Christmas in July! Here’s some Husker Monday Takes, wrapped in a bow:

*With little prior warning, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's communications department and the Omaha World-Herald floated a viral Husker video on RedOutAroundTheWorld.com. It sure appears to be a joint venture and what’s interesting is the hook: The Oct. 16 Texas game.

The images themselves - a collection of Husker fans, cheerleaders jutting out their chins and brief shots of Nebraska players rumbling out of the tunnel - make no reference to the game. But the narration obliquely does, as does the teaser text at the end.

That’s an interesting conundrum for head coach Bo Pelini.

Last year, two weeks prior to the Big 12 Championship game, Pelini ordered his players, coaches and office staff not to utter the “T” word so as to focus on Colorado.

Well, here's a Web site circling the Longhorns in orange, if you will. Nebraska plays five games prior to its Texas tilt, two of them on the road. To go around the world, the Huskers better not hiccup in Seattle or Manhattan.

Ah, the intersection of commerce and competition.

*A random-but-telling statistic is simple sack differential: The number of sacks your quarterback suffered vs. the number you inflicted on the opposing quarterback. Speaks to field position, third-down conversion rate, scoring opportunities, the difference between a 35-or-42-yard field goal, and so on.

Since 2008, Oklahoma is in the lead at +52. Nebraska is +39. Texas is +34. Texas Tech is +31. And, perhaps surprisingly, Missouri is +27. Texas A&M, meanwhile, is -16. Something to chew on before you anoint Jerrod Johnson as the league’s best quarterback over Blaine Gabbert. A&M, by the way, will have two new starters at tackle.

Unsurprisingly, Colorado is last at -23. That’s what you get from a 5-foot-10 quarterback with poor pocket sense.

*Chatted with college football prognosticator Phil Steele last week; we’ll have more Wednesday on how he thinks Nebraska will fit into the Big Ten - Steele works out of Cleveland - and his forecast for Frank Solich’s Ohio team, as well.

I asked Steele about the future Big 12, and how hard it will be for northern leftovers Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri in a nine-game, round-robin schedule.

“Extremely difficult,” Steele said.

When Steele’s predictions veer away from other college football magazines - such as when he foretold KU’s sharp decline in 2009 - it’s often based on the schedule. The Jayhawks, for example, drew Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech last year. They are the Big 12's three most consistent trams over the last decade.

Now they’ll appear on the docket every season. Even if the northern leftovers bake some pastries for their non-conference schedules, they won’t be able to escape the full force of the Big 12 South and its cozy recruiting advantage. Year after year after year.

It’s a little like asking the best high school team in Kansas - Hutchinson - to play one of the Texas 5A champs, Euless Trinity or Abilene. Four times.

You might win one. Occasionally two. Not three or four.

So it will be for the northern leftovers.

“I think it’s going to be tough to watch a team like Kansas State,” Steele said. “They used to contend and even bagged a Big 12 title. For them to be up there on a yearly basis - not only getting through the teams in the north but Texas and Oklahoma every year - it’ll be very difficult.”

*Darin Erstad as a volunteer assistant for the Nebraska baseball team? A MLB all-star and World Series champ? Like manna from heaven.

Work ethic is Erstad’s forte, but NU’s club isn’t so much lacking in integrity as it is confidence. In 2010, the Huskers played too-smallball, handcrafting runs out of porcelain instead of mass producing them against so-so Big 12 pitching.

*It takes a village to raise an egomaniac. Just remember that when you’re roasting LeBron James for his one-hour special to announce he was signing with the Miami Heat. He’s been fed this “King James” garbage since was 15 years old. Not sure why he’d be expected to make chicken salad out of it now.

No, that doesn’t absolve the guy, but, for goodness sakes, stop indulging it. You have a remote. The “times” are what we make it, and the “signs” are the ones we drew. Doodle a different one.

*On that note - as you’re watching Tiger Woods win the British Open this weekend, turn down the sound of ESPN’s contrite fawning, pop in Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album and listen to tracks 6,7 and 8 - “Billie Jean,” “Human Nature,” and “P.Y.T.” - on loop. Makes for an interesting - if purely coincidental - commentary on Woods’ recent struggles.

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Welcome to Husker Heartbeat - a sampling of links and quick wit to start your morning! Keep checking each morning, Monday-Friday, for new links! We look for the offbeat as well as the straightforward - so don’t just think of us as a typical link farm!

A quick abbreviation key FYI: OWH=Omaha World-Herald, LJS=Lincoln Journal-Star, CN=Corn Nation, BRN=Big Red Network, HI=Huskers Illustrated, BRR=Big Red Report. If we need to add more - we will. Others, like ESPN, are self-explanatory.

Cool? Cool!

*Ah, the old debate - 1994 Nebraska vs. 1994 Penn State.

