Husker Mike's Blasphemy

Husker Mike's PostGame K-State Podcast

2009-11-21T21:56:00.002-06:00

Big XII North Champs...exactly where Husker fans thought NU would be even if others didn't...

Suh Falls to #2 in Fan Voting for Heisman

2009-11-19T22:55:00.001-06:00

Husker fans seem to have let up on the gas on the "Suh for Heisman" campaign, allowing Clemson's C.J. Spiller to take over the lead in the fan vote. Fans are allowed to vote once a day, so there's no excuse for Husker fans to let this slide.

C'mon Husker fans. Kirk Herbstreit would be disappointed to learn that Husker fans aren't stuffing this ballot box. Vote now...then remember to vote tomorrow...and the next day...and the day after.

It ain't over yet. VOTE!

Nebraska vs. Boise State: Scheduling I Can Believe In

2009-11-17T22:18:00.000-06:00

Tom Shatel reported today that the Huskers are in talks to play Boise State, though perhaps not in 2011. Boise State is searching for a BCS conference opponent to visit in 2011 on the condition that the game pay the Broncos $1 million for traveling, but haven't found a taker yet.

In my mind, the only question about playing Boise is the money. 2011 might not be the best fit for Nebraska, as the other non-conference games are Fresno State, Washington, and a road game at Wyoming. But if 2011 doesn't fit, I don't know when it will. Here's Nebraska's upcoming schedules:

2010: Western Kentucky, Idaho, @Washington, South Dakota State
2011: TBA, Fresno State, Washington, @Wyoming
2012: Southern Miss, @UCLA, TBA, TBA
2013: Wyoming, @Southern Miss, UCLA, TBA
2014: TBA, TBA, @Fresno State, Miami-Florida
2015: TBA, TBA, @Miami-Florida, Southern Miss
2016: Fresno State, Tennessee, Wyoming, TBA
2017: TBA, @Tennessee, TBA, TBA

Ideally, Nebraska would find a way to drop Idaho or South Dakota State next season to play Boise, but that's probably not going to happen without a complicated agreement can be worked out between four or more schools to swap games. But if Nebraska is hesitant to play both Boise State and another prominent non-BCS school in the same season, it might not happen until 2017.

Personally, I don't see a huge issue with playing both Boise and either Southern Miss or Fresno State. Those matchups might have to wait until 2014 and 2015. Nobody will criticize Nebraska for playing a 1-AA team in those seasons with Fresno, Miami, and Boise filling out the schedule.

Sammy Vegas over at DoubleExtraPoint doesn't want the Huskers playing on the SmurfTurf in Boise for recruiting reasons. I'm not so concerned about that, though if Nebraska could get a neutral site game in Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, or Chicago, so much the better for fans. I'm not diminishing the desire to play around the country so that potential players know that they'll be coming to their neck of the woods; I just think that the Huskers shouldn't be afraid to play in Boise.

But with all due respect to the fine folks in Boise, I'd rather play in Boise in September than around New Years.

Bill Belichick Could Have Learned Something From John Mackovic

2009-11-16T23:57:00.001-06:00

When New England lined up last night to go for fourth and two against Indianapolis, all I could think about was the Big XII Championship game in 1996. The national sports media are all over Bill Belichick for his decision, and they have their reasons. You fail to execute, and you practically give the game to Peyton Manning and the Colts. Even if you execute, you still may not win the game as it may not be possible to run the clock out without another first down. And most importantly, the message Belichick sent his defense: "I don't trust you."

Now, there is an argument to be made that going for it on fourth and two in that situation is actually Smart Football. The stats do make a solid case for Belichick's decision to go for it.

But here's the bigger problem. If you are going to go for fourth and two, running a two yard route leaves you zero margin for error. As painful as it is for Husker fans to recall, here's how John Mackovic handled a similar situation 13 years ago:

If you are going to make the decision to go for the first down, you can't take a chance on executing the play and still failing to get the first down. Belichick left himself zero room for error in that situation last night. If you are going to try to win the game with offense, do it. It's like a pitcher in a bases loaded situation in a tie game in the bottom of the 9th with a 3 ball count. You can't afford to try to nip the corner; ball four loses the game. You've got to throw a strike and hope the batter misses or someone fields the ball.

At least give yourself a chance. Bill Belichick chose the wrong combination. If that's the play-call for 4th and 2, you'd better punt because it requires perfection on the part of your team.

CBSsports.com BlogPoll Week 10 Ballott

2009-11-16T09:20:00.004-06:00

In what seems to be becoming a regular occurance, I got ripped by BlogPoll Administrator Brian Cook for voting for Oklahoma. I'm sticking to my guns here; I still think Oklahoma is one of the better teams in the country. Yes, I know the reason why nobody else is ranking Oklahoma: 4 losses. But those four losses were by 12 points. Let's put that in comparison: USC lost by 34 points alone this week... and is STILL ranked by the writers and coaches. And Oklahoma did absolutely NOTHING this week to convince me otherwise by blowing out Texas A&M 65-10. (And yes, if the Sooners did lose to Baylor, I would drop them...but they beat Baylor quite handily.)

As always, your feedback welcome as I can change this up until Wednesday morning.

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Alabama
2	Florida
3	Texas
4	TCU	1
5	Cincinnati	1
6	Georgia Tech
7	Boise State
8	LSU
9	Oregon	1
10	Ohio State	1
11	Stanford	14
12	Pitt	5
13	Virginia Tech	5
14	Oklahoma State	10
15	Clemson	4
16	Miami (Florida)	7
17	Iowa	4
18	Oregon State
19	Penn State	1
20	Arizona	6
21	Oklahoma
22	Arkansas
23	California
24	Brigham Young
25	Utah	2
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Southern Cal (#12), Houston (#15), Texas Tech (#16).

Teams under consideration: Wisconsin (good won-loss record against nobody), Nebraska (some good wins, a decent loss against VT, and two bad losses), Ole Miss (looking better than earlier this season), and Boston College.

I might be harsh on USC, but that loss was disturbing. Top 25 teams don't lose that way, so they're out for now. That loss also dampens the reputation of the entire Big 10, as it makes Ohio State look weaker. Arizona's loss to Cal also weakens the Big 10's reputation as well. So I'm looking for that reason to give the Big 10 credit, and the only reason to move the Buckeyes up is that Miami lost. (Which also weakens Oklahoma's resume...but 65-10 keeps them in the mix.)

