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!

*We pistol-whipped this Suh backlash story more than a month ago; good to see some police backup finally arrive in the form of OWH’s Dirk Chatelain, who writes to trust your eyes on the Suh vs. Gerald McCoy debate.

*Alex Gordon busts up his thumb sliding into second base and is out 3-4 weeks. The Royals, already on pen-pal terms with their most talented player, are thrilled, I’m sure.

*Bo Pelini and Shawn Watson praise Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. In other news, squirrels harvest nuts. Nice tidbit about Brandon Kinnie settling into the No. 2 wide receiver role, though.

*Texas finishes its fifth spring practice; here’s highlights and a spotlight on new QB Garrett Gilbert.

*K-State’s basketball union boss, Frank Martin, finally gets that contract extension. Now he can bolt for the coast when the first good Big East job opens up. After, say, Rick Pitino closes down the restaurant in Louisville?

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Per the Omaha World-Herald's Tom Shatel Tuesday morning, ESPN offered Nebraska and Texas Thursday night, Oct. 14, for a showcase spot. NU, hosting the game at Memorial Stadium, was on board.

UT was not, citing, apparently, concerns over missing class.

Nebraska is now looking at moving the Oct. 2 Kansas State game back to Sept. 30. That would mean NU only had four days to prepare for the Wildcats, but, considering the Sept. 25 opponent is South Dakota State, you figure the Huskers could manage.

Of course, if Nebraska does opt for the Sept. 30 KSU/ESPN game, it's unlikely NU would try to replace SDSU as the Sept. 25 opponent, as had been rumored.

Maybe Texas will change its mind. Given that a Thursday night in Lincoln for UT would be nothing short of utter chaos in the Memorial Stadium stands, we somehow doubt it.

Talk about it here!

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We’re biased. We think we’re a pretty great fan base. Fortunately, we’re right, based on the comments from opposing fans, coaches and players. We like a good college football conversation, we’re loyal, maybe a little over-generous, complimentary, and willing to acknowledge the better team at the right time. NU fans tend to be their own worst critics. It’s the Nebraska in us. One of our strengths, I’d say.

But let’s set us aside and look at ten other great fan bases in college sports. Remember - it’s not just football - although many of them are football fan bases.

Texas A&M: A respect for tradition and competition that mirrors Nebraska, carried out by unique, faithful fans who are more into cheering their own team than jeering the opponent. Aggies are friendlier than their UT counterparts, more hospitable and most like NU fans. Whenever somebody slags the whole state of Texas, remind them of the Aggies. It’s not all bad in the Lone Star. Some of it, in fact, is kinda cool.

Virginia Tech: A blue-collar fan base if there ever was one. The “other” school in Virginia has surpassed its richer, ritzier older brother in UVA, and done so with lunch pail mentality that respects fan bases and teams who act the same. Hokie fans were terrific in Lincoln in 2008, and hosted Husker fans quite well in Blacksburg.

Oklahoma: We debated this one, because of those Ruf/Nek student volunteers that give the rest of the OU fan base a bad name. But Sooner fans generally treat Nebraska fans well, travel well, and don’t make too big of fools of themselves.

Mississippi: The gentlemen of the SEC, with the accompanying, jaw-dropping belles to boot. Ole Miss turns tailgating into an art form of barbecue, bangles, cordials and smiles in The Grove. There are aspects of the fan base we’d rather disappeared - the presence of the Rebel flag being one - but it’s a good time in Oxford, on Archie Manning lane.

LSU: The Tigers may not be so kind to every fan base, but LSU’s frequent stays in Omaha for the College World Series reveal a proud, jovial and passionate bunch that knows its way around a few sports. On game day, few places are more unforgiving than Tiger Stadium. But the rich, diverse culture of LSU - so foolishly derided by Nick Saban after his departure - is a chief part of its charm.

Oregon: We know a few, we appreciate them for their humor, fanaticism and perspective. Most Duck fans are on the right kind of head trip. After all - you can only take yourself so seriously with day-glo uniform and a white duck as your mascot. The best of the Pac 10.

Kentucky: The blue bloods appreciate good basketball (much like Nebraskans do football) and know when somebody (read: Billy Gillispie) doesn’t belong. More down-to-earth than their counterparts at UNC and Duke, more passionate than KU’s wine-and-cheese crowd, friendly than you might expect for a program so steeped in success. Maybe it’s the recent humility.

Minnesota: Edges out Wisconsin; a little less vulgarity than the Badger faithful. Minny is long-suffering in all kinds of ways, and that one word “Gophers” is synonymous with UM hockey - not football, basketball or wrestlers. Minnesota is good in a wide variety of sports, and part of it is the commitment of a fan base and the Twin Cities two competing newspapers.

North Carolina State: The blue collar bunch of the ACC. They’d have to be, amidst North Carolina, Wake Forest and Duke, right. Hungry basketball fans that embody the joyful spirit of departed coach Jim Valvano (deposed as he may have been). They seem more from planet earth, and not hoop land like the rest of Tobacco Road.

BYU: A bit of a chip on their shoulder, but a overall nice, fanatical fan base that appreciates competition - so long as it’s not coming from Utah. Would be a great addition to the Big 12 should Missouri ever get the Big Ten invite.

