Six strong takes and we plow - you know, figuratively - toward St. Patrick’s Day and March Madness.

*We’re roughly ten days from the start of spring football; we’ll be offering six “Springtime with Bo” questions next Monday.

One question that didn’t make that list: Who settles in next to Jared Crick at that defensive tackle position?

Conventional fan wisdom suggests Baker Steinkuhler. But it would benefit NU more if Terrence Moore, a tank of a junior tackle from New Orleans, rises to the starting occasion.

Nothing against Steinkuhler, a sophomore, but it’s asking a lot of your run defense to consistently rely upon two 6-foot-6 guys down in the trenches. Taking double teams, like Ndamukong Suh often did, takes an enormous amount of leverage that a longer, leaner player Steinkuhler may not yet have.

Moore, a squat, giant-legged fire hydrant, battled nasty foot injuries that more or less sidelined him for all of 2009. His return is crucial to NU’s interior success. He has to eat up double teams inside and penetrate into the backfield with his quick first step.

Watch for the maturation of true freshmen Jay Guy and Chase Rome, both of whom could quickly vie for playing time in a defensive tackle rotation. Redshirt freshman Thad Randle, if he’s big enough, could fit the bill, too. Defensive coordinator Carl Pelini has previously praised Randle’s first step and ability to play with his hands.

*Wide receiver Niles Paul captured Nebraska’s ten-yard dash record with a 1.40-second burst in recent winter testing. No surprise there; Paul’s always been a workout warrior. If this means he gets off the line a little quicker, all the better; his frame is too big for smaller cornerbacks to jam him at the line.

But Paul’s big-play abilities are hardly in question; he averaged 20 yards per catch last year. Where Paul needs to improve in 2010 is consistently getting open on third down in traffic, when the entire stadium knows where the ball is going - and Paul grabs it anyway. Ten catches like that are worth one or two wins.

*If you still think Bo Pelini made a mistake in booting Quentin Castille off the team, consider that Castille, after one thoroughly average year at Northwestern (La.) State (333 rushing yards) is declaring for the NFL Supplemental Draft. The Supplemental Draft is rarely a good option, and Castille “couldn’t talk” specifics as to why he was leaving NSU.

In retrospect, Castille should have taken his redshirt year and stayed in Division I-A. He needed time to integrate into an offense, not an immediate platform on a team that was often playing up a division in weight.

As always, transferring is tough, tough, tough. Nebraska should consider and accept transfers with that thought in mind at all times.

*Hats off to Oregon’s Chip Kelly for making a stand in suspending his star quarterback, Jeremiah Masoli, for an entire year after Masoli pleaded guilty to stealing laptops. Not only did Kelly need to send a message to all the rotten apples former coach Mike Bellotti happily welcomed to Eugene, he eliminates any doubt for Masoli’s backups, and can spend an entire offseason preparing whoever might emerge as the starter.

And former Omaha Central quarterback Daryle Hawkins will be among those Ducks vying for the starting job. Hawkins, who missed most of his senior high school season in 2008, was offered a scholarship by wide receivers coach Scott Frost at the last minute; he’s been more impressive than UO coaches anticipated. Although he redshirted, Hawkins traveled with the team a few times last year, just in case.

*At 30-1, the Nebraska women’s basketball team better not get robbed out of a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. There must have been a twinge of worry on the part of head coach Connie Yori, who kept her starters in the game toward the end of a 80-70 loss to Texas A&M on Saturday so NU “didn’t lose by 20.”

Even with top billing, NU should expect a serious grind on its way to the Final Four. The opening-round game figures to be a walk, but round two is a frequent graveyard for good women’s teams not named Connecticut and Tennessee; Iowa State and Kansas State have both played spoiler in past years in that very round. Should the Husker women progress to the Sweet 16, they’re likely to play teams with more depth and overall talent. Nebraska just has the best player in Kelsey Griffin and a tenacious style.

Watching Griffin at the Big 12 Tournament, it’s hard to overestimate her worth to the Huskers. She’s definitely the straw, and a good part of the drink. If anything, she doesn’t get the ball enough as NU’s guards take early, undisciplined shots that rarely fall in March, because your legs are worn down and shots aren’t quite as crisp.

Griffin, meanwhile, is a picture of efficiency inside relentless effort. She scores baskets in such unorthodox, funny ways that she’s nearly impossible to defend with any consistency. Although Griffin outworks her opponents, her innate creativity, combined with that tenacity, is the strength of her game; she snakes a single arm into spaces where it looks like it won’t fit, flips the ball with her hand, scores and draws a foul.

Basketball is still a game of balance, coordination and timely improvisation. Griffin, the nation’s best player, is a reminder of that.

*For the first time in years, the Nebraska High School Boys’ Basketball State Tournament (OK, breathe) piqued my interest with players who could actually compete - and excel - in the Big 12 Conference.

South Sioux City sophomore point guard Mike Gesell provided some must-see TV with 25 points in a 60-56 win over Omaha Skutt in the Class B final, while Omaha Central freshman Akoy Agau went for 18 points and 15 rebounds in helping beat Norfolk in the Class A final. Nebraska’s already offered Gesell, and Agau won’t be far behind, I suspect. Central’s Dev Biggs might catch on somewhere - he’s a senior - while Chadron’s near 7-footer, Elliott Eliason, is headed to Minnesota with a thin frame and an unpolished game. I’m curious to see how much he actually plays for defensive taskmaster Tubby Smith.

NU head coach Doc Sadler a good chunk of the day conspicuously milling around the premises. Not that he hasn’t before - and not that Creighton’s Dana Altman wasn’t there, too - but it’s good to see him optimistic and undaunted after struggling through a difficult season.

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Six takes after your morning shower, shave and, well, you know…

*The most important Husker rolling into spring football? Who is it for you? I’ve been asked this via email and personal chats. My answer may surprise you: Niles Paul. Nebraska’s senior receiver is one of the best offensive playmakers, a local kid and a natural, driven leader. He also turned into a pretty dangerous punt and a kickoff returner toward the end of the 2009 season.

When NU’s offense got stuck in permanent mud during the last half of the season, the plan became:

1. Plunge into the line.
2. Modest playaction pass.
3. Bomb to Niles.

Paul is the team’s best perimeter blocker too, so you have a guy ingrained into Huskers’ offense, plus a respected voice in the locker room. With reduced leadership at quarterback, a beaten-up offensive line and running back Roy Helu skittish with the media, Paul will be one of the team’s spokesmen. It‘s notable that, after gaffes vs. Texas Tech and Iowa State, Paul did not duck the media. Nor did he dodge questions - or teammates - after his cop stop last spring.

Until the last half of last season, Paul hadn’t necessarily fulfilled his considerable potential. But he made clutch plays vs. Kansas and Colorado - you could argue he won both games - and his punt return in the Big 12 Championship should have set up NU’s game-winning touchdown.

*Spring football is now officially Cody Green’s proving ground, now that offensive coordinator Shawn Watson decalred senior-to-be Zac Lee out for this spring.

Watson spoke at length to the Omaha World-Herald’s Tom Shatel in an interview, mostly about last season, a bit about what’s to come. Watson artfully dodged a majority of the questions - he’s good at it - but 2009 is over, there is no use in hashing it out again, and 2010 will be the OC’s proving ground.

But, crucially, Watson said Lee “won't be there at all” for spring football.

“He'll get back in the mix later,” Watson said.

That means Green gets his shot. He couldn’t handle the “emotions” of the Oklahoma game last year, Watson said - and Green looked bug-eyed and confused in the Holiday Bowl, too.

Watson and Co. have two years invested in Green. The OC doesn’t bring his entire offensive coaching staff to Green’s high school state title game otherwise. Green doesn’t enroll early otherwise. Green doesn’t hustle back from a minor groin injury to play last spring otherwise.

I don’t blame them - the size, the speed and the personality all scream: Prototypical QB. But in that second spring, you either make the leap or risk getting leapt over. In this case, those frogs would presumably be Kody Spano and Taylor Martinez.

Jury’s out on what Spano can do - he has to play with two previously-torn ACLs, for one thing - but Martinez…here’s a guy who spent most of last fall as a scout team receiver and scout team Wildcat QB. The regular scout team QB most weeks was walk-on Ron Kellogg.

Said it before, and here it is again: That a kid who has been given, to this point, a token chance at quarterback is in the running for the No. 2 or No. 1 job speaks volumes about the state of the position and the direction of the offense.

*Through three losses to Fresno State, Nebraska baseball has twice handed a two-run lead to closer Mike Nesseth in the ninth inning, and he has twice blown that lead. Both a 7-5 loss on Friday and the 10-9 loss on Sunday stung badly, but yesterday’s heartbreaker was compounded by two wild pitches by reliever Chase Adams, one of which served as the Bulldogs’ winning run.

It’s early, but pitching remains the issue. Casey Hauptmann and Jordan Roualdes appear to be on track as the season begins. We’ll see about Sean Yost, who recovered from a shaky start on Friday. Everybody else?

Let’s be blunt: NU could easily start 1-9 or 2-8. That’s a big hill to climb.

*A huge loss by Notre Dame over the weekend (to Georgetown) puts Nebraska’s women’s basketball team in even-better position for a No. 1 seed now. Get past Oklahoma, and there’s just no stopping NU from a regional date in Kansas City. And if Huskers draw a more beatable No. 2 seed - say, overrated Xavier - than all the better.

Should the Huskers lose to OU, but still win the Big 12 Tournament, that top seed is still in the bag. Lose to the Sooners and in the Big 12 Tourney, and NU may need a little more help from the Irish.

Whatever gets Nebraska to Kansas City. If the Huskers land there - regardless of the seed - NU volleyball fans will get a run for their money.

*No matter how the season ends for the Nebraska men’s basketball team, it’s going to be one bear of an offseason for the returning Huskers under head coach Doc Sadler. This team will work, I know that. And weight training will be a priority.

The inconsistency has to be maddening, and I think it’s a combination of lacking attitude, confidence and toughness and just plain speed, man. NU has to get faster in the offseason. And stronger. How does NU keep brawling away at Kansas State Wednesday night, then seemingly back down at home vs. Missouri on Saturday? The Tigers, who are just slightly more talented than the Huskers - certainly not to the tune of 17 and 15 points in two games - just played harder and hit tough shots. Period.

Know this: Sadler won’t sit still after a year like this.

*A few words about Tiger Woods’ statement and apology on Friday:

It appears clear now that Woods had, to brilliant on-course success, compartmentalized his life into various spheres of golf, family, modern-day brothel, ad image, foundation guy, etc. He wasn’t leading a double life, but several lives. He lived them well, in part, because mankind is generally stupid, and we allow a wider berth to rich, successful people. I got a lotta money to make here, so let me carve out time for the GFE! Mankind does so to their general detriment, as it often turns out, for the sake of our own self-satisfied sycophancy but, you know, back to the point.

When two of those many spheres collide, it can have a startling effect. Woods’ game began to decline after his rehab and return from amazing win at the 2008 U.S. Open, and, it seems clear now, the demands of the harem, or whatever you’d like to call the legion of his emotionally-kept women, were beginning to bleed into other areas of his life. I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner, but I suspect he had friends making sure it didn’t. More than the few who have already been implicated as enablers.

Now. Erase all those enablers and replace them with people who insist the walls are part of the disease - which they probably are - and demand they stay down. That’s a vulnerable state for an elite athlete. Imagine somebody in Woods’ life expressing concern over thrown clubs and muttered curses. To make oneself whole, see, you have to break down every little part. But if one of those parts was the key to Woods’ success on the golf course?

There are advantages to being whole. It’s the real thing, for one. You don’t become an emotional Darth Vader. It also prevents you from becoming the miserable sourpuss Michael Jordan turned out to be, for two. But maybe you lose the “part” you liked the most in the process. You have to rebuild it as part of the whole. Like Woods rebuilds his swing.

Let’s see how he does with his wife and addiction support system tracing his every step. For a man of supreme control to suddenly give it to someone else? Try jumping without a net.

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In the summer and fall, Husker Locker created its “50 Huskers to Know” list for the 2009 season. We now review our list by examining production, injuries and depth chart position.
We’ll present these in five-player increments. Here we go!

No. 5 Keith Williams: Poised for a breakout year, Williams tore his pectoral muscle in fall camp. He played through excruciating pain anyway, and had his moments. In 2010, provided he’s healthy, look for him to be an all-conference pick. He’s still Nebraska’s best.

No. 4 Niles Paul: It was almost like his two colossal blunders of the fall - failing to catch a backwards pass vs. Texas Tech, then failing to recover the ball that Tech returned for a touchdown, and that fumble-recover-fumble vs. Iowa State that cost NU the win - actually set Paul free. Over the last five games of the year, including the Holiday Bowl, Paul became a new man - a different player, returning one punt for a score, almost returning another vs. Texas, making clutch third-down grabs vs. Colorado, making huge plays vs. Kansas and Kansas State, and displaying an all-around game in the Holiday Bowl to earn MVP. He caught 40 passes for almost 800 yards, and became the big-play most hoped he would be.

No. 3 Roy Helu: More brilliance in games vs. Virginia Tech, Oklahoma and Kansas, and more perplexing injuries in many of the other games. Helu’s a tough guy to figure out on and off the field. Talent and instinct to burn, but there seems to be times when Rex Burkhead is the more consistent option. Still - it says something about a guy when he rushes for 1,137 yards, and you barely noticed him over the last four games of the year. He’s still a big-time weapon.

No. 2 Ndamukong Suh: Arguably the best player in Blackshirt history - remember, that doesn’t include Train Wreck Novak - and certainly the most decorated, Suh became the poster child for the emerging Bo Pelini era. He worked hard, excelled in the classroom and dominated on the field. A unique, game-changing talent in ways defensive linemen usually aren’t - pass coverage, downfield tackling. Hopefully NU fans enjoyed the show. He isn’t coming through that door again.

No. 1 Zac Lee: As great as we knew Suh was, Lee occupied the top spot for the obvious reason: He’s the only guy with the ball in his hands every play. So much has already been written about Lee, so let’s merely say one more thing: He turned a corner in his attitude and belief in himself as the year went on, and he doesn’t have a lot to fear in 2010. Bo likes him. It’s his job to lose.

The list is now complete! Check out the full list!

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Shotgun to stay? Whether we or you or any Husker fans prefers an under center power game is immaterial to what offensive coordinator Shawn Watson’s players can actually execute. And the Huskers look better in a shotgun spread offense. They just do. It suits the quarterbacks, the running backs, the offensive line, the receivers and the Wildcat formation.