Cincinnati gets a slight downgrade after TCU's domination of Utah. Kind of unfair to the Bearcats playing with their backup quarterback, but the Horned Frogs just look like a stronger team right now. LSU's struggle with Louisiana Tech would have warranted a downgrade...but nobody was ready to move up.

Big XII PowerPoll

Texas
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma
Texas Tech
Nebraska
Missouri
Kansas State
Kansas
Iowa State
Texas A&M
Baylor
Colorado

I'm not 100% convinced the Cowboys are better than the Sooners, but 2 losses versus 4 has to mean something. The bottom four teams all have something to brag about, but so much more on their resume to be embarrassed about that they can't complain about being at the bottom either.

Sunday Night Beer: Not Underestimating the Wildcats

2009-11-15T23:19:00.000-06:00

I caught a little bit of yesterday's Missouri/Kansas State game, and I'm not sure that Husker fans should take too much solace in Missouri's margin of victory over the Wildcats. If it wasn't for Danario Alexander, that game would have been quite a bit different...and I don't think Nebraska has an Alexander on the roster. Niles Paul can make some of those plays, but Alexander makes it consistently with regularity. Plus, K-State coach Bill Snyder thought the Wildcats might have been looking ahead, playing a little "fat and sassy" after beating cross-state rival Kansas last week.

That won't happen this week. It's do or die for the purple. They need one more win to become bowl eligible, as Kansas State can only count one of the victories over 1-AA UMass and Tennessee Tech towards the six required for bowl eligibility. Bottom line is that it comes down to Nebraska playing the way they need to down the stretch; if they do that, they'll be fine. You have to love how Nebraska finished the Kansas game to seal the victory.

Once again, I'm hearing criticism of Bo Pelini's sideline demeanor, though it seems to be lacking in substance. The "appearance" of Bo Pelini reacting angrily after Keith Williams tripping penalty is the latest example. The cameras show Pelini, but nobody reports what Pelini is saying. I go back to Pelini's talk to high school coaches back in 2007, and just have the feeling that unless Pelini is a hypocrite, Pelini's reaction is to the mistake, not the player. And if Pelini was a hypocrite, I think players would have recognized it by now and have turned him off. That hasn't happened anywhere, so once again, I think it's much to-do about nothing. It's a matter of perception from the outside, and not based in reality.

Didn't get a chance to check out UNO hockey this weekend, but the Mavs split against Lake Superior State. A solid performance on Friday night resulted in a 4-0 victory, but the Lakers stormed back on Saturday night to win 3-1 in a disappointing manner. Not concerned too much at this point; these were the growing pains I expected early this season. If UNO continues this inconsistency in January and February, then I'll be alarmed.

Lee, Helu, and Watson Bail out the Blackshirts Against Kansas

2009-11-14T22:06:00.000-06:00

After last week's big victory over Oklahoma, I was somewhat fearful of a letdown against Kansas this week. A big victory over Missouri a month ago led to two disappointing losses against Texas Tech and Iowa State. And letdown the defense did after an outstanding first quarter where the Jayhawks were held without a first down.

Down the stretch, the outstanding defensive line play that Husker fans have counted on simply didn't occur this afternoon, which was surprising given how the Kansas offensive line has struggled most of this season. Surprising, and downright disappointing. Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing had time to scramble and find Kerry Meier, who was uncoverable at times tonight. (When I say "uncoverable", it was because Meier made some impossible catches that it didn't matter how the defense tried to cover.) Add in a little bit from Dezmon Briscoe, and the Kansas offense moved the ball much of the second half. Thank goodness Jake Sharp dropped a pass sprinting downfield.

Just in the nick of time, the Husker offense found some signs of life this afternoon. Niles Paul established himself as a deep threat that helped nudge the Kansas defense out of stacking the box. Most of the past month or so, defenses have dared Nebraska to throw deep, and finally Nebraska did with success. Even more surprising was watching Zac Lee show a little bit of speed on rollouts and scrambles. He's not Eric Crouch or Tommie Frazier, but he's faster than Zac Taylor. In past games, it seemed like Lee was always looking to pass even when he was scrambling, but today he committed to run the ball, and he found positive yardage on the ground when it wasn't available through the air.

I know some Husker fans were grumbling about the playcalling this week, but much of that grumbling this week is unfounded. Nobody is happy that the Husker offense is so pedestrian, but the fact is that is what Nebraska has for an offense, right or wrong. Niles Paul and Roy Helu are really the only two playmakers out on the field. Rex Burkhead would be another, but he's injured. Quentin Castille was kicked off the team in August, and Menelik Holt is inconsistent at best. So Nebraska is limited to running the ball to get any sort of offensive continuity going...and yes, sometimes that means running the reviled short-side option. Is it ugly at times? Yes. Would you to be able to move the ball more effectively? Yes, but what do you expect when the previous regime used up so many scholarships on offensive players who contribute so little? So Nebraska tries to muddle through with Paul and inexperienced receivers like Khiry Cooper and Brandon Kinnie. Would I have liked to see Mike McNeill used more earlier in the game; heck, earlier in this season? Absolutely. But all told, I think Shawn Watson called a good game today given what he has to work with.

So Roy Helu had another outstanding game, sealing the game with two big touchdowns down the stretch along with his 156 yards. The offense bailed out the Blackshirts this week, and you have to feel good about getting a victory on the road when the defense didn't play up to their potential.

That's seven wins for the Huskers, and the Huskers are in position to win the North Division if they take care of business the next two weeks. Kansas State and Colorado are two games that the Huskers should be favored to win. Both the Wildcats and Buffaloes have shown the ability to pull off surprising upsets this season, so Nebraska will need to play well down the stretch.

Win those two games, and you never know. Another defensive performance like last week combined with an improving offense might allow the Huskers to do something unexpected in a season where the unexpected and inexplainable seems to occur each week. (How the heck does USC give up 55 points at home? How does Missouri give up 40 to Baylor?) But the focus needs to be on the Wildcats, who are in a dangerous position: defeat Nebraska, and they live on to play in the Big XII Championship game and a bowl game, perhaps the Fiesta Bowl if they pull off the upset. Lose next week, and the Wildcats season is over. They have everything to gain and absolutely nothing to lose as their season is on the line. (The Wildcats victory over Tennessee Tech doesn't count towards bowl eligibility as only one 1-AA/FCS victory is allowed in determining bowl eligibility.)

