OK, so this one comes way out of left field - former starting Miami quarterback Robert Marve, who was involved in a real mess trying to get out of the Hurricanes' program and transfer to the schools he preferred, has apparently whittled his list down to six finalists - and Nebraska is one of them.

Other finalists: Michigan, Purdue, Texas Tech, South Florida and UCLA. The story mentions Marve has visited Nebraska, as well.

Marve, who started 11 games last year threw for more than 1,200 yards and nine touchdowns, would have to sit out 2010, but would have two years to play after that. Marve presumably flew onto the Husker radar after backup Patrick Witt left the program.

The Tampa, Florida, native redshirted in 2007 - after sustaining injuries in a serious car crash prior to fall camp - then got the starting nod in 2008 before while sharing time with Jacory Harris. Marve was suspended twice for violation of team rules, and chose to leave the program, with he and his parents giving the distinct idea that Marve has been poorly treated by UM coach Randy Shannon.

Shannon certainly seemed to hold a grudge, initially forbidding Marve from transferring to any ACC or SEC school, as well as any program in the state of Florida. Eventually the transfer order was changed to any ACC school, along with Florida, Tennessee and LSU. Shannon had already told Marve that, no matter what, he wasn't starting in 2009, and that Harris would be named the starter in the spring.

Rivals rated him the No. 8 pro-style quarterback coming out of high school in 2008. In his final year of high school play, Marve threw for 4,380 yards and 48 touchdowns. He's identifiable by the glove he wears on his non-throwing hand.

The best game of his short career at UM was against Texas A&M, when he threw for 212 yards and two touchdowns in a 41-23 win.

We'll keep you up to date on this one. It ought to be interesting.

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More than 18 months after taking his final snap as a Nebraska quarterback, Sam Keller is choosing to challenge more formidable opponents: The NCAA and EA Sports.

Keller has filed a lawsuit against the two entities for, “blatant and unlawful use of [NCAA] student likenesses” in a number of EA Sports’ college football games during his time at Arizona State and Nebraska without paying him for it. The “NCAA 08” game, for example, lists Keller at his approximate height and weight.

“With rare exception, virtually every real-life Division I football or basketball player in the NCAA has a corresponding player in Electronic Arts' games with the same jersey number, and virtually identical height, weight, build and home state,” the lawsuit said. “In addition Electronic Arts often matches the player's, skin tone, hair color, and often even a player's hair style."

Player ratings tend to be tied the presumed skills of an athlete before the beginning of the season.

The lawsuit also contends that the NCAA looks the other way when gamers download rosters names from the Internet. On the most recent Playstation 3 version of the college football game, EA provides an option to download rosters created by other users.

Here's a copy of the lawsuit. You have to admit...it's compelling.

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If a fan of Nebraska athletics was already fearful that the Big 12 conference had tilted permanently in favor of Texas, consider this column a long, unpleasant spelunk into the cave of more proof.

According to data compiled by the NCAA’s Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act, the Longhorns’ athletic department brought $120.3 million in revenue in 2007-2008. That’s $32 million more than the second-place school in the Big 12 (the identity of which might surprise you, more on that in a minute).

That whopping dollar amount is the GDP of some third-world countries, and tops in college sports – just slightly ahead of Ohio State, which culls a major wad of cash from the Big Ten Network and runs two Jack Nicklaus-endorsed golf courses.

As for football revenue, UT was the nation’s No. 1 there, too, bringing in $72.9 million.

Yeah, in the Big 12, Nebraska was second. At $49 million. That’s close to the national top ten.

But the gap between NU and UT – almost $24 million - is larger the entire football revenue of six Big 12 teams. Texas earned five times what Kansas reported – although KU had $50 million of revenue in the “not allocated” category - and nearly doubled the $40.9 million taken in by Oklahoma, a program that’s had more success than its rival over the last decade (one more reason to respect Bob Stoops, eh?).

UT recorded more than $52 million in profit. That alone is more than the reported football revenues of any Big 12 team. And while Texas also spends more money on football, it only spends a fraction more - $20 million vs. the $19 million spent by Texas A&M, the $18.8 million spent by OU and the $18.7 spent by Nebraska.

Why? Because the Longhorns merely have to drive a couple hours to many of the nation’s best football recruits who reside in cities surrounding Austin – Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth, San Antonio. How hard is it to recruit when you’ve got most of your class figured out before Memorial Day?

Is Texas the lone “have” in the conference? Of course not. OU holds its own. Kansas leads the way in basketball revenue. Oklahoma State, behind the donor dollars of billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens, is actually second in total revenue at $88 million. And Texas A&M, with Bill Byrne as the athletic director, will make a serious push at UT in all the pertinent Olympic, smaller sports. The Aggies already have, in fact, winning national titles in men’s golf and track.

Nebraska is stuck in a tougher spot. The Huskers have always hung their hat on football, and have a former football coach as the athletic director. Sans Texas (and Pickens, I suppose), nobody runs a better fundraising show in the Big 12, and Tom Osborne has brought needed stability back to North Stadium.

NU had the upper hand for more than 30 years, 1970-2001, winning five national titles to Texas’ zero, playing in countless more title games (UT played in one and lost to Notre Dame) winning one more Heisman Trophy, more O’Brien Awards, more Lombardis, more Outlands, you name it. But UT, right now, simply does football better, and has since 2002.

The orderly Big 12 reinvigorated Texas, which suffered in the lawless, hate-fueled Southwestern Conference. Like a defeated corporate giant suddenly tabbed to run another company, UT threw around far more bluster and weight upon its entrance into the league than its athletic portfolio suggested it could.

Too willing to topple the Big Red Machine in football – and upon the inception of the Big 12, there was no college football program more powerful and intimidating than Nebraska - Big 12 South members unwisely followed the Longhorns’ lead on a number of issues, whether it was partial academic qualifiers, television contracts or the facilities arms race. It all favored Texas.

You think Iowa State wouldn’t mind some partial qualifiers? Colorado? Kansas State? Oklahoma State? You think these same schools enjoy building perk after perk for 19-year-olds, only to see Texas, its stadium not even full for every game, roll out every red carpet known to man?

Not to say that UT has ill in mind for the rest of the league, but the numbers simply don’t lie: The Longhorns, financially, has the Big 12 wrapped around its burnt orange finger.

Once upon a time, the most loathed man in the history of NU athletics, Steve Pederson, vowed not to surrender the Big 12 to Texas (and Oklahoma). It was a cocky statement then, an affront to some Husker fans who believed Nebraska ruled the Big 12 roost for many years, and weren’t far, at the time, from ruling it again.

But it’s time get honest. This isn’t 1996 anymore, and Texas made three terrific hires – Mack Brown, Rick Barnes and Augie Garrido – when it counted. Brown and Garrido won national titles, and Barnes took the Horns to a Final Four. Since those hires, Nebraska’s on its third football coach, its third basketball coach, and currently slumping in baseball.

At $75.4 million, NU is now fifth in total revenue, behind Texas, Oklahoma State, Kansas (a surprising $86 million) and Oklahoma ($77 million). And Texas A&M, which was so bad off four years ago that the university actually loaned the athletic department $16 million, is not far behind at $74.7 million. Missouri doesn’t currently compete in terms of revenue, but the sleeping giant has finally woken up, as the Tigers won Big 12 titles in men’s basketball, softball, and women’s soccer, reaching the conference title games in baseball and football.

While Pederson, Bill Callahan and Co. dithered around with a culture change, Mizzou and KU caught up, Byrne started working from the ground up in College Station and OU and Texas broke further away from the pack.

So now is not the time for NU administrators or fans to get distracted by the sheer, stunning misery of two Big 12 North schools – Iowa State and Colorado – and the tumult engulfing Kansas State. They’re the jokes of the league, and Nebraska better plan on beating them consistently in just about everything.

It’s also not the time to get overly wistful for the old days of 2000, when the Huskers’ athletic program was the envy of the every school not named Stanford. It’s time to work smarter and harder.

Here's how.

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So now it's the media. Now it's the fans. So now it's about whether you played college football.

"No one knows what's going on in our meeting and practice room,” Nebraska quarterback Zac Lee said. “Only we know. That's how it is.”

“He feels like the whole state of Nebraska is against him,” head coach Bo Pelini said of Lee. “That would affect anybody.”

“I feel sorry for him tremendously,” competitor Cody Green said. “I wish I could take some of the pain off of him. I just don't want that feeling for anybody, that a whole state would jump on somebody's bandwagon one second, and jump off the next.”

“We won't have a split locker room at all,” Ndamukong Suh said. “I know that's what you guys are looking for, and that's your little thing, you want to see who's going to go for Cody, who's going to go for Zac.”

“Did you play?” offensive coordinator Shawn Watson asked a reporter. “If you did, you would understand what I'm talking about.”

The comments and sentiment seemed designed to rally around Lee, whom Pelini and Watson – not the fans, not the media – yanked twice from a 31-10 loss to Texas Tech.

But this is a team overreacting, frankly, to a situation that happens just about everywhere. Fans boo. The media speculates. You think this is potentially divisive? Head back to 1995, when arguably the best team in college football history was split to the core over Brook Berringer and Tommie Frazier. Head back to 1997, when Scott Frost received a chorus of boos with a 13-2 starting record. Head back to 1999, when Eric Crouch left the program for a couple hours.

It. Happens.

Nebraska's response Tuesday was to take pity on Lee, and re-frame his performance – indeed the whole offense – as part of a great rebuilding/development process. Watson actually talked about how much it hurt to lose Lydon Murtha, Matt Slauson and Jaivorio Burkes in the offseason. He hasn't uttered those first two names since last spring.

Now, suddenly, Lee's “logging time” at the quarterback position, making up for lost reps he didn't get last year because Patrick Witt was the backup. Huh? A month ago, after a dazzling performance vs. Arkansas State, Watson called Lee “lights out, a cool customer.” Two weeks ago, after a 27-12 win over Missouri, Watson said “this is the moment we've been waiting for.”

Tuesday, when a reporter rightly pointed out that Lee is not a new player in the system – he's been at Nebraska for two years now – Watson touched off this exchange:

“But they're playing for the first time. You don't get it. Did you play?”

Not at this level, the reporter responded.

“OK. Well, if you did, you would understand what I'm talking about. It takes time to develop those things. It just doesn't come natural.”
Watson's trying to set the boundaries for his authority and leadership, which is fine. He's taken his share of shots across the bow in the last two weeks; he's allowed to dish a few out.

But his argument doesn't jibe, especially when Nebraska is considering starting Green, an 18-year-old who's admittedly become a “new quarterback” in the last month.

“I'm not going to lie, all I wanted to do is run,” Green said. “If I get in the game, just give me the ball, tell them get out of the way, I just want to take off running. Now I've learned how to manage an offense, when to take chances and when not to. Learn how to be a complete quarterback.”

Reporters tend to read into media performances too much. Joe Dailey, for example. But Green is smooth, assured, and smart for such a young player.

“I'll always tell Coach Watson just let me get hit one time,” Green said. “Whenever I get in, just let me run the ball, let me run right into somebody, let them try to break me, and then the butterflies will be gone, all that, and I'll be focused in. With the run, if I get in there, and we get the called play for me to run, I'm pretty sure y'all be able to see my smile from the press box.”