See also:

Best Fans/Worst Fans
Best Helmets/Worst Helmets

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Only a mother in a houndstooth coat could’ve loved the final statement of the 2009 college football season. The BCS national title game - Alabama’s 37-21 win over Texas - was a bust, in part because Colt McCoy’s arm went dead - we think - but mostly because neither staff could coach their way out of a paper bag.

Since you’re looking at two of the nation’s top five teams in 2010 - and possibly the top two, unless voters do Ohio State or USC a big, fat favor - take heart, Nebraska fans. You just saw the enemies, and they can be had.

The Longhorns and Crimson Tide were sloppy, nervous and so blissfully unaware of stuff like clock, field position and down and distance that I thought, for a second, the Rose Bowl had been invaded by gamers who secretly toggled stupidity into the headsets on each sideline. Alabama had the better offensive line, while Texas appeared to be the Tide’s equal on along the defensive line. Bama couldn’t cover UT’s receivers worth a salt, but the Longhorns compensated by dropping a ton of passes.

Bama, the prohibitive favorite by any measure, decided to select “Botched Bowl Punt Fake” from the Bill Callahan Collection on its opening drive of the game, throwing a pass, from its own 6-yard-line, on 4th-and-23. The Tide were lucky UT safety Blake Gideon intercepted it, instead of batting it down. Big Game Nick Saban? Eh - not exactly.

Had McCoy not received such an ill-timed shoulder stinger UT probably takes a 7-0 lead. As it was, with backup Garrett Gilbert, the Longhorns settled for a field goal, and one more later in the first quarter.

The Tide rattled off the next 24 points with considerable help from Brown and Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis.

The shovel pass call with 10 seconds left in the first half - intercepted off a carom and returned for what turned out to be the deciding touchdown - was a decision worthy of demotion, an inexplicable call with no discernibly good purpose, other than potential meaningless yards. It ranked up there with the Washington Redskins’ boneheaded flare pass in the 1984 Super Bowl against the Los Angeles Raiders, also intercepted for a score right before half. At least the Redskins had an excuse: The play had gone for a touchdown earlier in the year.

What was Texas’ excuse?

"We knew we were going to struggle with points, and we felt like we had 15 seconds left so we called the safest thing that might squirt,” Brown said afterward. “We called a little shuffle pass that I had never seen intercepted before, and I certainly hadn't seen it intercepted for a touchdown.”

Stunning. Stunning! Understand that, at that moment, Brown had no clear idea whether McCoy would return. The smart play wasn’t to try getting a cheap, unlikely three points, or throwing a Hail Mary for the end zone. The smart play was to get into the locker room, find out if McCoy could go in the second half, and tighten the score on UT’s opening drive.

Instead, Bama went to halftime with a 24-6 lead. It looked insurmountable, didn’t it? Shoot, I watched a few extra minutes of Dr. Drew’s “Celebrity Rehab” just for the yell of it.

Inside Texas’ locker room, McCoy wanted back in. Plenty of sources confirm this. Brown clearly declined the offer. Down 18, what was the use of getting the kid hurt even more?

Quickly in the third quarter, the story around McCoy’s injury seemed to change. Now McCoy couldn’t go at all. Now his arm was completely dead. While his post-game interview on ABC was a mixture of class, pain and grace, I also sensed something else: Incredulity. Frustration.

Texas fans will never get a straight answer on this issue. There will be the official side, and the whispers. It’s a shame. Last week, I watched Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback Ben Rothlisberger re-enter the game after his right shoulder had been unimaginably wrenched. He held his arm after every play. But he threw the ball and completed passes. A potential playoff berth was on the line.

A national title is on the line, and winningest, grittiest quarterback Texas has ever put on the field doesn’t even get a single snap? Not one shot? Nope. And, see, by halftime, Brown left McCoy no choice. Three scores on a dead arm?

Brown nudged the kid out of his final chance by mismanaging the end of the first half, and allowing Davis to blow a field goal try that would have brought Texas within 14-9 after the Longhorns forged their way inside the Bama 30. On a third-and-medium, Davis dialed up a crossing pattern for Gilbert right at the sticks instead of plowing ahead, getting a few yards, and letting Hunter Lawrence try a kick of similar length to the one he made in Dallas to beat NU.

Instead, Gilbert tossed his first of four picks, his first of two to Javier Arenas. Gilbert’s next “throw” was the Carom Six.

Two years in a row, the Big 12’s “elite” and best-paid coaches, Bob Stoops and Brown, badly mishandled key scenarios in the second quarter of the national title game. Chew on it. You think NU’s Bo Pelini lags so far behind these guys? No. Give Pelini this much: He had a respect for field position - for saving points by refusing to give up cheap ones - and it worked wonders for Nebraska over the last half of the season.

Pelini came within one second of beating UT with Zac Lee's torn up right arm and a bum ankle, a left guard with a torn pectoral muscle, a center with the bruise the size of a water cooler, a running back with half a shoulder. He beat Oklahoma with all of that plus Rex Burkhead's broken foot.

Alabama, ahead 24-6 and confident to lean on its running game, patiently waited for the roof the cave in. Gilbert popped a few big ones to Jordan Shipley - the best skill player on the field, either team - in the second half to draw Texas within 24-21. UT even got its shot at a game-tying or game-winning drive until Saban dialed up an aggressive blitz, linebacker Eryk Anders jarred the ball loose from Gilbert, Bama recovered inside the UT five, and Heisman Trophy Winner Mark Ingram - who looked good, but no better than his freshman backup, Trent Richardson - scored from the one.