CBSsports.com BlogPoll Week 9 Draft

2009-11-09T09:32:00.007-06:00

A whole lot of shakeups this weekend require an awful lot of use of "smell testing" to ask the question, who just had a bad week and who was over/underrated. Sometimes I wanted to move teams down more...but then struggled to find someone that I thought was better. As always, your feedback is welcome...especially those of you who respond before Wednesday morning, when this ballot goes final.

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Alabama
2	Florida
3	Texas
4	Cincinnati
5	TCU	1
6	Georgia Tech	3
7	Boise State
8	LSU	3
9	Miami (Florida)	4
10	Oregon	2
11	Ohio State	4
12	Southern Cal
13	Iowa	2
14	Arizona	2
15	Houston	3
16	Texas Tech	3
17	Pitt	3
18	Virginia Tech	3
19	Clemson	5
20	Penn State	6
21	Oklahoma	11
22	Arkansas
23	Utah	2
24	Oklahoma State
25	Stanford
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: California (#17), Notre Dame (#23).

I'm still not entirely sold on Boise State, but it's one of those things where I'm not ready to move anybody else ahead of them. LSU's two losses are 9 and 10 point losses to Florida and Alabama. Find me another team with two better losses to rank above them, please. Oregon stays in the top ten because Stanford isn't that bad and it can be explained as a hangover game.

Iowa's loss can be explained by the injury to Robert Stanzi, so I'm not going to penalize them much more than I already have. The new "fad team" in the BCS mix is Pitt. I think they're overrated, and it's hard for me to give much credit to any coach endorsed by Steve Pederson.

And yep, I'm keeping Oklahoma in the rankings for now. Yes they have 4 losses, but those losses are by 12 points total. Contrast that to Ohio State, who lost to Purdue, and people still want to rank in the top ten! Arkansas too; my smell test keeps them above some other three loss teams.

Big XII PowerPoll

Texas
Texas Tech
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Nebraska
Kansas State
Missouri
Kansas
Texas A&M
Iowa State
Baylor
Colorado

Right now, I'm still keeping Oklahoma in 3rd place because of their strong performance against Texas. Can I really rank Okie State ahead of the Sooners after the Longhorns pasted them in Stillwater? Nebraska gets a bump to fifth on the basis of Saturday night. After Kansas State, a huge chasm awaits where you'd almost like to rank them all 12th for one reason or another. So I have to go back and apply the smell test. I don't think Missouri is as bad as the others, though they've played that way the last couple of weeks. A&M is skitzoid, shocking us one week by looking like a top 4 team, then losing to Colorado the next. And we already know how bad Colorado is.

Blackshirts Hold Sooners in Check

2009-11-08T01:31:00.000-06:00

If you love defense, you had to love tonight's Nebraska-Oklahoma game. Some might point to the 10-3 final and announce boring, mediocre, or just plain bad. But from the south end zone perspective, it was one hell of a night of football as two great defenses took the field tonight.

Matt O'Hanlon took a step tonight to putting the end of the Virginia Tech game behind him tonight with an outstanding performance. 12 tackles and THREE interceptions? What a game from the former walk-on. But O'Hanlon's performance wasn't the only stellar performance tonight. Phillip Dillard was all over the field, making tackles. Prince Amukamara forced the first interception which set up tonight's lone touchdown.

All night long, the Husker defenders kept their cool. Personal foul penalties have been an issue at times during the Bo Pelini era, coming at sometimes the most unfortunate times. Tonight, however, it was the Sooners who lost their cool at times and the Huskers waived it off, never retaliating.

Tonight's offense was pedestrian at best, and for good reason. The Sooner defense is rock solid, and trying to do too much was a much larger danger as it risked turnovers... especially once the Huskers took the lead. I have absolutely no problem with Zac Lee taking over at quarterback tonight. Tonight's matchup required a game manager who wasn't going to try and make plays when they weren't there. 7 of 14 passing for 39 yards looks like a horror story from Orange Bowl blowouts, but tonight's final score proved it wasn't necessary. Look at the other side of the field for the proof: Landry Jones threw 58 passes tonight, but only completed 26 passes to Sooners and five to Huskers. Sometimes when ou force a play, it turns out to be a disaster. And for the most part, Zac Lee didn't make mistakes. Didn't make any plays either, but it turns out it wasn't necessary thanks to the Blackshirts.

Think back to 2006 at the LA Coliseum, where Nebraska turtled up against USC. Didn't work very well that night, because while the defense played ok that night, the offense never tried to win the game until too late. And at that point of the 2006 season, Nebraska's best offensive weapon was Zac Taylor and his arm. This season? Well, it appears that it's Roy Helu when he's healthy. So the Huskers went with power formation after power formation. Didn't accomplish much, but as it turned out, they didn't need to. And as long as the Blackshirts had control of the Sooners, no need to risk anything.

Now, if Sooner Magic had struck again this evening, we might have rued that decision, but as long as the Huskers were ahead on the scoreboard, it was a calculated decision to protect the ball and hope the Blackshirts could have held on. Without any playmakers in the passing game, it really was the best option.

Ugly, yes. But it was a win, and a win against a ranked opponent. The Huskers find themselves solidly in the Big XII North race, trailing a surprising Kansas State squad by just a half-game. Nebraska's destiny in the Big XII North is in their own hands, and after the last three weeks, that's a welcome situation.

Husker Mike's PostGame Oklahoma Podcast

2009-11-07T22:48:00.002-06:00

What a night in Lincoln, what a game by the Blackshirts, and what a game by Matt O'Hanlon!
Husker Mike's PostGame Oklahoma Podcast

Wednesday Night Beer: Vegas Isn't So Pessimistic

2009-11-04T23:32:00.001-06:00

Many Husker fans are surprised by the line setting up with Oklahoma being a six point favorite over the Huskers. Looking at the Husker offense in recent weeks, obviously those performances aren't going to cut it against the Sooners. But look beyond the losses and instead focus on how the team played. A few key plays, and Nebraska could easily be 7-1 instead of 5-3 at this point...even with a weak offense. All it took was making a play against Virginia Tech and not fumbling the ball once inside the Iowa State ten yard line. Even with ugly offense, the Huskers aren't that far off. Sagarin's points predictor still has Nebraska #16 overall, which tells me the computer sees something as well.

