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'Huskers labor under weight of their legacy By Vahe Gregorian ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 11/01/2006
Losses have delayed Nebraska’s goal of returning to the elite tier of the program's storied past.
(Scott Mussell
Waterloo Courier/Lee News Service)
For nearly 30 years, Nebraska football was a fearsome benchmark for excellence in college football.
Fashioned on punishing defense, a rugged running game, a fabled walk-on program and remarkable continuity on the coaching staff, the Cornhuskers won five national titles and never lost as many as four games in a season from 1969 to 1997.
But that dynasty has gone the way of the dinosaur in the near-decade since Tom Osborne retired. With the exception of the staggering fan base, little is the same.
Most symbolically, snuffed out in one huff were the proud 35-season streak of bowl appearances and the steamroller style of attack when Bill Callahan took over in 2004 with his West Coast offense.
That 5-6 season was all the more turbulent because Callahan was seen by some as an arrogant NFL man who had the temerity to purge a staff that was the marrow of the glory years and prune the walk-on program.
With it all has gone the invincible aura that once made foes squeamish at the sight of the Cornhuskers, who haven't won the Big 12 Conference North since 1999 and currently are unranked.
While Nebraska has made strides as it prepares to play host to Missouri on Saturday in a pivotal game in the Big 12 North, any sense of traction it had after starting 6-1 and playing defending national champion Texas to a standstill evaporated after last weekend at Oklahoma State.
The Cornhuskers blew a 16-point lead, lost 41-29 to the Cowboys and fell to 3-2 in Big 12 play; MU also dropped to 3-2 with a 26-10 loss to Oklahoma.
That left the teams on equally wobbly footing entering the game at Memorial Stadium, where the Tigers haven't won since 1978 but can have conviction about being competitive after beating Nebraska two of the last three seasons at home.
"We need this game more than ever now," Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor said Tuesday, adding, "We've been in situations like this before."
After going from the end of the 1990 season to the end of the 2001 season without losing back-to-back games, Nebraska could have its fourth three-game losing streak in the last five seasons.
It rebounded from just such a skid last year to win its final three games — one of them against Michigan in the Alamo Bowl — to finish 8-4 and have a sense of rejuvenation entering this season.
"We're on schedule, in my opinion," Callahan said at Big 12 preseason media day. "And we're getting better."
Before the loss to OSU, that perspective seemed on target. Despite a 28-10 loss at USC and barely surviving Kansas in overtime, Nebraska was a late fumble from beating then-No. 5 Texas before losing 22-20.
Win that game, and Nebraska would have had national credibility for the first time since Callahan took over after Frank Solich was fired despite going 58-19. Instead, the OSU loss demonstrated that Nebraska remains a tier below the elite and on the verge of mediocrity.
In fairness to Callahan, the former Oakland Raiders coach maligned in much the way Tony La Russa was here for not being Whitey Herzog, he has not had the time to make his imprint on a program that was sagging in Solich's final seasons because of a drop-off in recruiting.
Consider that Callahan brought in a radically different system, and it's even more understandable that the program is off-kilter. Whether he ultimately is the man to make it happen, of course, remains to be seen.
But to some, Callahan seems to have made inroads by adapting better to his surroundings and reaching out more to Nebraska's largely temperate fans, some of whom had been offended by his anti-Osborne-like acts, such as calling Oklahoma fans "(expletive) hillbillies" and making a throat-slashing gesture at a referee. Callahan denied doing the latter but was reprimanded by the Big 12 for it.
Still, it doesn't help perception that while the program still seeks identity on the field, this week it dismissed tight end Justin Tomerlin, reportedly the eighth member of the vaunted 2005 recruiting class who has left or been booted.
And even if the reality is that coaches generally need six or seven years to establish a program, the truth is that Callahan probably won't get that kind of time if there isn't clear evidence soon that Nebraska is on its way back to prominence, if not dominance.
Losses have delayed Nebraska’s goal of returning to the elite tier of the program's storied past.
(Scott Mussell
Waterloo Courier/Lee News Service)
For nearly 30 years, Nebraska football was a fearsome benchmark for excellence in college football.
Fashioned on punishing defense, a rugged running game, a fabled walk-on program and remarkable continuity on the coaching staff, the Cornhuskers won five national titles and never lost as many as four games in a season from 1969 to 1997.
But that dynasty has gone the way of the dinosaur in the near-decade since Tom Osborne retired. With the exception of the staggering fan base, little is the same.
Most symbolically, snuffed out in one huff were the proud 35-season streak of bowl appearances and the steamroller style of attack when Bill Callahan took over in 2004 with his West Coast offense.
That 5-6 season was all the more turbulent because Callahan was seen by some as an arrogant NFL man who had the temerity to purge a staff that was the marrow of the glory years and prune the walk-on program.
With it all has gone the invincible aura that once made foes squeamish at the sight of the Cornhuskers, who haven't won the Big 12 Conference North since 1999 and currently are unranked.
While Nebraska has made strides as it prepares to play host to Missouri on Saturday in a pivotal game in the Big 12 North, any sense of traction it had after starting 6-1 and playing defending national champion Texas to a standstill evaporated after last weekend at Oklahoma State.
The Cornhuskers blew a 16-point lead, lost 41-29 to the Cowboys and fell to 3-2 in Big 12 play; MU also dropped to 3-2 with a 26-10 loss to Oklahoma.
That left the teams on equally wobbly footing entering the game at Memorial Stadium, where the Tigers haven't won since 1978 but can have conviction about being competitive after beating Nebraska two of the last three seasons at home.
"We need this game more than ever now," Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor said Tuesday, adding, "We've been in situations like this before."
After going from the end of the 1990 season to the end of the 2001 season without losing back-to-back games, Nebraska could have its fourth three-game losing streak in the last five seasons.
It rebounded from just such a skid last year to win its final three games — one of them against Michigan in the Alamo Bowl — to finish 8-4 and have a sense of rejuvenation entering this season.
"We're on schedule, in my opinion," Callahan said at Big 12 preseason media day. "And we're getting better."
Before the loss to OSU, that perspective seemed on target. Despite a 28-10 loss at USC and barely surviving Kansas in overtime, Nebraska was a late fumble from beating then-No. 5 Texas before losing 22-20.
Win that game, and Nebraska would have had national credibility for the first time since Callahan took over after Frank Solich was fired despite going 58-19. Instead, the OSU loss demonstrated that Nebraska remains a tier below the elite and on the verge of mediocrity.
In fairness to Callahan, the former Oakland Raiders coach maligned in much the way Tony La Russa was here for not being Whitey Herzog, he has not had the time to make his imprint on a program that was sagging in Solich's final seasons because of a drop-off in recruiting.
Consider that Callahan brought in a radically different system, and it's even more understandable that the program is off-kilter. Whether he ultimately is the man to make it happen, of course, remains to be seen.
But to some, Callahan seems to have made inroads by adapting better to his surroundings and reaching out more to Nebraska's largely temperate fans, some of whom had been offended by his anti-Osborne-like acts, such as calling Oklahoma fans "(expletive) hillbillies" and making a throat-slashing gesture at a referee. Callahan denied doing the latter but was reprimanded by the Big 12 for it.
Still, it doesn't help perception that while the program still seeks identity on the field, this week it dismissed tight end Justin Tomerlin, reportedly the eighth member of the vaunted 2005 recruiting class who has left or been booted.
And even if the reality is that coaches generally need six or seven years to establish a program, the truth is that Callahan probably won't get that kind of time if there isn't clear evidence soon that Nebraska is on its way back to prominence, if not dominance.
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