The Tide added two more picks and one more touchdown in the final three minutes.

It wasn’t Alabama’s best effort. Julio Jones caught a single pass. Ingram and Richardson had their way at the end of the first quarter and throughout the second, but not much otherwise. The Tide’s defensive line was good, but I still can’t fall for the 3-4 as a base defense that often forced Saban to commit five guys to rushing Gilbert, which usually left a UT receiver in single coverage.

Is that what Nebraska’s offense needs to resemble? I’d like to see more passing balance - something in between playaction deep and tunnel screen - but the running game is certainly commendable.

And yet - Bama was plenty human Thursday night. Super in the SEC Championship. Jittery, nervous and conservative on a neutral field for the marbles. Nebraska could have beaten the Tide Thursday night. Know that.

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I came across this cool montage of Suh vs. Texas in the Big 12 championship game. Pretty cool watching how Ndamukong Suh just dominated Colt McCoy and Texas. Suh definitely staked his claim for the Heisman!

Check out the video.

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So there was Texas quarterback Colt McCoy on the floor of the Cotton Bowl, picking himself off the turf after another blitz by Oklahoma, his fingernail falling off, his chest heaving from a respiratory illness, his Heisman Trophy chances being torn into a 100 little pieces like a cheating lover's note: Angrily, with sharp and audible rips.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. With some stalker threatening bodily harm off the field, with the Sooners inflicting so much on it. How many hours did McCoy spend in film study? How many interviews did he do over the summer? And this was the reward? He was grinding so hard, trying too hard, forcing passes that weren't there, throwing bad interceptions, trying to live up to a ridiculous, jaw-dropping junior season of statistical performance against team that were way below the Longhorns pay grade.

“We weren't very good early in the season because we were erratic at receiver, and we were running inconsistent routes,” UT head coach Mack Brown said. “The quarterback needs to trust his receivers. And that wasn't happening. We had some injuries in the offensive line, we had a different running back playing every week. He's such a perfectionist, and he had such a great junior year that he just thought it was going to happen.”

And then, finally, the Red River game, his coming out party in 2008, the day he outdueled buddy Sam Bradford. And McCoy played like he did too often in 2007: Indecisive, harried, small, frustrated. Texas won 16-13, with little thanks to McCoy, whose team needed Bradford's second shoulder injury – and some equally bad quarterbacking from Landry Jones, to escape.

You're better than this, McCoy told himself.

“I had the weight of the world on my shoulders,” he said.

So in the between OU and the game at Missouri, McCoy didn't put in more work. He put in less. He went home earlier. Didn't watch as much film. Tried to get so more rest, more laughs.

And it worked. The kid had his fill of pressure, so he let some air out of the tires. UT went to Columbia frustrated, uncertain team. It emerged with a 41-7 blowout win that remains the Longhorns' strongest overall performance to date.

“We went up to Missouri – we had two road games away from Austin – and we just had to bond as a unit, as an offense, and really as a team,” McCoy said. “From that point on, we just basically started the season over. We just said 'We're better than this; we're capable of being the best offense in the country. Let's pull together.'”

Since OU, McCoy's reset himself on the 2008 pace: 154-209, 1,791 yards, 16 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 277 rushing yards. Had he posted those numbers in the first half of the season, the Heisman race would be over. As it is, he's a giant favorite, because he's hot at the right time, his team is undefeated and the media outside of two CBS broadcasters is getting Tim Tebow jet lag.

Now that he's healthy – besides the respiratory illness, McCoy battled the flu in September – he's back to being a dual threat. His short passes are eerily accurate; McCoy rarely leaves the ball on the wrong side of his receivers. As 175 rushing yards vs. Texas A&M showed, he's still got the jets to run. Brown said UT struggled, too, with its offensive identity earlier this season – it happens to the best of the programs, you know? - but inserted a tight end to help develop the running game.

“Last year, we were running down the field in four and five-wide, and now we've become a more physical offense,” Brown said. “We can get the ball downfield and have better protection out of playaction.”

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In the offices, on the practice field, in front of the media – probably even out in the parking lot, where students scuttle around in sweats and cheaply-made puffy coats – Bo Pelini's put out the word: No talk about the Big 12 Championship game.

“Everywhere I go, I keep hearing people talk about Texas, Texas, Texas,” Pelini said at Monday's press conference.

So he's instructed Nebraska's players and support personnel to “don't even mention around me” the Dec. 5 game vs the Longhorns in Arlington. Not even reasonably essential stuff, like travel plans. NU, Pelini said, has plenty to worry about in a short week with “very capable” Colorado, which tends to play its best game of the season the day after Thanksgiving against the Cornhuskers.

“We do need to win this game,” Pelini said. “...The toughest thing as a coach is to keep a team focused on a day-to-day manner.”

The Huskers are on fully on board, tight end Mike McNeill said.

“We can't get ahead of ourselves,” McNeill said. “We don't want to go out there and lay a goose egg.”

Pelini said Texas coach Mack Brown, Florida coach Urban Meyer and Alabama coach Nick Saban were struggling with similar problems this week. All of them have earned spots in conference title tilts; All, too, have rivalry games to win before engaging in that mini-playoff that may determine who, if any of them, play for the BCS National Championship.