That kind of spirit is infectious.

Lee can have it, too. His smile after getting thwacked on an option play at Missouri said a lot about him. But that confidence was missing Tuesday. Lee's still the starter, technically, and although he wouldn't be my choice for Saturday vs. Iowa State, he's going to get every chance, I sense, to hold on to his job.

Curiously, he didn't own his mistakes vs. Texas Tech. Or, at least, he didn't own them in a way that suggested he played out of the ordinary.

“That's your opinion,” Lee said. “I didn't necessarily feel like that. There were some decisions that maybe looking back weren't the best decision. There were two or three of those, which is every game.
For whatever reason, we didn't have breakout plays. That's kind of the black and white of it. We didn't have plays we needed to make. And I'm the guy up front. That's just how it is.”

The “black and white of it” is that Lee didn't push the ball downfield to open receivers, and he didn't run for first downs that were available to him.

I'm surprised Lee didn't dimiss Pelini's “whole state of Nebraska” comment out of hand, especially when Lee claimed he didn't even hear the boos, most of which were aimed at the referees anyway.

The comment simply isn't true anyway. After practice Monday, some kids milled around Memorial Stadium, and asked to take a picture with Lee. Were they against him? Of course not.

And while Lee is able to articulate that, he did not Tuesday.

“It's not easy, being in this state and being in this situation,” Lee said. “It is what it is.”

True. It's also a job a lot of kids would kill to have for 12 seconds. Would Lee?

See also: Cool Husker Hoops Photos

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Former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne never made many bones about it: The most significant recruit in his time as the head guy was a Texas kid, quarterback Turner Gill.

That said, when it came to outside-of-Nebraska recruiting Osborne never made a raid on the Lone Star State. He'd pluck a few gems from the East Coast and Florida, steal a guy or two out of Big Ten country - especially Iowa - and do plenty of damage in California.

But Texas? Usually one player per year. Maybe two. As many as four or five, but sometimes zero. And while Frank Solich and Bill Callahan both plucked guys out of Texas, none of them have hit the region as hard as Bo Pelini's bunch.

Nebraska has nine firm verbal commitments right now, and three from some of the best: Dayton quarterback Cody Green, Plano running back Rex Burkhead and Houston defensive tackle Thaddeus Randle. Last year, NU signed nine Texas guys, most of them in December and January, after Callahan had been fired and Pelini's bunch had taken over.

The emphasis makes great sense, of course, when you talk to Pelini and his assistants. And when you just think about it.

Here's five reasons:

1. The coaching and competition : We won't dawdle too much on how good high school football is in Texas - you know it is - but we'll look more closely at the coaching. Talking to NU cornerback Anthony Blue - a Texas kid rehabbing his knee this year - his coaches at Cedar Hill were constantly attending conferences given by major colleges in the state and visiting schools during bowl games. That's not a knock on high school coaches in Nebraska - they just don't get exposed to as many opportunities. Since Texas has year-round football, players are better exposed to more ideas, more offenses, more defenses, you name it.

2. On the cutting edge: You know where Missouri's fast break, no huddle offense came from? Chase Daniel's high school coach in Southlake, Texas. Believe whatever you want about Gary Pinkel and his offensive coordinator, Dave Christensen, magically coming up with it; it was developed at the high school level. And it worked.

"Most of the teams down there - they all run spread," Blue said. "All different ways, too, so you learn to stop it."

And the spread is operated in high school there by guys like Colt McCoy, Daniel, Todd Reesing, Robert Griffin,Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead, Georgia quarterback Matt Stafford, Texas backup John Chiles and Vince Young.

3. The Culture: Texas revolves around football. Not just high school football either. College football is huge there. And how bout them Cowboys? Yes, the San Antonio Spurs have their fans, the Dallas Mavericks, too, hockey has a following and baseball does OK in Houston, but, let's face it: Lone Star folks are football crazy.

Can you really say that about California? Even if USC has a terrific team, where does it rank in terms of interest in Los Angeles? Certainly behind the Lakers. Arguably behind the Dodgers and Angels. And probably neck-and-neck with UCLA basketball. And we're not even counting all the "extreme" sports in that state, which has a greater following on the West Coast than most realize.

4. It's the Big 12! It's Division I football!:This is a terrific argument often overlooked. Because Texas has four Big 12 schools inside its borders, Nebraska, almost default, is a known commodity down there. And familiarity breeds comfort. A basic example: NU coaches can go into a kid’s house and tell the parents that said kid will play at least four games inside the state during their career, and two more in nearby Oklahoma. Those are not insignificant homecomings, when you consider that UCLA, just as an example, can’t say it.

5. Not every kid wants to go to Texas: Which is why, of course, half of Oklahoma’s class each year are guys from the Lone Star State. And a whole chunk of guys head to LSU. And even more bleed out to the rest of the SEC. Look: The best Texas can do in any given year is sign 25-30 guys, depending on how many the Horns think will qualify. Ditto for Oklahoma. That leaves a lot of talent for the Huskers and others to feast on – and, in our book, NU has an advantage over most of those programs after UT and OU.

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In light of Bo Pelini’s new contract at Nebraska, we decided to review the coveted coaching jobs in the Big 12 Conference and determine, top to bottom, which job was hardest and which was easiest.

We decided to eschew “best” and “worst” in part because that debate automatically thrusts Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska to the top of the list and schools like Baylor and Iowa State to the bottom, based on sheer tradition.

Rather, we decided to take a bold stab at figuring out which jobs – perks and warts combined – were the kind coaches could tackle with enthusiasm and effort, and which jobs needed, shall we say, a bit more than that. Like a few a well-placed prayers to the pigskin karma saints.

Our list goes from easiest to hardest, and takes into account five categories:

Recruiting Base/Interest
Administrative/Booster Support
Media/Fan Expectation
Chance of “Success”
An “X” factor

Today, we run down we deem to be the six easiest jobs in the Big 12. Tomorrow, the sixth toughest.

And as we count them down, know this: None of them are what you’d call “easy.” All take 60-hour workweeks, strength, smarts, stamina and personality.

One other thing…the list partially takes into account who’s coaching the program, which, in the case of Kansas State’s Bill Snyder, frankly, makes the job easier than it would have been for Snyder’s predecessor, Ron Prince, or whoever follows Snyder.

On with the countdown!

No. 12 KANSAS

Head Coach: Mark Mangino. Compensation: $2.3 millon per year, with tons of performance bonuses. Mangino gets five grand just for beating Nebraska, for example. For every game televised on ESPN that KU wins, Mangino scores ten grand.

Recruiting Base: KU has direct access to the best talent in Kansas City and Wichita, along with reasonable access to the second-tier prospects in Oklahoma. The Jayhawk State is also home to many of the Midwest’s best junior college football programs. Mangino still plucks his share of players out of Texas – that’s one of the secrets to his success – but there are more home-grown kids to choose from, too.

Administrative/Booster Support: For football, it’s better than ever, after KU finished a $33 million football complex in 2008. Basketball will always be king in Lawrence, but football is being embraced like never before.

Media/Fan Expectation: Tempered by the hulking monolith that is the basketball program, KU football is expected to compete for the Big 12 North trophy and beat its rivals, Missouri and Kansas State. Beyond that? Gravy. At least a quarter of the Big 12 programs would like a national title in the next decade. If that doesn’t happen at Kansas, nobody is losing sleep over it.

Chance of “Success”: Mangino has upped the ante and created his own success story. Still – “success” at KU is defined by eight, nine wins a year, a solid bowl game, and win over Mizzou. Would many Kansas fans have considered 2008 a “down” year? Following 2007, yes, it was. Overall? It was quite good by historical Jayhawks standards.

X Factor: Kansas football is not, and never will be, the flagship sports program in Lawrence. Outside of possibly Iowa State, it’d be hard to claim that about anywhere else right now.

No. 11 OKLAHOMA

Head Coach: Bob Stoops Compensation: Around $6 million. This includes a $3 million lump sum Stoops received recently for his tenth anniversary as OU coach and bonuses he earned last year.

Recruiting Base: It’s national, really, but Oklahoma does most of its damage at home and in Texas, routinely plucking great players from both states. Some years, OU outperforms Texas for coveted players in the Lone Star State. Stoops is a good recruiter, sure, but he resides in and near the land of milk and honey, too.

Administrative/Booster Support: Very strong. Stoops has the full support of the old guard (guys like Barry Switzer) and his athletic director, Joe Castiglione, is a proactive standout in his field. As far as facilities go, we’ll take Nebraska’s swank spread of OU’s ten-year-old digs, but the Sooners want for very little. Stoops has all the tradition, support and booster bucks he wants. He’s created a lot of success, yes. He’s also been given a lot to create it with.

Media/Fan Expectation: They’re high. Very high. But they’re not lunatic high, like they are at certain SEC programs, and the fans aren’t fickle, like they are at Texas. Sooner fans want to win. Stoops does win. But he’s not required to be a messiah (again: see the SEC).

Chance of “Success:” OU has every advantage in this regard. It’s one of the great programs, and has been since Bud Wilkinson. There’s talent. There’s tradition. There’s reasonably warm weather for recruiting purposes.

“X” Factor: Stoops’ recent run of losses in bowl games makes fan groan a little. Not that they want him to go anywhere.

No. 10 TEXAS

Head Coach: Mack Brown Compensation: Around $3 million.

Recruiting Base: None better. The best talent in the state of Texas. And most of them are rounded up by the end of spring football. UT’s recruiting budget must be equal to the military budget of Albania.

Administrative/Booster Support: Some would call DeLoss Dodds the nation’s most powerful athletic director. He’s sure one of them. In defense of Brown, he’s done a really good job winning back his share of boosters after the long, dark period after Darryl Royal retired. Then again, it was Brown’s predecessor, John Mackovic, who got the unpleasant job of bluntly telling those boosters UT’s facilities were woefully out of date. Brown walked into a better situation than Mackovic left when he was fired.

Media/Fan Expectation: We know some Texas fans, and, outside of rubbing OU’s nose in it, the goals are sometimes fuzzy. UT will cherish Vince Young and the national title he won for the Longhorns for the next century. But do they blame Brown for the one loss that blemished an otherwise terrific 2008? Success doesn’t always bring out the fans anyway, as witnessed by the occasional empty seats in UT’s stadium.

Chance of “Success”: Right up there with OU. Texas has all the advantages. At this point, any number of coaches – say, Will Muschamp – could be plugged into that job and coast on fumes for five years.

“X” Factor: The University of Texas has more beautiful women on its campus than any other in America, in one of the nation’s best college towns. It helps.

No. 9 KANSAS STATE

Head Coach: Bill Snyder Compensation: 1.85 million

Recruiting Base: The same as Kansas, except that Snyder leans much more heavily on the JUCOs.

Administrative/Booster Support: Basically, Snyder will get the “Joe Gibbs” treatment. He’s already performed “The Miracle in Manhattan” and if he carves out a modicum of success, any setbacks will just be blamed on Ron Prince’s three years at KSU. Snyder runs that town, and he’ll make darn sure the Wildcats schedule three or four wins per year.