How long does it take Zac Lee to recover - and is recovery successful? Funny that Nebraska fans would pin a potential national title run on the health of No. 5, but, after seeing Cody Green’s wobbly work in the Holiday Bowl, so be it. Lee is unquestionably the No. 1 guy going into spring practice - and he still isn’t very good. So not only does he have to rehab after surgery on his right torn flexor tendon, he has to find a way to improve without throwing the ball - possibly through all of spring camp.

Can Cody Green capitalize on Lee’s absence to develop for 2010 and beyond? We can’t ignore his struggles during the last half of the season - but we also can’t take too much from them, either. Green hasn’t been allowed to grow into a starter - too much attention for a handful for a good plays, too short of a leash for a handful of bad ones - and he should make “the leap” in the spring. Well, he’d better, anyway.

Whither Kody Spano? The things Spano reportedly did best - throwing those skinny slants and posts, and hanging in the pocket when bullets started flying - are attributes Watson appreciates most. Can he come back from two ACL tears? Can he trust his knee enough to make plays. It’s rare - but possible.

Is there a No. 2 receiver in the building? Some Husker - Brandon Kinnie, Khiry Cooper, Antonio Bell, Curenski Gilleylen - has to take the heat off of Niles Paul. And receivers coach Ted Gilmore has to stop sampling every guy on the roster for the role. Find two or three complimentary receivers, stick with them, and develop chemistry with Lee - when he returns - Green and whoever else tries out at QB.

How much can the redshirt freshmen - plus Jermarcus Hardrick - push the vets on he offensive line? Hardrick will push Marcel and D.J. Jones at right tackle - and potentially win the job. As for the redshirt freshmen, we’re talking about Brent Qvale (guard), Jeremiah Sirles (tackle), Jesse Coffey (guard) and Nick Ash(guard/center). At the very least, Qvale (huge, and nimble) and Sirles (looks the part) were slated for the two-deep before injuries tilted the risk/reward scale against burning their redshirt. Neither will likely start for NU in 2010, but they can provide important depth every third or fourth series, or serve as injury protection. At any rate - they sorely need experience for the future.

Where does Taylor Martinez fit in? We dug around in the few weeks after the Big 12 Championship game about Martinez, and found he was more feared as a receiver than he was at quarterback. And yet he’ll start at QB - potentially as a Wildcat guy - and take a run at the backup job. Either way - the kid needs to see the field, and get the chance to make plays. He’s among the fastest players on NU’s roster and he’s big enough to take some licks. T Magic is more like T Mystery.

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The story of Nebraska’s offense in 2009 turns out to be a crackerjack courtroom drama, complete with compelling characters, riveting testimony and a twist ending - touched off by a surprising revelation - that has some Cornhusker fans sailing out of theater satisfied, and others wondering if all plot threads meet up.

The men on trial - offensive coordinator Shawn Watson, his staff and quarterback Zac Lee - won acquittal in a 33-0 thumping of Arizona, returning to the shotgun, unveiling an effective version of the Wildcat - which running backs coach Tim Beck correctly described as an offense, not merely a play - and getting Lee to a point where he can run the zone read competently - if not beautifully - for yards and first downs.

Everything you could have hoped to see vs. Arizona - third-down efficiency, big running plays, Niles Paul, Mike McNeill, a dominant offensive line - you saw. Roy Helu got hurt early, but Rex Burkhead capably replaced him.

For the first time since the Kansas game, Lee looked like the solution instead of the problem. Afterward, when he revealed he’d been playing with a torn flexor tendon in his throwing arm, which requires surgery and nearly three months of rehab, it was like that beer glass in the novel “Presumed Innocent” that nobody could find - because nobody ever asked the guy who took it from the evidence room to return it.

“It was them that (screwed) up,” Lipranzer tells defendant Rusty at the end of Scott Turow’s best book.

In this case, the few left in Watson’s corner could say the same of his many naysayers. If you only you knew of all the injuries on the offensive line, at running back, in Lee’s right arm.

You can see how the arguments set up.

Credit where it’s deserved: Watson crafted a good plan, and called an even better game. He and Barney Cotton got their offensive line to fire off the ball. He trusted Lee on third-and-long to extend drives. Lee did. In short, Watson seemed to be returning to midseason 2008, when Nebraska sliced and diced Iowa State, Kansas and Kansas State with a dizzying array of formations and plays.

Lee was a poor man’s Joe Ganz, which, with Bo’s defense, was more than enough. He’s a tough kid who chooses to struggle with injuries and inconsistencies in relative silence. Commendable enough.

But “Holiday Bowl scoreboard” isn’t a sufficient salve for every offensive problem in 2009.

“Torn flexor tendon” isn’t a sufficient answer for why Watson had Lee throwing the ball in the Missouri rain, or why Watson couldn’t bear to call a trick play - just one! - vs. Texas in the Big 12 Championship.

“O-line injuries” doesn’t explain why the wide receiver corps fell apart, with two starters apparently so unmotivated and disinterested that they spent two weeks on the scout team.

No, Watson didn’t suddenly forget how to call plays.

But we can’t suddenly gloss over real struggles, either.

The offseason, beginning with Lee’s surgery and rehabilitation, will be a test of patience, creativity and coaching for Watson and his assembled crew. I look forward to watching skilled - but embattled - guys whittle away the problem, with a prominent chip on their shoulder, I suspect, and something to prove.

*At quarterback, Watson will have to play it by doctor and trainer as to when Lee can return. Then he’ll have to develop quarterbacks Cody Green, Kody Spano and Taylor Martinez in three distinctly different places in their career. Will Ganz, a new graduate assistant, help? Sure. But even that’s a adjustment, for these Huskers know and respect Ganz quite a bit, and may initially see Lee - or any signal-caller - in stark relief of the former No. 12. When a former teammate suddenly becomes a mentor, it’s can be an interesting transition. Ganz isn’t going to sugarcoat anything, nor should he.

*At running back, Tim Beck has to manage Roy Helu’s health, devise new ways to exploit Rex Burkhead’s skills and find a No. 3 running back between Traye Robinson, Lester Ward and Austin Jones.

*At offensive line, Barney Cotton gets to integrate young pups Brent Qvale, Jeremiah Sirles, Jesse Coffey and Nick Ash, get JUCO signee Jermarcus Hardrick quickly up to speed, break in center Mike Caputo, wait out the recovery of Keith Williams - who has a torn pectoral muscle - and hone the games of Ricky Henry, Mike Smith, Marcel Jones and D.J. Jones. Cotton has the most important - and arguably toughest - job of the bunch. As goes the offensive line, so goes NU.

*At wide receiver, Ted Gilmore needs to build around senior-to-be Niles Paul, with an emphasis on guys who can actually catch, run and keep their balance on a wet field. Gilmore has to put a better product on the field than NU offered up in 2009, when Menelik Holt’s drops cost the Huskers at Virginia Tech, and Paul’s midseason lapses in concentration contributed heavily to losses vs. Texas Tech and Iowa State.

*At tight end, Ron Brown just needs to keep doing what he’s doing, juggling time and snaps for a gifted unit.

Presuming he has enough healthy pieces, Watson then gets to play chemist. Which combination of formations, plays and players make the best brew? Injuries, execution and “inexperience” - plus Bo’s intervention right around the Oklahoma game - prevented him from figuring that out in 2009.

What are the key questions for this offseason? Click here.

Otherwise, continue the debate. Does the Holiday Bowl resolve your concerns? Does the end of the movie forgive its dull middle?

In 2010 - a national-title contending season - we’ll have the sequel.

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Players of the game and grades from NU's 33-0 win over Arizona in the Holiday Bowl.

OFFENSIVE MVP: Niles Paul. He ran, he caught passes and he had two excellent returns. Paul is officially a triple threat for Nebraska in 2010, and he had a strong conclusion to the season.

DEFENSIVE MVP: Pierre Allen. His best game of the year with two sacks, Allen seemed to dominate his man all night long. Like Paul, he positioned himself for a big 2010.

GRADES

QUARTERBACK: B+ Zac Lee had a highly productive night, and even completed some passes on third down to keep drives moving. He ran the ball with toughness, if not elusiveness, and had a nose for the goal line and first down marker. Slowly, Lee is earning the trust of his teammates. He seeemed more at ease Wednesday night than he had all season. Cody Green? Not so much. He looked jittery and lost. That should not have been the case with a month to prepare.

RUNNING BACK: B+ Roy Helu bruised his knee and sat out most of the game. The kid just can't stay healthy, can he? It's one thing or another. Fortunately, Rex Burkhead flashed some big-time skill in the Wildcat offense. He made some nice pass blocks and one good reception, as well.

OFFENSIVE LINE: A- Aside from the dumb penalties from left tackle Mike Smith, this was the O-line's best game by far. They opened hefty holes for Burkhead and Lee, protected Lee when he dropped back to pass, and generally controlled the line of scrimmage all night. When NU needed a yard on several third-and-short situations, the line delivered. Good work, Barney's Boys.

WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS: B Mike McNeill and Niles Paul had pretty good nights; the rest of the units didn't do a lot. Chris Brooks had a false start. Curenski Gilleylen stepped on banana peels. I don't recall Brandon Kinnie or Menelik Holt doing much. Good to see McNeill making plays again, though.

DEFENSIVE LINE: A A few holes here and there from the reserves late in the game, but Carl Pelini's unit otherwise ran the show just fine, controlling the line of scrimmage and never letting Nick Foles get outside the pocket.

LINEBACKER: A Just the one, Phillip Dillard, played much, and he led the team in tackles and attitude, once again, all night long.

SECONDARY: A+ Simply awesome. From Matt O'Hanlon's interception to the well-timed hits to the blanket coverage all night, this is good as defensive back play can get. Take a bow, back seven and Marvin Sanders.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A+ Just the one decent kickoff return from Arizona's Bug Wright. Otherwise - the Huskers rocked and rolled in this phase of the game, too. Alex Henery nailed his field goals, punt and kick coverage was solid, and Paul had two excellent returns.

COACHING/GAME MANAGEMENT: A Superb plan from offensive coordinator Shawn Watson, who balanced run and pass and sprinkled in the Wildcat. This is the guy we saw in 2008, and, don't kid yourself - he needed a good night. That whole offense did.

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The Flex: Niles Paul executes a nifty double move, Arizona cornerback Devin Ross falls down, and Paul zooms past. Zac Lee hits Paul in stride for a 74-yard touchdown pass. Paul caps it off perfectly: With a flex of those impressive muscles. It drew a 15-yard penalty, but was an apt picture of what happened Wednesday night.

Dare we say Florida? Nebraska’s first play of the second series was a picture of plays to come in 2010. Rex Burkhead motioned to the backfield, Zac Lee faked to Roy Helu and ran the option - effectively! - pitching the ball to Burkhead for a 12-yard gain. Florida uses this play, and former Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione made a living off of it.

Wildcat!: Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson waited three drives to unveil his bowl wrinkle, but, oh, did the Huskers alight on something good. Rex Burkhead out of the Wildcat - the first run for 34 yards - is precisely the medicine NU’s offensive line needed. Burkhead deftly read holes from that deep shotgun position all night.

Third Down Clutch: Facing the possibility of another long Alex Henery field goal, Lee hung in the pocket and nailed receiver Niles Paul on a 22-yard slant pattern on 3rd-and-7. It set up Nebraska at Arizona’s 5 yard line. Burkhead scored out of the Wildcat on the next play.

McNeill’s Hands Are Back: Nice grab by tight end Mike McNeill to extend NU’s first drive of the second half

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So much for motivation, preparation, hangovers, skeptics, doubts or close games in the Holiday Bowl.

Turns out Bo Pelini had a reason to strut in San Diego. A reason to gift-wrap a six-day break for his team before Christmas. A reason to bust out some lofty talk about 2010 in a handful of interviews.

What did Bo know? Something. That’s for damn sure.

Three plays, one Matt O’Hanlon pick, one quick Zac Lee touchdown, a dash of the Wildcat starring Rex Burkhead, Niles Paul as a triple threat, that magnificent golden foot of Alex Henery and Blackshirts, Blackshirts, Blackshirts.

First round knockout. Boom! Down! Nebraska as Mike Tyson, and Arizona as a weak-kneed Michael Spinks.

“We got whacked,” Arizona head coach Mike Stoops.

Yep. Thumped. Striped. Punished. Seems like the two teams did their share of trash talking during the week at joint functions, and the muddy blood carried over to Wednesday night. Like so many fights that start with a couple of loose jaws, it ended with one party - the Wildcats - on the floor - a jigsaw puzzle with a couple of pieces gone.

Savor this Big Red ribeye of a win, Cornhusker fans. It tasted so good, sizzling from the start - and mostly because NU cooked it just so. In all three phases, I can’t recall a more complete bowl win since the 2000 Alamo Bowl. And even there, Nebraska had a few leaks. You might have to go back to the 1996 Fiesta Bowl. Or the 1969 Sun Bowl, when NU beat Georgia 45-6. Or maybe never. I’m leaning toward never.

At some point, Stoops stopped with his Jimmy Cagney/George C. Scott facial grimaces and submitted to total defeat. His willingness to forego an easy field goal at the end of the game and try for a touchdown - knowing full well his quarterback would face a seven-man blitz - was not merely a nod to his old friend Bo. It was a tip of the cap to the Husker defense as a whole. You’ve earned the right to shut us out. Good for Stoops. Intense guy. Class move.

Yes, the Blackshirts evoked memories of those days of heaven, the mid-1990s, when opposing quarterbacks gazed wistfully into the defense in the mere hope of completing a pass. Foles had that “blow-the-whistle!” look all night, his impressive arm - yes, I’ve seen it in other games - reduced to a bad parody of the Balloon Boy saga. Just 21 snaps in the first half. For 32 yards. And the Huskers didn’t even have to commit a blitzer on the pass rush. TV can’t do justice to how well NU’s cornerbacks challenge and blanket opposing receivers, so Foles, with the relative mobility of Pooh Bear, had no choice but to dance around, fruitlessly searching for downfield targets.

Once again, we saw irrefutable evidence that the best way to great defense is through a quarterback’s rattled cage. How many signal-callers have answered the bell vs. NU this year? In retrospect, just one: Texas Tech’s Sticks Sheffield.

“It’s nothing fancy,” Pelini said. In a sense, he’s right. Challenging receivers at the line of scrimmage, and taking away those easy throws spread teams thrive on isn’t fancy. Doesn’t mean it’s easy, either, but it’s not fancy. And the recipe works.

The secondary was nothing short of brilliant. I doubt Arizona had ever seen such aggressive coverage. A healthy Alfonzo Dennard, coupled with a healthy Prince Amukamara, might be as good a cornerback tandem as there is in college football.

