Remember this video?  It's from the 2005 Alamo Bowl.  I still watch it, it makes me even more impatient for the upcoming football season.  Remember this photo? It's from the 2006-2007 Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas.  I call it "Ode to Lattimer". LMAO  Okay,

I have a confession to make, I'm a Nebraska Cornhuskers fan.  I live for Nebraska football, I was raised on it.  Here's how diehard I am.  Take the movie "Fever Pitch", substitute Jimmy Fallon for me and the Boston Red Sox for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.  Here's how diehard Nebraskans are for their football.  It's like if you were to take out every single professional team out of Boston, leaving only the Red Sox (GEAUX SOX), and the Red Sox only played 7 or 8 home games every season.  It's like a sickness.  I check the Huskers news sites/blog daily and I occasionally write my own entry.   

As a proud member of Husker Nation, we've pretty much exited what was more or a less a dark time in the history of Cornhusker football.  Callahan's gone, in comes Bo Pelini.  Many of the Husker faithful felt that Pelini should've been the successor to fired Frank Solich after the 2003 season.  Solich was the man that Tom Osborne hand picked himself to lead the Huskers.

Something happened along the way, it wasn't Solich's fault.  He just wasn't the best recruiter, he wasn't able to bring in the kind of athlete that the program needed to remain on top of college football.  When Coach Osborne walked away from the game, Nebraska was indeed on top of the college football world.  He had coached the team to win it's 3rd title in the 90's and fifth overall.  Nebraska won back to back titles from 1970-1971 and again repeating as national champions in 1994-1995, with the last title coming in 1997. 

As head coach, Osborne's teams never lost more than 3 games per season.  His final 5 seasons he coached the Huskers to a combined 60-3 record.  Nebraska fans were spoiled when compared to the two losing seasons in four that the fans had to endure under Callahan's watch.  Before Callahan came to Lincoln, there were Huskers fans (myself included) that hadn't been born yet when you look at the last time Nebraska had a losing season.  Think about this year, 1961.  Yes, 1961 was the last time Nebraska had a losing season before Callahan's regime. 

Hell, in Solich's first season back in 1998, Nebraska lost 4 games.  The fans were worried, you would've thought that we lost every game that season.  Four games?  Are you sure?  Was there some error when entering the numbers under the "W" and "L" columns for Nebraska?  Four?  We really lost four games that season?  The fans wanted Coach Tom back.  Sadly, he wasn't.  Tom had (then) moved on to bigger things. But to a Huskers fan, is there anything bigger than Nebraska football?  Tom went into a life of politics.  We wished him the best.  Newly hired Athletic Director Steve Pederson fired Frank Solich after coaching the team to a 9-3 regular season finish.

Pederson was quoted as saying that he wouldn't allow the program to "slip into mediocrity".  Pelini became interim head coach for the Alamo Bowl that season and coached the team to a 17-3 victory.  He interviewed for the vacant post, but was passed over.  Pederson wanted a big name, he brought in Bill Callahan.  Callahan and Pederson turned Husker Nation upside down and gutted it like a fish.  Both were arrogant in their approach to bring the program into the modern era of college football.  The "Power-I" was scrapped for the flashy West Coast Offense.  It was new to the fans, the "student body left/right" was all the fans knew.  Pederson was quoted as saying eventually the fans would love him and erect a statue of him.  The laugh is on you Stevie.  Callahan may have committed the biggest blunder in the eyes of Husker Nation.  He was quoted (behind closed doors) as calling Tom Osborne a "crusty old f*ck...".  That's ballsy. 

The new offense grew on the fans.  As a fan, with what has happened in the past four seasons and with Callahan's swift departure.  I hold no grudge towards Callahan and wish him the best back in the NFL with the New York Jets (Go Patriots!).  In a strange way, I was glad that series of events happened the way they did.  Pederson's gone, and Coach Tom is back as Athletic Director.  Callahan's gone and Pelini is at the helm.  Callahan did wonders for the program in regards to recruiting.  He brought in a great offensive coordinator named Shawn Watson that Pelini kept on staff.