Fan/Media Expectations: A respectable program. Coaches who don’t have to run stadium stairs.

Chance of “Success”: Pretty good, if 7-5 is the standard, and we don’t really see Kansas State doing much better than that in whatever time Snyder chooses to put into this second act.

“X” Factor: Snyder will need one year, and maybe two, to clean up the mess Prince left behind. And he won’t have Stoops and Mangino to help him do it.

No. 8 TEXAS A&M

Head coach: Mike Sherman Compensation: $1.8 million

Recruiting base: The central/southern part Texas seems pretty sweet to us. The Aggies make a killing in NASA country (that’s Houston). A&M probably draws a little too much talent from a 100-mile radius, for that matter.

Administrative/Booster Support: Aggies are plenty competitive, and will spend top dollar to win in almost every sport. Athletic director Bill Byrne is no less competitive, even if his zeal in the past, including at Nebraska, was for non-revenue sports that could inch him closer to a Sears Directors Trophy. Still – at A&M, excellence is the standard. Another season like 2008, and Sherman might be gone very soon.

Fan/Media Expectation: For a solid decade, A&M was the premier program in Texas. Getting there again is a top priority, and it’s not completely out of the question, either. The Longhorns are due for a dry spell. Oklahoma, on other hand…we don’t see the Sooners going anywhere. The fans at A&M are terrific. The closest to Nebraska fans, in fact.

Chance of “Success”: Ten wins, a Big 12 South crown and bragging rights over UT are a lot to ask for right now. Maybe a little too much to ask. But the Aggies are committed, support is entrenched, and the area talent is rich. This is fertile ground for winning. Sherman has no excuses, really, because Dennis Franchione didn’t exactly run the program into the ground.

“X” Factor: A&M is making the painful transition from option zone read to West Coast Offense with a former NFL coach. Ask Nebraska how well that turned out.

No. 7 TEXAS TECH

Head Coach: Mike Leach Compensation: $2.3 million

Recruiting Base: Leach has made inroads into central and the Texas Panhandle to go along with the football-rich region of West Texas.

Booster/Administrative Support: It’s no great secret that Leach and his athletic director aren’t great chums. But Leach won the war of public opinion in a recent contract dispute, and let’s just say wasn’t the proletariat that turned the tide, but the Tech bourgeoisie. The Red Raiders just finished a $84 million renovation to Jones Stadium.

Media/Fan Expectation: Leach seems to win eight every year – 11 in 2008 – and fans don’t seem too riled up if he can’t win the big games, which he rarely does. He’s brought more publicity to Lubbock than anyone since Buddy Holly. Yeah, even more than Bob Knight.They love the big pirate-lovin lug.

Chance of “Success:” Every four years or so, Tech might be able to climb that national title mountain like it did in 2008. Otherwise, since fans seem content with nine wins and a fun offense each year – and the Wes Welkers and Michael Crabtrees of the world are still willing to enroll – chances are pretty good, we’d say.

“X” Factor: Leach makes this job easier for himself, because Leach is Texas Tech. We pity, really, the coach who must follow him.

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(see also: The Troubling Gap Between Texas...and Everyone Else)

Smaller is better: Athletic director Tom Osborne may not enjoy doing it, but he needs to ask whether golf and tennis programs, which ate up more than $2 million in expenses compared to a little over $100,000 in revenue, are truly necessary, especially when fan support is scant and the men’s golf team conducts its home meets in Nebraska City.

A no-spin zone on baseball: Osborne needs to closely watch Nebraska’s baseball program over the next year and assess whether Mike Anderson has the coaching skill and recruiting acumen to lead NU into the next decade. Not whether he did or didn’t make the grade five years ago.

Volleyball bucks: Osborne needs to consider whether Nebraska’s volleyball team should make the full-time leap from the NU Coliseum to the Bob Devaney Sports Center, where the Huskers can draw twice as many season-ticket holders and the sport can pay for itself. The Coliseum can still be used once or twice a year, for specific big matches, and Osborne can institute a tiered season ticket system for those coveted seats.

Grapplers: He needs to promote the Nebraska wrestling team smarter and harder, especially considering Omaha’s Qwest Center is hosting the 2010 NCAA Championships. NU’s squad has an outside shot at the national title next year, and a solid first semester schedule. Bo Pelini’s a good friend of wrestling coach Mark Manning; maybe it’s time for a TV ad.

Tough questions: He needs to ask, now that Nebraska has a terrific coaching staff, whether the operational side of the football program is being run as efficiently as it could be. Osborne is respected enough to make hard inquiries and necessary adjustments.

Help hoops: He has to figure out some way, any way, to get 10,000 Husker basketball fans inside Devaney before Kansas comes to town. The men’s basketball team was ninth in the Big 12 for revenue while the women’s team was 11th. If that means a better schedule for men and free tickets for the women, so be it. People have to see the product before they buy the product.

To that end, Osborne has wisely vowed to resolve the arena issue within the next year, whether it’s full-speed ahead on some Haymarket palace, or a revamp of Devaney. Wisely, Osborne won’t allow the athletic department to get dragged into city politics and the mercurial nature of Lincoln voters. Lincoln will do what it does, and considering the city can’t devise a way to get across town in 15 minutes, the arena may end up being a long shot. Good to see Osborne has a contingency plan at Devaney. Now, if he can just get some reasonable parking around it.

Spend football donor dollars wisely: Not blow them on baubles and trinkets, like ribbon boards inside Memorial Stadium. Enough of that stuff. The stadium experience is fine. It’s a football game, not a light show. Dump the media guides if you have to do it. Reporters know how to go online, and Huskers.com is a fine Web site anyhow. Spend it on people – coaches, administrators, down-the-line support staffers. Nebraska can’t afford to lose talent over a thousand here or there. In other words: Do what it takes to retain offensive coordinator Shawn Watson.

Beat Texas – and the rest of the Big 12 - where the Longhorns haven’t thought to fight: Osborne’s ahead of the game there with his student life complex initiative, which can be turned into one of Bo Pelini’s best recruiting tools when it is completed.

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See also: A Conversation with Phil Steele

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Welcome! Here at Husker Locker, we'll be counting down the 50 most important players to watch in spring camp. Care to guess our No. 1 choice? The pick just might surprise you - and we won't unveil it until right before spring practice.

For now, we give you the first five on our list. Just as a taste of what's to come. Feel free to debate, argue or even agree. We'd never dissuade that.

One thing to remember: this is the only fraction of this bunch we'll be showing on the regular Husker Locker. The rest of it will be available via Locker Pass - and it's not something you'll want to miss.

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On with the list!

No. 50 Derek Meyer, OL, 6-5 300, Sr. Nebraska's offensive line already has plenty of experience and talent on it, but Meyer, a walk-on who transferred from Kansas State after one year with Ron Prince, brings experience and flexibility of his own. Offensive line coach Barney Cotton often carved out time to praise Meyer for his work in practice, and Meyer was one of the offensive scout team MVPs. He'll vie for time this spring and in the fall.

No. 49 Dreu Young, TE, 6-4, 245, Jr. The Cozad native may be in line for a scholarship next fall if he can hold off redshirt freshmen Ben Cotton and Kyler Reed this spring. Young is improving as a blocker and serves as a nice target around the goal line. There's always room for a guy like this, but Reed, Cotton and sophomore Ryan Hill will push him.

No. 48 Brett Maher, P, 6-0, 160, RFr. Meet whom many believe will be Nebraska's next punter. Maher, from Kearney, averaged 41 yards per boot in high school and reportedly did a nice job this fall on the scout teams. Maher will get competition from kicker Alex Henery, who may pull double duty, and former UNO punter Jonathan Damkroger. All of them will be looking to improve on a so-so performance from Dan Titchener in 2008. NU was 106th in net punting.

No. 47 Matt Holt, LB, 6-0, 200, So. Holt was the "who's he?" Husker of the year for his performance in the Texas Tech game; he'll have some more company in 2009 - including Matthew May, who you'll see later - in his linebacker role. Holt is active and athletic, and he doesn't fit in at LB, he may see some time in the secondary. Definitely a special teams dynamo.

No. 46 Antonio Bell, WR, 6-2, 180, Fr. Bell was originally a 2008 signee, but wasn't able to enroll at NU until January. There's a good reason Nebraska didn't just redirect Bell to a junior college for a reason; his size and especially speed can make a big impact on a wide receiving corps that needs a consistent No. 3 receiver. Bell will get a look.

What's the early word from Oklahoma?

Check out the full platter of spring football coverage!

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Ranking the offensive coordinators in the most offensively diverse and exciting league in college football: The Big 12.

1. Kevin Wilson/Oklahoma – Hard to argue this spot, considering the Sooners scored 60-plus points four games in a row. Wilson orchestrated a dazzling no huddle last year, and the result was one of great offenses in college football history. OU had it all: Power, speed, flexibility and explosiveness. Few offenses can rival the breathtaking nature of Nebraska’s 1983 “Scoring Explosion” attack. But Oklahoma did.

2. Shawn Watson/Nebraska – His biggest strength is his ability to adapt and take different ideas, incorporate them into a West Coast Offense framework, and then call those plays on Saturday. You won’t find another WCO around that looks quite like what Watson is doing. Best of all, NU’s offense gained the yards last year, but also helped out its defense with the way Watson called the game. You can’t say that about most Big 12 head coaches and coordinators.

T3. Mike Leach/Texas Tech – The track record speaks for itself. The guy does a ton with average talent. But here’s what else the track record says: Once or twice a year, Tech’s offense grinds to a halt and becomes vulnerable to a decent pass rush. Leach has never been able to remedy that. And he can dig his team a deep hole with his risk-taking on fourth downs (although, generally, we’re in favor of the practice).

T3. Mark Mangino and Ed Warriner/Kansas – Mangino’s fingerprints are still all over this offense, so we make them a pair. We’ll just put it this way: KU stunk, for a long time, on offense before Mangino took over. And now, the Jayhawks are pretty dangerous, game in and game out, with their passing spread offense. If KU had a better offensive line, it’d be even better. The Jayhawks need to vary their running game a bit more, though.

T3. Art Briles/Baylor – Briles has co-offensive coordinators, but he’s really running the show. And it’s a neat version of the spread, mixing trick plays, no huddle and option football all into one package. Imagine if he had, say, Texas A&M’s talent.

6. Mike Gundy/Oklahoma State – Sorry Gunter Brewer (officially the OC)…when Gundy has his back turned to the field, diagramming plays while the defense is on the field, we all know who’s running the offense. Gundy is an excellent play caller, and he’s achieved balance and explosiveness. OSU always runs the ball well. But the passing game is a little erratic, and too often becomes a playaction bomb to Dez Bryant. Problem is, Bryant got hurt in the Holiday Bowl, and the Cowboys shut down. In big games, OSU doesn’t throw it well.

7. Greg Davis/Texas – The Longhorns have great talent more than anything else, and a head coach in Mack Brown who knows how to get that talent up for big games. But the offense itself is a little too dependent on the quarterback’s skills. Also – development remains a question. Why do UT players, talented as they are, struggle in the NFL? Another reason why Colt McCoy earned the Heisman last year. He made a lot of plays outside of scheme, on his own. Of course, the Texas system allows for that. Is that a kind of “genius?” We suppose. Not really.

