HuskerfaninOkieland
Heisman Trophy Winner
Good little article. Nice rip on Pederson:
SI.com
So what do you have to say now, Steve Pederson?
For four years, Nebraska’s egotistic athletic director has pledged his undying faith to head coach Bill Callahan, despite little-to-no evidence the ex-NFL retread would ever return the once-proud Huskers to national prominence. Pederson even went so far as to give the divisive coach a contract extension at the beginning of this season.
In return, all Callahan’s team has done is take a series of gigantic steps backward: getting blown out by USC and Missouri, giving up 600 yards to Ball State, and now, in its most embarrassing outing to date Saturday, losing 45-14 to 3-3 Oklahoma State -- itself a mediocre team that has been routed by Georgia and Troy. Sam Keller, the vaunted Arizona State transfer who was to take Callahan’s West Coast offense to the next level, threw for 127 yards. And the Huskers’ 96th-ranked defense did its best to ensure they slip into the 100s next week, allowing 552 yards.
Nebraska’s 5-6 disaster in Callahan’s debut season was supposed to be the program’s low point. Not even close. That temporary setback could at least be rationalized away as a necessary speed bump in Callahan’s reinvention of the program. There’s simply no excuse for fielding one of the nation’s worst defenses -- and one of the Big 12’s worst teams -- having had four years to stockpile his preferred breed of talent.
The majority of Nebraska fans’ discontent this season has been directed at defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove. At this point, all but the most blindly optimistic surely realize the problem runs much deeper, and that it won’t be fixable until either the stubborn Pederson finally gives up on his grand Callahan experiment or, if he doesn’t, for someone higher up to pull the plug on Pederson.
SI.com
So what do you have to say now, Steve Pederson?
For four years, Nebraska’s egotistic athletic director has pledged his undying faith to head coach Bill Callahan, despite little-to-no evidence the ex-NFL retread would ever return the once-proud Huskers to national prominence. Pederson even went so far as to give the divisive coach a contract extension at the beginning of this season.
In return, all Callahan’s team has done is take a series of gigantic steps backward: getting blown out by USC and Missouri, giving up 600 yards to Ball State, and now, in its most embarrassing outing to date Saturday, losing 45-14 to 3-3 Oklahoma State -- itself a mediocre team that has been routed by Georgia and Troy. Sam Keller, the vaunted Arizona State transfer who was to take Callahan’s West Coast offense to the next level, threw for 127 yards. And the Huskers’ 96th-ranked defense did its best to ensure they slip into the 100s next week, allowing 552 yards.
Nebraska’s 5-6 disaster in Callahan’s debut season was supposed to be the program’s low point. Not even close. That temporary setback could at least be rationalized away as a necessary speed bump in Callahan’s reinvention of the program. There’s simply no excuse for fielding one of the nation’s worst defenses -- and one of the Big 12’s worst teams -- having had four years to stockpile his preferred breed of talent.
The majority of Nebraska fans’ discontent this season has been directed at defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove. At this point, all but the most blindly optimistic surely realize the problem runs much deeper, and that it won’t be fixable until either the stubborn Pederson finally gives up on his grand Callahan experiment or, if he doesn’t, for someone higher up to pull the plug on Pederson.
