Restoring the order
OMAHA (AP) - After Nebraska finished its 30-3 victory at Colorado, players lifted their jerseys to reveal T-shirts that read “Restore The Order.”
Well, did the most lopsided win over the Buffaloes since 1992 do that? Did it alleviate concerns former players might have had about the direction of the program under Bill Callahan? Does it bode well for the future?
For at least a day, the Cornhuskers looked like the Cornhuskers of old, dominating an opponent and winning by a big score.
Just how important Friday's win will be in the evolution of Nebraska football under Callahan might not be known for years, former players and a retired assistant coach say.
“If they played that way in every single game this year, I honestly think we would be looking at a 9-2 or 10-1 team and they would be thinking Big 12 title game in a week,” Rob Zatechka said Saturday.
Zatechka, a member of the “Pipeline” offensive line that cleared the way for the 1994 national championship team, said the win over the North Division-leading Buffaloes indicated progress.
“You have to give a new coach a minimum of three to five years to turn things around, and we're in year two right now and they've gone from 5-6 to 7-4. It looks like it's going in a decent direction,” Zatechka said.
Zatechka said the win should help enhance NU's bowl destination. Bowl bids are officially extended Dec. 4.
“Seven-and-four looks a heck of a lot more impressive than 6-5 does,” he said. “That football team should be proud to go to a bowl game like the Holiday Bowl, the Champs Bowl or the Houston Bowl. Just going to a bowl game is cause for celebration.”
Clinton Childs, a running back on the 1994 and '95 national championship teams, said progress can't be charted by the win-loss record alone.
“Frank Solich was fired as a head coach with a better record than that,” Childs said. “But a seven-win season is a credit to Callahan.”
The win over Colorado should help Callahan establish his own identity and give credence to the West Coast offense, Childs said.
“Everyone has been guilty of having thoughts of the times and coaches that were there when we played,” Childs said. “It takes time to get acclimated to the things that have changed. Just seeing how the guys pulled together and were able to spoil things for Colorado was really nice to see.”
Retired assistant Milt Tenopir, who coached offensive lines under Tom Osborne and Solich, said he hopes the win reduces some of the heat that had been put on Callahan.
“I was happy as hell for him,” Tenopir said. “It's a matter of execution, and I was really proud watching that game yesterday.”
Tenopir said Callahan and the assistant coaches have coached hard, and well, all season.
“They didn't do anything different,” said Tenopir, who attends practice twice a week. “They coached their butts off. They just happened to have things fall in place for them yesterday.
“People shouldn't be critical of people doing their job and doing a heck of a job at it. Most of those people don't know much about the game and haven't watched them coach because they're doing a great job of coaching. I've been there and saw it first-hand.”
Zatechka said the win over Colorado makes him feel worse about the 41-24 loss at Missouri and the 40-15 loss at Kansas.
“The only cloud within the silver lining is, 'Why didn't we see a performance like this against Kansas or Missouri?,”' he said. “You know you're better than Missouri. You know you're better than Kansas. And they flat got outplayed in those games. That's what is disappointing.”
But Zatechka said the Huskers can build on their performance at Colorado.
“I'd hate to see them rest on their laurels,” he said. “You want to see that kind of performance out of the offense, defense and coaching staff weekly. You don't want to see a letdown.”