And color me pleased by the offense, and impressed with offensive coordinator Shawn Watson from this perspective: He said NU would travel back in time with its offense, and that’s precisely what we saw Wednesday night.

Nebraska spread it out and mixed pass and run. Zac Lee throws much better out of the shotgun, and runs a competent zone read, even if he takes the ball too often. The big wrinkle - the Wildcat - was more of a no-brainer, considering how good Rex Burkhead was at running it, but it was good to see Watson actually put it on film and put it to good use.

Burkhead is a keeper. He runs hard, headlong, with the occasional surprising flourish - a spin move, a hard cut. A little Correll Buckhalter. A little Derek Brown. A little Josh Davis. Watson has a weapon there, whether or not Burkhead stays at the Wildcat QB, or hands the reins to Taylor Martinez.

Does Watson have a quarterback? Lee took a step forward Wednesday night, but I still think he is inconsistent and a little robotic as a runner. Cody Green, who burned a timeout and nearly threw a bad interception, again looked adrift and ill-prepared on the field. But it’s hard to get a grip in a couple drives when Lee gets the whole game.

Unfortunately, you don’t get the offensive sequel for nine months. You won’t even get a sneak peek trailer for four months. And don’t presume that Nebraska solved its problems in one bowl game. Arizona seemed struck by the stage and the stakes. Stoops’ team needs to grow up some. I suspect that he knew that earlier in the week, and hoped it wouldn’t matter too much in the game. But it did.

Arizona’s at now where Nebraska resided in early 2008. What a journey since then for the Big Red. Despite the kind of losses that make you want to starve for a week, Pelini pulled his troops through, and has them positioned for a national title run in 2010.

I don’t know about the Huskers being “five times better” next year. For one thing, a lot of pro-style offenses roll onto the schedule, and you can’t just trot Dejon Gomes out there at linebacker to stop the inside counter. The Huskers absolutely must find two or three serviceable linebackers.

But, provided Nebraska does that, a trip to Phoenix - for one of two BCS games held there - should be the early expectation. The Big 12 will be ripe for the plucking. The best of NU’s recruiting classes - the 2007 bunch rotates fully into upperclassmen mode. That solid class of 2008 - that included all of the red shirt freshmen, finally begins to contribute more, as well.

Hope springs eternal. Football championships are autumnal. I think we have 33 reasons to put those two sentiments together for next year.

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The five plays that thousands of Nebraska fans missed at the outset of the 2009 Holiday Bowl turned out to be the only ones No. 22 NU really needed to secure victory over No. 20 Arizona.

What followed the Cornhuskers’ touchdown in the first 75 seconds of the game - which went untelevised on ESPN because of the end of Idaho’s 43-42 win in the Humanitarian Bowl - was gravy, and arguably the most dominant performance in Nebraska bowl history, as NU crushed the Wildcats 33-0 at San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium Wednesday night.

"It was a complete win," said a relatively subdued head coach Bo Pelini, who badly beat his friend, Arizona head coach Mike Stoops. "...It was nothing fancy."

Indeed, Stoops said Pelini "had mercy" on Arizona, which in turn prompted Stoops to forego a chip-shot field goal late in fourth quarter and try for a touchdown on the Wildcats lone successful drive of the game. Reserve safety P.J. Smith knocked down a fourth down pass from Arizona quarterback Nick Foles, preserving the shutout and touching off a wild, out-of-character celebration on NU's sidelines.

"Nothing was right all night," Stoops said. "Give Nebraska credit...I don't know if we were just content getting here, but we certainly didn't show up."

Nebraska certainly did - in all three phases.

Building off a brilliant defensive performance in the Big 12 Championship game, the Blackshirts managed to better themselves, notching the first shutout in the Huskers’ 46 bowl appearances, and the first in the history of the high-scoring Holiday Bowl, too. Nebraska held Arizona - an offense averaging more than 400 yards per game - to just 109 yards, more than half of its coming on the game’s final drive.

Nebraska, 10-4, felt disrespected by Arizona prior to the game, all-everything defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh said. Suh and his mates wasted little time in earning it, as safety Matt O'Hanlon intercepted Foles on the third play of the game, returning the ball to the Zona 6-yard line. Two plays later, quarterback Zac Lee scored on a naked bootleg around the right end, diving over the pylon.

Anxious, frustrated Husker fans only saw a replay of that touchdown. ESPN joined the Holiday Bowl feed just as kicker Alex Henery made the extra point.

"It was huge," Pelini said. "We got momentum right away."

The next 58 minutes of the game weren't much different. The NU secondary blanketed Arizona's wide receivers. Foles, confused and frustrated, overthrew several targets, completing just 6 of 20 passes for 28 yards. Passes Foles threw well were dropped. The Wildcats (8-5) didn't bother trying to run the ball until their final drive of the game, when Keola Antonin ripped off 36 of the team's 63 rushing yards on a single play.

"I didn't have a good throw all night," Foles said. "I've got to get my butt back to work."

Henery nailed four field goals - a Holiday Bowl record - of 22, 41, 48 and 50 yards. Niles Paul set up the Huskers with excellent field position with a punt return of 28 yards and a kickoff return of 44 yards.

The surprise was NU's offense, which produced 396 total yards and a number of big plays, highlighted by Zac Lee's 74-yard touchdown pass to Paul in the third quarter.

"It was a little bit of redemption," said Lee, who added that Nebraska had won enough ugly games during the regular season to endure a repeat of that in San Diego.

Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson - back in the booth for the Holiday Bowl, instead of down on the field - unveiled a series of wrinkles, including a shorter shotgun formation for Lee to run the zone read with Rex Burkhead and Roy Helu and the Wildcat formation with Burkhead playing quarterback. That formation accounted for most of the yards on a seven-play, 82-yard touchdown drive that padded Nebraska's lead to 17-0.

"It's something we had in our hip pocket," Pelini said. "It's a good wrinkle - something that Rex does well."

Said Stoops: "They kept us off balance all night. They had a good plan. Our defense struggled for some reason."

Nebraska churned out 226 yards, executed almost exclusively out of the shotgun, which mirrored the offense from earlier in the season.

"This was more 'us,'" said Lee, whose arm helped NU convert 9 of 18 third down attempts.

Lee tossed for 173 yards - 123 of them went on four passes to Paul. He played most of the meaningful snaps in the game. Freshman backup Cody Green got a series in the second quarter with NU leading 17-0, but nearly threw an interception. A series in the fourth quarter led to another three-and-out.

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At nearly every postmodern, faux-hip Christmas party not worth a damn, there is tinsel, mistletoe, a fine array of “strengthened” cordials, three idiots in Santa caps, the guy who likes to dance to “White Christmas” as he sloshes the highballs being held in each hand, the minx who revs up to Eartha Kitt, the beleaguered hosts who spend most of the night tidying the trash can, the kids who tracked in snow, the amateur showman blowing the dust off his guitar case from last Christmas, the depressive contemplating Chet Baker out the window and drawing flirtatious looks from nerdy cute girls, and, of course, the platter.

The platter is often some holiday dish, with cursive writing or festive designs, your mom bought. Or you did, in the post-Christmas after-sale extravanganza at the local Big Box. Sometimes it's just a long, oval paper plate with a snowman and some kids, on it. The platter contains every Christmas treat known to the western world – and a few the Thais don't mind either. Sugar cookies. Frosted cookies. Chocolate cookies. Chocolate-frosted sugar cookies. Peanut brittle. Candy canes. Bark-covered pretzels. Fudge with nuts, fudge without nuts. A hard clump of dough with craisins in it. Corn Flakes glued together with almost-primordial sugar and dipped in a green acid bath. Twigs and sticks, drenched in chocolate. Peanut butter balls laced with marshmallows that sprout from the orb like poisonous mushrooms. Some vegan bar made without eggs or butter that looks like a divot your pitching wedge might take in early spring.

There is always one treat on this platter – much like there is one Girl Scouts cookie – that you wait the entire year to eat. Maybe you even filch two or three for the road, wrapping them in cocktail napkins and shoving them in the pocket of your coat lying on the bed in the spare room. For me, this is a simple ginger cookie - not much bigger than the participation medal you get on field day in grade school - with a mint Chocolate kiss pressed gently into the middle of it.

On the opposite end of the spectrum: The rum ball. It makes fruit cake taste, by comparison, like the work of culinary genius.

For one thing, I don't really get booze candy. Does anyone want a Seagram's Sucker? A Keystone Kit-Kat? Zima Licorice?

For another – the rest of rum ball is comprised of crushed-up vanilla wafers, chopped nuts, powdered sugar and dried fruits. Sweet Santa! About the only thing missing in Icelandic hakarl.

And yet, inevitably, you find yourself, once a year, subjecting yourself to a single bite of the rum ball. You try to chew it. You know it's sour and pointlessly crunchy, yet chewy to the point where you can't just swallow it. Eventually, you either spit it out and rinse your mouth with water, or you drink some actual rum for a little company.

Shawn Watson likes to say he went on an “ego diet” as Nebraska's offensive coordinator this year.

I prefer to think - he drank the rum.

Only, for Watson, it was worse than that. You see, for the first two games of the 2009 season – he thought he was eating a ginger cookie. We all did. NU slammed Florida Atlantic 49-3, and Arkansas State 38-9. Remember that? Seems ages ago, doesn't it, when head coach Bo Pelini was picking at the toughness and tackling of his defense, and quarterback Zac Lee started so well (42 of 59 for 553 yards, six touchdowns and one interception) pundits (this one included) were thumbing through the “records” portion of the football media guide.

Lee threw to all parts of the field. Menelik Holt and Curenski Gilleylen were living up to their preseason billing as improved players. Niles Paul showed off his big play skills. Roy Helu was busy hitting home runs. Mike McNeill already had eight catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns. The offensive line, though light on depth, seemed to be holding up.

Even after red flags were raised in a 16-15 loss to Virginia Tech – red zone issues, dumb penalties, Lee looking shaky and uncertain – NU seemed, well, still OK. The Huskers gashed the Hokies for almost 200 rushing yards. Helu looked tougher than ever. Lee would recover.

But, after a 27-12 win over Missouri - “the moment we've been waiting for!” Watson exclaimed - the Huskers lost something.

First, Helu hurt his shoulder, badly, on the second-to-last play. Second, rex Burkhead got hurt two days later in practice. Third, NU receivers coach benched Holt and Gilleylen in the Mizzou game for not playing with courage. Fourth, Watson and Pelini at least toyed with benching Lee against the Tigers although, let's face it, the conditions in which he was being asked to complete 15-yard deep outs were just awful. Fifth, near the end of the game, with NU leading 20-12, Watson shifted to a archaic-albeit-effective four-tight end offense and jammed it down the discouraged Tigers' throats.

You see? Columnists exclaimed. It worked! POW-er football. Hey, me too here. I was a big ol peanut in the gallery. (Still am, I suppose, because power football can and does work.)

Thanks, really, to Ndamukong Suh and The Blackshirts, NU had the key victory season in its pocket by early October. But the seeds had been planted for change. And when Nebraska got a nasty wake-up call one week later vs. Texas Tech, Watson's vision and personnel got a final chance vs. Iowa State. To paraphrase McCroskey from Airplane!, the Huskers picked the wrong time to commit eight turnovers.

***

I've seen enough of Pelini to know, by now, that one his best strengths – and his biggest potential weakness – is an adherence to his gut feeling. As much as Bo talks about the consistency of his process – about never getting too high or too low – you are not likely to see more drastic change in the history of Nebraska's offense than the charted course from the beginning of this season until the end. Few head coaches would be daring enough to even attempt it, and fewer offensive coordinators would submit to that kind of direction. We poked a lot of fun at Watson this year, but, seriously, the man has an admirable dose of humility.

Bo shut this thing down, folks. After Cody Green threw that Pick Six in the Baylor game, and had ants in his pants to start the Oklahoma game, the Brothers Pelini went back to what they knew: Defense, and an offense that won't screw it up. Thanks, again, to the Blackshirts and Alex Henery, it worked. But, in the process, NU didn't change identities so much as it lobotomized itself. Within the rigid structure of NU's new offense, Watson had only three speeds:

1. Plunge into the line and hope for the best.
2. Deep ball to Niles Paul
3. Speed option, at the physical peril of Lee

The problem with that plan:

1. NU's o-line injuries made a power game hard to execute.
2. Watson forgot about every other receiver in the process.
3. Lee can't run the option.

You already know the result.

The question now becomes: What scars does it leave for 2010?

More than a few. The offensive line will have literal scars after offseason surgeries. The rest of the unit has trust and leadership issues to resolve. Especially NU's receivers, who watched Holt, Gilleylen and Chris Brooks never catch another pass after the Iowa State game. That's pretty stunning.

Bo invoked the bunker mode in 2009. He can't do it again in 2010 expect to get any kind of difference-makers in recruiting. He's already lost Curtis Carter and Tyler Gabbert because of it.

My suggestions? Click here.

Otherwise, here's the offensive ginger cookies and rum balls from 2009.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Roy Helu. An early-season injury – and the flu – slowed a terrific, instinctive runner. He's still the best back NU's had in nearly a decade, but he has one more year to become a complete player – block, catch and run – and emerge as a team leader. Helu was practically a ghost during the last half of this season. And playing when he shouldn't have in the Iowa State game was a mistake.

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Ricky Henry. The junior guard committed his share of penalties, but Henry led the team in pancake blocks, and set himself up for a big 2010. And, oh yeah – please dismiss the comparisons to Richie Incognito. Henry keeps a lid on his temper much better than that, and is a more positive influence on teammates.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Rex Burkhead. He'll share the backfield even more with Helu next year than he did in 2009. Big things are expected from this smiling, humble workhorse.

BEST GAME: Lafayette. A 55-0 win, Lee was sharp, so was Green, and all the receivers, tight ends and running backs got in on the fun.

WORST GAME: Texas. NU's defense gave the Huskers so many good chances. And UT's defense, while good – isn't that good. A failure of imagination and execution, among other things.

BEST SINGLE PERFORMANCE: Roy Helu, Virginia Tech. Helu established a career-high 169 yards rushing against a salty, physical defense. He busted some big runs, yes, but he did it by breaking tackles and evading defenders. That game revealed a lot about Helu's skill as a runner.

BIGGEST PLUS IN 2010: We think it'll be depth along the offensive line. With JUCO transfer Jermarcus Hardrick and redshirt freshmen Brent Qvale, Jeremiah Sirles, Nick Ash and Jesse Coffey ready to contribute – plus the possible return of tackle Jaivorio Burkes – you should see Barney Cotton's unit return to, at least, its 2008 form.

BIGGEST QUESTION MARK: Before even the quarterback, it has to be scheme and coaching personnel. Let's see how the next month shakes out. Let's just see.

