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Opinion by Greg Hansen
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Dear Mr. Football: What did Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne mean when he said, "People used to hate to play us?"
He said that after he fired coach Bill Callahan in 2007, a season in which the Cornhuskers lost by scores of 65-51 and 76-39. Even Ball State scored 40 on the Cornhuskers that year.
Suddenly it was fun to watch Nebraska football. There would actually be forward passes. The other team sometimes had a chance to win. No wonder Osborne was steamed: His last five Nebraska teams went 60-3. They were more boring than PBS.
For what seemed like 100 years, unless you were a Nebraska fan, you hated to watch the Cornhuskers as much as the opposition hated to play them. They'd beat Baylor 49-0 and throw two passes.
Now, two days before a new decade, the Huskers have gone back to the future. They are a colossal bore. Nobody wants to play 'em.
Dear Mr. Football: Are the Wildcats afraid of the University of Ndamuraska?
Many of Arizona's starters tonight were witnesses to a 45-3 loss at LSU in 2006. It was played before 92,221 of the Tigers' rowdiest friends and against a fearsome defense that allowed 12.6 points and 243 yards per game. It was the night Willie Concussion, oops, Willie Tuitama, ate some Louisiana turf.
So compared to that fright night, no, this neutral-field game is imposing but not intimidating. This Nebraska defense is comparable to the '06 Tigers; it allows 284 yards and 11.2 points per game. The difference is on offense. LSU averaged 33.7 points and 417 yards. The Cornhuskers average 24.5 and 317.
Dear Mr. Football: Is Ndamukong Suh the best defensive player Arizona has ever faced?
Let's not get carried away and put him above 1991 Washington tackle Steve Emtman or Oregon's 2005 tackle Haloti Ngata, a 338-pound force who once blocked a UA punt, chased down punter Danny Baugher, fell on him and put Baugher out for the season with a knee injury. If Mr. Suh is that good all you can do is pray for Nick Foles.
Emtman's Huskies beat Arizona 54-0 in '91, forcing seven turnovers. Emtman sacked UA quarterback George Malauulu on the game's first two plays. UA offensive coordinator Pat Hill said, "Those guys are as good as I've seen — ever." No wonder: Of Arizona's 56 plays, 30 gained zero or minus yards.
Dear Mr. Football: How good is a defense that allows 11.2 points per game?
Arizona's best Desert Swarm defense, in 1992, yielded 8.9 points per game. It had 10 defensive players who would advance to the NFL: Rob Waldrop, Tedy Bruschi, Ty Parten, Jim Hoffman, Brant Boyer, Sean Harris, Keshon Johnson, Brandon Sanders, Tony Bouie and Darryl Morrison.
And yet that defensive unit couldn't save the offense-challenged Wildcats who lost games 7-6, 8-7 and 14-7. There's a lot of the '92 Wildcats in the '09 Cornhuskers.
Dear Mr. Football: Is Nebraska a football state?
You would think that any place that produced Gale Sayers, Johnny Rodgers and Mick Tingelhoff and has won as prolifically as Nebraska would be football-first, football-only.
But Nebraska is really a baseball state.
Bob Gibson grew up in Omaha. Grover C. Alexander was raised in Elba. Richie Ashburn learned how to hit in Tilden. Wahoo Sam Crawford, who had a major-league record 309 triples, grew up in, yep, Wahoo. And don't forget Dazzy Vance of Hardy and Billy Southworth of Harvard, which is in Nebraska, too.
All are Hall of Famers.
Dear Mr. Football: What player best typifies the image of the no-star 2009 Wildcats?
Junior center Colin Baxter, who will attempt to protect the health of quarterback Nick Foles tonight, is the working image of tobacco-chewin' Bill Bedenbaugh's skilled offensive line.
Baxter played at Peninsula High School, on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean near Los Angeles. His high school graduated tennis star Tracy Austin, which gives you an idea of the socioeconomic structure there. The most famous player on Baxter's high school team was Pete Carroll's son Nate.
But Baxter was the best player, even though USC didn't recruit him.
While posing for a photographer to celebrate his selection as the area's Player of the Year, Baxter sat in the front seat of his car: a 1964 Ford Galaxie.
"It's his car, and it gives him personality," Nate Carroll told an area newspaper. "It's loud and you can see it coming."
These Wildcats are '64 Fords. Nothing fancy but still capable of beating USC and Nebraska in the same season.
Dear Mr. Football: If Texas Tech beat Nebraska 31-10 using an Arizona-type spread offense, why can't Arizona do the same?
Eliminate that game from memory. It doesn't apply. Texas Tech gained just 259 yards against the Cornhuskers, its lowest total since 2006. It won because it scored on an 82-yard fumble return and because it exposed Nebraska's inept passing game.
Since then, the Cornhuskers have returned to their smash-mouth style of offense, killing the clock and letting their defense decide things.
I suspect Mike Stoops will influence his play-caller, Sonny Dykes, and instruct him to play safety-first football, believing that you can beat the Cornhuskers by scoring 14 or 17 points.
Remember this: Foles isn't someone to manufacture a play under duress. His "longest" run this season is 6yards. He has been forced to run 25 times and has gained exactly 25 yards. Let's hope he gets out of the game with his health.
There won't be much room to breathe. Nebraska 17, Arizona 13.