Nebraska, 8-3 overall, probably has the weakest opponent of the bunch in the 3-8 Buffaloes, whom Pelini called “athletic” but “inconsistent.” CU coach Dan Hawkins is on a flaming hot seat for his job, although his retention seems less contingent on whether Colorado beats Nebraska than if black-and-gold alumni can pony up their ski bunny bucks to buy out his contract.

Nevertheless, looking beyond Friday's 2:30 p.m. game is not an option for three reasons:

*The ABC national audience, which Pelini said always provides the Huskers a nice recruiting audition - and more attention for awards-candidate Ndamukong Suh.

*Pelini clearly sees Colorado as a rivalry game, especially for Nebraska fans in the Panhandle, who “make a big sacrifice” driving several hours to NU home games.

“They want bragging rights,” Pelini said.

*The sheer embarrassment of losing. Pelini wouldn't even entertain the notion.

“I fully expect to win the game,” he said.

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We've got a special treat, as we shot the Nebraska pep band's entire performance at the North Texas Nebraskans tailgate for the Ft. Hood Troops! Enjoy the performance and check out the group itself, too!

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The hottest tailgate spot in and around Baylor's Floyd Casey Stadium was a corner about a mile away where North Texas Nebraskans threw a party for more than 100 soldiers and airmen from nearby Ft. Hood, who were provided with free tickets, food and transportation to and from the game.

Here's a video of some of the early activity...enjoy!

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WACO, Texas - Sgt. Luke Watt has served two year-long tours of duty in Iraq. He's rotating out of Army soon, but before he does, he got a surprising, unexpected reward for his service: Free tickets to the Nebraska-Baylor game, plus transportation, plus a breakfast tailgate.

All for being a Husker. Watt and two of his buddies from Ft. Hood were among the more than 100 soldiers and airmen treated by North Texas Nebraskans, which raised more $8,000 in two weeks to provide the provide experience.

“My commander told I might be able to get me some tickets,” said Watt, a Wood River native. “I kept nagging him about it and I got some.”

Watt brought along a couple of Ft. Hood buddies – Spc. Ben Silvers and Spc. Matthew Mols – along for the event, held in beautiful, sunny conditions in the corner of a BU parking lot.

Almost 1,000 fans attended at one time or another during the morning, sharing stories, beers, well wishes, smiles and respect for the assembled troops, who arrived on buses, the transportation organized by one of NTN's watch sites, Vitty's sports bars.

Spcs. Spencer Hanel and Ross Breitkreutz were both native Nebraskans and Ft. Hood soldiers enjoying the day. They were cousins, as well. It was Breitkreutz's first Husker game anywhere – including Lincoln.

“Greatest fans base in the world,” Breitkreutz said. “This is absolutely unbelievable. I hope we take it. We should take it.”

NTN president Jill Simpson weaved among various groups of Husker fans, the breakfast station and the big black bus set up to hand out tickets to the soldiers. She said the event, which she figured would attract at least 400 members, had “exploded” into two times that.

“This has been a terrific event,” she said.

She also welcomed the Huskers' 49-member pep band - which showed up to play “Hail Varsity” and an Armed Forces medley – and Gov. Dave Heineman, who appeared briefly to thank the troops for their service.

We'll have more on this story. Stay tuned to Husker Locker for more!

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WACO, Texas - Sgt. Luke Watt has served two year-long tours of duty in Iraq. He's rotating out of Army soon, but before he does, he got a surprising, unexpected reward for his service: Free tickets to the Nebraska-Baylor game, plus transportation, plus a breakfast tailgate.

All for being a Husker. Watt and two of his buddies from Ft. Hood were among the more than 100 soldiers and airmen treated by North Texas Nebraskans, which raised more $8,000 in two weeks to provide the provide experience.

“My commander told I might be able to get me some tickets,” said Watt, a Wood River native. “I kept nagging him about it and I got some.”

Watt brought along a couple of Ft. Hood buddies – Spc. Ben Silvers and Spc. Matthew Mols – along for the event, held in beautiful, sunny conditions in the corner of a BU parking lot.

Almost 1,000 fans attended at one time or another during the morning, sharing stories, beers, well wishes, smiles and respect for the assembled troops, who arrived on buses, the transportation organized by one of NTN's watch sites, Vitty's sports bars.

Spcs. Spencer Hanel and Ross Breitkreutz were both native Nebraskans and Ft. Hood soldiers enjoying the day. They were cousins, as well. It was Breitkreutz's first Husker game anywhere – including Lincoln.

“Greatest fans base in the world,” Breitkreutz said. “This is absolutely unbelievable. I hope we take it. We should take it.”

NTN president Jill Simpson weaved among various groups of Husker fans, the breakfast station and the big black bus set up to hand out tickets to the soldiers. She said the event, which she figured would attract at least 400 members, had “exploded” into two times that.

“This has been a terrific event,” she said.

She also welcomed the Huskers' 49-member pep band - which showed up to play “Hail Varsity” and an Armed Forces medley – and Gov. Dave Heineman, who appeared briefly to thank the troops for their service.

We'll have more on this story. Stay tuned to Husker Locker for more!
See also: NTN Troop Tailgate Photos

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If you've already read the Big Red Troops story and want to share your own story - or just say thanks! - here's the place to do it! Thanks, NTN, for all of your great generosity in helping the Husker troops!