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Special teams is undoubtedly a crucial phase of football. It is also the one most left up to chance. To luck – both good and bad.

How many times had Adi Kunalic booted a perfect kickoff deep into the end zone this year? How many times had he pinned teams at the 20-yard line, or worse. And yet, on the biggest kickoff the season, after Nebraska had taken a 12-10 lead over Texas in the Big 12 Championship game, Kunalic hooked the ball slightly left, it took an awful bounce, and it hopped out of bounds. Excellent field position for UT quarterback Colt McCoy, whose brain was so fried by the night's events, as it turned out, than he nearly blew the game anyway.

It probably seems unfair to be negative, at the outset, toward a unit – and a player - that performed so well for NU during the year. But that's the thing with special teams: You expect them to go smoothly – until something goes wrong.

Outside of that moment, and a few others, the Huskers had a stellar year in the “third phase.” The punt and kickoff (13th nationally) coverage units were infused with young, aggressive talent – like freshman linebacker Eric Martin. Kunalic was third nationally in touchbacks.

Alex Henery was 20 of 24 on field goals, kept NU in the Virginia Tech and Texas games with his right leg, and developed a penchant for downing punts inside the 10-yard line despite changing his style early in the season.

Niles Paul not only became a dependable punt and kickoff returner – he became a pretty good one. NU was a respectable 34th national in both return categories, thanks mostly to Paul making solid, individual plays.

Freshman punter Brett Maher doubled as a very good holder. And after a wobbly start, and a tongue lashing from head coach Bo Pelini in the Missouri game, freshman long snapper P.J. Mangieri rounded into shape. Mangieri and Maher ought to make a fine tandem over the next several seasons.

Nebraska uses a team approach to coach these guys. John Papuchis oversees some elements. Ron Brown works with returners. Barney Cotton watches the extra point and field goal attempts intently. Some teams prefer to give the jobs to one guys. NU seems to be getting it done in the more traditional, all-hands-on-deck fashion that many college teams use.

Here's the highlights and lowlights of 2009:

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Kicker/Punter Alex Henery. No finer dual man in the nation. Proved his worth as a kicker in the Texas game, hitting one bomb after another. As a punter, Henery tended to “spray” punts sometimes, but he never allowed big returns.

NEWCOMER and FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Eric Martin. Now this is how you use freshmen on special teams. A spark plug in every sense of the world, Martin brought energy, emotion and tenacity to his job. The kid loves football. And special teams needs a guy like that.

BEST GAME: Colorado. Between Henery's excellent punting, Nebraska's terrific kickoff coverage and Paul's punt return for a touchdown special teams was the difference in a 28-20 win.

WORST GAME: Missouri. P.J. Mangieri had a poor night long snapping, which led to a safety for the Tigers, while Paul and Rex Burkhead struggled to catch punts in the pouring rain.

BEST SINGLE PERFORMANCE: Martin's blocked punt – followed by Justin Blatchford's return of that punt for a touchdown – in the Baylor game. Two guys – one great play.

BIGGEST PLUS IN 2010: Henery and Paul both return.

BIGGEST QUESTION MARK: Does Kunalic redshirt in 2010 to give himself a chance at kicking field goals in 2011. Would Nebraska allow him to redshirt?

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For a second, it seemed as though it would slip to the left, just wide of the goalpost. Like it did for Nebraska in the 1994 Orange Bowl – a game that mirrored Saturday night in so many unforgettable, painful ways.

But Texas kicker Hunter Lawrence's 46-yard field goal as time expired held its course. Texas 13 Nebraska 12, as the partisan crowd of burnt orange in Cowboys Stadium exploded with glee.

Lawrence jumped into the arms of his holder, Jordan Shipley. The Longhorn sideline rushed Lawrence to hoist him on its collective shoulder. UT quarterback Colt McCoy, who looked confused and stricken most of the night, his Heisman hopes up in smoke, walked around in stunned disbelief.

The Cornhuskers, meanwhile, felt like they have during all but once vs. the Longhorns in the Big 12 era – robbed. Only moreso this time – as, for a brief moment, Nebraska believed it had won the game on the backs of four Alex Henery field goals when McCoy's final pass was thrown away out of bounds, and the stadium clock expired.

“We thought the game was over,” wide receiver Niles Paul said.

But replay officials reviewed the play, and judged – correctly, by all accounts – that one second remained.

Head coach Bo Pelini said he didn't get an explanation on the field. He wouldn't address that question, or any other about officiating, which, at broad glance, favored Texas.

A composed, proud Pelini instead tipped his white cap to Texas - “I hope they win the national championship – and applauded the effort of his team - which battled UT to the wire – and his defense, which held the Longhorns to 202 total yards, forced three turnovers and sacked McCoy and mind-boggling nine times.

“Our guys got after them,” Pelini said. “It was a tremendous effort...I'm proud of them. They're champions. I'm proud of how they put Nebraska on the map. They just kept fighting. That's what this group has done all year long. Nobody gave us a chance going into that football game tonight.”

The few that did certainly didn't think NU could actually win the game amassing just 106 total yards – the 308 total for both teams was the lowest in Big 12 history - and quarterback Zac Lee throwing three interceptions. The Blackshirts, staking a late-but-vibrant claim for the nation's best defense, kept extraordinary tabs on McCoy and UT's high-flying offense despite some second-half busts of which Texas couldn't take advantage.

Ndamukong Suh made his own case for the Heisman Trophy with 4.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss and 12 tackles overall. On several more plays, Suh harassed McCoy out of the pocket. His most memorable takedown was a tackle at the line of scrimmage – with a one arm.

“They just whipped us,” Texas coach Mack Brown said.

Just to stay in the game – the Blackshirts didn't have much of a choice. NU's offense produced its lowest output in the last 25 years, and needed a late surge on its final drive just crack 100. Given terrific field position much of the night, Nebraska only once moved into Texas' red zone – and that was following Niles Paul's 43-yard punt return. Lee completed just 6 of 19 passes for 39 yards and three interceptions. Nebraska averaged just 1.9 yards per carry. Its longest gain – of any kind – was 17 yards.

“We couldn't get any movement up front,” Pelini said. “(Texas) is a good defense. Formidable group. Very talented. Well-coached. Our formula to win was to hang in there. We had a chance to win at the end.”

Indeed. That 17-yard gain was Lee's zone read scamper at the beginning of NU's final drive. Three plays later, he hit Brandon Kinnie for a 16-yard gain to the Huskers in Henery's field goal range. Henery then nailed a 43-yarder to give Nebraska a 12-10 lead with 1:43 remaining in the game.

“I hit it well,” Henery said. “I was excited.”

Nebraska's defense, which had only allowed one drive over 42 yards all night, merely had to do its job.

That's when the ghosts of 1994 swooped in.

Kickoff specialist Adi Kunalic who had pinned Texas with excellent kickoffs all night, thumped one out of bounds. UT started its drive, thus, just 30 yards away from Lawrence's range.

It took Texas a single play to get in it, as McCoy his Shipley on a slant for 19 yards, and safety Larry Asante was flagged for a horse-collar tackle. Only seven seconds had expired.

Inexplicably, UT – holding a timeout – almost never got to kick that field goal. The Longhorns lost four yards on the next two plays – and didn't call a timeout. And so, with the clock rolling under ten seconds, McCoy leisurely took the snap, rolled to his right when chased by Suh, and threw the ball nearly into stadium seats. He threw it so far, in fact – the stadium clock dialed down to zero.

Nebraska burst off the sidelines. Pelini held a fist in the air.

Wait a minute.

“I thought the time was over,” Suh said. “I mean – it wasn't. From that point on, our job as a defensive line and as a team is to block that field goal.”

Said Paul: “A lot of us were upset. The referee felt like there was one second left on the clock. That was their decision.”

You know the rest, as 13-0 Texas heads to the BCS National Championship game, and Nebraska likely heads to the Holiday Bowl to play Arizona. That pairing should be announced officially on Sunday.

In the first half, it was as if Pelini dictated a script for Nebraska's defense, and Texas' offense, willing stenographers, happily complied. A masterful web of defense that held the Longhorns to just 121 total yards.

NU's front four blasted UT's offensive line into the backfield, immediately putting McCoy on his heels. The Longhorn quarterback, his short options robbed of him, struggled to find receivers downfield, and scrambled fruitlessly toward the sidelines, or into an oncoming rush. Then he'd trudge back to the bench, don a headset and try to figure just what the Blackshirts were doing to him.

McCoy's second pass of the game was batted up in the air by Pierre Allen and intercepted by Eric Hagg at the UT 41-yard line. After Rex Burkhead converted a fourth-and-short – replay officials reversed an official spot that left Burkhead short – kicker Alex Henery nailed a 45-yard field goal.

Two drives later, cornerback Prince Amukamara stepped in front of another McCoy pass, plucked it from the air, and kept his left toe inbounds for NU's second interception. Henery thumped a 52-yard field goal after Nebraska failed to convert a third-and-1.

Halfway through the first half, the Cornhuskers led 6-0. After linebacker Eric Martin partially blocked a punt to begin the second quarter, leaving NU with the ball at UT's 37-yard line, the margin seemed destined to grow.

But UT cornerback Aaron Williams intercepted Lee on the first play, tracking NU receiver Niles Paul step-for-step on a go route, picking off the ball in the end zone when Lee's slow balloon finally drifted back to the playing field.

Texas slowly began to adjust the field position over its next two drives, its defense stuffing every power play Nebraska attempted right at the line of scrimmage. The Huskers rushed 18 times in the first half. They gained 24 yards. When Henery, backed up in his own end, managed just a 31-yard punt to NU's 42-yard line, the Longhorns had the opening they needed.

McCoy hit Shipley for 13 yards. Williams, leaping over Amukamara, for 16. Then, on a third-and-long, officials flagged Hagg for pass interference in the end zone. Texas got the ball at the NU 4, and scored on McCoy's draw two plays later.

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It starts somewhere around Denton. It doesn't end, really, until you hit Waco.

It's the endless strip mall that soon becomes the Dallas-Arlington-Fort Worth metro area – the Metroplex, as its known just about everywhere. Exit after exit after exit of shopping centers, big-box stores, cell-phone service marts, cheap book outlets, donut stops, Waffle Houses, Grandy's, Tex-Mex joints, roadside churches, car dealerships, western stores, billboards, crammed-in office parks, live oaks tucked onto an inch of landscaped grass, steakhouses, high-line boutiques, low-end pawn shops, and the lingering scent of traffic jams and the Dallas Cowboys in the air.

From the hard-scrabble, bloody roots of the state's rather amazing history, arises a temple to the transient, the gleam of a new truck's chrome. A symbol of the new American dream: You can have it all, buy it all, eat it all, drive it all. No checks please. Credit cards welcome. Cash, in wads of $100 bills, preferable. The Metroplex is more than 9,200 square miles, with 6.3 million shoppers as its clientele. The U.S. Census tabs it as the fastest growing area by population in America. A cultural beehive made of glass, country music, hairspray, oil money, beef brisket, southern politics and daddy's girls.

Loathe it some, but love it a little, too – there's some “Texas” in just about every Nebraskan. The independent spirit. The self-determination. The hard-won state pride, and the love for football.

The game was born in the Ivy League. Took its roots in the Rust Belt. Earned a living in and around the Great Lakes. Did a tour of duty with the military academies. But it currently resides, full-time, in the Lone Star State. It rents a duplex in Nebraska, but football finds Texas most to its liking.

High school stadiums are the size of small cities. The game there bubbles with innovation, competition and maniacal attention to detail. The state boasts ten Division I programs. The Cowboys are a second religion.

At the roadside barbecue stands, you can actually get your brisket with a side sauce of football. It's a little thick and leathery, but you can acquire a taste for it. Try it with burnt ends.

So it only made sense that the Citizen Kane of this giant pigskin menagerie, Jerry Jones, built a Xanadu: Cowboys Stadium. We'd presume, from all of the press coverage of this white whale, that you're aware of its existence.

It's a tribute, quite frankly, to everything Texas. Its hubris. Its excellence. Its taste for the needlessly ornate and expensive. Its love of large gatherings. And its love of football. Especially the glory part of it.

Into that spotlight walks a man who'd rather never see one: Bo Pelini, who'd just as soon play this thing in Cousin Joey's backyard. He'll be flanked by a single Goliath – Ndamukong Suh – and a collection of Davids looking to pop a burnt orange balloon.

Some challenge! The Big 12, no doubt, will enjoy its "tradition" week, but don't kid yourself: By late Saturday night, it fully intends to send triumphant Texas to the BCS National Championship game, preferably riding the coattails of a perfectly comfortable win over NU.

The league has been shamed, as you know, coming into this game. Sam Bradford's season never really climbed off the turf. Oklahoma State's showpony was an utter flop. The most exciting player, Robert Griffin, went down in week four. While Nebraska finally did emerge from the Big 12 North, Kansas stunk like a pair of old socks, while Colorado regressed mightily on national television.

The Big 12 is putting all its eggs in the basket of Texas and its quarterback, Colt McCoy. A loss, and the door opens for - TCU?

You see what's at stake. The gap between UT and everyone else. Recruits for 2010, 2011 and beyond. The very tidiness of the BCS. There are television executives everywhere, the de facto kings of the world at this point, with millions riding on this one game. What Nebraska can potentially do? How about: Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground.

The Huskers as Battleship Potemkin. The people's champion. With the people's coach - in a sweatshirt and slacks, furiously chomping gum.

Ain't it somethin?

Are you ready? We are. But first – a review of Colorado, along with some key questions for the Big 12 Championship.

Five Players We Loved

Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh: Forget Missouri's new uniforms – it was Suh who morphed into “Beast Mode” in the second half vs. the Buffaloes. Had Colorado been rightly flagged for a few penalties, his performance would have been even more dominant.

Wide receiver Niles Paul: He's only scored one touchdown – the 59-yard punt return vs. CU – since the Iowa State game. But Paul's made a lot of big plays – see his long catches at Kansas and timely returns at KU and CU – and crucial small ones, like his two catches to extend touchdown drives on Friday.

Punter Alex Henery: Three more gems inside the 20 on Friday.

Running back Rex Burkhead: I especially liked how Burkhead picked a hole and slid through it without changing his forward lean. Roy Helu makes terrific cuts of his own, of course, but Burkhead is a canny runner for his young age. You could see where Burkhead puts a lot of stress on his feet, though, as hard as he plants.

Offensive guard Ricky Henry: The junior is poised to make “the leap” next year to an all-conference caliber player, provided he stays healthy. Be thankful NU coaches redshirted him in 2008. Henry played his nasty best in Boulder.

