"So far, Cornhuskers offensive lineman Matt Slauson wins the award for best quote. In fairness, he’s the only player I’ve listened to, but he had lots of intriguing comments. He also earned high grades for using the words “applicable” and “ferociousness” in the same sentence.
Asked about his team’s offensive philosophy in the Bo Pelini era: “At Nebraska, we like to go against the grain,” he said. “We don’t like trends. We like to keep things simple. We like to go with the power game. We’re going to pound guys, and pound guys and pound guys.”
He shied away from commenting much on ex-NU Coach Bill Callahan and what went wrong under the former regime, but he made his point talking about what he likes about Pelini. “The game is fun again. We’re playing for a coach we can relate to. He’s a guy you love to work hard for.”
As for last year? “Everything was in a real bad way.”
What does Husker Nation think about the new era in Cornhusker football? “We don’t really know what the fans are thinking because we don’t have that much interaction with them—other than the 86,000 who showed up for the spring game. So, I think people are pretty optimistic.”
Slauson saved the best for last. Asked which game on the schedule he’s looking forward to most, he bowed his head and closed his eyes as if in some sort of trance. He looked up and spoke calmly. “We’ve been hearing so much about Missouri,” almost hissing the word like it was an expletive. He went on to say that last year’s Missouri game — the Tigers’ 41-6 victory in Columbia — more or less marked the beginning of MU’s rise and Nebraska’s demise. “Like the game last year against them when it became apparent that we were having problems. Yeah, we had a loss or two before that. … To lose that bad to Missouri was like a kick in the face to us. So, I would love to get some revenge on them. But, you know, we still have to worry about Western Michigan and all those other teams.”
I am looking forward to coming to Lincoln for the MU game this year. From everything I have read it looks like Pelini is really returning Nebraska to its roots, which as a native Nebraskan is exciting to see. Should be a great game on October 4th! Go Tigers!
Asked about his team’s offensive philosophy in the Bo Pelini era: “At Nebraska, we like to go against the grain,” he said. “We don’t like trends. We like to keep things simple. We like to go with the power game. We’re going to pound guys, and pound guys and pound guys.”
He shied away from commenting much on ex-NU Coach Bill Callahan and what went wrong under the former regime, but he made his point talking about what he likes about Pelini. “The game is fun again. We’re playing for a coach we can relate to. He’s a guy you love to work hard for.”
As for last year? “Everything was in a real bad way.”
What does Husker Nation think about the new era in Cornhusker football? “We don’t really know what the fans are thinking because we don’t have that much interaction with them—other than the 86,000 who showed up for the spring game. So, I think people are pretty optimistic.”
Slauson saved the best for last. Asked which game on the schedule he’s looking forward to most, he bowed his head and closed his eyes as if in some sort of trance. He looked up and spoke calmly. “We’ve been hearing so much about Missouri,” almost hissing the word like it was an expletive. He went on to say that last year’s Missouri game — the Tigers’ 41-6 victory in Columbia — more or less marked the beginning of MU’s rise and Nebraska’s demise. “Like the game last year against them when it became apparent that we were having problems. Yeah, we had a loss or two before that. … To lose that bad to Missouri was like a kick in the face to us. So, I would love to get some revenge on them. But, you know, we still have to worry about Western Michigan and all those other teams.”
I am looking forward to coming to Lincoln for the MU game this year. From everything I have read it looks like Pelini is really returning Nebraska to its roots, which as a native Nebraskan is exciting to see. Should be a great game on October 4th! Go Tigers!
