With the start of spring football just 10 days away, the signs point to a motivated Husker team.
Don't misunderstand. We're not talking about any cloud-parting signs here.
"In our locker room we have a couple of signs posted up with :00.01 second left," said Husker defensive back DeJon Gomes. "And I think that's going to give us huge motivation going into the next season that the game's not over until it's over. I guess we can't leave it in the hands of anyone."
The Huskers prefer to be reminded of that stinging 13-12 loss, a game where tenths of a second and an official's booth review stood between Nebraska and its first conference championship since 1999.
Hey, a little inspiration never hurt anyone. In the months before the 1994 season and Tom Osborne's first national championship, the clocks at Memorial Stadium often read "1:16."
That was how much time remained when Nebraska took a one-point lead over Florida State in the national championship game the season before. Then the Seminoles drove — with help from two 15-yard Husker penalties — for a game-winning field goal.
That 1994 team took the motto "Unfinished Business" and used the previous season's heartbreak to inspire an even greater work ethic.
Signs and mottos might help in their own way, but you still have to do the sweat-stinging work. And defensive tackle Jared Crick said this Husker team has been exceeding expectations during winter conditioning.
"Guys are just starting to take it past the finish point," Crick said. "When we do conditioning, you run until they say stop. But you see guys going past that, doing that extra little effort. So when it comes to the game and if we should be in it again with one second left ... we're going to keep going, we're going to keep it on the gas."
Optimism during winter conditioning is as expected as a politician's contradictions. But what has Crick feeling so good is that it's not just the guys perceived to be at the top of the depth chart who are going all-out.
"Guys who were second or third on the depth chart last year are pushing each other," Crick said. "Everybody on the whole team is coming to finish."
Of course, one of the most important aspects of winter conditioning is identifying team leaders.
Defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said he doesn't think that is going to be a problem with this group.
"We're finally at that point where it's kind of feeding on itself," Pelini said. "They're just all getting after it and all providing leadership. A very vocal group."
Most around here don't need reminding that this is a team that lost three of its four games last year by a total of four points.
Coming off the near victory against Texas and a 33-0 smashing of Arizona in the Holiday Bowl, many pundits are projecting Nebraska to crack the top 10 in the preseason polls.
"It feels good, but we could care less about top 10. We want to be No. 1," Crick said. "I know some people may say that's far-fetched. I don't think so."
There's a confident air in the program, but Pelini believes the players have the proper perspective.
They know they have plenty more to do.
"You walk that fine line," Pelini said. "You don't want them to be overconfident. You don't want them to think they've arrived. But they don't. You don't see that at all. It just made them hungrier."
LINK