Three Concerns We Have

Neo-conservatism: There's nothing wrong with a power offense; it can be as dynamic and dangerous as any spread. Look at Stanford. But Shawn Watson almost seems to be embracing his new role too well. The third-down passes – where Zac Lee almost exclusively locked in on and waited for Niles Paul to break loose on a short crossing pattern – were particularly predictable. For Texas, Watson has to get a little more creative. It's pretty hard to milk the clock on Colt McCoy.

More dumb penalties: Cool it, Larry Asante. No need to give Colorado free points with an unnecessary (albeit borderline) hit out of bounds. Texas, the Big 12's Tiffany team, will be protected to the hilt on Saturday night, so every hit not only has to be clean, it has to look like Bevo's mother gave it approval beforehand.

Pursuit angles and poor tackling: This isn't the time – nor the opponent – to start getting sloppy from a tackling standpoint, but Nebraska has struggled in recent weeks against mobile quarterbacks and slippery receivers. Texas has both. Sean Fisher could use a crash course in playing the zone read, if NU has any intention of playing a base defense in Dallas.

Reviewing the Five Keys

Win One for the Hawk: Colorado indeed played hard on Saturday for embattled coach Dan Hawkins, who retained his job for another year. Smart? Not so much. In other words – Nebraska's still Nebraska, and the Buffaloes are still, well, the Buffaloes.

The Specials: Did we call it or what? NU owned CU on special teams. And it was the difference.

Inside-Out: Nebraska's offense rarely tested the deep middle of Colorado's defense, even though it was ripe for the testing. Shawn Watson did, however, dial up a nifty playaction pass for a touchdown.

Tyler, Cody and Zac: Cody Hawkins did not play, so he's out. Of the remained, CU's Tyler Hansen made several more big plays than Lee did – but he also threw three costly interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. Lee managed the offense, like he has for a month, and converted a few third down passes. His offensive line didn't protect him too well.

Play the Odds: Colorado did indeed self-destruct, a hallmark of a Hawkins-coached team. Hey – the Buffaloes are the ones choosing to keep him around.

Three Questions We Still Have

Does NU outsmart itself in preparing for Texas? The Brothers Pelini built this Nebraska defense on the strength of a dime look with Eric Hagg and Dejon Gomes in the game. Will they stick with that dance card, play nickel, or try a base look with Will Compton and Fisher flanking Phillip Dillard? UT's running game stunk for two-thirds of the season, but the Longhorns seem to have found their running back in freshman Tre Newton.

Can Nebraska just line up and run the ball? UT's defense, like Nebraska's, seems very comfortable stopping the horizontal-then-vertical spread running game. But Texas A&M lined up and punched the Longhorns right in the snout with power zone plays, counters and fullback isolation runs. The Huskers will line up in even heavier sets. Will Texas, which has a slight reputation for being soft, flinch, or bow its back?

Does the giant stage affect the young Huskers? This is a gritty team, sure. But it's not that experienced, and with some many native Texans on the NU roster, a game in the JerryDome is rife with expectation and pressure. Because ESPN wants viewers, its talking heads are bound to talk up Nebraska's defense throughout the week. When Texas hits a few big plays – and it will – how does NU respond in a cavernous dome where some fans are a quarter-mile away?

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Since we're still in Thanksgiving mode, go fetch that leftover gravy from the fridge, grab a juice glass, and pour the gravy to the halfway point.

You already know the question, don't you?

Do you view Nebraska's 9-3 season as a story of warts and imperfections on offense, amidst a Big 12 North bereft of consistency?

Do you view it for its defensive triumphs, timely big plays on special teams, and the sudden emergence of Niles Paul as a clutch player?

In other words: Should Nebraska be 7-5? Or 11-1?

Or are you waiting to decide until after NU play Texas in the Big 12 Championship?

I have a hunch that, during Nebraska's 28-20 win over Colorado, the first view prevailed. After all, that was Bo Pelini's point of view.

“I thought we took a step back today,” he said.

Bo's prone to fits of displeasure, though. (After all, NU played worse – and Bo coached a lemon – against CU last year.)

But sometime Saturday afternoon, when you see ABC/ESPN pimping the Big 12 title game to death and you've seen the NU score scroll across the screen for the 100th time, the second emotion will kick in.

And right about the time Mack Brown starts flapping his gums in a kindly-but-slightly-patronizing way toward NU, and Jordan Shipley's strumming his guitar, that third instinct will kick in.

That's the life of a Nebraska fan. Frustration. Optimism. Motivation. Followed by visualization; that is, of NU somehow hoisting that trophy next Saturday night, right next to the lovely mug of TCU coach Gary Patterson, lobbying for a spot in the BCS National Championship game.

Cornhusker fans typically find themselves above playing the spoiler. But, considering all the pain Texas has inflicted on this fan base since 1996, and considering the stranglehold the Longhorns hold on the league – wouldn't it be sweet rum?

Yeah, thought so.

Until then - seriously – which are you?

The CU game – which never fails to irritatingly drag on into the night, often with the Buffaloes scrambling points – served as an excellent microcosm of the whole season. Sweet, sour, sweet and an ohjustgetitoverwith as a topper.

Sweet: When it comes to field position, Nebraska has the best kicking duo in the country. Kicker/punter Alex Henery lives down the road in Moneyville. Kickoff specialist Adi Kunalic has shut down one good kickoff returner after another during the Big 12 season.

Sour: Great teams don't typically count “kicker” as one of the team's MVPs. Henery is a terrific weapon; you simply wish Nebraska didn't have to use him so much.

Sweet: NU's coverage schemes and techniques genuinely frustrate opposing quarterbacks. The Brothers Pelini force them to make excellent decisions on the fly. Most of them can't do it consistently.

Sour: Colt McCoy, of course can. And he's mobile. And there's still too many penalties by the back seven. Larry Asante needs to watch it.

Sweet: Ndamukong Suh battled double teams all day, played hard, and made several nice stops in the run game. Also had a sack. Can't argue with the play of the whole front four on Friday, really. A couple holding calls were missed.

Sour: As run defenders, the Huskers pursue too aggressively, getting gashed as a result. In back-to-back weeks. Nebraska's linebackers, especially Sean Fisher, need to break down better when tackling.

Sweet: When Nebraska needed a scoring drive, the offense delivered. NU put away Missouri, Kansas, KSU and CU in just this fashion.

Sour: Watson has become stubbornly uncreative. The guy will not run a trick play. No reverses. No halfback passes. No wide receiver sweeps. He's stopped splitting out Roy Helu on pass patterns. He's stopped throwing screens to Helu or Rex Burkhead. No waggles. No rolling the pocket. No Wildcat. Zip. Bubkis. And no – it is not creative to line up in a “toss” look and then pull Ben Cotton toward the backside defensive tackle for a trap block.

Hey - if you want Ron Brown to call the offense, then hand him the headset. At the very least, he'll dust off a few of TO's gadgets. Otherwise, design an offensive attack for the Texas game that does more than take up time. NU will need it. Texas is not Oklahoma.

Ohgetitoverwith: Nebraska's defense, excellent as it is, tends to lose a little focus with a double-digit lead. To the Blackshirts' credit, they generally regain it around the goal line, but Colorado benefited from too many busts, too many easy yards, and poor discipline on blitzes and quarterback containment. The second half was a mess of mistakes.

So – should Nebraska fans be satisfied with suitable progress? Or should they be like Pelini, grim and unhappy with anything less than perfection?

Just be careful putting too many eggs in the Texas basket.

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Two days before Nebraska was to play at Colorado, head coach Bo Pelini was blunt about his hopes for a result.

“Get out of there with a win,” he said.

And that's just about all the Cornhuskers did in a 28-20 victory over the Buffaloes that remained in doubt until the game's final four minutes, when NU cornerback Prince Amukamara picked off CU quarterback Tyler Hansen at the Huskers' goal line on fourth-and-20.

Nebraska now heads to the Dec. 5 Big 12 Championship game to get its shot at undefeated Texas, which looked equally troubled in a 49-39 win over Texas A&M – a team, it's worth remembering, that Colorado beat 35-34.

“A win is a win,” safety Larry Asante said. “We're not happy with how we won the game, but a win is a win. We just look forward to Sunday and getting the corrections in.”

Yes 9-3 Nebraska gave 3-9 Colorado plenty of chances to overcome a 21-7 halftime deficit. CU sliced the lead to seven with a third-quarter touchdown, then politely declined the rest of NU's offers, missing two second-half field goals,succumbing to several penalties on the offensive line. The second miss from kicker Aric Goodman came with just over 13 minutes left in the fourth quarter, as the Buffaloes trailed 21-14.

The Huskers' early cushion – earned through Niles Paul's 59-yard punt return for a touchdown and a 20-yard interception return from Matt O'Hanlon – held up thanks to the ensuing drive, the Huskers' best of the day, a 13-play, 80-yard march that finished with a seven-yard touchdown from freshman Rex Burkhead, who carried the ball nine times for 55 yards on the drive, in relief of starter Roy Helu.

Burkhead, who returned from a foot fracture last week, had the best game of his young career – 100 yards on 18 carries.

Before that, Nebraska's offense was anemic, failing to punch much of a hole in Colorado's mediocre defense despite enjoying terrific field position throughout. It did score one first-half touchdown – a 24-yard toss from Zac Lee to tight end Ben Cotton – but offensive coordinator Shawn Watson stayed in ultra-conservative mode, running of out three and four-tight end sets, often the same plays, especially after Lee tweaked his ankle on an aborted option run. While NU chewed a good chunk of clock with that strategy, Alex Henery also had to punt six times.

Fortunately, three of Henery's first four were beauties, and helped set up two of the Huskers' scores. He downed three punts at CU's 2, 7 and 13-yard line. On those three possessions, the Buffs punted twice – Paul returned one of them for the touchdown - and Hansen threw the pick to O'Hanlon.

Hansen - who completed 21-of-44 passes for 269 yards, including a 56-yard hail mary to Scotty McKnight for a touchdown on the game's final play – frustrated NU's pass rush with his mobility and quick reflexes. He also threw the Pick Six, two more interceptions, and took an 18-yard intentional grounding penalty. Two of his 21 completions – the bomb to McKnight and a throwback to Markques Simas for 58 yards – accounted for nearly half of all Hansen's yards. For the game, CU outgained Nebraska 403-217.

“It was attention to detail,” said Asante, who was flagged for another personal foul Friday. “We lost focus as a defense.”

The success of CU's running game was an even greater concern. Running back Rodney Stewart (110 yards) gashed the Huskers' front seven several times, while Hansen got loose a few scrambles and zone read plays. NU played more base personnel – three linebackers, four defensive backs - than it had during the Big 12 season. CU's ability to run the zone read portends well for Texas, whose rarely-used rushing attack is almost solely comprised of that play.

Oh yes – the Longhorns, who now stand at 12-0 after their narrow, sloppy win over the Aggies Thanksgiving night, when UT's normally excellent defense gave up more than 500 yards to a team that lost by 55 points to Oklahoma and 48 to Kansas State.

Based on Friday night's performance, Nebraska isn't ready. But, then, NU and Texas aren't playing for a week.

“We have to our best football we've played all year,” Asante said. “We have to play perfect defense, we have to play perfect offense. There can't be any mental lapses. We have to play our best football all year.”

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Maybe it's useful, sometimes, to close our eyes and imagine offensive coordinators as philosophers. Instead of the dismal tide of civilization and all that, the subject is, you know, how to use a fullback. Or the value of the wildcat formation.

You could not have divorced John Locke from the idea of tabula rasa, even if you don't agree with it, any more than Eleanor Rigby could throw away her face in a jar. It's what Locke believed. It's the rock upon which he built his worldview. Sages in some circles, fools in others – most folks stick to their philosophical principles.

So it's little surprise, really, when NU offensive coordinator Shawn Watson, asked for his vision of the future, said, simply: “It would be a team like we were last year.”

Shotgun spread. Zone running game. Controlled passing game. With some power formations mixed in near the goal line. The stuff that didn't work for the first half of this year. The offense never quite reached “diseased yak” stage, but it was taking on the hoof rot, and beginning to look incongruous with, you know, victory.

To Watson's credit, Tom Osborne's help and head coach Bo Pelini's leadership, Nebraska's offensive braintrust enacted an “Apollo 13” scenario, Watson said, hatching a plan to rescue the Cornhuskers from an overrated Pink Floyd album.

WatsOzBo dialed first Cody Green's number. To no avail, apparently – the kid's jersey hasn't been street-side in nearly three games. Now it's the option, the occasional (and successful) house call from Dr. Niles Paul, a rejuvenated Roy Helu and Zac Lee eating his fruits, vegetables and cheap shots from opposing linebackers. A steady diet of big, burly power football, replete with tight ends, fullbacks and all the stuff that makes us think of Osborne, Lassie, homemade deer sausage, and afghans knitted in the parlor and draped over couches in the sun room.

It's also a winning formula, playing to what Watson calls the “best defense in the United States of America.” If not Zanzibar.

“We've all had to diet our egos, and we've all had to put the stats behind us,” Watson said. “The most important stat we all care about is winning. We've done what it's taken to win football game.”

Just know: Watson doesn't intend it to last.

Oh, he'll keep some of the power tools in the shed.

“Some of the problems we encountered last year as our season wore on on was red zone football, red zone running game, and you have to have a lead running game down there,” Watson said.

But Watson will return the Great American West Coast Novel.

“We're going to have to grow into that at quarterback, to be honest with you,” Watson said. “We're going to have to grow into that at receiver. And that's going to be a process.”

Ah, the “p” word again. The single, seven-letter, two-syllable utterance used to explain the countless hours and unknowable effort that goes into the elaborate chess match that is football. It also describes how Velveeta is made.

How long does Watson's “process” take? I find the word equally vague when Pelini uses it, but his revamped defense is a Brazilian tarantula preying on baby toucans. He can call it Parker Posey for Nebraska fans care.

For Watson, the journey may be tougher. Lee knows the words, but not yet the music. Green's on-field development is pretty much over for 2009. The bowl practices and spring football will be an extended audition to see if Green can become a consistent passer and wrestle the job away from Lee. As for Kody Spano and Taylor Martinez – who knows?

At receiver, Nebraska faces a dicier proposition. Paul will be a senior. The guy is who he is. I actually like who he's become in the last month. It suits him. NU's power offense suits him, for that matter. Paul can block, and he can catch the deep ball. This version of DosQuatro seems more helpful than running ten-yard stick routes.

Menelik Holt and Chris Brooks graduate as unfulfilled (underdeveloped?) talent. Khiry Cooper will spend this spring playing baseball. Antonio Bell probably won't be allowed on the field until he can block. Will Henry probably won't be allowed on the field, period. That leaves Curenski Gilleylen, who hasn't caught a pass in a month, and unpolished-but-talented Brandon Kinnie.