*Anticipatory breach of contract - what is it? And how does it affect Nebraska and the Big 12?

*Art Briles on the spread. Kind of a must read.

*Jamal Turner gives a thumbs up to Bubba Starling’s commitment.

*Ndamukong Suh at the College World Series.

*BRN: The recruiting momentum continues.

*Phil Steele continues to prove that statistics don’t mean everything with his bizarre 2009 end-of-season rankings, which insist 8-5 Oklahoma was the No. 5 team in the country.

*Maple Street puts out its Cornhusker Kickoff 2010.

*Phillip Dillard signs with the New York Giants.

*Boyd Epley, weightlifting pioneer.

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Welcome to Husker Heartbeat - a sampling of links and quick wit to start your morning! Keep checking each morning, Monday-Friday, for new links! We look for the offbeat as well as the straightforward - so don’t just think of us as a typical link farm!

A quick abbreviation key FYI: OWH=Omaha World-Herald, LJS=Lincoln Journal-Star, CN=Corn Nation, BRN=Big Red Network, HI=Huskers Illustrated, BRR=Big Red Report. If we need to add more - we will. Others, like ESPN, are self-explanatory.

Cool? Cool!

*Well, we told you not much was going to happen during those Big 12 meetings in Kansas City. And the early returns appear to confirm that reality. Commish Dan Beebe set a hazy date of April 2011 as the moment when the Big 12 needs to know which teams are in the league and which aren’t. LJS Sipple applauds Beebe’s optimism in the face of a tough situation, while Lee B writes up Lew Perkins’ fairly alarmist comments, which are merely designed to draw concern away from KU’s grease fire. In the wake of no news, Tom Shatel works out this postulate:

“Here's something else we learned on Tuesday: There's nothing the Big 12 can do this week to keep MU or NU — or certainly Texas — if the Big Ten Lottery people knock on their door.”

We humbly disagree. There’s nothing that would keep Missouri, that’s true. Finally - finally! - Nebraska news outlets are starting to come around to the reality that it really doesn’t matter if Mizzou walks (even though we’ve been dubious all along that the Big Ten, which could have the Tigers for pennies on the Big Ten Network dollar, really wanted those folks from Columbia). But Texas loves its current position, and Nebraska is crucial to holding the league together.

*Berry Tramel ranked all 96 Big 12 games for the 2010 season, and NU landed two in the top three: vs. Texas and at Texas A&M. The Huskers also had No. 93 (Western Kentucky) and No. 95 (South Dakota State). Huskers at Washington checks in at No. 10

*Phil Steele’s rundown on the Huskers.

*The Mike Leach lawsuit is still alive!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Welcome to Husker Heartbeat - a sampling of links and quick wit to start your morning! Keep checking each morning, Monday-Friday, for new links! We look for the offbeat as well as the straightforward - so don’t just think of us as a typical link farm!

A quick abbreviation key FYI: OWH=Omaha World-Herald, LJS=Lincoln Journal-Star, CN=Corn Nation, BRN=Big Red Network, HI=Huskers Illustrated, BRR=Big Red Report. If we need to add more - we will. Others, like ESPN, are self-explanatory.

Cool? Cool!

*What a mess at Kansas, where a major ticket scandal has rocked the athletic department, and the highest-paid AD in America, Lew Perkins, was apparently clueless about it.

*Excellent piece from Lee B recounts how ISU basketball coach Fred Hoiberg almost went to NU - to play quarterback. He’s the grandson of a former Husker basketball coach, too.

*Sean Yost wants to prove he can pitch after a rough 2010.

*After a terrible year of prognostications in 2009, Phil Steele takes a wild flyer on Oklahoma as No. 1- allegedly.

*Just because NU’s softball season is over doesn’t mean Rhonda Revelle stops coaching.

*Texas has had conversations about becoming independent in football.

*AOL’s John Walters writes a compelling piece about the brokenness of college football, and whether it can be fixed.

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Phil Steele was one of the few football prognosticators to accurately predict the Big 12 in 2008. In 2009, he was even more provocative, tabbing Nebraska to win the North and Colorado and Kansas State to tie for second.

He's consistently been more accurate than most, thanks to his numreous computer programs, reliance on historical data, and sheet gut instinct.

We talked to Phil for nearly a half-hour on a range of issues: Predicting the success of Zac Lee, Nebraska's secret weapon, the Huskers' prospects at Virginia Tech, whether Las Vegas will underestimate NU at the beginning of the year, and a most-improved team with Nebraska ties.

In part one, Phil lays out his case for Nebraska, dumping Kansas, and defending Colorado.

The first part of this great conversation is free to all listeners. We'll have four more parts - with lots of juicy stuff - available with a Locker Pass!

Sign up for your FREE 60-day trial of Locker Pass today!

See also: Part 2 of the interview

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