8. Del Miller and Dana Dimel and Bill Synder/Kansas State - It remains to be seen if Snyder chooses to call all the plays again or not. He may, and if he does, expect a lot of diversity. Initially, Snyder was interested in running a spread offense, as he hired former Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig in December 2008. Then Ludwig ditched KSU for California. So who knows exactly what it’ll look like. Snyder changed from year to year, according to personnel. Apparently – expect some Wildcat formation. You know the “Wildcat,” not the mas…never mind.

9. Tom Herman/Iowa State – Fairly proven results at Rice, although not against major conference programs. He’ll employ a no huddle at ISU, which ought to be interesting on grass, in a wind tunnel, with few offensive weapons. Oh well, Herman’s a Mensa. He’ll figure it out.

10. David Yost/Missouri - Nothing personal, but the guy’s new to the job, the old OC is now the head coach of Wyoming, and there’s always been this running (and somewhat pointless) side debate as to whether the Southlake (Texas) Carroll High School head coach was responsible for transforming the offense to Chase Daniel’s liking, or Christensen/Yost were. Anyway, new kid on the block. Deal with it, Tiger faithful.

11. Nolan Cromwell/Texas A&M – Fell into the trap of forcing a conversion on the Aggies’ offense last year when a more measured transition would have been wiser. Basically wasted running backs Mike Goodson and Jorvorski Lane. Not necessarily his fault – head coach Mike Sherman was behind the switch. But, still, it didn’t consistently work. A&M racked up some passing yards, but not many wins.

12. Eric Kiseau/Colorado – Young and unproven. CU will return to WCO principles, and certainly have the running backs to do it. But the quarterback? We’re not as sure. He’s a Jeff Tedford disciple. We’ll see if he calls plays like Tedford does. Apparently, Tedford doesn’t even want to call plays like Tedford does, if he’s hiring Andy Ludwig.

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Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson threw one true freshman out to reporters after Wednesday practice as a guy vying for potential playing time: Left tackle Jeremiah Sirles.

"He's No. 2 or 3," Watson. "This week we'll determine where it really sits.I think he's going to be in the depth (chart). He's got some talent...he'll be a kid that travels and plays. He's got to earn that, of course. We don't want to run out ahead of the wagon.

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We all remember how Nebraska running back Qunetin Castille walked into fall camp last year looking mucho fierce, having lost upwards of 30 pounds in James Dobson's offseason program. Here's five guys we're looking forward to Dobson shaping in this offseason:

Defensive ends Josh Williams and Cameron Meredith: If these two young, quick ends can add the right kind of weight and add strength, they may be contenders for serious playing time in 2009. They probably won't start, but they're important backups.

Linebacker Alonzo Whaley: Another ultra-fast dude that just needs a little extra padding to deal with the punishment that goes with college football season.

H-back/Linebacker Kyler Reed: Great frame on this kid. Now it just needs Dobson's touch.

Offensive guard Ricky Henry: He's already a beast. If he gets a step quicker...look out.

See also: Stormin' Norman and Blake Griffin

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If you had any doubt – the slightest bit, doubt the size of a single fish egg – about the utter failure of the Bill Callahan era at Nebraska, this weekend should have washed it away like the tide drags abandoned crab shells out to sea.

In 2009 NFL Draft, only three members Callahan’s vaunted recruiting classes were selected. Three. San Jose State had that many. New Mexico and Abliene Christian had two. And no Huskers higher than midway through the fifth round. You might have to go back to the 1969 NFL Draft to find such a meager NU class, although the 2008 bunch is right in there.

And the first of the 2009 picks – linebacker Cody Glenn – was stuck at fourth-string running back for much of the 2007 season, his career resurrected only by Callahan’s firing and the hiring of head coach Bo Pelini and linebackers coach Mike Ekeler, who gave Glenn a good enough crash course to eeld his skills to one of the more difficult positions on the defense.

Meanwhile, Callahan’s preferred back, Marlon Lucky, didn’t even get to be Mr. Irrelevant.

Maybe If Callahan hadn’t wasted Lucky’s first year on campus. Or burned Zach Potter’s redshirt. Or buried Joe Ganz underneath the depth chart rubble, only to be forced into giving him a shot when he was the only one left standing.

If only.

Does that mean Potter, Lucky, Ganz or others won’t play in the NFL? Of course not. There are some advantages, in fact, to becoming a priority free agent instead of a draft pick, and NFL teams sometimes use late-round draft picks on projects who flame out two weeks into training camp. NU has a number of players good enough for the NFL. They need the right fit and the right attitude, but they’ll get their chance.

What the 2009 class means is that Callahan’s pitch - which revolved around his NFL experience, around his ability to recognize talent, recruit it with fierce diligence and organization and turn it into a professional product – was akin to oceanfront property in Grand Island. His “talent” was more upside than finished product, and he and his staff didn’t take enough pains to finish it. Often, they rushed the talent into service before they were ready and snatched a crucial redshirt year away from guys like Glenn, Niles Paul and Prince Amukamara.

Now - had Callahan landed that gilded, magic quarterback he always pined for, like Kansas State’s Josh Freeman, I don’t doubt he would have produced, consequences be damned, the kind of player Freeman became: A big, sturdy stiff with enough intelligence and arm strength to con some poor NFL franchise, like the reeling Tampa Bay Buccaneers, into drafting him.

Ron Prince ran Kansas State into the ground that way, protecting “his” QB to the point where, when KSU’s offensive line seemingly refused to block for Freeman, or Freeman temporarily lost his faculties, Prince pulled Freeman from the Nebraska game. Freeman sat on the bench, staring into dead space, while Ganz pounded the Wildcats’ defense with the zone read. Freeman walks away from Manhattan with a fat contract. Prince got his old job back at Virginia. KSU fans, meanwhile, must curse their twin presence for the next decade; that’s how quickly they ruined what Bill Snyder had built.

Callahan, forced to work with the chopped ham of Zac Taylor and Ganz, who often performed like the delectable pieces of Spanish jamon, didn’t get the Princely opportunity to sacrifice a whole team for one man.

But he did make sure Lucky got rushed through the system, Potter received dubious coaching from a recruiting mercenary, Andre Jones disappeared into the ether and Matt Slauson, who was selected this year, wasted 2007 at his “Chipotle” weight, far above where he belonged.

You may counter: Isn’t Ndamukong Suh headed for a first-day pick in 2010? Sure. Did Callahan recruit him? Yep. Callahan also left behind guys like Keith Williams, Mike McNeill, Eric Hagg, Roy Helu and Jacob Hickman. I forsee all of them being drafted in the next two years.

But Callahan hardly developed those guys. Indeed, Suh was backsliding in his last year under Kevin Cosgrove. Their draft positions will be small credit to Callahan recruiting them, and large credit to Pelini, offensive coordinator Shawn Watson (who, to be fair, is a Callahan disciple) and position coaches developing them.

Finally, coaches told Nebraska players why they were doing something. Coaches corrected mistakes on the field, instead of in a film session. Finally, players were treated like the kids they still remain, instead of cogs in a wheel. Finally, they developed the down-in, down-out technique that makes good NFL players.

You know, it’s interesting. ESPN’s Tim Griffin reviewed the NFL Draft picks of each Big 12 team since the inception of the league and NU, unbelievably, remains on top in terms of number of players drafted (59 in all), and the relative quality of those players. Although Oklahoma and Texas have dominated the Big 12 over the last seven years, Nebraska is close to both programs when it comes to players selected in the first three rounds of the draft.

It’s now been two years since any Husker was picked in the first four rounds.

Since Callahan took over in 2004, just one of his scholarship recruits, Brandon Jackson, was drafted in the top three rounds. And Jackson left NU after his junior season in 2006, with the legitimate concern that, if he returned, he would have been buried on the depth chart like he had been the beginning of that year, when he was fourth. Behind a guy named Cody Glenn. Who, one year later, was fourth on the depth chart.

You figure it out.

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This is recap of recent Nebraska commit Rex Burkhead's final game at Plano High School. Note the ability out of the zone read and his pass catching skills.

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A team that gets better in the second half: Nebraska is not a good team in the first quarter. No other way to say it. NU was outscored 113-98 in the opening 15 minutes. It practically took itself out of two games – Virginia Tech and Oklahoma – and put itself in a hole in two others – Colorado and Baylor. Why did the Huskers’ defense struggle so much out of the locker room? That’s a riddle Pelini has to solve in 2009.

But once Nebraska’s defense settled down, executed better and made subtle adjustments, it became a team that could actually make a second-half comeback. The Huskers turned a 20-17 halftime deficit into a 32-20 win over Baylor, and transformed halftime ties with CU and Kansas into wins. After falling behind VT 26-10, they made a furious fourth quarter rally. But the best work might have been at Texas Tech, where, trailing 24-10 midway through the third quarter, NU scored on three consecutive drives and was a broken fourth-down play away from upsetting the Red Raiders in regulation.

You don’t remember these kinds of moments from the Callahan era. That’s because they didn’t happen.

A philosophy that keeps time with the current trends of college football:Pelini wants a fast, agile defense, one durable and flexible enough to withstand offensive personnel changes from play to play without making its own. Pelini was forced to use a whole array of packages and players in 2008, calling on guys like Matt Holt and Matt May, linebackers in safeties’ bodies, to attack spread offenses. Long term, Pelini wants two dominant safeties, active linebackers and a couple heroes in the interior defensive line. This how the great college defenses are generally built today, with a back seven who can cover and tackle in space, with two shortish fireplugs down low.

Willingness to admit errors: Pelini hasn’t been shy about shouldering blame for big losses. He rarely, if ever, singles out one player for criticism. And he’s clearly instructed his team and coaches to adopt a similar “blame me first, credit everyone else” attitude. It’s led to a couple creative answers – offensive coordinator Shawn Watson tried to talk himself into a couple mea culpas on plays where quarterback Joe Ganz had just plain screwed up, by Ganz’s own omission – but the approach fosters unity, if nothing else.

A smart S&C hire: By all accounts, luring James Dobson away from Iowa to become Nebraska’s strength and conditioning coach has been a hit. Dobson’s philosophies were and are in sync with the kind of team Pelini wants to build: Quick, lean and athletic. The long endurance runs for big guys were out. More explosive drills were in. The Huskers – by design – were a giant team in 2007. In 2008, they were still big, but considerably more cut, starting with guys like Matt Slauson. The defensive line especially looked a step faster than the 2007 version and step faster than opposing offensive lines for most of the season. Dobson’s offseason work was part of why.

What’s more, Dobson isn’t an attention-seeker, looking to patent this or turn the media onto that. I remain struck by statements made by Michigan’s strength and conditioning coach at the beginning of last year, when Coach Rich Rodriguez decided to spend almost a million bucks overhauling the whole program. Their big secret: Drinking milk.

