SAN DIEGO — Happy New Season.
When Nebraska tees it up with Arizona tonight in the Holiday Bowl — otherwise known as the Youngstown Bowl — the Huskers will do so with a different sort of urgency.
This is not the last game of the 2009 season.
It feels more like the first game of the 2010 campaign.
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Or maybe even the first day of spring practice.
Nebraska coach Bo Pelini has never met a game he didn’t want to win. But there’s a bigger picture hovering over Qualcomm Stadium, bigger than winning 10 games in Pelini’s second season, certainly bigger than bragging rights for the next Pelini-Stoops family reunion and picnic — though the latter stakes should never be downplayed.
It’s not that Pelini is taking the Holiday Bowl lightly.
It’s that he’s taking next season even more seriously.
The second-year coach sent the message recently when he said that the Holiday Bowl “would not define our program in the future.’’ Also, he’s not caught up in whether his second season is punctuated with nine or 10 wins.
At Tuesday’s press conference, Pelini reiterated that sentiment.
“It’s up to you guys to figure out what nine or 10 wins means,’’ Pelini said. “I think Mike would agree we took these jobs to win championships. Whether that happens at nine, 10 or 11 (wins), our job is to win them all.’’
What about next season? It’s not their style to make predictions, but Pelini and his staff privately think they have a good chance at a big 2010. A championship run.
The schedule is in place. There’s a trip to Seattle, where Washington and quarterback Jake Locker await. But Texas and Oklahoma State — minus veteran, playmaking quarterbacks — are in the Huskers’ Big 12 South rotation, as is Texas A&M. The Longhorns come to Lincoln on Oct. 16. Husker fans won’t take one second to mark that one down.
Meanwhile, Missouri comes to Lincoln in late October, followed two weeks later by rebuilding Kansas.
The roster looks deep and experienced, though that can cut two ways on offense.
Pelini is on record as saying his defense will be better next season. And though we can wonder how Pelini will overcome so many key losses up the middle — Ndamukong Suh, Phillip Dillard, Larry Asante and Matt O’Hanlon — Pelini has shown enough defensive wizardry that if he says it will be better, you can believe it.
It’s the offensive side of the coin that casts doubts upon next season’s potential. Can Zac Lee get better? Will the offensive line? Will big-play receivers consistently show up?
Pelini wants to know now.
There’s an urgency to Nebraska’s offense. You can see it and hear it. Pelini knows that nothing special gets done next year with an offense that’s on defensive welfare. Think that he’s put the word out to offensive coordinator Shawn Watson and his staff that the offense is on notice?
At the end of practice on Sunday at San Diego State, the position groups gathered in a circle or huddle, as they do after each practice. This day, something was different.
Watson was in the middle of the offensive line circle, and he was out of character. He yelled, pointed, snapped; the laid-back dude was totally animated. He was doing his best Bo Pelini impression. It was one part anger and one part pep rally. He was clearly trying to light the fire of an offensive line that has not carried its load, a group that will be one of the keys to next season.
The other key should see extensive playing time tonight.
His name is Cody Green. The strapping freshman quarterback is the future of this program. He hasn’t been seen a lot in the present, though. He had two so-so starts against Baylor and Oklahoma before Watson took away his training wheels and put Lee in early in the OU game. Green hasn’t been seen since, save for a quick series in each of the games against Colorado and Texas.
Lee has started because, as erratic as he’s been, he is still seen as the guy less likely to sink the ship. Pelini put the finishing kick of 2009 on the backs of his defense and kicker Alex Henery, with conservative offensive game plans designed not to lose the game and occasionally take a shot downfield.
But suddenly, Watson says it’s time for Green to get some serious playing time, with snaps that count. It’s time to see what he’s got. It’s time for him to “grow up.’’
What that means is that the quarterback competition set for spring practice has been moved up a few months and a few thousand miles away.
Good idea. Pelini obviously feels the urgency to get the offense jump-started — the sooner the better. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Pelini drop some other newbies into the mix.
Could it cost the Huskers the Holiday Bowl against quarterback Nick Foles, an emerging passing force in the Pac-10? Sure.
But a win or loss tonight won’t change the legacy of 2009. Pelini said it would have been a good year if NU had won the Big 12. I respectfully disagree.
This was a very good year, considering the road schedule, the new quarterback, the injuries on offense and the near-devastating loss to Iowa State at home. NU almost swept Virginia Tech, Missouri and Kansas on the road and came a couple or three plays from 11-1, winning the Big 12 and being a factor in the national race.
This program is getting closer. Pelini sees that. Which is where tonight’s Pacific Life Spring Game comes in.