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Forget, for a minute, touchdowns, quarterback debates and even the extraordinary play of Ndamukong Suh. Here's one of the best stories of Nebraska's 2009 football season. One that cuts through the games, the controversies, the media, the penalties, the polls and the nonsense to get right to the communal spirit of this thing we call Husker Nation.

It's July, and one of NU's biggest alumni chapters, North Texas Nebraskans, comes up with an idea: Honor and reward troops from Nebraska by getting them a ticket to the NU-Baylor game this Saturday. By August, the chapter had decided to draw those troops from a pool of 53,000 soldiers and airmen at Ft. Hood, 60 miles from Waco, in Killeen, Texas. The base is one of America's primary suppliers of troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“We thought it'd be a great tribute for everything they do for us,” said Jill Simpson, NTN president.

NTN contacted Ft. Hood's Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation office shortly after that. Public relations coordinator Monty Campbell put out the word to the base. More than 100 soldiers and airmen put their names in.

“They responded very favorably,” Campbell said. “Anytime they can go any event they love it. They're very appreciative of what North Texas Nebraskans are doing for them.”

Baylor had the tickets available. NTN had to raise the money.

Guess how long it took them?

“We put the vibe out there to do the fundraising and we literally raised our money in two weeks,” Simpson said. “We have far exceeded what we needed.”

Two weeks. NTN passed around hats at its three giant watch parties in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and raised $3,000. Two Husker fans collected $1,100 at Sidetracks Bar in Lincoln the Friday night before a home game. Two NTN members headed to Virginia Tech and raised money there. A few individuals gave $1,000. That's 20 free tickets per donation.

“It just ballooned,” Simpson said. “We weren't even sure we were going to get people to donate, and we have had donations from across the nation.”

More than the donations, Simpson said, were the emails and letters her group received. Even after they shut off the donation, more came pouring in. More queries. More offers to help.

So NTN raised even more cash to pay for the troops' transportation to and from Ft. Hood and a tailgate party with food and T-shirts. Baylor will recognize the troops during the game and furnish a soda and popcorn. Simpson said at least 400 people will be in attendance at the tailgate party.

“That's the absolute minimum,” Simpson said. “We're expecting a lot more...(the soldiers and airmen) would have been thrilled with just the tickets.

“I had no idea that we would get this response. It's an awesome feeling knowing we're gonna take 100 soldiers to the game on Saturday and they're going to have something else to do for four or five hours.”

NTN plans on making a habit out of it. Next year: Texas A&M. After that, Texas.

It can be easy, in the fog of message boards and raucous student sections, to lose track of stories like these. But this story – much like our 50 Husker Fans, 50 States series – hints at the larger culture borne out of Husker football Saturdays. Name another fan base doing this. Not a university – a fan base. What NTN is doing – what other alumni groups will do, if they follow this example – is bloom beyond the game into something more: A communal character.

Tack a story like this onto the 300th sellout as another small, good reminder of who the program's backbone really is.

Check out our North Texas Nebraskans group! Join and tell them thanks!

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Enjoy our terrific photos from the Texas Tech pregame festivities at the Husker Nation Pavillion, as Doc Sadler and the Nebraska men's basketball team made an appearance for some fun and introductions...enjoy...and upload your own photos today!

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Our MVPs and Report Card after NU's 31-10 loss to Texas Tech:

OFFENSIVE MVP: Roy Helu, Jr. Playing with a bum shoulder, Helu mostly maximized gains on what few holes there were. His effort on the 27-yard screen pass was easily the best individual offensive play of the game. Should Helu sit vs. Iowa State? Maybe. He needs to be truly healthy for the stretch run.

DEFENSIVE MVP: Phillip Dillard. Arguably his best game. Dillard chased Tech's backs on passing plays, rendering them ineffective after the opening drive, and imposed his physical will on receivers and linemen. He's catching fire at just the right time in his career.

GRADES

QUARTERBACK: D Zac Lee played his worst game – because it was his most hesitant game. He didn't push the ball downfield. He ate two or three drive-killing sacks. And he didn't get deep enough on a couple of his drops. Playing to avoid mistakes is really no way to play quarterback unless you've got a top-grade running game. And Nebraska doesn't. And while Cody Green gave NU a spark, he could've easily thrown two or three more interceptions.

RUNNING BACKS: B Helu played bravely, but he's not 100 percent, and he's not much of a pass-blocking option when he isn't. Marcus Mendoza caught a few passes, and played aggressively. The coaches erred in not playing him before the Texas Tech game. We'll see more of Tray Robinson next week.

WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS: D Drops, drops, drops. NU's receivers might have been open, and Lee should have found them, but who's to say they would have caught the ball? Niles Paul's blunder is elementary stuff. Cover the ball! Chris Brooks and Khiry Cooper at least catch the ball consistently. Cooper needs to block better. Not a good game for Ted Gilmore's unit, and he's running out of motivation tactics. The tight ends were mostly a non-factor.

OFFENSIVE LINE: D Marcel Jones and D.J. Jones get an F, while the rest of the unit gets, oh, a C or so. The Jones duo was awful, getting manhandled play after play, committing penalties, whiffing on blocks. Jacob Hickman and Keith Williams were fair, but not dominant. Ricky Henry played OK until his bonehead personal foul in the fourth quarter.