Do you see Joe Ganz or Todd Peterson or Nate Swift – three guys who were so discounted that they honed their craft to precise detail – walking back through that door? That trio was so prolific because they shared a desire to prove their coaches and critics wrong. They had no choice but to be precise. They weren't going to play otherwise.

Does Watson appreciate the dynamic those three had? After all, when he talks about “growing” into the quarterback and receiver positions, he's talking about replacing what Ganz, Swift and Peterson brought to the table. It wasn't raw athleticism – it was canniness, mixed with smarts and sheer effort.

But how do you replace motivational lightning caught in a bottle?

You can't, really. So you either alter the scheme – a temporary fix, in Watson's eyes - recruit new guys to learn the scheme, or hire new coaches to teach it. And the last of those three options is never pleasant. But Boss Bo, at the very least, has to put it on the table.

If “Apollo 13” is really the soup du jour, and Watson wants his offense a certain way, then hard questions need to be asked. Why did Holt, Brooks and Henry slide by the boards? Recruiting? Development? How do you handle the quarterback competition between Lee and Green? Can you afford to keep around certain scholarship guys at the bottom of depth charts for the sake of kindness? Why were they recruited in the first place?

We know the questions sound like a broken record - but as Watson said Monday - he intends to return the scene of scratch.

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Not surprisingly, my column in the wake of Nebraska's 17-3 win over Kansas State – which clinched the Big 12's North division - caused a little dust-up among Cornhusker fans, who were feeling good and not willing – for one second – to even think about that name. Bill Callahan.

The point was to be in a gracious mood. A five-course prix fixe at a three-star Michelin joint doesn't come to the table by the head chef's talents alone, does it? There's the sous chef, the sommelier, the front of the house and, crucially, the buyer of the produce. He or she has to import the best ingredients, and know whom to tap for those items.

We're simply saying this: Everything else being even, Callahan gave Bo Pelini a much better product than Ron Prince gave Snyder. NU beat KSU by 14 points, and those two touchdowns were reflective of talent, not coaching.

Sometimes, just the opposite is the case. The Brothers Pelini thoroughly outcoached Oklahoma's offensive staff two weeks ago – you remember our hosannas then, right? - and did the same to Clemson in the Gator Bowl. Other weeks, the coaching battle was a wash.

Variables change from week to week.

All of it belongs in the narrative, folks. Fewer hacks were harsher critics of Callahan than I, but let's keep a little perspective here. Whatever his and Kevin Cosgrove's faults were, they didn't bilk the university for millions with some secret deal like Prince, they didn't run the program into scholarship limitations and institutional control issues like Gary Barnett, and they didn't leave the program reeling like Mark Mangino will. They left a messy house, but it wasn't condemned.

Pelini, to his distinct credit, kept continuity on offense, and went to work whittling away at the unpolished gems on defense. What you're seeing now is nearly two years of Bo's labor bearing fruit.

Now, as I've written before, Pelini will have to make hard choices about the offense – the staff, the personnel, the identity, the scheme – in the offseason.

But, with the advance counsel of Tom Osborne, Pelini didn't screw up like Callahan did in 2004. He gave himself the best chance to succeed.

So – you put the ingredients together with a good chef who learned at some of the best culinary schools, and you get a North division title – and a shot at Texas, which is, let's see, the biggest game Nebraska's played in nearly a decade.

OK, now I'm done. Thwack me.

On with the review!

Five Players We Loved

Safety Larry Asante: He's always been a good hitter and sufficient in run support. But Asante, minus a few mistakes, has become a good coverage artist, too. Part of his growth is Pelini's willingness to plug P.J. Smith into the game whenever Asante isn't up to snuff.

Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh: No. 93 has been curiously unemotional over the last two months. We're fine with that – the man has work to do. We bet that, in December, when the awards shows roll around – his achievements and success at NU will hit him all at once. With time, Suh will appreciate what's he done as much as the fans do. Some hardware will help, of course.

Wide receiver Niles Paul: He's made some nice adjustments and catches over the last two weeks. He's averaging nearly 20 yards per grab for the season. That's pretty sweet.

Cornerback Anthony West: Prince Amukamara is the better player, but West has been clutch in relief of Alfonzo Dennard for the better part of a month now. He stayed stride-for-stride with KSU's Brandon Banks on a couple deep throws.

Punter/kicker Alex Henery: Part of it's skill, and part of it's just plain good fortune, but Henery downed two punts inside KSU's 2-yard line. We'll take that and a side of hash browns any day.

Three Concerns We Have

Backside blocking: If you're going to run an option game, you have to account for blitzes and defensive ends trailing behind the play. The Wildcats blew up several plays – including an open option pass – because NU's offensive line couldn't execute on the backside.

Shoddy tackling: It's creeping up at the wrong time. KSU quarterback Grant Gregory and running back Daniel Thomas both notched their share of yards after contact because the first defender couldn't pen them in. The preeminent key to beating Texas: Tackling.

Iffy decision-making: Zac Lee was cruising along until the middle second quarter, when he again turned into “that guy,” who holds the ball too long and waits for the last receiver to pop open. To his credit, he copped to his mistakes after the game, but the kid has to learn: Tuck and run and live to get points on the board.

Reviewing the Five Keys

To the Banks: NU's special teams unit had little trouble with KSU's Brandon Banks, thanks to kickers Henery and Adi Kunalic. Nebraska's defense let him get loose for 66 total yards, but the Blackshirts marked him pretty well inside the red zone.

Power Play: Kansas State successfully ran the ball with Daniel Thomas in the first half. In the second half, KSU was forced to alter its gameplan after falling behind two touchdowns, which meant a lot of four-wide receiver sets and gadget plays. Nebraska certainly tried to run power, but executed inconsistently. We're still not seeing the option plays working, other than to set up a single pass.

Front Four: Nebraska's defensive line lost a few battles but won the war, drawing timely holding penalties – KSU's line gripped and grabbed all night – and eventually overwhelming the Wildcats in the fourth quarter. It's not a very deep unit – just six guys, really – but hopefully Terrence Moore can step into a starting role next at nose tackle.

Zac Attack: Lee's not a permanent solution at quarterback, but he takes a hit pretty well. Aside from an bad five-minute stretch, he was a strength of the Huskers' offense, not a weakness.

The Snyder Factor: Bill brought his boys perfectly prepared, and Kansas State exploited some intriguing weaknesses – namely, NU's tendency to vacate the short middle when stretched vertically – to move the ball. Snyder has zero good options at quarterback. Not this year. And really not next. Plus, he needs to keep Daniel Thomas around for another year. There's no guarantee of that. He's a first-day NFL pick right now, in my estimation.

Three Questions We Still Have

How hard does NU have to work to beat Colorado? We like Nebraska by a couple scores in Boulder. But, of course, the Huskers' depth and health would be better served by the Buffaloes surrendering their pelts at halftime. It's hard to say just how hard CU will play for Dan Hawkins.

What can Rex Burkhead's return add to the offense? Other than being a breather for Roy Helu – which I'm not sure Helu always needs. Burkhead, to us, is perfect for third down situations, and needs to be given the touches during the two-minute drill – instead of Helu, who is more of a gifted runner.

Can Nebraska's secondary really keep this up? They've been tested every which way, benefited from some crucial drops in the Baylor and Kansas games, and just keep making plays near the goal line. Does the luck run out in Boulder? In Dallas?

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LAWRENCE, Kan. - It was billed before the season as the game for the Big 12 North crown. In reality, there was very little at stake in Saturday's Nebraska-Kansas game.

It just felt like it, as Kansas took a 17-16 lead midway through the fourth quarter, juicing the chilly 51,525 fans at Memorial Stadium, which included a reporter-estimated 10,000 Cornhusker partisans.

But NU answered with a short-field touchdown of its own. And then, pressed with finishing off the game – Nebraska did it again, going 74 yards in ten plays, all on the ground, all out of power sets, as if the Huskers jumped in a time machine and exited the craft back in 1986.

Nebraska 31, Kansas 17. Bring on the real battle for the Big 12 North crown, next Saturday vs. Kansas State.

“We did what we needed to do in the fourth quarter,” head coach Bo Pelini said. “I'm proud of the way they hung in there. I'm proud of the way they finished the game...the offensive line, the tight ends, fullback – that's the way you finish. That's the way you come out with a drive.”

In total, NU (7-3 overall, 4-2 in the Big 12 Conference) amassed 404 total yards, its best output since the Lafayette game in late September.

“We got our mojo back,” offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said. “We've been nicked up. The kids have just been resilient. They've never questioned or doubted themselves at all.”

The Huskers got a huge boost from quarterback Zac Lee – seemingly wresting control of the starting job once again – who threw for 196 yards and surprisingly scrambled for 53. Lee's only glaring mistake – a fumble at the goal line – was masked by Roy Helu's recovery of that fumble for a touchdown.

Lee was entrusted with an opened-up, retooled offense that again included more option plays – including an option pass that went to Niles Paul for 37 yards – and a heavy dose of playaction, which Lee often executed with precision and accuracy.

“We just saw some things that we could take advantage of in the defense,” Lee said. “Get behind them a little. And really just let our receivers make big plays. Let them go up and get the ball.”

Paul did just that, catching four passes for 154 yards. All of his receptions were longer than 20 yards, and three of them were jump balls. His catches helped set up nine points.

But Paul's biggest play occurred right after KU quarterback Todd Reesing hit receiver Dez Briscoe for a 21-yard touchdown with 7:34 remaining in the game. Kansas tried a pooch kick – the Jayhawks were offsides in doing so – but Paul came up to catch it. Then he rattled off a 44-yard return to set up the Huskers at Kansas' 31-yard line.

“I knew by the way he coming at the ball how he was going to kick it,” Paul said. “The kicking team gave me a lane to make a play.”

Kansas (5-5, 1-5) stuffed Nebraska on three consecutive plays. But on the last of those plays, KU defensive back Justin Thornton yanked Khiry Cooper's earhole, drawing a 15-yard facemask.

“The ref made a good call,” Thornton said.

Said Cooper: “I've never had it grabbed like that. He went up and under.”

Nebraska got the ball at KU's 20. Roy Helu – who gained 156 yards on 28 carries – scored on the next play, a gallop around right end on a counter call. Lee converted the two-point play with a heady scramble and toss to Paul in the corner of end zone.

Kansas couldn't answer. After keeping Nebraska's Blackshirts off-balance for much of the game, KU called an odd series of plays. The last of them was a tunnel screen to 240-pound fullback Toben Opurum, who lost five yards. The Jayhawks punted.

And, much like a month ago at Missouri – that seems almost two seasons ago, doesn't it? - NU slammed the ball down KU's throat, converting a 3rd-and-10 with simple counter play by Helu, who bounced the play twice before hitting the corner. Helu looked like he could have scored a touchdown, but he veered back toward the middle of the field, where he fell down for a 30-yard gain.

“I did it because I was tired,” Helu said. “I didn't trust in where I was going. I didn't know the situation that well, so I just fell on the ground. Probably spoiled a good run there.”

Helu scored five plays later on a 14-yard run. Nebraska rushed for nearly 100 yards in the fourth quarter, better than one-third of its 233 total.

“Defenses get tired of tackling the same running back,” Helu said.

NU opened the game with a shot, literally and figuratively, as Lee hit Paul on a go route for 35 yards. Lee placed the ball perfectly on Paul's back shoulder. Five plays later, Nebraska got a crucial break that Kansas wouldn't get later in the game.

On third and goal from KU's 2, Lee veered around left end, cut back into a hole and was smacked at goal line. The ball rolled down his left arm, as if going down a chute, into the blue of Kansas' north end zone. For a second it sat there unattended to, until Helu, the pitch back on the play, pounced on it for a touchdown. NU led 7-0.

Kansas had a similar moment in the second half when Nebraska cornerback Dejon Gomes popped the ball from KU receiver Kerry Meier's clutch. But NU safety Matt O'Hanlon fell on the ball inside the Husker. It was the game's only turnover.

Back to the second quarter, Lee got busy again. He scrambled for 32 yards after a playaction fake. Then he perfectly executed an option pass to Paul for 37 yards down to KU's nine-yard line. The Huskers sputtered from there, and Alex Henery kicked a 25-yard field goal to pad the Huskers' lead to 10.

But Reesing, after a cold, inconsistent start, owned the rest of the half – with a little help from true freshman running back Opurum.

Reesing opened KU's touchdown drive following the Henery field goal with a 13-yard scramble; NU safety Larry Asante was flagged for a late hit personal foul. KU then ran the ball on eight of the next 12 plays – converting two fourth down plays on short runs by Opurum. Nebraska chose to keep its dime defense on the field for all of it, and corners Dejon Gomes and Eric Hagg were unable to make crucial tackles on Opurum and Reesing, who capped the touchdown drive with a five-yard, spinning scramble.

NU punted after three lackluster plays. Reesing then stormed down the field again. The crucial completion of the drive was his first, a 28-yard slant to Dez Briscoe on 3rd-and-14. Briscoe slipped by defensive end Barry Turner, who was in coverage while the Huskers sent a heavy corner blitz. Kansas burned Nebraska for the same play. KU had to settle for a field goal as time ran out.

Although Reesing only completed 19 of 41 passes, he made each completion count with 236 total yards. KU also used a delayed quarterback draw to stymie NU's front-four pass rush, which scaled back in the second half to take the play away.

“We have to credit Kansas,” linebacker Phillip Dillard said. “They came out with a good scheme and they came out with a lot of plays we hadn't seen before.”

The Jayhawks amassed 339 total yards.

“We had too many busts,” Pelini said. “We did not execute well consistently. Especially in a couple spots, which I'm not going to name. We gave them some things that there's no way should have happened.”

In the second half, KU's first drive was thwarted by Meier's fumble. NU put together two consecutive field goal drives to take a 16-10 lead early in the fourth quarter.

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Players of the game and report card for Nebraska's 10-3 win over Oklahoma:

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME: Roy Helu. He's back – and just in the nick of time! Helu made a few runs Saturday that only he, on NU's football team, can make. His vision and quick cuts to the hole are rare for a player at any level, and more than once he caught an OU defender peeking or heading the wrong way. He needs to improve with his pass protection. But what college running back doesn't, right?

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME: Matt O'Hanlon. He called his interceptions a product of being in the right place at the right time, which is true. But MattyO was terrific in run support – his tough tackles help convince OU to move away from the running game, and his one interception return – which helped set up a field goal – was fairlu crucial. Great game for a kid who's earned it.