Contact Greg Hansen at 573-4362 or ghansen@azstarnet.com
Opinion by Greg Hansen
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Dear Mr. Football: What did Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne mean when he said, "People used to hate to play us?"
He said that after he fired coach Bill Callahan in 2007, a season in which the Cornhuskers lost by scores of 65-51 and 76-39. Even Ball State scored 40 on the Cornhuskers that year.
Suddenly it was fun to watch Nebraska football. There would actually be forward passes. The other team sometimes had a chance to win. No wonder Osborne was steamed: His last five Nebraska teams went 60-3. They were more boring than PBS.
For what seemed like 100 years, unless you were a Nebraska fan, you hated to watch the Cornhuskers as much as the opposition hated to play them. They'd beat Baylor 49-0 and throw two passes.
Now, two days before a new decade, the Huskers have gone back to the future. They are a colossal bore. Nobody wants to play 'em.
Dear Mr. Football: Are the Wildcats afraid of the University of Ndamuraska?
Many of Arizona's starters tonight were witnesses to a 45-3 loss at LSU in 2006. It was played before 92,221 of the Tigers' rowdiest friends and against a fearsome defense that allowed 12.6 points and 243 yards per game. It was the night Willie Concussion, oops, Willie Tuitama, ate some Louisiana turf.
So compared to that fright night, no, this neutral-field game is imposing but not intimidating. This Nebraska defense is comparable to the '06 Tigers; it allows 284 yards and 11.2 points per game. The difference is on offense. LSU averaged 33.7 points and 417 yards. The Cornhuskers average 24.5 and 317.
Dear Mr. Football: Is Ndamukong Suh the best defensive player Arizona has ever faced?
Let's not get carried away and put him above 1991 Washington tackle Steve Emtman or Oregon's 2005 tackle Haloti Ngata, a 338-pound force who once blocked a UA punt, chased down punter Danny Baugher, fell on him and put Baugher out for the season with a knee injury. If Mr. Suh is that good all you can do is pray for Nick Foles.
Emtman's Huskies beat Arizona 54-0 in '91, forcing seven turnovers. Emtman sacked UA quarterback George Malauulu on the game's first two plays. UA offensive coordinator Pat Hill said, "Those guys are as good as I've seen — ever." No wonder: Of Arizona's 56 plays, 30 gained zero or minus yards.
Dear Mr. Football: How good is a defense that allows 11.2 points per game?
Arizona's best Desert Swarm defense, in 1992, yielded 8.9 points per game. It had 10 defensive players who would advance to the NFL: Rob Waldrop, Tedy Bruschi, Ty Parten, Jim Hoffman, Brant Boyer, Sean Harris, Keshon Johnson, Brandon Sanders, Tony Bouie and Darryl Morrison.
And yet that defensive unit couldn't save the offense-challenged Wildcats who lost games 7-6, 8-7 and 14-7. There's a lot of the '92 Wildcats in the '09 Cornhuskers.
Dear Mr. Football: Is Nebraska a football state?
You would think that any place that produced Gale Sayers, Johnny Rodgers and Mick Tingelhoff and has won as prolifically as Nebraska would be football-first, football-only.
But Nebraska is really a baseball state.
Bob Gibson grew up in Omaha. Grover C. Alexander was raised in Elba. Richie Ashburn learned how to hit in Tilden. Wahoo Sam Crawford, who had a major-league record 309 triples, grew up in, yep, Wahoo. And don't forget Dazzy Vance of Hardy and Billy Southworth of Harvard, which is in Nebraska, too.
All are Hall of Famers.
Dear Mr. Football: What player best typifies the image of the no-star 2009 Wildcats?
Junior center Colin Baxter, who will attempt to protect the health of quarterback Nick Foles tonight, is the working image of tobacco-chewin' Bill Bedenbaugh's skilled offensive line.
Baxter played at Peninsula High School, on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean near Los Angeles. His high school graduated tennis star Tracy Austin, which gives you an idea of the socioeconomic structure there. The most famous player on Baxter's high school team was Pete Carroll's son Nate.
But Baxter was the best player, even though USC didn't recruit him.
While posing for a photographer to celebrate his selection as the area's Player of the Year, Baxter sat in the front seat of his car: a 1964 Ford Galaxie.
"It's his car, and it gives him personality," Nate Carroll told an area newspaper. "It's loud and you can see it coming."
These Wildcats are '64 Fords. Nothing fancy but still capable of beating USC and Nebraska in the same season.
Dear Mr. Football: If Texas Tech beat Nebraska 31-10 using an Arizona-type spread offense, why can't Arizona do the same?
Eliminate that game from memory. It doesn't apply. Texas Tech gained just 259 yards against the Cornhuskers, its lowest total since 2006. It won because it scored on an 82-yard fumble return and because it exposed Nebraska's inept passing game.
Since then, the Cornhuskers have returned to their smash-mouth style of offense, killing the clock and letting their defense decide things.
I suspect Mike Stoops will influence his play-caller, Sonny Dykes, and instruct him to play safety-first football, believing that you can beat the Cornhuskers by scoring 14 or 17 points.
Remember this: Foles isn't someone to manufacture a play under duress. His "longest" run this season is 6yards. He has been forced to run 25 times and has gained exactly 25 yards. Let's hope he gets out of the game with his health.
There won't be much room to breathe. Nebraska 17, Arizona 13.
Contact Greg Hansen at 573-4362 or ghansen@azstarnet.com
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