Want some other reasons to have some hope for Saturday?

Roy Helu shed his green practice jersey this week. If his shoulder is healed to the point where he's able to carry the ball (and not turn the ball over), he could start opening up the offense that has sputtered ever since he went down. If Dontreyvious Robinson can go as well, that's a pretty good one-two punch at I-back to complement Cody Green.
Saturday's game at Baylor reminded me of Nebraska's 1999 game against Southern Miss. In that game, the game plan was rather limited as Eric Crouch took over at quarterback and Bobby Newcombe moved to wide receiver. A week later, Nebraska opened up the playbook at Missouri and went vertical early and often and from there, it was a race to the Fiesta Bowl and the Big XII Championship. Not saying this season is going there, just that sometimes an offensive gameplan is limited to ease players into a role. Nebraska could get away with it against Baylor. They won't be able to against the Sooners, unless they want to try the Bill Callahan turtle strategy again.
Chris Brooks might be healthy and ready to play, giving the Huskers another receiver. Maybe Menelik Holt or Currenski Gilleylen learned something from the "Phillip Dillard" treatment they've received and are ready to contribute as well.

Bottom line, Nebraska can't beat the Sooners playing like they did the last three weeks. But I also don't believe that's all Nebraska is capable of doing. They'll need a lot of help from the Blackshirts to win it, but just not making dumb mistakes will go a long way towards giving the Big Red a chance on Saturday night.

UNO hockey jumped into the top ten of both the USCHO and USA Today polls this week. Officially, UNO is still undefeated four weeks into the season, with the only blemishes being a tie against Colgate and a controversial shootout loss against Bowling Green last Friday night. That Friday night shootout probably reflects worse on the CCHA than on UNO. The Pervert's Jordan Samuels-Thomas was sent off the ice with 16 seconds left in overtime for a coincidental minor penalty, yet was allowed to take a shot in the shootout. He scored the lone goal in the shootout, giving Bowling Green the apparent victory. Until, of course, UNO realized that Samuels-Thomas was ineligible to participate in the shootout under NCAA rules. The CCHA reviewed the situation the next morning, but refused to disallow the ineligible goal.

Not surprising the CCHA failed to act here; the conference is still bitter over UNO's departure for the WCHA next season, and there's no desire to appease a lame-duck conference member. What would have been fair was to disallow the goal and either (a) give Bowling Green another opportunity to take a shot or (b) declare the shootout tied at 0-0 and revoke the standings point Bowling Green received for winning the shootout. In that situation, either don't award the point at all or award each team a half point.

It's not going to happen, despite Trev Alberts' protest because the CCHA has no desire to appease Alberts anymore. So now the Mavs need to simply concentrate on making that point irrelevant as the season progresses. UNO didn't play their best game on Friday night; something I expected much more of early in this season because of the coaching change. Being undefeated and ranked this early is a definite positive sign for UNO hockey at this point, and I still expect to see this team really turn it on as the season progresses. Up next for the Mavs is two games at Michigan State tomorrow and Friday night.

CBSsports.com BlogPoll Week 9 Draft

2009-11-02T09:45:00.003-06:00

Last week, my ballot got some extra attention after winning the "Mr. Bold" award from Brian Cook, the CBSsports.com BlogPoll administrator. Unfortunately, people ignored my explanation of Oklahoma being a top ten team from the week before, so here's the Cliffs Note version. Three losses by five points is still pretty good, and frankly, against some pretty darn good teams. I'm dropping the Sooners a spot for spinning their wheels a bit against Kansas State on Saturday though. But remember, this is a "power poll"..and Sagarin's predictor thinks that Oklahoma is still the 8th best team in the country. And I have no reason to disagree.

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Alabama
2	Florida
3	Texas
4	Cincinnati	3
5	LSU
6	TCU
7	Boise State	5
8	Oregon	5
9	Georgia Tech	2
10	Oklahoma	1
11	Iowa	3
12	Southern Cal	8
13	Miami (Florida)	2
14	Penn State	4
15	Ohio State	4
16	Arizona	4
17	California	4
18	Houston	4
19	Texas Tech	4
20	Pittsburgh	4
21	Virginia Tech	13
22	Arkansas	6
23	Notre Dame	2
24	Clemson
25	Utah
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Oklahoma State (#10), South Carolina (#17).

Note, I'm still sticking with Alabama on top..even if Texas and Florida are hitting their stride. Oregon makes an impressive statement, and carries Boise along with them. Iowa once again avoids the suckage bug, and gets a bump as others fall. The criticism of Arkansas is valid; I still think the Razorbacks are a quality team, so they're staying in, but dropping a bit.

Oklahoma State got badly exposed...so out they go.

Big XII PowerPoll

Texas
Oklahoma
Texas Tech
Kansas State
Oklahoma State
Nebraska
Missouri
Texas A&M
Iowa State
Kansas
Colorado
Baylor

I'm bumping Kansas State in the rankings for coming back against Oklahoma, and the general suckage level in the Big XII North. I don't know what to make of A&M at this point, but that's the same with Iowa State and Kansas. Colorado and Baylor continue to sink.

Cody Green Takes Over at Quarterback; Husker Offense Remains Lethargic

2009-10-31T15:18:00.000-05:00

The much-rumored fan-requested change at quarterback took place today, but didn't provide Nebraska much of a spark on offense. Cody Green did some good things on the ground and a little bit through the air, but made some mistakes in the second half that reenergized Baylor. But the results were much the same as the last few weeks: a lethargic offense with only one offensive touchdown.

One thing is clear in my mind: Zac Lee got too much of a bum rap for the Husker offensive problems. Green has an upside and at this point, I see no reason to switch back at quarterback barring injury. No need to play quarterback Pong like interim Colorado head coach Dan Hawkins. The problems for the Husker offense go deeper, and start with an injury depleted I-back corps. Roy Helu was ineffective and is still looking to be injured. Dontrevious Robinson ran strong...but got injured as well. So now the Huskers turn deep onto the depth chart. Marcus Mendoza does ok running wide, and Lester Ward looked passable running tough inside. Austin Jones doesn't seem to provide much of anything.