It's no longer called the "West Coast Offense" or "Mid-West Coast Offense", it's simply called "The Nebraska Offense".  I like that.  Pelini did bounce around before coming back to Nebraska.  He spent a season down in Norman before landing in Baton Rouge.  His time as a defensive coordinator for a few more seasons helped season him for the job at NU.  We know the kind of speed the SEC has been known for the past couple of seasons.  Bo is a defensive guy, we needed that kind of person to head Nebraska.  It's defense that wins championships and Nebraska is long overdue to be back in those winning ways.  Like the video at the top of this post, it's time to "Restore the Order".

Tom Osborne coaching record

Frank Solich Coaching Record

Bill Callahan Coaching Record

Well, it looks like the AAFL (All-American Football League) that was to start playing their games on April 12th has been scrapped at least for this season (ESPN article).  They're trying to get new funding to launch their inaugural season.  Should I still try to buy my "Team Texas" gear? 

Congratulations to the New England Patriots!  Good luck in the Super Bowl and I hope that your team is able to win it all so the 1972 Dolphins WILL SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!

PS:  To the 1972 Dolphins...when the Pats win, they don't join your club, they surpass your little club. So drink your champagne and be the only 17-0 team and tell yourselves how great you once were, but the Pats will be even more memorable

NE_896

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Kill Bill

I thought this was a rather clever use of the original Kill Bill movie poster and applying it to the current staff over at Nebraska headed by Bill Callahan.  Nebraska dropped a "nail biter" to Texas over the weekend, losing 28-25 which was their 4th straight conference loss making their overall record 4-5.  They were 3-1 heading into conference action, wtf?  To read my previous rant, click HERE.

The team actually played with more heart and aggression than I had seen all season.  The defense was playing with a controlled rage once again, playing with nothing to lose.  They reminded me of the Blackshirts from the 90's championship teams, just laying out the Texas QB that afternoon, he had to pick himself back up after every play it seemed.  I'm still not pleased with the overall play of the team, they'll have to win 2 out of their next 3 if they wish to earn a bowl bid.  Even then, that's not guaranteed.  Out of the three remaining games, only one is a home game.  Ugh.  This Saturday they travel to Lawrence to take on undefeated Kansas, then their last home game of the season versus Kansas State before finishing up the regular season by traveling to Boulder to take on Colorado or as I like to call it, the "Venom Bowl". 

I was predicting Nebraska to have a 10-2 record at least, maybe even a 11-1 record (this was before the season began).  But somewhere along the line the team lost their heart, the defense was being pushed around, the offense couldn't get the run established, the pass suffered.  I suppose there was a moral victory this past weekend down in Austin with the team playing with that fire once again.  But a loss is a loss, it's still a bitter pill to swallow.  The fans (me being one of them) want changes now.  I don't want to see this team finishing under .500 for the second time in four years under Bill Callahan, which would be a first in 42 years. 

I'm not happy (as I'm sure many others would back me up on this) with Callahan's performance at Nebraska.  He was the 5th selection, he gutted the Nebraska culture by bringing his style of Offense.  Devaney ran the ball, relying heavily on it "student body left/right", Osborne improved upon that style of play.  He had the "power-I" formation which he dominated through the decades and won 3 national titles (1994, 1995, 1997) with (Devaney won back to back titles in 1970-1971).  In comes Callahan, fresh from the Oakland Raiders and a 2-14 season (having coached the team to the Super Bowl the previous year) and right away he made waves upon his arrival in Lincoln.  First thing, he said that he was ditching the "power-I" (basically saying it was archaic) for the flashy west coast offense (used while coaching Oakland) which brought USC so much recent success.  The collective hearts of Husker Nation skipped a beat, what did that mean?  No more "power-I", that's what Nebraska was known by for years.  Osborne used the "power-I" becuase it worked, it was hard to defend (remember Florida in the 1996 title game?).  Multiple plays could be executed from a single formation set.  When asked why not convert to a more glamouous style of offense at Nebraska, Osborne stated that during the colder months the ball is harder to throw/catch, the team will have to rely on the run so why not just use that type of offense in the fall.  He was right.  Nebraska didn't just beat teams, they wore them down and took them apart. 

