A Pick Six Takes:

*Ndamukong Suh tearfully accepted his Outland Trophy Thursday night in Omaha - Suh was particularly touching when he thanked defensive line coach Carl Pelini - and made the ESPN tour on Saturday. You can see video of both events here. The awards and media circuit, as its known, is almost complete.

Now - prepare for the scrutiny, the negative press, and the doubts from so-called mock draft “experts.” Suh, almost a consensus No. 1 pick for April’s NFL Draft, will have to suffer many of the same slings and arrows other top picks, from Peyton Manning to Ricky Williams to Julius Peppers to Aaron Rodgers to Adrian Peterson to Warren Sapp to Reggie Bush.

He’ll be the leader in the clubhouse for a stunningly long time by April. And, just to stir the pot, some idiot will insist the St. Louis Rams draft Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen with that first pick.

Who knows? Maybe that idiot will work for the Rams.

Suh won’t drop below No. 2, where the Detroit Lions have lined up 300 rosaries in their front office to pray for the Rams’ insanity. But the Rams have so many holes - and quarterback is certainly one of them - that you could envision them wasting the pick on a shot-in-the-dark, rather than sticking Suh at defensive tackle for the next decade.

Even if the Rams stand pat and do the obvious, “Suh fatigue” will set in, especially at ESPN, which practically withers to death without some bit of conjured-up speculation to chew on. Suh’s body of work stands for itself, but some wonk will raise questions about his size, or his technique, or his knee injury from three years ago. Clausen, being from Notre Dame, will be a darling. ESPN’s Todd McShay will toot Eric Berry’s horn a little more.

It’s all part of the spotlight. Suh just has to ignore the messenger. Nebraska fans should do the same - but I know some Husker fans. Never miss an opportunity to grind the axe. You hope, as NU makes a bid for top ten next year, some of that grinding stops.

*Watch the walk-on list for Nebraska’s 2010 recruiting class over the next month. It’s not as heralded as the scholarship players, but it’s reasonably important for depth purposes. A handful of starters generally arise from the walk-on mold - center Mike Caputo and fullback Tyler Legate will fit that bill in 2010, and don’t count out Austin Cassidy for Matt O’Hanlon’s old spot - and, of course, there’s also an intrinsic value to their presence, too.

But they’ll be harder to land as the cost of college rises. What’s more - high school coaches pay attention. Not all of them like it when the State U breezes in for the can’t-miss kid, but didn’t have a scholarship for the ham-and-egger. This doesn’t burn NU as much as it does other schools, but, in this era, it’s something to consider.

Now, of course, recruitniks hate hearing such warnings, but they view football in a vacuum of stars and hypotheticals anyhow. Great recruiting -at any level - is more about relationships than it is cherry-picking, and a college coach has to sell loyalty to the high school coach as much he sells playing time to the kid. Especially when more and more of these kids live with single mothers. Coaches, parents, handlers, uncles, cousins, guardians - they’re more savvy than they used to be.

Turner Gill will be making annual trips to Omaha from this point forward. And he’ll have a pretty good message. Just sayin.

*I made a point of watching two women’s basketball games this weekend. One of them, of course, was No. 11 Nebraska’s ugly-but-so-pretty 65-56 win at No. 9 Baylor. Everything good about Connie Yori’s team - the depth, the timely shooting, the willingness of star Kelsey Griffin to do other things on an off shooting night - was on display Sunday afternoon. Great teams win the scrums as often as they win the gems. The Huskers just won, on consecutive weekends, their two toughest Big 12 road games at Iowa State and Baylor. It’s time to think seriously about 30 wins. And even more seriously about a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Which is why, on Saturday, I checked out the nation’s No. 1 team, period: Connecticut, which beat Notre Dame 70-46. The Huskies look like a semipro team, and play almost recklessly - up and down, quick passes, layups, three and four offensive rebounds. The relentless pace broke Notre Dame down, forced the Irish into the same kinds of shots and risks. Except ND couldn’t pull it off.

UNLV in 1991. That’s the apt comparison. The game proved the notion: Recruiting is power. At least when you’re talented as Connecticut appears to be.

If only Nebraska got one shot at that team and struck Goliath between the eyes…

Dare to dream that one.

*Ugly 56-53 loss for Doc and Gang Saturday night at the Bob. The crowd - which included a smattering of Iowa State fans - was pretty vocal, too. You wonder how many bites of the apple the Huskers get with that kind of noise if they keep blowing winnable games with gaffes of all varieties.