Saving for the future: Pelini resisted the urge to burn most redshirts – especially on defense – to get those freshmen and one junior college transfer acclimated to the Pelini Way before they hit the field. And some of those freshmen – linebackers Will Compton and Alonzo Whaley, JUCO guard Ricky Henry, tight end Ben Cotton – probably could have helped the Huskers in a few games. What’s smart about Pelini’s approach is getting four true years from these guys. They’ll have a whole fall season and a spring practice under their belts.

A personal touch: Bill Callahan, for better or worse, was an island unto himself in the athletic department, toiling away on his dual computer screens late into the night.

Pelini works hard, too. Plenty hard. But he’s reached out to other coaches within the athletic department and created bonds with volleyball coach John Cook, basketball coach Doc Sadler and wrestling coach Mark Manning, whose staged “Oklahoma Drill” showdown with Brandon Rigoni – Pelini served as a master of ceremonies, you might say - is a YouTube sensation. Making allies comes easily for Pelini. He might be better at it than Tom Osborne was, to be honest.
Inter-departmental relationships are not a small thing, folks.

Former athletic director Steve Pederson flunked that part of the exam and nobody, outside his coaching staff, really seemed to know Callahan. Pelini stops at a local coffee shop nearly every morning before he drops his kids off for school, signs autographs, orders his drinks – you know, the regular people stuff. Those little details are the glue that helps makes a football coach an institution, and not just the richest public employee in the state.

See also: The uplifting story of Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney.

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Nebraska's not where he wants to be, maybe he's referring to stuff like this.

That's a listing of all major college football programs over the last five years. In that time, 2004-2008, NU was surpassed in record five Big 12 teams: Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Missouri and Kansas.

But most sobering is that record against AP top 25 teams during that span: 1-16. Or maybe it's the 39% winning percentage on the road. Or maybe it's the 13-24 record against teams that also have winning records.

Translation: Throughout the Callahan era and in the beginning of the Pelini era, Nebraska nearly struck out against the top quarter of college football and struggled mightily on the road.

Why did it happen? We've hashed and rehashed all of that. What's important now is doing something about it. Recruiting, winning big games on the road, and showing up vs. OU this fall...all of them will matter.

Other conclusions drawn from the stats list:

*We've said this before, but Texas has surpassed Oklahoma as the Big 12's premier program. In fundraising. In recruiting. And on the field. UT getting jobbed out of the national championship game in 2008 doesn't change that. The Longhorns are 13-4 against AP Top 25 in the last five years. OU is 12-11. The Horns win 86% of their road games. OU only wins 76%. UT is 32-7 against teams with winning records. Oklahoma is 29-12.

When does the media catch up to this reality? When does ESPN? Texas is the better program. About this there can be little debate.

*Mike Leach has built remarkably consistent program at Texas Tech in every area but one: Road wins.

*Virginia Tech is one of the nation's best programs, and has been since 1999. The Hokies come in fifth on the total list here, with numbers quite comparable to Oklahoma. Again, some Nebraska fans don't want to hear that - they hold up OU as some supernatural force when, in fact, the Huskers should have taken the Sooners in 2005 and arguably 2006 - but it's not hard to argue that Nebraska's best opponent in 2009 will be in Blackburg, not Norman.

*Oklahoma State may arrive this year, but, overall, not just yet. The Pokes lag behind Nebraska in overall wins and are just 3-16 vs. the top 25.

*Baylor just may surpass Iowa State in 2009, making the Cyclones the consistently worst program in the Big 12 over the last five years.

*Tyrone Willingham may have been unjustly fired from Notre Dame, but he turned Washington into one of the worst programs in America.

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Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant: The league’s most dynamic wide receiver is also a weapon in the return game. Nebraska has yet to develop a truly game-breaking wide receiver since Bill Callahan installed the West Coast Offense.

Texas hybrid defensive player Sergio Kindle: Imagine a bigger version of a Pelini favorite, Demorrio Williams, who’s able to play the run from a down position and get out in pass coverage. You’ve got Kindle, a perfect fit for some NFL team that runs a 3-4 defense.

Baylor linebacker Joe Pawelek: Just a tough, old-school middle linebacker with three years of starting experience. Any team in the nation would take this guy for a week or two.

Oklahoma State tackle Russell Okung: A superior pass blocker, probably the nation’s best. Has created more time for OSU quarterback Zac Robinson than most realize.

Kansas State defensive end Brandon Harold: You may not know this sophomore yet. You will.

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(Above: Jerry Tagge)



Tommie Frazier: The gold standard of Nebraska quarterbacks, and arguably any college quarterback. He talked it and walked from first start in Missouri during his freshman season to that incredible run four years later in the Fiesta Bowl. Ran the option with power and confidence and knew the play before the receiver had the chance to spit the whole thing out. And, oh yes, he survived a blood clot.




Turner Gill: Tough choice over Eric Crouch, who statistically did more with a lesser supporting cast on offense. But Gill gets the nod for making the option at Nebraska truly cool for the great signal callers to come, mixing speed, finesse and smooth moves all into one. He was the most significant recruit of Tom Osborne at the time of his signing, and he’s tied with Frazier overall.



Eric Crouch: The greatest pure runner who might have been at his physical best in 1999 – he was a terror that year, from beginning to end – but matured into a Heisman Trophy winner by 2001. Crouch was tough, fast and fearless. And his 95-yard run against Missouri is as good any I’ve ever seen.
Jerry Tagge: The sturdy, classic quarterback who had more mobility than he was ever given credit for, Tagge was just plain tough. He had a good arm, a knack for fighting through sacks and he was, of course, a consummate winner. A 60-percent passer in an era when it was not common to be one.



Dave Humm: Played in era (1972-74) when the Big Eight was truly competitive and not just Nebraska-Oklahoma. Humm is recognized as the best passer in NU history until Zac Taylor came along. He never beat OU. He also never lost a bowl game. And he could throw a football.



Scott Frost: Got a bad rap for choosing Stanford over NU out of high school, but he more than made up for it, we think. Ran like a fullback, took care of the ball and rarely fumbled or threw interceptions. Frost was indeed surrounded by immense talent on offense and defense, but he made NU better with his toughness. He also gave an effective, sentimental speech after the 1998 Orange Bowl that probably earned Nebraska a share of the national title.



Steve Taylor: For a lot of Gen X kids, Steve Taylor (1985-88) was the official Nebraska quarterback. He thrilled us. He frustrated us. He never quite became the second coming of Turner Gill, and he was 1-3 against Oklahoma, but he beat some big-name teams in big games along the way. More than 2,000 yards rushing and passing? That deserves a nod in our book.



Joe Ganz: Asked to outscore nearly every opponent he faced, Ganz did his best. A probable 9-6 record seems like it’s nothing to sniff at, but Ganz spent almost three years behind Taylor and Sam Keller. He’s now positioned to be all over the NU record books.




Zac Taylor: The only quarterback in the Bill Callahan era who got a second year in “the system.” Taylor took care of the ball, made smart reads and was generally accurate. The drive against Texas A&M was his signature moment and game, but Taylor might best be remembered for being a great teammate and ambassador of the program.



Gerry Gdowski: Tough call for No. 10, as we’re well aware of Vince Ferragamo lurking out there. But here’s the deal: Gdowski chose not to redshirt, so he started for one year, 1989. In that one year, he set NU’s record for pass efficiency, piled up more than 2,000 yards and ran Tom Osborne’s offense as well as anyone. If not for some awful – and we mean awful – calls in a 27-21 loss to Colorado, Nebraska was playing for the national title in 1989 against Notre Dame. And probably winning it.


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Former starting MIKE linebacker Phillip Dillard began NU's spring football practice in an unfamiliar place: At the back of the line. Dillard was standing with the third and fourth units during early stretching drills, an unlikely place for a guy who was expected to be one of the defensive leaders in 2009.

"Right now, he's down there," linebackers coach Mike Ekeler said. "We'll see how things shake out, but he's down aways."

Why?

"There's some things that we ask," Ekeler said. "I'll just leave it at that."

Right now, Colton Koehler and Matt May are working ahead of Dillard at the MIKE position. May could also swing back to WILL linebacker, where he played last year.

"I love that kid," Ekeler said of May. "At the end of the day, he's going to find his role on the field. He already has. He's just going to keep getting better and better. We're going to put him to work."

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Texas Tech at Nebraska, Oct. 17: The line might be even by the time this game is played, but, for now, Nebraska is the presumed favorite. But the Red Raiders have been consistently efficient against NU defenses – whether Bo Pelini called the plays or not – and that includes 2008, when Nebraska’s extraordinary ball-control kept it in the game vs. Tech, but still wasn’t enough. Fact: Tech only ran 43 plays in last year’s game. It averaged 8.79 yards per play. In other words: Watch out.

Missouri at Oklahoma State, Oct. 17: Playing a hunch here. If Mizzou sticks to the running game, and challenges OSU’s defensive line, it can keep up in track meet in Stillwater. The Tigers got suckered into too many passes (52) in last year’s 28-23 loss. The teams that best challenge OSU don’t abandon the run.

Kansas at Colorado, Oct. 17: Kansas has the better team, but it’s the mountains, it’s one of CU’s few winnable games, and, every year, it seems like the Buffaloes catch somebody gasping for breath up there. Truth be told, even though KU’s on a three-game winning streak in this series, each of them have been quite competitive.

Baylor at Iowa State, Oct. 17: ISU is the league’s worst team, but Baylor isn’t so much better that the Cys couldn’t catch the Bears looking ahead to a brutal four-game stretch of Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Missouri and Texas. BU has nice individual pieces on defense, but it remains to be seen if it can function as a whole.

Texas at Oklahoma State, Oct. 31: The Pokes haven’t beaten UT since 1997, and have blown two giant leads (in 2004 and 2006) in the interim. Here’s OSU’s chance to exorcise some pain against what should be an undefeated Longhorn team. Expect the Cowboys to pour a lot – maybe too much – into winning it. Expect a ton of points, too.

Nebraska at Baylor, Oct. 31: The one you’ve already worried about five times, and for good reason. Baylor’s half-empty stadium is always a weird place to play, BU quarterback Robert Griffin is the real deal and the Bears competed better than most expected in Lincoln last year. It’s a long way to Waco. Long, boring way. Missouri made the jaunt last year, and barely came out alive.

Oklahoma at Nebraska, Nov. 7: Even if OU drops a game to Texas (and we expect that) Memorial Stadium will be an electric zoo on that first Saturday in November. And the Huskers will pour more energy and creativity into that game than any on the 2009 schedule. This is NU’s “we’re back” game, the launching pad for 2010. We’ll see if Nebraska’s clear for takeoff.

Kansas at Kansas State, Nov. 7: It’s still a rivalry, it’s in Bill Snyder’s house and the Wildcats have enough special teams weapons to make this game. KU plays Oklahoma and Texas Tech before this game, and Nebraska, Texas and Missouri after it. You wonder how much will be in KU’s tank. And, KSU’s pretty good at home in this decade: 45-18.

Oklahoma at Texas Tech, Nov. 21: OU hasn’t won in Lubbock since 2003, so matter what tricked up Schooner the Sooners roll in there, expect a tough game at Jones Stadium. In this decade Tech is 47-10 at home. Hard to mess with those numbers.