DEFENSIVE LINE: B+ The front four generated a terrific pass rush throughout the game, especially ends Pierre Allen and Barry Turner. But they got a little gashed late in the fourth quarter by Tech's quick running game.

LINEBACKERS: B Will Compton had a bad first drive and was replaced by Dillard, who played one of his best. At times, Dillard was mismatched against Tech's speedy receivers. In spot duty, Sean Fisher and Compton were fine against Tech's running formations.

SECONDARY: B- More than one of NU's sacks were thanks to the Huskers' coverage, but two pass interference penalties, plus a couple missed tackles by Prince Amukamara, bring the grade down. The good news: Only Kansas has better receivers, and no team has faster receivers.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C Alex Henery had a poor game, missing a 51-yarder and shanking a punt. Nebraska gave up a big kickoff return at wrong time. The punt coverage units were OK, and Alfonzo Dennard had a nice kickoff return of his own. The snaps by PJ Mangieri were much better.

GAME MANAGEMENT/PLAYCALLING: D Before we even get to Shawn Watson, let's start with Bo Pelini. Stop deferring every won coin toss. Stop calling blitzes on third-and-long on the opponent's first drive of the game. Stop wasting two timeouts per game on the defense. Now Watson, who has a lot of work to do. He wasn't given a lot of options, but he needs to use his tight ends better, and more of them. He needs to have a sense of urgency in the third quarter, down 21 points. He needs to stop giving his quarterback so many options at the line of scrimmage.

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“We have Blackshirts there at Texas Tech, too. Every one of our guys is wearing a black shirt underneath their pads. I'm proud to say the Blackshirts won this one.”

It's pretty safe to say that little nugget from Mike Leach will find its way to Nebraska's bulletin board. The Texas Tech coach, is his own, inimitable way, praised his bunch and poked a little fun at NU's top defensive unit at the same time.

Let's just hope head coach Bo Pelini uses it to motivate the right bunch. Not the Cornhuskers' defense, which forced five punts, notched five sacks and only gave 259 total yards to one of the best offenses in America.

Rather, the quote needs to find its way to the offensive line, which can use every bit of fire, at this point, it can get. May Mike Smith, Keith Williams, Jacob Hickman, Ricky Henry, Marcel Jones and D.J. Jones tack it to their lockers to remind themselves of a performance that left offensive line coach Barney Cotton drained and a little crestfallen.

“I think I've got to do a better job preparing,” Cotton said. “We didn't play the physical ballgame that we had planned on playing...this is a league where you have to be physical to play well.”

Cotton and head coach Bo Pelini both called it “putting a hat on a hat.” The final tally - just 70 rushing yards, and most of those coming via improvisation from Roy Helu, Jr. - suggests the Huskers didn't do it. Couple the leaks with five sacks and a slew of tough penalties – including the drive-killing personal foul by Henry – and it was the sloppiest performance in recent memory.

“We'd always leave a hat open,” Hickman said. “Or a guy jumps. It's just one guy who can kill you...just one guy missing his block, and the play doesn't work. Gotta have 11 guys on the same page. You could really call any play at that point – and it should work.”

Hickman said the line affected quarterback Zac Lee's vision and performance. Although Lee held on to the ball for ten seconds on two different occasions – he was sacked once and threw another pass away - Hickman said some early hits on No. 5 - especially on two playaction passes where Lee couldn't even turn around without being hammered - set a bad tone.

“It threw him on his rhythm,” Hickman said. “It goes through the line first.”

NU planned to physical running game in the opening quarter; the playcalling was balanced through the first four drives. But Helu and Lee's rushing lanes were few; Tech slanted its defensive linemen into gaps, and the Huskers' front unit was unable to clear them away.

The Red Raiders weren't fancy, Cotton said. They just beat Nebraska's linemen into the backfield. When Cotton would gather his unit on the sideline, he'd talk to them – sometimes through the entire Tech offensive possession – about effort, and toughness.

“This was not a game where we were doing a lot of drawing things up,” Cotton said. “We talked about putting hats on hats, and keep those hats on hats. We've got to fight more aggressively and more relentlessly.”

What's that going to look like in practice?

“It's going to be physical,”Cotton said. “Everything we do during the week should be darn near live anyway. That's the way we prepare. But it'll be even more physical.”

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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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It was a simple bubble screen gone bad. But it was the wrong time – the wrong game – to get caught with such a mistake.

Inside Texas Tech's 20-yard line, still in the first quarter, Nebraska quarterback Zac Lee flipped wide receiver Niles Paul, who promptly – and rather casually - dropped the ball. Tech defensive end Daniel Howard scooped it up, darting past an unsuspecting Paul and tackle Mike Smith. Only Lee gave chase, and wasn't quite able to catch Howard at the goal line.

The Red Raiders had just scored the easiest defensive touchdown they're ever likely to enjoy to take a 14-0 lead in front of 86,107 stunned NU fans at Memorial Stadium. It was more than enough, as Lee and the Cornhuskers' offense imploded again and again with penalties, drops, curious playcalling, and shoddy blocking. A late touchdown drive led by true freshman Cody Green was answered by another Tech touchdown as Mike Leach's mercurial team cruised to a 31-10 victory that should send No. 15 Nebraska spiraling out of national polls.