Without much of a running threat other than Green, that puts too much pressure on a Nebraska passing game that doesn't really offer much of a threat. Niles Paul occasionally makes the big play, and Khiry Cooper shows potential. But right now, there isn't much there to work with either.

Bottom line is that until Helu, Robinson, or Rex Burkhead get healthy enough to contribute, this offense is going to continue to struggle.

On defense, the defensive line looked strong but the secondary struggled at times after Alfonzo Dennard left the game due to injury. Jared Crick was a man possessed out there, and Ndamukong Suh was strong as well. The personal foul call against Suh late in the game was almost laughable. If that's a foul, then it's time to abandon tackle football and become a fan of the Lingerie Football League.

Bottom line: It's a win, but it doesn't give fans much of a reason to be optimistic about the rest of the season. Other than the Oklahoma game, every game down the stretch is a game that's up for grabs, and it's up to this team to continue to fight through their problems, work on improving, and try to finish the season strong. Mail in performances, and Nebraska could be home for the holidays once again.

The Unmentioned Possibility of the Husker Quarterback Debate

2009-10-28T23:10:00.000-05:00

As we've gone through this week, there's been much consternation about Cody Green not seeing the field last weekend against Iowa State. Very few people are blaming Zac Lee for the Huskers 9-7 loss, but they also point out that Lee didn't lead the Huskers to victory either. So we hear lots of conspiracy theories and excuses as to why Green remained on the sideline. But in every single one of these discussions, one reason never gets brought up... and frankly, if you are going to discuss the relative merits of each quarterback, you need to consider every possibility.

Even the possibility that Zac Lee, a junior, is a better quarterback than Cody Green, a true freshman.

We've seen this argument before; the backup quarterback is one of the most popular players on the team. Quarterbacks always get more of the credit and blame for the performance of the team, and when the team is struggling, people are looking for alternatives. But changing quarterbacks doesn't mean improvement...just change. I remember in 2004 reading fans calling for Beau Davis or Jordan Adams to start after becoming frustrated with Joe Dailey. (Even after Bill Callahan threw Davis to the wolves at Texas Tech, resulting in his five turnover performance.)

I'm not saying that Lee is playing outstanding, or that Lee is definitively the better quarterback. We've seen Cody Green look impressive in mop-up duty against Sun Belt foes. Problem is...so did Zac Lee in those games. We saw Green throw a touchdown pass against Tech, something Lee didn't do. But we also saw Green throw an ugly interception and two other passes that really should have been picked off as well. The only people who really know which quarterback is the best quarterback at this time are the coaches, and up to now, the decision has been made to stick with Lee. Which is just fine with me, as we really don't have enough reason to second guess their decision.

I'm not opposed to playing or even starting Cody Green -- but only if the coaches make that decision based on what's best for the team. I don't think these coaches are trying to sabotage the team or are ignoring Green by being stubborn. They watch these quarterbacks every day; they know which quarterback is the better quarterback.

The problems the Husker offense faces at this time are larger than just who plays quarterback. We're watching the depth chart at wide receiver being turned upside down due to the poor play of the receivers. It's pretty obvious that this staff feels that much of the blame goes on the receivers. Add in the injuries to Roy Helu and Rex Burkhead, and the Husker offense is operating without playmakers. Is Green a playmaker? Maybe, if you judge him primarily on his running ability. But is a Jammal Lord style offense what we want to see? Some of Green's passes were painful to watch against Texas Tech; frankly, he didn't look like the solution in that game.

I don't know which quarterback will start against Baylor; frankly, I'm more concerned by the receivers than quarterback right now. But I do feel confident that the coaches will be playing the best quarterback this Saturday, no matter what fans feel and demand.

CBSsports.com BlogPoll Week 8 Draft

2009-10-26T10:02:00.000-05:00

A few minor updates to this week's poll. I still don't understand the love for Iowa, who nearly lost to a very average Michigan State team. In fact, I'm moving them below Oregon and Boise State because the Ducks continue to impress - unlike the Hawkeyes.

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Alabama
2	Florida
3	Texas
4	Southern Cal
5	LSU
6	TCU
7	Cincinnati
8	Virginia Tech
9	Oklahoma	1
10	Oklahoma State	1
11	Georgia Tech	2
12	Boise State	2
13	Oregon	2
14	Iowa	2
15	Miami (Florida)	6
16	Arkansas	2
17	South Carolina	1
18	Penn State	1
19	Ohio State	1
20	Arizona	1
21	California	1
22	Houston	1
23	Texas Tech	6
24	Pittsburgh	1
25	Notre Dame
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Nebraska (#24).

Out go the Huskers for good reason. Texas Tech falls five spots, but I'm giving Tech a pass with the injury to Stephen Sheffield.

Big XII PowerPoll

Texas
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Texas Tech
Nebraska
Missouri
Iowa State
Kansas State
Kansas
Colorado
Texas A&M
Baylor

Not sure how to rank some of these teams. The transitive property never applies in college football, and this year provides the ultimate proof. Texas Tech blew out Kansas State, then Kansas State blew out Texas A&M the next week. Now A&M blew out Tech. With that situation, it's nearly impossible to base this on purely head-to-head, so you've got to lok at how teams really stack up. Nebraska coulda-shoulda beaten Iowa State, and Iowa State coulda-shoulda beaten both Kansas State and Kansas. Missouri might be 0-3, but they've played a murders row to open the conference schedule.

Sunday Night Beer: Huskers NOT a Mirror of 2007

2009-10-25T22:27:00.002-05:00

One of the more popular suggestions of the last day is the idea that somehow the 2009 Huskers are the mirror image of the 2007 Huskers now that offense is the problem rather than defense. Except that misses one minor detail: the 2007 Huskers weren't very good on offense either for much of the season. Remember the Ball State and Iowa State games, where Bo Ruud interception returns were needed to win? Remember going seven quarters against Missouri and Oklahoma State without a touchdown, then repeating that over four quarters against Texas A&M and Texas? Yes, the offense put up some gaudy numbers in November as the defense disappeared, but at least while Sam Keller was quarterbacking, the Huskers weren't good on either side of the ball.