GRADES

QUARTERBACK: C The position has now shifted into “don't kill us” mode for the rest of the season. Zac Lee and Cody Green didn't exactly make many plays Saturday – but they didn't lose the game, either. Who Nebraska plays from here is anybody's guess.

RUNNING BACK: B+ Roy ran like the old Roy, Traye Robinson had some authority, and Tyler Legate was solid in the blocking scheme. This unit is so much better when Helu is reasonably healthy.

WIDE RECEIVER: I For “incomplete.” They blocked, mostly. Only two receptions by the position all night, both belonging to Brandon Kinnie.

OFFENSIVE LINE/TIGHT ENDS: C Oklahoma has an awesome defense, and NU occasionally held its own in the running game, especially when Nebraska chose the power route with Legate as a lead blocker. But the pass pro was fairly shabby Saturday night. Neither Green nor Lee had much time.

DEFENSIVE LINE A The front four played so damn hard, blunting OU's run game and producing enough of a pass rush on Landry Jones to throw him off his rhythm. The Huskers are as physical and imposing across the front as any defense in college football. The Sooners and Alabama are up there, too.

LINEBACKERS: A Essentially a grade for Phillip Dillard – and we're OK with that. Dillard made two or three key tackles on screen passes, had an interception and a sack, and served as on-field emotional motivation for the defense. He's become an all-conference caliber player in a matter of months.

SECONDARY: A Landry Jones will see these guys in his dreams. O'Hanlon played great, Prince Amukamara and Alfonzo Dennard constantly challenged receivers, Eric Hagg and Dejon Gomes worked over the inside slot routes, Larry Asante provided the hits, and Anthony Blue and P.J. Smith looked good in spot duty. And what about Hagg's big tackle on fourth down? Yep – these guys can play!

SPECIAL TEAMS: B Nebraska's punt coverage units were a little leaky, sure, but Alex Henery's punting was strong overall, and Ndamukong Suh blocked a field goal attempt in the second quarter. Kickoff coverage was excellent. Niles Paul displayed sure hands on punt returns. Gomes needs to be a little more careful out there – he cost NU about 35 total yards on two penalties.

GAME MANAGEMENT/PLAYCALLING: B+ From a defensive perspective – brilliant! Bo and Carl Pelini constantly had OU guessing on offense, and the Sooners kept choosing the wrong door. On offense, coordinator Shawn Watson played it safe and smart. For this week, we can live with it. Expect Kansas and Kansas State to have better plans though, and Watson better figure out a way to move the ball. The offensive penalties early in the game were simply absurd. Why is Ricky Henry cut-blocking the opposite guard's man, 10 yards away from the play?

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It's too late to wipe away the eight turnovers that cost Nebraska in a 9-7 loss to Iowa State, but NU took dramatic steps Monday to make sure it doesn't happen again.

The 4-3 Cornhuskers devoted the opening portion of their 90-minute workout to ball-security drills. Position coaches manned four different stations – including one where players dueled one-on-one to recover a fumble – after Saturday's performance, in which NU fumbled five times, and defensive tackle Jared Crick failed to recover a fumble.

“It obviously needs emphasis,” head coach Bo Pelini said. “We can't emphasize it enough. It's something we talk about all the time. I'm embarrassed by what happened.”

Pelini said Nebraska would “over-emphasize” ball security for now.

NU wide receivers coach Ted Gilmore also shook up his depth chart, sending starters Menelik Holt and Curenski Gilleylen down to the scout team – at least for a day – while promoting Steven Osborne and Tim Marlowe to work with the first team. Khiry Cooper and Brandon Kinnie had already been seeing time with the top units - each played significant minutes in recent games – and continued getting repetitions there.

Gilmore said he wanted to get a look at some of his younger receivers with the first unit. Pelini called the wideout race “wide open,” although it would appear the starting job of Niles Paul, whose fumbles vs. Texas Tech and Iowa State cost Nebraska 14 points, is safe for now.

“We're looking for somebody to step up and make plays,” Pelini said. “That's where we are.”

That includes running back Roy Helu, who was in the green jersey Monday, but is still expected to play with a shoulder stinger. Helu had limited carries Saturday and fumbled twice. Running backs coach Tim Beck yanked Helu from the game in favor of true freshman Traye Robinson, who led all rushers with 81 yards.

Helu said he wasn't too hurt to play vs. the Cyclones. Pelini said Helu isn't going to be getting a break to rest his shoulder, either.

“We'd all like to have a week off,” Pelini said. “That's not part of the game. Everybody has bumps and bruises. Little nicks. You gotta work through it.”

Nebraska returns to the practice field Tuesday looking steadfastly forward, Pelini said, in preparation for 3-4 Baylor. The coach, who sardonically asked reporters if they knew a “good psychiatrist” on Saturday after the upset loss, declared the Huskers focused and mentally sound Monday.

“It's easy to have good morale when you win,” Pelini said. “But we lost. You've got to be a man about it, take a hard look at, we as coaches, we as players, and get better because of what happened.”

Wide receiver Chris Brooks remains out, while defensive end Pierre Allen was held out Monday, but should return to practice Tuesday. Cornerback Alfonzo Dennard wore a green jersey, too.

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A program-making win for Iowa State. A full, dark shudder for Nebraska, especially its offense, which came unglued with a school-record eight turnovers in every awful way one can imagine.

ISU – without its starting quarterback and running back, with just 239 total yards – stunned NU 9-7 Saturday afternoon in front of crowd of pale, grim faces, who hadn't seen the Cyclones beat the Cornhuskers in Lincoln in 32 years. Who hadn't seen Nebraska commit eight turnovers in 37 years. Who had to settle with themselves, for that particular moment in time, that Nebraska had just suffered one of the more deflating, infuriating losses in its recent history.

“I'm disappointed in our football team,” a subdued head coach Bo Pelini said. “I'm disappointed. We didn't – I'm disappointed. And it starts with me...we were our own worst enemy.”

Said tight end Mike McNeill: "We knew coming in. It's something we talked about before the game. They like to try and take the ball away, they like to try and rip the ball. They did a good job of it."

Ten nightmarish Husker blunders stood out. Some were mental errors, some were excellent plays by the Cyclones, and a few were total flukes. But all of them counted against Nebraska just the same:

*A fumble by Roy Helu on the game's first play that became a 52-yard field goal by ISU's Grant Mahoney.

*An underthrown pass from Zac Lee to Mike McNeill near ISU's goal line turned into a tip drill and a Cyclone interception, snuffing out a probably Alex Henery field goal.

*Iowa State punter Mike Brandtner waited until Nebraska's punt return unit had cleared the left side of the field. Then he took off, ball clutched in his left arm, for 20-yard gain on fourth down. On the next play, Tiller froze the linebackers with a playaction fake to Jeremiah Schwartz and lofted a deep ball to Jake Williams, who beat Eric Hagg on a fly route. Hagg turned the wrong way, and Williams caught the ball in the end zone for a 47-yard touchdown.

*After receiver Niles Paul caught a long pass from Lee and seemed headed for the end zone, he fumbled while trying to stay in bounds, recovered the ball briefly at the three, then fumbled it again into the end zone, where it was recovered by Iowa State's James Smith.

*Jared Crick failed to cover a fumble late in the second half that would have set NU up in Henery field goal range.

*A second Helu fumble inside ISU's five-yard line recovered by the Cyclones in the end zone. Officials originally ruled Helu down, but reversed the call.

*True freshman Traye Robinson accounted for NU's fifth turnover when ISU defensive tackle Nate Frere ripped out the ball, again, at the Cyclones' 5. Robinson was chewed out by left guard Keith Williams as he left the field.

*Menelik Holt fumbled on a inside screen pass for the sixth turnover, marking the first time since 1976 that Nebraska had lost five fumbles in a game.

*The seventh turnover. Lee threw slightly behind Curenski Gilleylen on a post route, Gilleylen tipped it, and the pass was intercepted by Michael O'Connor.

*The final Lee interception, thrown directly to ISU linebacker Jesse Smith, the best player, along with NU's Ndamukong Suh, on the field Saturday.

Lee finished 20-of-37 for 248 yards and three interceptions – two on Nebraska's last two drives. He completed 14 of his first 16 passes, but hit only 6 of 21 thereafter. Pelini said said it was an “easy decision” to start Lee over true freshman Cody Green - “Cody's not quite ready yet” - thought Lee played well despite the interceptions.

“Zac Lee was the least of our problems today,” Pelini said. “We didn't play well around Zac.”

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There are no quick fixes, Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini likes to say. There are probably no instant leaders, either.

But after two lackluster performances, NU's offense stand to get a few more..

The consensus, really, is that Huskers' O has one who's up front, center Jacob Hickman, and two supporting players behind him. We'll get to them in a minute.

“Hick's the guy who really captains all of our calls,” offensive coordinator Shawn Watson. “He's a real leader.”

It's not necessarily common for a center to fill that role, although Dom Raiola and John Garrison did that years ago. But Hickman - a senior who's sampled nearly every offensive line position and thus knows the scheme as well as anyone – has been up to it.

A cerebral type, mature, already married, Hickman's a certain kind of leader, a strong, thoughtful hub of the Husker community. Ndamukong Suh happens to be that guy, too. Suh calls himself a “silent killer.” The phrase fits Hickman, to some extent, too, even if he's talking quite a bit during the game, calling out defensive line shifts.

But Hickman is not a red rump. I'd use another choice word, but we're still, you know, read by families and stuff. At any rate, he's not going to crawl down your skin. He's the good cop, the “calm down” guy.

“I get more annoyed when people yell at me than anything else, so I'd feel hypocritical if I got too riled up,” Hickman said.

But sometimes, he said, it's been necessary. Hickman stepped on the emotional gas pedal at Missouri, he said, getting the intended response in the fourth quarter. He did it again vs. Texas Tech, to no particular avail.

“I got a little frustrated,” Hickman said. “I got a little talkative.”

Who else?

“I don't really think we've had anyone stepping up and say “I'm the one taking control of this offense,'” tight end Mike McNeill said. “Hickman's done a good job, but I don't think we've had one guy who just stands out and says 'this is my offense, and I'm running it right now.'”

Said Hickman: “It really helps sometimes to have a guy get riled up like that.”

You already know Nebraska had that in 2008 with quarterback Joe Ganz.

“Nobody was quite as vocal as Joey,” Hickman said.

But the Huskers had Nate Swift, Todd Peterson and Matt Slauson, too. None of them had Ganz's swagger and personality, but each of them carried authority and experience.

Is the latter of those two traits always necessary for leadership? Not for head coaches, right? There are tons of first-timers, - Pelini included – who just have the “it” factor when it comes to commanding a group of men. They don't need to prove it at every level of football before they arrive in college.

With players, though – that's a leopard with different spots. For every Peyton Manning and Tommie Frazier, who just walks with an air of authority and confidence, there are thousands of guys who haven't properly paid their dues yet.

At a top five program, that's probably how it should be. For Nebraska, which aspires to get there again, a transformative leader wouldn't hurt. No matter what class they're in.

Besides Hickman, two names popped up from several sources for co-leaders: Roy Helu and Niles Paul. Paul does it, Hickman and Watson said, with his work ethic in practice. Helu's leadership skills are evident when you visit practice and talk to his teammates, but the junior, publicly modest, deflects all attention. Nebraska's best offensive player – the best Husker running back in a decade, from this vantage point – is thoughtful, lighthearted and sometimes deadly serious in the span of three minutes.

Is he healthy enough to put the team on his back?

“Roy's been hurt lately, which is tough,” Hickman said. “It's hard to be really in the forefront of leading when you've been hurt.”

Of course, Hickman was sick and a little hurt, too. Maybe not as much as Helu, but this season hasn't been sundaes and rose petals for No. 67.

Zac Lee was also establishing himself, Hickman said, but he's in the midst of a quarterback competition again.

“It's tough when you don't have many seniors out there,” Hickman said. “It's the nature of the game sometimes.”

Tougher still when you don't have many red rumps.

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The reverie lasted all of a quarter. All the fanfare and hoopla and warm feelings over No. 15 Nebraska and its potential run through the Big 12 have been put on hold. Indefinitely.

Sloppy, slow and uncertain. That's how NU played in a calamitous meltdown loss to Texas Tech. The Red Raiders looked speedier, smarter and definitely less rattled by one of the more incompetent group of officials I've seen.

Most of all, the seemed sure of themselves. Even before Niles Paul's boneheaded, casual drop of a backwards screen pass, which led to a 82-yard fumble return for a touchdown, the Red Raiders played and acted like the better, more confident team.

“If y'all would have seen the locker room before the game, you would have thought it was a bunch of animals running around,” Texas Tech quarterback Steven Sheffield said. “That's how our program is, just letting go and letting everybody be themselves and a lot of loud music.”

Understand that Tech's already been through a tumult of a season – two tough losses, suspensions, the typical Mike Leach chicanery. Maybe the boys from West Texas can give Bo Pelini some advice on how to handle the next two weeks. Loud music, apparently.

Get ready. It's going to be a bumpy, restless fortnight. Oh, Nebraska can probably handle defenseless Iowa State and toothless Baylor no matter who takes the field. But NU better have this figured out by Nov. 7, or the stretch run of the season could be a long, troubling slog.

What's wrong? Oh, quite a bit. We'll get there. Let's start with what's right.

Nebraska's front four plays like beasts. Every damn one of them. With attitude, toughness and fury. Phillip Dillard – remember, he's not as good as Colton Koehler for the first two games of this season – is suddenly realizing every ounce of potential he has. Can he please start the game next week and give Will Compton the sideline seasoning he needs? Alfonzo Dennard and Prince Amukamara, a few hiccups aside, bring their lunch pail every week. No cornerback – none – has a perfect record. Larry Asante plays a clean, hard-hitting game. And Pelini is starting to put some of those fancy blitzes back in the box – which is a good thing.

Now for the rest of it.

*Nebraska's offensive line is limping along. Something is missing, and the frustration on the face of Jacob Hickman and Barney Cotton make it clear that they don't quite know what it is. Part of it, I fear, is simple personality. The Huskers aren't nasty enough. Hickman, Mike Smith, Marcel Jones and Keith Williams are all, well, pretty nice guys. Analytical, thoughtful. Technicians. And right now, it's just not working. They're all getting beat at the point of attack. Ricky Henry, too, although he certainly brings a mean mug to the field.

You cannot – absolutely not – run a zone-blocking system without being quick, and tough. You don't have to be that big, and you don't have to pancake guys. But that first step has to be vicious. There can't be a hint of a leak. Roy Helu was flitting around all afternoon like a skier on a slalom course. He'd never admit it, but he got almost all of his yards on sheer improvisation.