The Red Raiders opened the game by converting two long third-down plays on the arm of quarterback Steven Sheffield, who completed all seven passes on the drive for 93 yards. Sheffield his passes of 34 and 22 yards, and finished off the drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Baron Batch.

The Huskers (4-2 overall, 1-1 in the Big 12 Conference) were in business on its second drive of the game following Paul's punt return to the Tech 33-yard line. Five plays later, Paul fumbled and Memorial Stadium seemed drained of energy.

Tech (4-2 and 1-1) scored its third touchdown with a 12-play, 65-yard march in the second quarter, highlighted by a 21-yard run on fourth down and a 18-yard pass on a third-and-eight from NU's 21-yard line. Nebraska answered by going 74 yards in 11 play for an Alex Henery field goal, the drive dying inside Tech's 5-yard line. The Red Raiders finished the half with a field goal of their own after Sheffield hit receiver Detron Lewis for 58-yard pass, Lewis slipping the grasp of cornerback Prince Amukamara.

Most of the second half was a defensive struggle, more painful for NU, which squandered two opportunities for points when Henery missed a 51-yard field goal (after the Huskers had started at Tech's 25-yard line) and it wasted a ten-minute drive on a personal foul penalty by offensive guard Ricky Henry and Lee's overthrow of Niles Paul in the end zone.

Green was inserted for the second time after that play, and promptly led a 40-yard touchdown march, culminating in a 13-yard pass to redshirt freshman Khiry Cooper. On NU's final possession, he threw an interception on a slant route.

Tech ended scoring with another touchdown drive capped off by a Sheffield sneak and aided by a long kickoff return and pass interference penalty on Anthony West that left Pelini infuriated. For the game, Nebraska had 12 penalties for 95 yards, and Pelini spent a good chunk of the TV timeouts thundering away at the officials.

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Join Samuel McKewon as he breaks down the game and provides live updates from Memorial Stadium prior to Nebraska's big tilt with Texas Tech!

He'll give the skinny on how Tech's QBs look, who will replace Rex Burkhead, and whether or not the game will be high-scoring or low-scoring!

Ask the tough questions...get honest answers!

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The show begins at 1:30 p.m!

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We're back again - and remember - anybody who guesses score right on the button wins a throwback poster - offense or defense - your choice.

Last week, Gassman came quite close to Nebraska's odd-looking 27-12 victory with a 25-13 prediction. Who makes the grade this week? Post and let's find out!

Also: Give us your offensive and defensive MVPs for the game!

Have at it Husker fans and check out our prediction podcast for our take right before the game! We have a...surprising prediction. Is it in favor of NU? Find out!

See also: Inside The Air Raid Offense!

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"People are going to draw conclusions. That's what this is here in Nebraska. The football world we live in."

Zac Lee said it with a smile, but he said it just so, too.

Credit Nebraska's starting quarterback for having tact and a sly sense of humor at the same time.

What the junior from San Francisco needs now is a big game at the right time. None better than a Saturday afternoon soiree with Texas Tech, which sports a better-than-expected defense, but a negative turnover margin that has to have those not-yet-Blackshirts salivating.

Lee, too. After all, he'd be the beneficiary of any short field the defense can produce. And he will take any love he can get.

The kid went through the critic's mill a little this week. So did his offensive coordinator, Shawn Watson. They handled like they do most everything else: With a smile and outward confidence. It takes a little self-worth, after all, to call a tight end hide route in the red zone rain. It takes even more moxie for Lee to sell it like he did, then float a lovely little pass to a wide-open Mike McNeill for a touchdown.

An uneven offensive line needs confidence like that. NU's beaten-up running back corps do, too. The Red Raiders may indeed force Lee to beat them by dropping down a safety and “loading the box.” Lee will, again, check into a play that works for him. From there, it'll be on his brain, and his right arm.

He's played well at home – exceedingly well vs. Arkansas State and Lafayette. Maybe it's the Memorial Stadium crowd. Maybe it was the defenses of the Sun Belt Three. But Tech's pass defense isn't much better, frankly. The Red Raiders have athletes, but they're thin at safety. It's the kind of unit that an upper-echelon Big 12 quarterback should be able to pick apart.

And there's little question that Lee has top-shelf skills in most of the pertinent areas: Arm strength, mobility, sixth sense, leadership. His accuracy, right now, is off on the short, timing routes. Lee throws a terrific deep ball, but that's only a small part of the West Coast Offense. You throw ten little darts to set up one cannon shot. Lee has to put a few more of those darts near the bullseye.

Still, he's an easy player to root for because he wears the pressure lightly, and because you sense his inner playmaker is straining to stay within the structure of Watson's offense.

Don't get me wrong: It's a good structure, especially for ball control, which is necessary vs. Texas Tech. But it was a comfier fit for a guy like Joe Ganz, who can't wing it 70 yards, but can cut a defense for six, seven yard gains at a time. He bled the Red Raiders dry doing just that last year.

Lee has to blaze his own trail. Through five games, he done a lot of things well. He's only thrown two interceptions that matter (his last pass at Virginia Tech could've just as easily been batted down) and, wayward snaps aside, he's not really a fumbler. He avoids bad sacks – Ganz didn't always do that – and he keeps plays alive with his feet. And he creates big plays. That you can't argue. He's not afraid to throw the deep routes, and he knows where to throw them.