The reason why the 2007 Husker offense improved in November? A quarterback change, forced by an injury to Sam Keller, invigorated the offense. Is another quarterback change called for in 2009? It's becoming a more intriguing option as the offense continues to struggle. Zac Lee isn't the problem..but he's not the solution either. This team's only playmakers we've found are Roy Helu and occasionally Niles Paul. Helu is hurt, and Paul intermixes spectacular plays with spectacular blunders. So who's left to make something happen? Maybe Cody Green can make something happen; the risk factor is that while he's shown great running ability, his passing still might leave something to be desired. But it might provide a needed spark on offense. I'm not ready to demand the change, but I'm hoping that the coaching staff is considering it.

The UNO Mavericks hockey team was off this weekend, but UNO fans were excited to see former Mav all-American Scott Parse make his long-delayed NHL debut this weekend. Injuries have slowed Parse's rise to the NHL, but he's off to a great start, with two assists in his first two games last night and tonight.

Nebraska vs. Iowa State in 3 Letters: WTF

2009-10-24T22:39:00.002-05:00

I don't know if there is any other way to describe it. Pardon the vulgarity, but What The F-bomb was that? Eight turnovers. Eight turnovers. It's mind boggling. Eight turnovers.

This one is a gut shot that frankly might be this team's Waterloo. Last week was ineptness on offense, but for the most part, the offense was ok today. The Huskers moved the ball ok most of the day...until they got inside the Iowa State ten yard line. In the upper reaches of the South End Zone, someone yelled to "quick, kick the field goal before someone screws up" in the third quarter. Two plays later, Dontravious Robinson was stripped of the ball. Postgame video showed offensive lineman Keith Williams reading Robinson the riot act as he came off the field. Not a good sign for team unity, though the frustration was certainly understandable. (And it's not like Williams had a particularly good game either; the left side of the line struggled all afternoon..)

We all know what was bad today, but there were some signs of optimism to build on.

Dontravious Robinson showed good power in his first action at I-back. Looking at the replays of his fumble, that was a ferocious attack on the ball by Iowa State's defense. I'm going to give Robinson a pass on this one; it's a learning experience for him to work on ball security. In fact, I'm so concerned about Roy Helu's injury status, that I think Robinson should start next week at Baylor. I'm not convinced Helu is able to adequately maintain possession of the ball with his shoulder injury; it might be best to let this thing heal.
Zac Lee isn't the answer, but isn't the problem either. His receivers didn't help him at all today, though Lee did stare down his receivers much of the day. Not as blatantly as Sam Keller, mind you. But bad enough that it makes you fear the Sooners when they come to town.
I'm going to say it again: Ndamukong Suh for Heisman. I know it's become a quarterback award in recent years, but nobody else is having this kind of year. Right after Iowa State scored their touchdown, I started wondering if Suh would get a hold of the kick and allow the Huskers to tie the game at 9-9. Unfortunately, Suh got too much of the ball and it squirted out of bounds before Prince Amukamara could field it. If Amukamara had gotten to the ball, he had clear sailing for a 2 point conversion.
Shawn Watson still called too many screen passes today, but he did try to stretch the field today. And I loved the power formations with multiple tight ends. The right side of the line was productive...the left side, not so much.
Phillip Dillard is performaning at an all-Big XII level at linebacker. Not bad for a guy who disappeared this spring and in the first two games of the season.

Nebraska may be a disappointing 4-3 at this point, but it's a wacky season and anything can still happen. Actually, anything seems to be happening this season. Texas A&M came back and upset Texas Tech in Lubbock tonight. Colorado somehow upset Kansas last week. Before anybody writes off this season, stop and look around. Wacky turnarounds seem to be the norm this season.

It all starts tomorrow by acknowledging the great job the Iowa State defense did in forcing some of those turnovers, and starting over with ball security drills. At the same time, team unity and resolve is an even bigger concern at this point. A loss like this can either spur the team on to resolve the problems, or implode like 2007. And let's not kid ourselves...the 2007 Huskers were bad for much of that season on BOTH sides of the ball. (Remember the long stretches without touchdowns in October of that season?)

I don't know what the solutions are, but giving up isn't one of them.

Husker Mike's PostGame Iowa State Podcast

2009-10-24T14:51:00.002-05:00

"Unbeliveable. Eight friggin turnovers. My goodness. I'm stunned."

Gabcast! Husker Mike's PostGame Podcast #15

Media Forgets "It's Not About You" in Pelini Coverage

2009-10-20T22:03:00.000-05:00

Ever since this weekend's 31-10 loss to Texas Tech, I've been somewhat dismayed by the media's obsession with Bo Pelini's curt answer to a rather inane question. The most flagrant example is the Omaha World-Herald's headline writer, who came up with the "Boorish Bo" tagline today to Lee Barfknecht's article about Pelini's comments during and after Saturday's game. It's not that the media is wrong as much as they don't realize that, in the grand scheme of things, Pelini's dismissal of a dumb question isn't the story. The story from Saturday was the dismal play of the Husker offense, not the postgame presser.

I liked Dirk Chatelain's columns last week questioning offensive coordinator Shawn Watson's playcalling in the Missouri game. It was a tough, but fair examination into the situation from an outsider's perspective. And Chatelain's questions about what Pelini wants to see from his offense was also a good question, evoking the following response from the head coach:

“First thing I want to see is … us being able to run the football consistently and knock somebody off the football."

But I'm still struggling with trying to understand the followup question where he asked if Nebraska tried to do that against Texas Tech. One look at the statistics would have answered that question. It was a dumb question begging for the answer he got:

“You watched the game, what do you think?”

In all the uproar over this answer, nobody in the media as of yet has suggested what Pelini should have answered instead. And that's because there really isn't an answer to this question. He could have been truthful and said "No". He could have been Bill Callahan and started rambling on about something else to change the subject. But neither answer would have shed any light into the situation.

The way the question was worded seemed to ask Pelini to call out either his offensive coordinator (for the playcalls and formations) or his quarterback (audibling out of those situations)...when the question really revolves around "how do you get to that type of offense?" Is it because of scheme? Is it the depth situation at running back? Is it because of execution?