Texas at Texas A&M, Nov. 26: We reserve the right to rescind this pick later, if the Aggies are limping home with 3 or 4 wins and getting ready to give Mike Sherman the heave ho. But, if A&M is within striking distance of a bowl – and we think, with games vs. Iowa State, Colorado and Kansas State, it just might be – then it’ll be the same fevered rivalry it usually is. Remember that Texas – even when it has a lot to play for – struggles in College Station. A thoroughly average team, with a freshman quarterback no less, took Texas’ national title squad to the fourth quarter in 2005.

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At Husker Locker, we try to let the bowl picture shake out a bit before we start handing out any predictions on the issues for Nebraska. Now that we've traversed eight games, we begin our weekly Bowl Watch.

Ready? Ready!

Now, remember – when reading through this, please remember two key things that most national pundits almost never do:

1. After the BCS, the slots are merely a guide. The No. 3 Big 12 team doesn't really have to go to the Holiday Bowl, for example. It'll be a cold day in hell before you ever see Florida or Georgia in the Cotton Bowl ever again, as another example. The slots are really meaningless. The bowls try to create games they think people will attend in person and often, the bowls work in concert to make it happen. That's how NU headed to the Gator Bowl last year despite finishing behind Missouri.

2.Teams with the best following get more preferential treatment. This includes Nebraska.

On with the watch, which takes the best game Nebraska could play in – the Fiesta Bowl – and works down to the worst - the Texas Bowl.

BCS Fiesta Bowl
Nebraska must: Win the Big 12 Championship.
Likely opponent: Boise State or TCU
Odds: Very Poor. Colt McCoy isn't Landry Jones.

Cotton Bowl
Nebraska must: Lose to Texas in the Big 12 title game
Likely opponent: Auburn, Arkansas or Tennessee
Odds: Very Poor. Oklahoma State's got this spot.

Holiday Bowl
Nebraska must: Beat OU, win North, lose to UT
Likely opponent: USC, Arizona, Oregon State
Odds: Good. The scenario lines up nicely.

Alamo Bowl
Nebraska Must: Win 8, but lose North to KSU
Likely Opponent: Northwestern
Odds: Fair. We think NU wins the North

Sun Bowl
Nebraska Must: Finish at least 7-5
Likely Opponent: California, Stanford or Arizona
Odds: Poor. We like Texas Tech here. Natural fit.

Insight Bowl
Nebraska Must: Finish at least 6-6
Likely Opponent: Big Ten scrub or at-large.
Odds: Very poor. Big Ten? This year? Blech.

Independence Bowl
Nebraska Must: Finish 6-6
Likely Opponent: Auburn or Georgia
Odds: Poor. We think Nebraska wins at least two more.

Texas Bowl
Nebraska Must: Finish 6-6
Opponent: Navy
Odds: Zero. This spot seems made for Iowa State or Texas A&M.

Our Big 12 bowl projections:

BCS title: Texas vs. Florida
Cotton: Oklahoma State vs. Auburn
Holiday: Nebraska vs. USC
Alamo Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Northwestern
Sun Bowl: Texas Tech vs. Arizona
Insight Bowl: Kansas State vs. Michigan State
Independence Bowl: Missouri vs. Georgia
Texas Bowl: Texas A&M vs. Navy


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I'm probably going to tick off some people by doing what must seem unthinkable right about now.

Defend Shawn Watson.

Don't worry. It's just a few words, and they're conditional on Watson taking some concrete steps this week – which I think he'll take – toward building an offense that can win a wide, wide open Big 12 North.

Sifting through the rubble of a 31-10 loss, it'd be easy to lay the blame on Watson, who is, after all, responsible for the whole offensive package. He's the one who gets the extra cash, who gets labeled a genius in the offseason, who gets the credit when things go right. He answers the tough questions when they don't.

Thing is: He did that Saturday. And unlike his boss, Bo Pelini, he didn't slough off questions with a trademark “What do you think?” which is quickly become Bo's least desirable media trait.

And Watson didn't call a bad game on Saturday. He didn't call a good one, either. He called the game his offense – and his boss - allowed him to call. Which is – not much of a game at all.

Watson can't control when Pelini defers every coin toss Nebraska wins, and prefers to gain momentum with a stop instead of a score. Texas Tech scored, of course, immediately putting NU in a match mode.

Watson can't control his offensive line being so leaky that NU can't even run its safest playaction plays – four yard passes to the tight ends. He can't control that the Huskers' running game, no matter how many running plays he would have called, was going nowhere. Read: nowhere. And, other than an inspired performance at Virginia Tech – more attributable to Roy Helu than anything else – it's been an issue from week one. Nobody's going to confuse the Huskers with Alabama or Florida's offensive line, is the point.

Watson can't control Niles Paul's bad hands.

Watson can't control that his quarterback, Zac Lee either didn't see open receivers or was afraid to throw the ball downfield. On this issue, after the game, Watson was clear: Lee didn't see it. NU was sending its receivers on deep posts to clear the safeties and bringing receivers into the vacated space. Lee wouldn't deliver the ball. He just wouldn't Chris Brooks and Menelik Holt were open on those crossing routes all day.

“Zac's got to squeeze the trigger,” Watson said. “My job is to help him learn from it. I just don't think he was seeing it well. Maybe over-analyzed it a little bit.”

Watson tried to compensate. He called some quick five-yard stops to get Lee in the rhythm; Lee hit a couple, but two others were knocked down. He tried the bubble screens, which were mostly a disaster. He tried a shovel pass – natch. Tried a reverse. Tried the zone read with Lee running it. Tried to go wide. Tried to slam it inside. None of it would go.

It was a far cry from Watson's masterpiece at Texas Tech last year. But NU's quarterback and wide receivers are a far cry from Joe Ganz, Nate Swift and Todd Peterson, too.

Yeah – color me surprised, too. But, even when Nebraska couldn't run the ball in 2008, they could always throw it. Ganz was just better than Lee is now. Ganz was canny, for one thing; he was a lot more accurate under 20 yards, for another.

Right now, the Huskers can't do either one. And while the entire performance falls under Watson's supervision, the specific ugliness of Saturday was, to some extent, beyond his control.

Of course, he can fix that.

He has start Cody Green next week. And the week after. Not simply because “it's time.” Because Green earned it by going into the game and taking the shots downfield that Lee wouldn't. Because his personality, a mixture of maturity and “aw heck” hominess works for the players. Because he runs with his head up. Because he's taller, even. And faster.

Let's not make Green out to “the answer.” He's not that guy, yet. Lee is, when his head's on straight, a better passer. Green slings it, which isn't conducive to throwing the deep ball. He threw into coverage, oh, 10 times on Saturday, was lucky to only toss one interception. But he's willing to fight downfield, and make plays. Lee, for whatever reason, shrunk from that challenge Saturday. And coaches can't abide by that.

Watson also has to develop a quicker running game. He doesn't have to ditch the shotgun zone game, but he could incorporate more pistol and more quick, simple counter plays to offset Nebraska's shoddy run blocking. These are in the West Coast Offense, so Watson doesn't have to dream them up.

Watson has to use Traye Robinson, pronto. NU burned his redshirt on kickoff returns Saturday for a reason. He didn't play at running back Saturday. But he will – and he needs to. Robinson can become the big back option for the last half of the season. Husker fans may be surprised by his talents.

Watson needs to get back to his bread and butter, playaction and tight ends. If Nebraska can't make every block, well, at least make the edge blocks, which will allow Green (or Lee) to get some breathing room outside of the pocket.

Watson needs to cut down on the number of allowable audibles. Run the play as called. Get the team in the habit of playing the hand they're dealt. Lee's more interested in shaking his hands dry than he is delivering the ball downfield. If Green's inexperienced, don't send him out there with a trunk full of options.

Watson, finally, has to go to his offensive line, if he didn't already on Saturday, and lay out a workable plan for improvement, play selection and snap counts. If they can't block it, don't run it.

"Shawn Watson's a good football coach," Pelini said. "He's stood the test over a long time...that hasn't changed and that won't change."

That's coachspeak, sure. But Watson dragged NU's defense through some ugly moments in 2008. He gets a shot here to turn it around.

See also: You're Shawn Watson...what do you do?

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Texas (4-0 overall, 1-0 in the Big 12 Conference, Beat UTEP 64-7) For one day, the Longhorns looked like the nation’s No. 2 team, outgaining the miners 638-53. Yep, not a misprint. Still – Colt McCoy threw an interception for a touchdown three minutes into the game. That should be a concern for the Burnt Orange. No. 12 is pressing when he doesn’t have to be.

Oklahoma (2-1, Idle) The Sooners get a tough assignment with Miami in South Florida. Not merely because of the home field advantage, but because OU will have to fritter around with debating whether Sam Bradford should play or not. Oklahoma should make its decision by Wednesday, and call it good from there.

T3. Missouri (4-0, Beat Nevada 31-21) Solid win in a trap game, but sophomore quarterback Blaine Gabbert stole a couple cookies out of the Wolfpack’s candy jar with some of those throws on the run. Expect Big 12 defenses to be a little more mindful of the storefront. Still – Gabbert’s thrown for 1,161 yards and 11 touchdowns in four games. He is, right now, the most statistically impressive quarterback in the Big 12.

T3. Oklahoma State (3-1, Beat Grambling State 56-14) How does a team turn the ball over four times, and still score 56 points? Ask Grambling, we guess. The Tigers are the ones who allowed it to happen. OSU got the bus rolling Saturday night, and did it without Kendall Hunter and Dez Bryant. Next stop: Bye week.

T3. Nebraska (3-1, Beat Louisiana-Lafayette 55-0) NU played its most complete game in several seasons Saturday night. Too bad it was against an opponent that would have easily lost to NU’s “C” game, much less its “A” game. The Huskers now go in the bunker to prepare for Mizzou.


6. Kansas (4-0, Beat Southern Mississippi 35-28) Credit KU with bouncing back from a week of brawls and deserved bad press to outlast the Golden Eagles, who shot themselves in the foot with two red zone 0-fers in the first half. KU still lives and dies on the right arm of Todd Reesing and his skilled receivers, and they didn’t disappoint. The Jayhawks are still not a team that can run the ball, averaging just 2.3 yards per carry on Saturday.

7. Texas Tech (2-2, 0-1 Lost to Houston 29-28) Caught at the wire by the Cougars. Tech’s still the same pass-happy, no-defense bunch it usually is. Well, the defense does seem to be getting a little better. Not a lot. But some. At least the Red Raiders rediscovered the running game Saturday night. Still think this a trap game for Nebraska. A big, scary trap.

T8. Texas A&M (3-0, Beat UAB 56-19) We’re fairly impressed with the Aggies offensive output right now, so they slide into a tie for eighth. We reserve the right to slide them right back if they choke against 1-2 Arkansas next week.

9. Baylor (2-1, Beat Northwestern State 68-13) The Bears called off the dogs with a whole quarter left, up 68-10. Clearly, NSU took advantage. Then the Bears lost quarterback Robert Griffin to a torn ACL for the rest of the year? Kaboom? Not quite. I repeat: Not quite. Baylor's biggest strength is a pretty stingy rushing defense. But why did Griffin play on a torn ACL for nearly a half? Why? He arguably made it worse.