It's simply a slightly different model than most WCO quarterbacks. It's a model that needs a good power running game to help set it up.

But if Lee doesn't get that on Saturday – and the Red Raiders will surely try to stuff Roy Helu and whoever else Nebraska trots out there – then he'll find himself in the middle of a dogfight, having to march, instead of bomb, the Huskers down the field.

Is he up to that challenge? Are Lee's receivers?

Hey – Missouri's over. In this space, too.

Now - opportunity knocks. Inside, a one-way ticket to the Oklahoma game, a 7-1 record, and more media buzz than you can shake a space balloon at.

Lee will have a home field, a fairly healthy offensive line and a vanilla defense to work against.

Good quarterbacks rise to this moment. The best ones own it.

Time for No. 5 to put the money where his moxie is.

See also: Guess The Score! NU vs. Tech! and Five Keys to Texas Tech

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The Husker media machine kicked into full gear this week. Nebraska's football team uneasily wore the crown.

You could sense the strain in some of the answers after a 27-12 win over Missouri. Here was NU, after the biggest program triumph in some time, getting peppered with questions about last year's Texas Tech game, handling success, the offensive playcalling, replacing Rex Burkhead, defending spread offenses, you name it. You could almost see the frustration churning inside players and coaches: Wait – didn't we win last week? Didn't we complete the best fourth-quarter rally in Husker history? Did everyone forget that?

Yes, yes and most certainly not. But here's the thing: With each big win head coach Bo Pelini collects, fans and writers can see the shoreline a little more clearly. With a beaten-up, overrated Big 12 out there for the taking in 2009, the vibe is now distinctly “carpe diem.” Thus, the armor chinks become more glaring with each ratchet-turn of expectation.

Nebraskans express hope with worry. It's the natural tendency, the bedrock of our modesty and insecurity. It couldn't really be this good this fast, could it? It just might. If the Huskers can hurdle one Mike Leach, that is.

On to the five keys:

Aggression: Nebraska returns to its home field, in front of a crowd ready to explode with chants of “We're back!” There ought to be enough energy in the joint to kick start three offensive lines, much less one. Needs to be, too. If the Huskers intend to score a first round knockdown, much less a first round knockout, they'll need every bit of anger, muscle and toughness the offensive line can muster. Running backs can only plow through holes that exist, after all.

“We need to play faster, we need to play more physical, and we need to execute better,” offensive line coach Barney Cotton said. We'll take that and a side of peanut cole slaw.

Turnovers: A typical, fallback key of any big game, but, in the case of NU v. Tech, it matters because the Red Raiders – specifically Taylor Potts – have struggled keeping the ball on the team with the right colored jersey. Tech is 99th in turnover margin – rare for a Big 12 school still in the early stages of conference play – at -.67 per game. Nebraska's 15th overall. Big advantage, right there, to the Huskers.

How does NU force them? In the secondary, breaking on poorly-thrown balls without giving up the farm elsewhere.

Pick up “Sticks:” Walk-on quarterback Steven “Sticks” Sheffield has enjoyed a nice couple of weeks, but those were minor rehearsals compared to Saturday. Sheffield can light as many fires as he wishes and scramble all over the house looking to wear out his own legs. But the kid's probably going to have to throw for three bills and two touches to give Tech a fighting chance.

As skinny and untested as Sheffield is, Nebraska needs to make a maniacal effort to pressure the living daylights out him. If Leach wants to install Potts into the game, hey – so be it. The more musical chairs Leach runs, the deeper the hole his team will dig.

Carter vs. Suh: Texas Tech has a quick rhythm passing game and wide linemen splits, and thus feels like it's fairly impervious to any consistent pass rush, even one led by Ndamukong Suh. So the Red Raiders will likely match guard Brandon Carter – the deposed captain who paints his face as if he's going to death metal concert, or readying for a night of carousing with Kym from “Rachel Getting Married” – against Suh, one on one.

Well, OK. It worked to some extent in 2008. But this ain't 2008.

“(Carter) is a really good lineman,” defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said. “They're a man protection team, but they've got five and we've got four rushing. It's the same way every week. We just try to do our thing.”

Pelini's right, of course, but interior pass blocking, against a player of Suh's caliber, is no trip to Cleveland. Can Suh and his mates force the Red Raiders to keep a running back in to block?

Resist the pirate spirit: Nebraska needs to be smart on Saturday not to let Leach's wild gambles rub off on Bo Pelini. When Leach goes for it on fourth down...NU better stuff it. If he tries a trick play, gets cute with his punt formation, or tries to go 80 yards in 38 seconds, you'll have a distinct example of Leach attempting to bait his opponent into bizarre situations. If Nebraska can keep its poker face while the Red Raiders flop about like a fish on dry land, it'll gain one or two extra possessions at least. Tech, which lives or dies by the number and efficiency of plays run, would in be the same spot it was last year. Except Nebraska's defense is more equipped to shut down TTU.

See also: Chalk Talk: Inside the Air Raid Offense and Guess The Score! NU vs. Tech! and Recruiting: All Dressed Up with No Position?

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“We’d better have an edge. We’ve got a helluva football team [Texas Tech] coming in here. They’re playing well. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”

-- Bo Pelini.


See the entire story from the October 13 blog: "Pelini Snuffs Blackshirt Chatter."

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