There's an old adage that if you "ask a stupid question, you get a stupid answer." Bo Pelini doesn't deal in a lot of coachspeak; he'll be vague about injuries ("he's fine") but that's about it. He's usually direct in his comments, and like in this situation, almost to a fault. His predecessor used to ramble on about whatever it was he wanted to talk about, never even trying to answer the question at hand. You don't get that with Pelini, and that frankness comes at a price when the media drops the ball in the interview room.

That's not Bo Pelini's fault. That's the media's fault. Pelini has enough problems figuring out what's wrong with the offense. If the media wants a better answer, ask a better question rather waste ink and airtime griping about the curt answer. Chances are that with Bo Pelini, if you ask the better question, you'll get the answer you wanted in the end. Like Pelini said today

"I answer things pretty directly. I'm very black and white."

CBSsports.com BlogPoll Week 7 Draft

2009-10-19T10:11:00.001-05:00

This week, the sportswriters finally agreed with my ranking of Alabama at #1, finally knocking the Florida Tebows out of the top spot. But a weekend of upsets is causing quite a disruption on my ballot.

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Alabama
2	Florida
3	Texas
4	Southern Cal	2
5	LSU	2
6	TCU	2
7	Cincinnati	2
8	Virginia Tech	4
9	Miami (Florida)	1
10	Oklahoma	1
11	Oklahoma State	3
12	Iowa	5
13	Georgia Tech	5
14	Boise State	9
15	Oregon
16	South Carolina	5
17	Texas Tech
18	Arkansas	7
19	Penn State
20	Ohio State	7
21	Arizona
22	California
23	Houston
24	Nebraska	12
25	Pitt
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Kansas (#16), Missouri (#20), Brigham Young (#22), South Florida (#23), Notre Dame (#24).

A few things stand out that probably require explanation.

Virginia Tech didn't drop as much as most other voters would drop them. I'm still voting based on what I think the relative strength of each team. The Hokies beat Miami, who beat Georgia Tech, who beat VT. So who do you vote ahead of the others? VT's blowout of Miami was the most impressive of the three games, so they get the nod.
Oklahoma jumps up 1 spot despite losing their third game of the season. Three losses by a total of FIVE points. If I think Miami is a top ten team, then Oklahoma isn't far behind them. And frankly, I still think the Sooners are better than 110 other teams in college football. I can't put anybody else ahead of the Sooners than are already in front of them.

Iowa is this season's Penn State. An undefeated, overrated Big Ten team who voters feel the need to rank highly. Why? The Hawkeyes nearly lost to Northern Iowa and Arkansas State.
Boise won...and dropped because they merely beat a Tulsa team that Oklahoma blew out handily. It was noted last week that Boise doesn't look like a top five team...so this is a necessary adjustment.
Arkansas jumps 7 spots by going into the Swamp and taking the Gators down to the wire. Another example of a team deserving to be rewarded for playing a better team and just coming up short. It's better to lose by 3 points to Florida than to beat Arkansas State by 3 points.
Texas Tech has been underrated lately. I forget they took Texas down to the wire, and their loss to Houston was close as well. The Red Raiders seemed to put everything together when Steven Sheffield took over at quarterback. They may be underranked at #17.
I don't think Nebraska is as bad as they looked on Saturday...so I'm keeping them ranked for now.

Big 12 Powerpoll

Texas
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Texas Tech
Nebraska
Missouri
Kansas State
Kansas
Colorado
Iowa State
Baylor
Texas A&M

This weekend, the top four teams in the South clearly established themselves on a level above the North...but the bottom two in the South sure took a step downwards. Baylor has an excuse with the loss of Robert Griffin...but A&M is now finding out that Mike Sherman is simply Bill Callahan 2.0.

I'm still trying to figure out how Kansas managed to lose to Colorado; that one was nearly as stunning as Nebraska's lack of offense on Saturday. Is the North becoming one big sucky pool of mediocrity?

Mavs Brush Off Colgate

2009-10-18T22:42:00.002-05:00

In my dismay over the Huskers loss to Texas Tech yesterday, I missed much of last night's UNO hockey game with Colgate. UNO came on strong in the third period, scoring four times in the final twenty minutes to win 4-1 last night. That continues an impressive trend early in the season of dominant third period hockey; no goals allowed in the final period through the first four games.

John Faulkner is establishing himself as the starting goaltender, giving up two goals for the entire weekend. I'm impressed by this hot start because I made the assumption that the transition would take much of the first month or two. I fully expected some hiccups and some mistakes early on as UNO transitioned into the "run-and-gun racehorse" style favored by Dean Blais. Instead, UNO finds themselves 3-0-1 and ranked nationally.

It's easy to see Colgate and think toothpaste, but it's an important victory over an east coast hockey team that helps set the Mavs resume for later in the season. UNO hired Dean Blais because the Mavs want to play into March...and winning these non-conference matchups help the RPI which helps set the PairWise. UNO's 2006 run to the NCAA tournament was based on a strong non-conference schedule; unlike college football, strength of schedule matters in hockey.

A bye week comes in handier than normal for UNO; it gives them more time to work on cementing down the new system and prepares the team for conference play. I expect this team to be much better after the new year than in October, so a good start in October really starts to raise some eyebrows.

Nebraska's Offense Goes AWOL

2009-10-17T22:17:00.003-05:00

I've watched a lot of Nebraska football over the years, and today's 31-10 defeat at the hands of Texas Tech might have been the most disappointing and distressing losses I can remember. There were some bowl games where a top-ranked Miami squad stopped the Husker offense cold; that could be excused because of the competition and the location. I remember a few horrid games against Oklahoma where the Sooners dominated; again, the Sooners were usually that good those years.

Those losses don't compare to today. Texas Tech isn't known for having a great defense, and while the Raiders deserve a lot of credit for shutting down Nebraska, the concern level over the Husker offense is now reaching critical level. We excused the lack of touchdowns against Virginia Tech because they're known to play great defense. OK fine. We excused three quarters of futility against Missouri because (a) the game was played in a monsoon and (b) the Husker scored four times late. OK. But today? What excuses can be made today?

There is only one, and that is injuries to Nebraska's top two running backs. Rex Burkhead is out for the next few weeks with a foot injury, and Roy Helu's shoulder is not only not recovered from last week's injury, but now aggravated. But that doesn't excuse today's performance one bit.

It's not Zac Lee, though he does share the blame along with everybody else on offense.