10. Iowa State (3-1, Beat Army 31-10) You know what? The Cyclones are better. Not a lot better, but tougher on third-down defense, and fairly explosive in the running game. Given what we’ve seen out of a few of ISU’s mates in the Big 12 North, one could see a couple league wins, with the potential to sneak a bowl in there with an upset.

11. Kansas State (2-2, Beat Tennessee Tech 49-7) Nice win over a hideous team. Hats off to Brandon Banks for returning two kickoffs for touchdowns in one game – the 12th player in NCAA history to do it. He hasn’t gotten enough touches through the non-conference season. KSU running Daniel Thomas continues to rumble; he’s up to 433 yards and four touchdowns for the season.

12. Colorado (1-2, Idle) Can’t wait to hear Dan Hawkins’ lovely comments this Monday! He’s about as talkative right now as a teenager getting grounded.

See also: NU/ULL Report Card and Now The Season Begins

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Looks like Illinois offensive coordinator Mike Locksley will get the task of trying to break the BYU/TCU/Utah ceiling in the Mountain West, as he takes the New Mexico job.

That means, of course, Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson, who reportedly interviewed for the job, will be sticking around Lincoln for...a little while longer.

"I think if teams know what they're doing, he's a candidate for any job," NU head coach Bo Pelini said. "He's a helluva football coach. But right now, I fully expect him to be here."

Pelini said he's already used to his coaches being courted by other schools. Earlier this year, receivers coach Ted Gilmore interviewed for the Wyoming job.

"You want to keep them, you like the continuity," Pelini said, "but at the same time you can’t ask a guy to pass up something that’s gonna better his opportunities and what he can do for his family. I’m behind them 100 percent."

Watson won't address the media until Thursday. Don't expect any fireworks, then, either. Wats isn't the type.

Locksley becomes the fourth black head coach in college football.

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Baylor at Wake Forest, Sept 5: Here’s an upset in favor of Baylor that, by the end of the year, won’t be an upset. The Demon Deacons are ripe for a fall in 2009, having to replace six of the back seven with a ton of unproven talent while an offense that’s never been all that good continues to sputter along. Baylor will have the better quarterback, the better defense and the better special teams.

Kansas at UTEP, Sept. 12: KU’s non-conference slate of Northern Colorado, Duke, UTEP and Southern Mississippi doesn’t seem tougher – but it is. Specifically, the game in El Paso against Mike Price’s best team should be a tough win to get. The Sun Bowl is at a higher elevation, UTEP has potent offense and 15 total returning starters. Good thing the Jayhawks will have one of the Big 12’s best secondaries.

Kansas State at UCLA, Sept. 19: Here’s one that goes in the Big 12’s favor. Most expect KSU to limp out to Pasadena, take its two-touchdown beating, and limp back home. Eh – don’t plan on it. For as much as Bill Snyder liked avoiding tough teams, his teams performed OK in the actual games against them. Beyond that, there’s no evidence that proves UCLA has resolved its quarterbacking issues. The Bruins have more flash, but we won’t be shocked if KSU comes away with a win.

Wyoming at Colorado, Sept. 19: At first glance, this seems like the easiest of CU’s four non-conference games. Maybe it will be. But Wyoming recently hired Missouri offensive coordinator Dave Christensen, who thoroughly humiliated the Buffaloes each of the last three seasons. And Wyoming should have a pretty good run defense with five of the front seven returning that gave up just 3.7 yards per carry last year. Just a hunch here, but we think the Cowboys put a big scare into the Buffaloes in Boulder.

Missouri at Nevada, Sept. 25: This game sets up nicely for the Wolf Pack; it’s on a Friday night, national TV, and the crowd in Reno should be jacked up. UNR has one of the nation’s better quarterbacks in dual threat Colin Kaepernick and, when it’s working, one of the nation’s toughest offenses to stop in the Pistol. But Missouri’s stronger and bigger, and should post at least 35 points on an awful Nevada defense, and probably more. If Mizzou’s offensive line comes to play, the Tigers should win.

Texas Tech at Houston, Sept. 26: Get ready for a track meet. Houston averaged 563 yards per game last year, and have all pertinent offensive pieces back, including quarterback Case Keenum, who threw for – wait for it – 5,020 yards and 44 touchdowns last year. The Cougars will have two weeks to prepare and Tech will still be breaking in two new safeties. Plus, the Red Raiders will be reeling from what we expect to be a pounding on Sept. 19 at the hands of Texas.

Southern Miss at Kansas, Sept. 26: The Jayhawks make a second entrance on this list in facing a Golden Eagle team that has 19 returning starters, a rising star of a head coach in Larry Fedora, and one of the nation’s better running backs in Damion Fletcher. USM is no stranger to giant killing, either. Expect this one to go down to the last minute.

Oklahoma at Miami (Fla), Oct. 3: On paper, OU is the better squad by two touchdowns. But the game is in Miami, where the Hurricanes are 8-1 vs. major non-conference foes in recent years. And this is the best Cane crop since 2005. In front of a full, hostile house at LandShark Stadium, this will be one of Sam Bradford’s toughest tests.


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(above, Jim, in the far right, with his family before the 2006 USC game in Los Angeles)




The third fan in our series hails from the north side of Indianapolis and learned to love the Huskers from afar until NU rolled into town in 1978. Jim Hester’s family worked the chains at Memorial Stadium for years and played college football at Ball State – and had some seriously conflicted loyalties during that classic 41-40 game last year. Also known as IndyHusker on the site, Jim has some terrific insights on NU football as it compares to all the teams banging around in the Hoosier state.



Enjoy - and pay attention to the answer to the very last question. It sums up the experience of a lot of Husker fans, I think.



***


Q: When did you become a Nebraska football fan? Why? Was it family or one particular thing that got you hooked on the Huskers?



A: We moved to Indiana in the early 70s so I did not grow up in the shadows of Memorial Stadium. But as far back as I can remember we would watch Nebraska every time they were on TV. We would travel back to visit family in Lincoln and Columbus every year and there was always a trip down to campus or driving by the stadium. So my allegiance started early. But if I had to pinpoint a moment, it would be in 1978. I was ten years old and Coach Osborne brought the Huskers into Bloomington, Indiana to take on the Hoosiers. The weather was miserable. I distinctly remember catching bronchitis from sitting there in the cold and rain. I remember I.M. Hipp was the running back. Nebraska killed them 69 - 17. From that day on I was hooked.






You mentioned you had many family who had worked the chains at Nebraska football games. Who in your family did that? How did they get involved? What is it like working the chains of a major college football game?



My grandfather, Max Hester, started working the chains at the Nebraska home games for many years. I am not sure of the exact number but I believe it was over forty. I can remember watching games back here in Indiana and keeping an eye out for him whenever there was a measurement. When he finally decided it was time to give up the chain gang, he passed that onto one of my uncles, Chuck Squier. Now my cousin Jon Squier works the sidelines. So I guess it has become a family tradition.




I know my grandfather loved it. But it could be dangerous. When I was in college, I was watching a Husker game on TV. If memory serves me it was Baylor. Here I was in my dorm at Ball State on a Saturday night with a bunch of guys watching football. There was a play that went towards the sidelines. At the very end a player was pushed hard out of bounds. Well I saw one of the chain gang go down. I stood up and said I thought that was my grandfather. Everyone told me to shut up and sit down. I protested but eventually retook my seat. Well after the half time break they announced that “linesman Max Hester would be fine”. Everyone just kind of looked at me shocked and I just smiled. I was very proud of him. He and my grandmother Chelys were true Huskers.





You played college football at Ball State. First, congrats on a great current season! Second - in what ways did Ball State's program compare to Nebraska? In what ways was it different? How interesting was it to see Ball State travel to Nebraska in 2007 and go toe-to-toe with NU, losing on the second-to-last play of the game?



Ball State is doing great. They have a great coach and staff, a great team and the students and fans are really behind them. I really think the Nebraska game last year showed Ball State what they are capable of achieving. That was one game though, I really had no desire to watch. So I listened instead and found myself torn on every play. At the end I was happy because Nebraska had won, but also happy because Ball State received a huge lift to the program even in defeat. Boy, I hope none of my Ball State friends read this.




To compare the two programs would not be fair. There is a big difference between the programs in the Big 12, Big 10 or SEC and the small division I programs. The resources, the traditions, the fan base are on a smaller scale. I had knee and shoulder problems for the few years I was part of the program so I did not see any action except on the practice field.




But what I can tell you is those guys work just as hard and are just as passionate about football as anyone. They just do not have the depth chart and number of quality athletes that the big programs have. They just wear you down. We did have some former Nebraska players as coaches at the time. Jeff Carpenter was our defensive ends and strength coach, Mark Mauer was our quarterbacks coach and Lawrence Cooley came in as offensive line coach my sophomore year. All of them were great guys. We would talk Nebraska football from time to time.





Where in Indiana do you live? Obviously, the state is chock full of college football programs, not to mention college basketball teams, the Pacers, the Colts and, for those living in northwest Indiana, all of the Chicago sports teams. From your perspective, which of those fan bases is most like Nebraska? Which is the least? Which programs have you found yourself following?



I currently live on the north side of Indianapolis. And yes we are full of great sports programs. Indy is a great sports town for professional, college and high school. Obviously the state of Indiana is known for its basketball. If you have never been to a high school basketball game where thousands of fans show up to see you play the cross county rival you should add it to your list to do. We have high school gyms that can seat like 8,000 to 10,000 fans at some of these schools.




Notre Dame has its football tradition. Indiana and Purdue have their men’s and women’s basketball tradition. Ball State has a history of some great seasons in many sports. The Pacers and Colts traditions and fan base are great. We have very passionate fans for all these programs. You asked which fan base is most and least like the Huskers. Well, Notre Dame Football has the rich history and national fan base that Nebraska has. Indiana basketball fans have the same “live and die on every game” passion that you see in Nebraska fans. Personally I follow all of them as much as I can.






Talk about Notre Dame for a minute. How does ND and NU compare when it comes to fans? Obviously, both programs have enjoyed immense success, but the fan bases seem different. Certainly the campuses aren't much alike. What's the experience of watching a game at Notre Dame vs. watching a game at Nebraska?




Notre Dame Fans are actually very much like Nebraska fans in the way they love their football. They will show up hours before a game to tailgate. They have blogs, websites and all the things passionate fans revel in. And for the most part Notre Dame fans are very gracious hosts and treat opposing teams much like Nebraska fans do. A few years ago my cousin Jon came out from Lincoln and I took him to a game. As a Nebraska alum he was speechless at the campus and atmosphere. They both have their great traditions that are rooted in their tremendous history.




Now I will say the Notre Dame fans were speechless when Nebraska rolled into town back in 2000. To see that stadium turn red was a beautiful sight. The ND fans could not believe what they were seeing. Never had so many opposing fans even showed up at a game, and then to have all of them get tickets. They were shocked. The fan sitting next to me said he had never seen anything like it in the decades he had been a season ticket holder. That said, add an ND home game to the list of things to go and see. You will not regret it.




