle? The Ball State survival?
The midway point in the fourth year of the Callahan era approaches crisis stage, and it’s already there in one regard. The Husker Nation seems divided.
Fire everybody bubbles at one extreme, including athletic director Steve Pederson, who handed Callahan a two-year extension last month. Pederson’s line “We won’t surrender the Big 12 to Oklahoma or Texas” to justify firing Frank Solich after a 9-3 season rings hollow at a program that is 14-12 in Big 12 games since the change.
But a coaching revolving door plunges the program into a deeper spiral warns the opposite side. Programs with historically constant turnover such as Kansas, Missouri and Kansas State spent decades chasing their tails while getting pounded by the Nebraska concrete block of stability.
Those who preach patience wonder how a 4-2 overall record, 1-1 in league play and one week removed from the national rankings represent the sky falling. Division and conference championships goals remain. Besides, Nebraska had moved the chains over the previous two years, reaching last season’s Big 12 title game.
Some have dared not to not show up Saturday when Oklahoma State visits, threatening a legacy Nebraskans hold dear — a packed Memorial Stadium.
Others have suggested the booing could grow louder than the Ball State chorus, which could lead to the most unusual scene of Huskers voicing displeasure with their own team while applauding the Cowboys as they come off the field.
These two games — Oklahoma State, then Texas A&M in Lincoln the next week — are as important as any in the Callahan era. The Cowboys and Aggies carry their own fragile psyches but can be as potent on offense as any Big 12 team, which plays into Nebraska’s defensive woes.
A final thought: The Sooners and Cornhuskers could be running in parallel universes several years apart. Legendary coach leaves: Barry Switzer/Tom Osborne. Program turns to trusted assistant Gary Gibbs/Frank Solich to maintain continuity, and despite success — Gibbs won 65 percent despite probation shackles and Solich 75 percent — both are fired after six seasons when they can’t measure up to the high standard.
The Sooners plummeted, enduring the worst four-year spell in its modern history in the Howard Schnellberger/John Blake era.
Nebraska is 3½ years into its worst four-year run in nearly a half-century.
Oklahoma cut the cord and hit a home run with its next hire.
If things don’t improve in Lincoln, many will insist Nebraska turn to its old rival’s playbook.
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/colleges/story/313965.html