*The line is forcing Shawn Watson to alter the game plan. Oh, we'll knock Watson when it's on him. And some of Saturday was on him. But not much of it. Sorry, but when NU runs two of its basic – and often successful – playaction passes, and a Tech defensive lineman is in the backfield before the fake is done, you're not going to have much luck with anything. Watson was relegated to calling two-second slant pattern (that Zac Lee can't throw) and bubble screens that were misadventures.

*Lee isn't trusting his game. His performance was painful, because it was the portrait of a quarterback second-guessing himself. Lee wants to go downfield. Something is stopping him. Because he's not Sam Keller, a professional bail-out artist, Lee sits back there, clutching, shuffling, worrying – until he's sacked, or he's left with a two-yard throw.

And he just won't scramble. This, I don't get. Watson doesn't get it, either. Nobody gets it. Lee is fast, he's tough – and he won't run. And when he does, he runs with his body pitched forward, and his head down.

*Bo still blows defensive timeouts. And two in the first half didn't make much sense.

The first of them was on the fourth down play that NU had stopped – until Pelini called the timeout at the last second. Was it to ice Mike Leach, who always does this? The result: A 21-yard gain on an end around that NU seemed utterly unprepared for.

The second occurred when Tech had the ball on the Huskers' four-yard line. Understandable – except that it was first down. What was Bo going to do – design three plays' worth of defense? As it was, Nebraska committed pass interference in the end zone, and Tech scored a few plays later.

*The penalties. Ugh. First of all, the officiating in the Big 12 – across the board – stinks. Bo can't say it. I'll say it. The zeebs on Saturday were confused, disorganized, out of position and generally perplexed. I give them credit for getting the fumble/touchdown right. Not a lot else.

But how does Bo help his cause by berating the line judge to the point where Memorial Stadium even takes notice, and it more or less delays the last kickoff of the game? How? NU clearly has a reputation at this point, and seems to nurture it with Bo's incredulous behavior.

Some of the penalties are earned, of course. The offensive line seems to pay its weekly toll of 30 yards. When does that stop? Can it stop?

*Most of all, it's just the vibe of this team. Tech obviously had a lot to be fired up about, but the Red Raiders seemed loose, active, ready to mix it up. Outside some of NU's defenders, the reticence – the sheer lack of fire - was glaring. The play of the game – Tech's 82-yard punt return – boiled down to a lack of concentration and mental toughness: Lee not getting a deep enough drop, Niles Paul futzing on a catchable ball, and the whole Husker offense just trotting back to the huddle. Folks, not every team does that. A lot of teams have a few guys, at least, with the sense to be safe about it, and cover the damn ball.

In key moments, Nebraska suffers a collective brain cramp. It happened last year. It's happening now. What's Bo and his capable crew going to do about it?

See also: Defending Shawn Watson - For Now

and

NU/Tech Report Card

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Part of good coaching is knowing when, and how, to push player buttons to get the desired effect.

After Nebraska’s offense laid an egg in the first half of the Missouri game, wide receivers coach Ted Gilmore benched Niles Paul and Menelik Holt. He made them turn in their hand warmers and gloves. He stuck Antonio Bell and Brandon Kinnie out there, to no real avail other than it fired up Paul, who responded with two touchdown catches in the fourth quarter.

“It kind of let me get down on myself,” Paul said. “But then I kind of thought about it and was like ‘he’s doing this for the team.’ And he put us back in there.”

Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson told his quarterback, Zac Lee, point blank: We’re thinking about sitting you for a drive, and inserting true freshman Cody Green.

“He said, ‘We’re going to do it for a series,’” Lee said. “‘Keep your eyes open.’”

Watson didn’t bench Lee. One wonders if his mere consideration was a fire he was trying to light under the junior, who came alive and threw his best passes of the game in the fourth quarter. If Green had entered the game, and played remotely well, Watson would have opened a Pandora’s Box in Husker Nation. As it is, he cracked it opened a little bit,

“It is what it is,” Lee said. “I had to deal with it. I know Coach Wats has my back, I know Coach (Bo) Pelini has my back, so it kind of motivated me to have their back. It’s just part of the game.”

How often do those motivational techniques work? Once? Twice? Ideally, you don’t use them much.

But Nebraska’s offense, especially the running game, has been a little slipshod at times since the Arkansas State game, when Lee looked like the best quarterback in the Big 12. Roy Helu’s bailed out the offensive line with some terrific individual efforts – more than half of his yards this year are after early contact - and Lee’s fired up that great arm of his at just the right times.

Can NU really afford to hope the switch flips at the right time? To assume the offensive coordinator alights on just the right passing plays to beat the opposing defense?

Watson took considerable heat for his playcalling in Missouri. By Watson’s own actions and logic, he deserved some of the criticism.

Watson used the awful, rainy conditions to defend Lee, yet shrugged off those same conditions in defense of his playcalling because Missouri was “loading the box” against the run. But Watson didn’t exactly help his own case when he unveiled a quite successful quad-tight set at the end of the game that ground out 68 rushing yards in eight plays. The Tigers had ten guys hovering near the line of scrimmage – but the Huskers still ran the ball.

Now comes Texas Tech, a “vanilla” defense that doesn’t blitz much and relies on its front seven to stop the run. Will Watson impose NU’s size advantage? Or will the game, again, fall on Lee’s right arm?

The Huskers could, but should not, use the absence of Rex Burkhead as a built-in excuse for throwing the ball 40 times a game. Burkhead was valuable – he made several crucial plays in the Missouri game – but he was only averaging roughly 6-8 touches per game. If Helu has to carry it 30 times, so be it. He’s a great back, Nebraska’s best in a decade. If Helu’s shoulder is too banged up for the heavy load, Watson and Tim Beck need to trust their own coaching skills, and insert Burkhead’s replacement. It’s football, after all, not a North Korean nuclear treaty negotiation.

And defenses are going to start getting wise to Nebraska’s strategy. If it’s that easy to move NU away from the running game, they’ll take the chances with a quarterback and receivers who have been uneven at best over the last month.

Missouri was a handful of plays away from a shutout, frankly. If Burkhead doesn’t make a nifty move to gain four yards on a third-down play, Lee never gets to make that throw to Paul, and the Tigers shift into the “eating game clock” mode. And the bulk of this week is a real bear for Nebraska and its coaching staff, instead of a celebration of Ndamukong Suh’s many defensive talents.

“Bottom line is, we need to score points,” head coach Bo Pelini said. “You’re not going to shut (Texas Tech) out. You’d like to, but they’re a pretty good offensive football team and we need to match them. We need to put some points on the board.”

You wonder if Bo will have to push some his coaches’ buttons to make it happen.

See also: 50 Husker Fans, 50 States: Pittsburgh

See also: Defending Tech's...Running Game?

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Just in case you haven’t come out of that rain-fueled reverie from last Thursday, Texas Tech coach Mike Leach delivered a public service announcement Saturday. More like a warning, with that 66-14 drubbing his Red Raiders hung on Kansas State. KSU isn’t particularly good. But the Wildcats aren’t 52 points that bad either.

Yes – just like playing at Tech wasn’t as hard as it seemed last year, this year’s game won’t be as easy as it seems. In many ways, the “Air Raid” system is better than Missouri’s spread offense, especially in creating big plays for the running backs, which Mizzou’s system doesn’t do so well.

If NU thinks it can get chuffed and proud, the Huskers had better cleanse their system of that incredible comeback win before Leach and Co. head to town. Once thing about Leach: He simply doesn’t care. He’ll boot players, bluff his own athletic director and happily serve as a hypocrite when he chastises players for the seeking the publicity he hounds. He just doesn’t care. Leach is a football mercenary for hire – Texas Tech has him tied to long-term contract – whose measurement of success is racking up points and yards.

My wife and I were watching a YouTube clip on Leach. Some nonsense about dating advice and pirate obsessions.

“He’s kind of a clown,” my wife said. Molly’s a pretty polite girl; she prefers half-insults unless we’re on the subject of bad officiating.

“Well, maybe,” I said. “But he wins a lot of games.”

“Yeah,” she shrugged. “He’s still a clown.”

As we await Leach’s circus on Saturday, we relive, one last time, the Mizzou win.

Five Players We Loved

Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh: You rarely get to see “legendary” defensive performances from a single player. On national TV, Suh delivered one. I’m not sure even he understood just what he’d done. In the coming weeks, if he makes a push for the Heisman, he will. The Missouri game was his launching pad.

Defensive back Dejon Gomes: He stuck to Mizzou receivers like glue all of Thursday night. Where’s he been? Doesn’t matter. Gomes needs to stay in the game, and off the bench.

Linebacker Philip Dillard: He’s re-established himself as Nebraska’s best linebacker. It took the coaches too long to realize it, but they’ve finally come around to Dillard’s brand of play and leadership.

Running back Rex Burkhead: Made a lot of little plays in the game, including a couple key third-down conversions. He’s excellent in open space, and getting better between the tackles.

Wide receiver Niles Paul: Oh, if only his confidence matched his raw talent. Maybe his fourth-quarter heroics vs. Missouri will clue Paul into the kind of player he can be – every game. He may want it a little too much. Paul needs to let the game come to him a little more often.

Three Concerns We Still Have

Depth and trust in the running game: It’s really hard to account for Nebraska’s deliberate choice to pass the ball, over and over, vs. the Tigers in the pouring rain. We keep hearing about all these guys in the box, but the Huskers pretty much abandoned the run until the game’s final drive and, then, embracing it with the heaviest of the heavy sets (four tight ends!), looked quite good. Where was that all game?

Punt snaps: Freshman P.J. Mangieri needs to figure this out. If Alex Henery wasn’t back there making incredible plays just to get the ball off, NU would have three or four blocked punts by now. Some were critical of Bo Pelini’s minor chew session of Mangieri, but the kid, young as he may be, is only on the team to do one thing. He needs to do it right.

A little too much offensive diversity: Nebraska flashed a ton of formations at Missouri Thursday night, and almost seemed to cross itself up. In big games, it’s not the chess match that wins, but the execution of your best stuff. What is Nebraska’s best stuff? We’re still waiting a little.

Reviewing The Five Keys

Mystery Ingredients: The weather definitely affected Nebraska (although offensive coordinator Shawn Watson called the game like it didn’t) and the flu bug kept five or six players under the weather. The power outage at Faurot Field threw another curveball the Huskers’ way, as the coaches were forced to conduct their locker room sessions by flashlight, essentially. For all that, for NU to still win the way it did – it’s character, plain and simple.

Zac Lee On the Road – Again: I wasn’t encouraged by Lee’s performance through three quarters, but he made some clutch throws in the fourth quarter to redeem the performance. Another plus: Lee put the ball in places where his offensive players could nab it. Unlike Blaine Gabbert, whose vision – not his ankle – was the real culprit Thursday night.

The First Impression: Nebraska’s defense sent a very different message in 2009; Suh and his front four mates made sure of it. Mizzou tried to run NU off the field on the first couple drives, but the Tigers slowed down out of necessity.

Stick or Quit: Missouri’s running game never really got shut down, but never got going, either. The Tigers threw too many passes, and too many of those passes were simply bad, telegraphed reads by Blaine Gabbert.

Pelini vs. Pinkel: Call it a draw, I suppose; both coaches failed to slow the game down with running attack, and both coaches made some gutsy decisions. Pinkel gambled and won on fourth down, while Pelini subbed out three starters – Anthpny West, Will Compton and Lance Thorell – to go with guys whom he thought would get the job done better. He was right.

Three Questions We Have

Is Nebraska ready for more, more, more? NU’s going to see one version or another of the spread from this point forward until Kansas State. Can it stick with the current gameplan used vs. Missouri, or must it alter the plan to fit the needs of each team and quarterback?

Time for Blackshirts? We think so. How about you?

Who’s the real Zac Lee? The kid who knocks em dead at home, or the head-scratcher on the road? Will we really learn anything this week? Maybe. Tech is easily the best home opponent Nebraska has faced this season.

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Two of the prime architects in Nebraska’s 27-12 comeback victory at Missouri almost never got the chance.

But a little dose of trust, at the right moment, left quarterback Zac Lee laughing in joy as he left Faurot Field Thursday night. It left Niles Paul chatting happily on the phone next to reporters, a vintage vinyl Spider-Man backpack slung over one shoulder.

After an awful first half with a muffed punt and several dropped passes, Paul was benched to start the second half in favor of true freshman Antonio Bell.

“We needed to get his attention,” offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said. “Let him settle down a little bit.”

Watson considered doing the same to Lee, who looked worse than he did at Virginia Tech.

But Paul was sent back in two series later. And Watson never pulled the trigger on the QB change.

“All of our confidence was kind of wavering,” Paul said. “We kinda let ourselves down. We came out in the second half and Coach Watson and Coach(Ted) Gilmore challenged us to a man. We came out and showed how we play ball.”

One minute into the fourth quarter, to be exact, as Lee shuffled back in the pocket and lofted a pass to Paul, running a deep post. The ball cut through the rain, Paul caught it in long stride, and bounded into the end zone for a 56-yard touchdown. Missouri’s coverage, rather surprisingly, focused on the short curl route and Paul darted into the open space the safety had just vacated for the score.

“They played right into what we thought they were going to do,” Paul said.

Said Lee: “That play kinda sparked us. It kinda got us in a rhythm. It was a little weight off the shoulders.”

The two hooked up less than a minute later after an Ndamukong Suh interception on a 13-yard fade route. Lee threw the ball inside Missouri defenders instead of to the pylon, which was smart. Paul sliced through the coverage to grab it.

“The first man in the air wins the war,” Paul said. “I just went up and got it.”

Lee added one more touchdown to Mike McNeill after another interception.

What if Watson had yanked his starter for Green? Would Lee ever have returned? Doubtful. The line of demarcation seemed to be Lee’s lame attempt to cover a fumble after a bad snap, when he slid up to the ball, casually held it between his knees and allowed it to be taken away from him.

“Get on the ball!” head coach Bo Pelini barked at Lee.

But Lee seemed with it on the sidelines, Watson said. And there was no reason to necessarily believe Green would do much better in the rain, on the road, against a blitzing defense.

“Look at it out there,” Watson said, pointing to the empty Faurot Field, still getting pelted by a slow-moving storm. “It’s unbelievable. It’s sheets of rain. That’s hard if you’re a quarterback.”

So, instead, Watson wanted to talk to Lee. He told him persevere. Hang tough. Find a way to win it.

“It didn’t have to be pretty,” Watson said. “We just had to win it. And Zac did it.”

Watson was in a buoyant mood afterward, about ten notches higher on the exuberance scale than Pelini. Did Watson sense he’s just escaped eight days of criticism, and potentially eight days of quarterback controversy?

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