I believe the difference is the Notre Dame Fan base is made up of so many different people from all over. They either came to school there and moved back home after graduating. Or they grew up Catholic somewhere in the country and ND was the school that “dad” loved so they became fans. They share their passion for the school and the program.





But it stops there. Nebraska is different because even though we have a national fan base, it seems to be mostly Nebraskans who still live in the state or area or have moved to so many different places across the country. They are tied together by the bond of being native Nebraskans. I have not lived in the state for over 30 years. I grew up in Indiana. But I still consider myself a Nebraskan and so do all the Huskers I meet.




How do you seek out fellow Nebraska fans in Indiana? Is it easy? Difficult? Are there places where they gather?



It’s easy to find Nebraska fans. And, there are more than what one might think. A Nebraska fan typically has a license plate holder, bumper sticker, a flag or clothing item prominently displayed on fall afternoons. It is sort of like raising a homing beacon. And as soon as another Nebraskan sees that beacon they quickly introduce themselves and forge a friendship. I have met so many people over the years that are from Nebraska. And even though I did not grow up there, they knew my grandparents, an aunt, uncle or cousin. They might have grown up in the same town or gone to the same high school. Once again, it is the football that ties Nebraskans together.




Regarding your question about do we meet somewhere? I will plug Neon Johnny’s Sports Bar on Indy’s Northwest side. Lots of Husker faithful and the best half price pizza special you can buy on a Saturday afternoon or evening. They always have the Huskers on and lot of the faithful are there to cheer them on.




What's your favorite Husker memory? It can be from any time involving anything Nebraska?

There are so, so many. My first game versus Indiana…the first national championship I remember against Miami…the Nebraska vs. Notre Dame game in South Bend…



But really I would have to say sharing all of this with my family. Growing up in Indiana I did not get to spend a lot of time with my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.



As an adult I have had the good fortune to go back on several occasions and spend time with family and going to Nebraska games. We went to the Notre Dame game in Lincoln after my grandparents’ 60th wedding anniversary party. Only in Nebraska would half the crowd bug out a few minutes early to get to a game. Going to a Notre Dame game with my cousin Jon here in Indiana. We even went to Los Angeles to watch Nebraska play USC a few years back. That is the picture I included for this article. There were seven of us, my Aunt Jan and Uncle Gary Giovino, my Aunt Mimi and Uncle David Ernst and my cousin Alli and her husband Billy VanHeusen. We spent a fun weekend in Los Angeles even if the Huskers did lose. Over the past year we lost both my grandfather and grandmother and just in the past few weeks my Uncle David. I am grateful that Nebraska Football gave me some extra time with each of these wonderful people. I miss them dearly, but I cherish the memories.



I look forward to building those memories with my own family now. My two sons and daughter wear their Nebraska gear proudly and even sit down to watch games with me from time to time. I can’t wait for the day I can take them to their first Nebraska game in Lincoln.


***


Pretty sweet, huh? So, remember, if you're interested in becoming one of our 50 fans, or know someone who might be, send me an email at sam@ne.statepaper.com. And be sure to join the site if you haven't already! It's free!


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Nebraska picked up its 11th commitment for the 2010 recruiting class from current NU linebacker Eric Martin's former high school teammate.

Quincy Enunwa, 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, committed to NU over the weekend, two recruiting sites confirmed. Enunwa is well under the radar, having only picked up offers from the Cornhuskers and moribund Washington State. Enunwa attends Rancho Verde (Calif.) High School, which is home to Martin, the true freshman linebacker who's made an impact on special teams in 2009.

Martin was Enunwa's host on a Oct. 18 official visit to Nebraska.

Enunwa joins Curtis Carter as a NU receiver recruit. The Huskers are probably looking to land three, and have a large pool of candidates from which to choose.

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1. Texas (5-0, Beat Colorado 38-14) UT’s awful lucky that Colorado has no quarterback of any kind. Otherwise, we’re talking about an inexplicable upset at the hands of a thoroughly awful team. UT can’t run the ball and hardly even tries to run the ball. The running backs look pedestrian and the offensive line looks like a giant pass pro robot. The Longhorns are more dependent on Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley than KU is with Todd Reesing, Kerry Meier and Todd Reesing. Why isn’t Shipley bracketed, anyway? Is it because he’s not tall enough to treat like Julio Jones or Dez Bryant?

T2. Nebraska (4-1, 1-0, Beat Missouri 27-12) One hidden key to NU’s victory Thursday night? Conditioning and depth. The Huskers clearly had more gas in the tank in the fourth quarter, as the Tiger receivers rounded off routes and Tiger defenders quit fighting as hard. The Huskers wanted it just a touch more, and in the fourth quarter, the desire factor goes up a little. Next up: A game against better-than-you-think Texas Tech.

T2. Oklahoma State (4-1, 1-0, Beat Texas A&M 36-31) The defense is a leaky faucet against the pass, and quarterback Zac Robinson got away with a few ill-advised throws. But when the Cowboys had to run the ball – whether to set up the pass or run out the clock – they did it. And that’s winning football. OSU doesn’t look much better than the 2008 version. But the Big 12 South, as a whole, looks worse.

T2. Oklahoma (3-2, 1-0 Beat Baylor 33-7) Sam Bradford tweaked his knee on OU’s first drive. And then he turned into the same, old, deadly accurate Sam Bradford. The Sooners still pale in comparison to the 2008 bunch, but they’ve got more than a puncher’s chance vs. Texas. Oklahoma’s secondary is stumbling a bit this year, but its front four is the best in the Big 12 – maybe college football.

5. Kansas (5-0, 1-0, Beat Iowa State 41-36) It’s the Todd, Kerry and Dezmon show. As good as they are, KU only gets to party with them for one more week – a trip to Colorado. After that? Party’s over.

6. Texas Tech (4-2, 1-1, Beat Kansas State 66-14) The Red Raiders clearly have a new quarterback in Steven Sheffield – 490 yards and seven touchdowns - and the skill players are still skilled. But we’re telling you now: A hidden strength of this Tech squad is its defense. Much, much better than the Leach units of old.

7. Missouri (4-1, 0-1, lost to Nebraska 27-12) Sooner or later, doesn’t Missouri need to develop a couple formations that take advantage of Derrick Washington’s skills? Washington actually ran well Thursday night, but he’s not a sideline-to-sideline guy. Trying to force him into such a mold is hurting Mizzou’s progress on the ground. The other thing that jumped out? Nebraska didn’t respect Missouri’s receivers. At all.


8. Texas A&M (3-2, 0-1, lost to Oklahoma State 36-31) Can quarterback Jarrod Johnson really continue to throw deep outs and 30-yard corner routes all season to keep the Aggies in games? A&M better hope so. Credit to Johnson, though, who takes some sacks, but makes some NFL-class throws, too. The Aggies aren’t much a running team. That has to change.

9. Kansas State (3-3, 1-1, lost to Texas Tech 66-14) Yikes. This is what happens when you can’t convert a third down in Lubbock. Mike Leach doesn’t show any mercy, on any team. It’s not the old Big 12, Bill Snyder.

10. Iowa State (3-3, 0-2, lost to Kansas 41-36) The Cyclones have some assembled some pretty good offensive talent, especially running back Alexander Robinson, who’ll make a push at all-league honors. But ISU just played the worst defense in the Big 12 North, other than its own. Baylor’s defense next week, by comparison, is much better. Still – a realistic chance at victory.

11. Baylor (3-2, 0-1, lost to Oklahoma 33-7) Six yards on 17 carries isn’t going to beat most teams, much less Oklahoma. The Bears’ defense bent a ton, never really broke, and will be counted upon to scrap for the rest of the year. BU’s offense looked pretty beleaguered in the second half, but OU’s defense can, and will again, do that.

12. Colorado (1-4, 0-1, lost to Texas 38-14) Dan Hawkins finally got fed up with the rotten performance of his own son, Cody, at quarterback, burning Tyler Hansen’s redshirt, seemingly out of the blue, after Hawkins threw a back-breaking Pick Six with another of his trademark flutter balls. An excellent defensive effort wasted by CU’s rotten offense.

See also: Five Secrets to Tech's Offensive Success

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We're a bit late to this party - a house fire can do that, you know - but we couldn't allow the little pointless rant from Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel to go ignored by us.

By now, you're probably aware of Stew's comments regarding the NU recruiting class. Because it's SI, these setences carry, presumably, more weight. We're not going to get into whether the guy's qualified to make them - we're not part of the "you gotta play or coach to have an opinion" brigade around here - but Stew's commentary calls his homework and credibility into question.

Here's what Stew wrote:

"You know the formula: Hot, young coach takes over at tradition-rich program and puts together a monster class in his first full recruiting year. In fact, it happened the last time the Huskers changed coaches — Bill Callahan landed a top-five class in 2005.

“However, that wasn’t quite the case for Bo Pelini, whose first full class was solid (top 30) but hardly spectacular. The lone ‘star’ is QB Cody Green (Dayton, Texas) — and even he was ranked just 173rd by Rivals.”

Our quick, pithy answer to that is:

You know the formula: National sportswriter has to tick somebody off, so he grabs a random stat, creates a faulty assumption, cross-references a recruiting site, and voila!

That's what it comes down to, of course.

The longer version, by points:

1. Bill Callahan might have been a good recruiter, but he wasn't hot or young when he took over at Nebraska. He'd just been fired from the Oakland Raiders and he was nearing 50 years old.

2. We don't have time to go over all the coaches who don't fit Mandel's "formula," but here's just a few: Bret Bielema of Wisconsin, Art Briles of Baylor and Tom O'Brien of North Carolina State.

3. By "monster class" we presume Mandel is referring to, essentially, regime change - running ten or so players out of the program who don't fit the "mold" and bringing in a 30-man class of players who do. Pelini opted not to go that route. You know why? Because so many of Callahan's recruits either left in a huff or never panned out. Because many of the players Callahan left behind didn't much like him, and had little trouble adjusting to Pelini's coaching style.Pelini's success in transforming the players he had shouldn't be counted against him in recruiting.

4. The "lone star" deal, which relies solely on the opinion of one recruiting service, is patently absurd. Whether Rivals consigns "stardom" on guys like Rex Burkhead, Thaddeus Randle and Taylor Martinez is fairly immaterial if others recognize their ability, right? I mean, high school writers in Texas didn't suddenly become idiots when they named Randle to the Texas 5A All-State Team, did they? The Los Angeles Times aren't abject morons for naming Martinez the best player in the Los Angeles area, are they? When source after source calls Burkhead one of the great recent players in the Dallas/Fort Worth metro, it doesn't need Rivals' official stamp of approval, does it?

We've got no beef with Rivals. Love those guys and what they do. But they are one of many sources. Mandel cites a Rivals ranking, and that's all, when determining his opinion of the class. You'd expect more from Sports Illustrated.

5. Beyond that, how can anyone claim NU's class is more disappointing than, say Missouri, which is coming off two blowout wins over NU and two of its best seasons ever and still ranked 14 or 15 spots below the Huskers in the rankings? How can it be more disappointing that Iowa's mediocre class, which is comprised almost entirely of Iowa and Illinois guys? How could it possibly be worse than Kansas State's "lost year" in recruiting?

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