With Helu limited, Nebraska sought solutions in the running game and found very little as the line line did a poor job blocking and had way too many penalties. Austin Jones was ineffective for the most part in relief. Zac Lee did have a couple of nice short runs.

The passing game was pretty much a disaster today. Zac Lee, whether by design, bad reads, or bad play by receivers, never threw the ball downfield until his final pass, which fell out of bounds on 4th and goal. Lee never challenged the Raiders deep, being content to take short passes for minimal gain all day. Cody Green came on in relief, and threw the ball deeper with mixed results. Yes, he did get the Huskers into the end zone...but was picked off once and probably should have had two more picked off. Green wasn't the answer today either, and I'd resist the tempatation to call for Green to start next week...at least not with this game plan.

Speaking of which, I don't know what the game plan was supposed to be this week, as it seemed to be completely out of sorts. Perhaps it was to not make any mistakes and keep it close, and wait for Ndamukong Suh to save the day once again. Which might have worked if somebody had bothered to try and recover Niles Paul's fumble on that lateral.

This one doesn't go on the Blackshirts. Yes, they did give up 24 points to the Raiders, but holding the Raiders to 259 yards of offense should have been enough to put the Huskers in position to win the game. In fact, limiting Tech to 259 should have put Nebraska in position to win by handily.

This one goes to the core: offensive line, quarterback decision making, wide receiver play, you name it. It was bad all the way around today, and I didn't see anybody (other than Chris Brooks and maybe Khiry Cooper) who really cared. Zac Lee finally elected to scramble for a first down rather than throw an incompletion on the run with running room ahead of him. I guess that was one sign of optimism.

The only suggestion I can bring forward is to start utilizing Nebraska's tight ends more. We know that Mike McNeill is a game changer, Dreu Young is a great blocker, and Ben Cotton and Kyler Reed are intriguing freshmen. Let's get them into the game more and try to get some offensive continuity going. Is Cody Green the answer? Not if you are asking him to throw the ball 40 times a game. Not with these receivers, and not with this line trying to protect him. And not with this game plan.

Maybe there's something in the video that will emerge that was just not quite right. But until Helu and Burkhead are healthy again, I'm not sure I see any answers to the mounting questions about Nebraska's offense. And that's frightening at this point, because an offense that can't run and can't throw isn't going to do much when the competition isn't a Sun Belt foe.

Husker Mike's Texas Tech Post Game Podcast

2009-10-17T17:55:00.004-05:00

"I don't believe what I just saw..."

Powered by GabCast

CBSsports.com BlogPoll Week 6 Draft

2009-10-12T10:10:00.000-05:00

Not a lot of upsets at the top of the poll, but lots of teams losing at the bottom of the poll, necessitating a lot of movement down.

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Alabama
2	Florida
3	Texas
4	Virginia Tech
5	Boise State	1
6	Southern Cal	1
7	LSU	2
8	TCU
9	Cincinnati
10	Miami (Florida)
11	Oklahoma
12	Nebraska
13	Ohio State
14	Oklahoma State
15	Oregon
16	Kansas
17	Iowa	1
18	Georgia Tech	3
19	Penn State	1
20	Missouri	3
21	South Carolina	4
22	Brigham Young
23	South Florida
24	Notre Dame
25	Arkansas
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Auburn (#19), Wisconsin (#22), Georgia (#23), Arizona (#24).

Three byes in the top ten lead to a lot of inertia. LSU didn't mount much of a challenge to Florida...but the gap between the top three or four teams and the rest is becoming large. I'm not bumping Nebraska up in the standings after the Missouri victory because while I was very pleased with the play of the defense, I wasn't pleased with the offense much of the night at Missouri In other words, while others upgraded their opinions of Nebraska, my opinions were simply validated.

I thought about dropping Missouri further...but as others around them lost, I really couldn't find teams to bump above them. So the Tigers remain a Top Twenty team in my opinion. I mean, when I finally have to rank Notre Dame, you know I'm struggling to fill out my ballot.

Big XII Standings

Texas
Oklahoma
Nebraska
Oklahoma State
Kansas
Missouri
Baylor
Texas Tech
Texas A&M
Iowa State
Colorado
Kansas State

Baylor gave Oklahoma a better battle than I expected. Is Oklahoma overrated? Very possibly, but I'm being stubborn with the Sooners for a while longer. Texas Tech wallopped Kansas State badly, so I'm bumping the Wildcats down in the standings. And frankly, seeing Colorado leading Texas at halftime has to be a headscratcher at this point. Iowa State nearly pulled off the upset at Kansas, so I'm keeping them up on my list.

Mav Hockey Off to Blais-ing Start

2009-10-11T22:18:00.002-05:00

Took in my first Nebraska-Omaha hockey game this past weekend and came away impressed with my first glance at the new-look Mavericks. Assuming that UMass-Lowell is as good as some expect (ranked 10th nationally in the preseason polls), coming back to win 4-3 is a good start. What impressed me at the start was the crispness of play after just one week of official practices; I didn't see the lazy passes and mistakes that you normally see early in the season. The speed level seemed better, and at the end of the game, UNO was able to carry the play much of the way.

Freshman Terry Broadhurst scored the first two game-winning goals this weekend, breaking out to an impressive start. Redshirt freshman goalie John Faulkner came on in relief both games this season to bail out senior Jeremie Dupont. I'm surprised by Dupont's struggles in the early games, as I expected to see Dupont take advantage of his opportunity to become a dominant goalie in his senior season. Faulkner did well in junior hockey playing on offensive-minded teams, which might prepare him well for what we'll see at UNO.

Overall, it was a good night of hockey to cap off a good start to hockey season. New radio play-by-play announcer Dave Ahlers was fine, and it's nice to listen to the game with FM clarity on a stronger signal. It's going to take some time to get adjusted to former Z-92 morning host Otis XII promoting Mozart during breaks in the action, and I think the continued branding of "Omaha's Team" may become even more annoying than Steve Pederson's horrid "Power of Red" slogan. The loss of the band at games wasn't as disappointing as I thought it would be. I'd still like to see the Music and Athletic departments find an agreement, but it's not as big of a loss as I originally feared.

I'm curious to see how this squad reacts to the Blais system. First weekend was very good, but I still expect some bumps as the team adapts to a more offensive mindset.