Secondly, Callahan got rid of the the famed "walk-on" program...no TRADITION at Nebraska.  Nebraska would get at least 80% of their scholarship athletes this way.  Callahan saw no need for the team to suit close to 200 kids every weekend.  Osborne was said to have been guilty of running up the score *coughs*Bobby Bowden*coughs* when actually it was his 3rd, 4th, and 5th string teams just wanting to get into the endzone to prove they deserved more playing time.  Callahan began treating the team more like an NFL club.  But with Callahan's recruits, he'll keep his starters in almost the entire game.  Look what happened to Keller, broken collarbone and now his season is finsihed.  Again, the collective heart skipped another beat.  While the program under Osborne would land their share of recruits for the "archaic"offense scheme (power-I), these were not highly sought after recruits.  Osborne knew the kind of athletes he would need for his system to be successful.  After 25 years and 3 national titles, he knew what he was doing.  Unlike Callahan, going after the top rated recruit in each category.  The overall play has gone downhill.  The current team is made up of individuals playing for themselves, not for the team as a team.  Athletes (up to the Solich era) came to Nebraska even if they were not offered a scholarship because they wanted to PLAY for Nebraska.  There was loyalty to the state, the school, the program.  The program wasn't used as a stepping stone for the NFL or using the coach for his connections to the pros (Callahan making his promises to get kids drafted if they played for him). 

These kids that played under Coach Osborne would often pay their own way and walk on to the team just to suit up for the team.  There was a tremendous amount of loyalty for Nebraska and pride to wear that uniform.  Even if they only played on the practice squad, they could say they played for Nebraska and it meant something.  Under Callahan, it seems there's no heart, not like there was under Osborne.  Often the kids were awarded scholarships, made team captains by the time they reached their junior if not by their senior years at the school.  Those were the days, but will we see those days again?  Maybe not under this coach.  Maybe never... Or maybe I'm just holding on to those glory days of the past as are many of the Husker faithful.

Osborne was interviewed recently and had a bit of a slip (or as the fans would hope) on the statement about "new coaching staff", but he clarified that he was answering a hypothetical question hypothetically.  Because when asked about the future of Nebraska's walk-on program, Osborne said: "That will depend somewhat on the new coaching staff, because they'll have to implement, and I can't coach from the athletic director's position."  From that question/answer I had new found hope, but then he released a statement on his previous comment.  "From the first hour I was named athletic director, I have said that no decision has been made about the current coaching staff, and the current coaching has my full support through the rest of the season. I have contacted no coach about our head coaching position."

Of course this has Callahan breathing a big sigh of relief that he won't lose his job with 3 games and a possible bowl berth ahead of the team.  He's sweating out the possability of being fired (at seasons end) because of this 4 game skid, he said "I'm led to believe that Tom is a man of his word. Everyone's told me his word means quite a bit. He's a man of his word, and he's got great integrity, so I think you would have to address Tom on that."  What made me lose the remaining respect that I previously had for Bill Callahan (he's managed to chip away at it over his 4 years in Lincoln) was his remark about Osborne being a "crusty old f___ trying to run things from Washington" (during Osborne's time in office).  I think Callahan failed to see how much of an icon Tom Osborne really is, the legacy he built as a head coach, how much he means to the state and to the program.  So his remark about Osbrone being a man of his word seems like he's kissing ass and is really concerned about being fired.

1995 Nebraska: The All-Time Greatest!

Two generations of Cornhuskers clashed in the final round of the Classic, but in the end, the
1995 Nebraska squad prevailed over their 1971 counterparts. ’95 Nebraska received the most
votes in every single round, dominating opponents much like they dominated Florida in the
Fiesta Bowl, where they won 62-24.

Nebraska fans were out in full force tonight, leading the 1971 team past recent favorites
2004 USC and 2005 Texas. They rallied in the closing seconds to just barely inch by Pete
Carroll’s team, but never truly dominated the late votes. Coach Tom Osborne’s 1995 squad
proved too much for Bob Devaney’s team, defeating them by 65% of the vote. The 1995 team
was no stranger to crushing the opposition; behind QB Tommie Frazier and RB Ahman Green,
they outscored opponents by an average of 38 points per game.

All time playoff

NU's the "all-time greatest" ... geez, tell me something I didn't know.