You’ll see the woodwork now ripple with calls for Doc’s job, but he’s going to get two years with this crew of young players, and that’s what he deserves. But the Huskers continue to get thumped on the boards - losing rebounding margins of 12, 13 and 9 in the first three Big 12 games - and they’re no longer a bizarre matchup for league opponents. Sadler’s refusal to play forward Quincy Hankins-Cole - NU’s best rebounder per 30 minutes of playing time - seems tied to Hankins-Cole’s poor practice habits. This bye week would be a good time for the both of them to get on the same page.

Even at 0-3, Nebraska’s not out of postseason contention. The NCAA berth doesn’t matter right now. Doc needs to put that talk away. Just push for 18 wins - the Huskers stand at 12-6 right now - and a shot at the NIT or CBI.

*My late take on Lane Kiffin: I can’t help but root for him. He’s working for a tinpot dictator in USC’s Mike Garrett, he’s got his dad coaching the defense, some gumbo-voiced used car salesman as his recruiting coordinator, and a team of mercenaries who carry themselves like pro athletes and have the proverbial key to Mulholland Drive, Laurel Canyon, or y’know, wherever in the Southland. I like dramatic couplings. Especially when one half gets run out of town on a couple burning mattresses.

Sixty years ago, Kiffin and Co. are trapped somewhere in Flannery O’Connor’s “Wise Blood,” stumbling around the South, peddling faith not being sold before the established storefronts of Florida and Alabama. Now here they are back in SoCal, the head coach without pedigree, under an athletic director that gives Robert Duvall’s character in “Sling Blade” a run for his money on matters of credulity.

Football as gothic grotesque. There’s a ring to it. (What? You wanted me to call it trainwreck?)

On a note that you may appreciate: As a reporter, I should be cynical and hope Kiffin bumbles this unearned opportunity to lead the Men of Troy. But I’m not sure what that would profit me, college football, or even Nebraska, which, I’m sure, prefers to measure itself against a strong USC vs. a weak one. I foretold the Trojans’ struggles in 2009, and won’t be surprised if a trend begins; if you think you can simply keep turning over talent for 25 straight years, only two teams have since 1970 - Nebraska and Florida State - and even they went ashes to ashes.

But here’s to a wild run with guy just a little older than me. His suits don’t fit and you get the sense that happiness, to him, is a day on a grass field in a long-sleeve t-shirt. I think we can relate.

*Got a couple emails from readers who attended the Outland Trophy dinner, and weren’t too thrilled with the post-banquet autograph session, where a 30-minute time limit meant some in the back of the line - including kids - didn’t get their gear in front of Suh, Phillip Dillard and Matt O’Hanlon, although O’Hanlon stayed behind to sign beyond the deadline. Apparently, the front of the line - as fronts of lines are wont to do - hogged the time nabbing photos and multiple signatures.

Well, anyway, that’s one side of the story, although I heard it from more than one source. If you have another side, post it in the comment section and shoot me an email at sam@ne.statepaper.com.

My rules for stuff like this is simple: Kids first, youngest to 18. And, no, clever parents, that doesn’t include sleeping infants and toddlers with grubby fingers. (Don’t worry, I have one, she just had a bath, so lay off). The kid’s gotta walk up there and wait without doing the pee-pee dance or holding your hand.

After those kids, OK, the infants and the toddlers.

Then, if time remains, conversation with the kids.

The adults get a handshake, a Coke and a smile. If they're really lucky, it's a RC Cola.

See also: The 10 Best and Worst Fan Bases in College Sports.

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And, if so, what in the hell is Lane Kiffin putting in the water in Knoxville?

According to ESPN, Marve might prefer to walk on at UT - Miami inexplicably wouldn't grant him a release to the Volunteers - than sign a scholarship at Nebraska, Purdue, or anywhere else, for that matter.

Whether Marve picks NU or not isn't as material as, well, Kiffin's almost sudden, out-of-the-air ability to snag incredible talent. He's already ticked off plenty of folks in the SEC, and even a few high schools. Can this brash, bull-in-a-china-shop nonsense really work?

Apparently.

We aren't saying Kiffin can't coach. In fact, we like his offensive philsophy. His short, painful stint at the Oakland Raiders proved he's a run-first guy. His attack needs good running backs, and he got two of the nation's best in David Oku and Bryce Brown to sign with him.

But, still - convincing a known quantity at quarterback to pay his own way for a year? Can Kiffin pull that off?

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