“When you coach as long as I did, you can't help but miss those Saturdays - dealing with the players, the game preparation, the challenges, the excitement.”

Former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne

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"Please don't get the idea that I was some kind of religious nut. I was simply trying to apply principles of faith in a highly competitive arena... [My] approach to leadership and team building is related to my faith. I believe that each and every person should be treated with the dignity and respect that they deserve." -- Tom Osborne, University of Nebraska Athletic Director in Beyond The Final Score, There's More to Life Than the Game.

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It’s little secret that, regardless of how the Nebraska men’s basketball team ends its 2010 season, head coach Doc Sadler is returning for a fifth year.

Sadler acknowledged the “total support” of athletic director Tom Osborne Monday on the Big 12 Coaches Teleconference.

"Coach Osborne and the administration have been tremendous," Sadler said. “But I can be the first to tell you that I’m sure Coach Osborne isn't happy either, and I understand why he shouldn't be."

NU currently occupies the cellar of the Big 12 at 1-11, although Wednesday’s game at Iowa State affords the Huskers the opportunity to get one leg out of it. Nebraska has led more than half of those games at some point, but failed to close Iowa State and Baylor at home and Kansas State on the road.

"The fact of the matter is we've got a job to do and we've got to get it done,” Sadler said. "That would ease everybody's mind, and I understand that and I accept that responsibility. Nebraska has paid me to win basketball games and run a basketball program here.”

Sadler said NU is heading in “the right direction.”

Osborne, speaking on Huskers.com last week, agreed and called the future “reasonably bright.”

“It’s a group with talent, they play hard, they give good effort,” Osborne said. “I don’t think there’s been any dissension internally…I have great confidence in (Doc). We’ll try to finish this year up the best we can and look forward to next year.”

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"This fall we've been smeared as a renegade team. I don't see that. I see disciplined, unselfish people who know what it takes to win."

-Tom Osborne, addressing reporters during the 1995 season, when allegations against Lawrence Phillips and Christian Peter brought the program negative publicity.

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"That's the problem with following a famous coach - you aren't the former famous coach, and there is really nothing you can do to change that fact."

-Tom Osborne, on following Bob Devaney, from his book Beyond the Final Score.

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Nebraska will be playing a Thursday night road game on ESPN for the second straight season.

NU will travel to Kansas State Oct. 7. The game had originally been scheduled for Oct. 2. Kickoff time will be determined later.

The schedule change will reduce the amount of time NU has to prepare for the Oct. 16 Texas game, but may allow the Huskers to switch out the Sept. 25 opponent, South Dakota State.

ESPN wanted Nebraska and Texas for Oct. 14. The Huskers were on board; the Longhorns were not.

Last year, Nebraska beat Missouri 27-12 in a driving rainstorm on ESPN.

The Huskers also announced season ticket prices would not go up in 2010. Season ticket holders will pay $54 per ticket. Students will pay $21.

“Our fans have been the most loyal college football fans in the country for several decades,” Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne said. “We certainly appreciate their continued support and expect that they will continue to enjoy the experience of coming to Memorial Stadium in 2010.”

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Time for Bo Pelini to close the 2010 recruiting class with a flourish. And if you’ve been paying attention to the recruiting cycle, you know whom that flourish represents.

Quarterback Brion Carnes. Safety Corey Cooper. Defensive end Owa Odighizuwa.

Their absence won’t break the Huskers’ class, but their presence makes it particularly memorable on defense - and gives NU another quarterback option on offense. Odighizuwa, down to UCLA, Oregon State and NU, is a legitimate game-changer, a natural edge pass-rusher. A handful come out of college each year, and Odighizuwa - because of his frame and apparent intelligence - is the most promising of the bunch. Cooper is a nice-sized safety with range. Carnes is the Bradenton, Fla., quarterback with more polish than I expected him to have.

And that flourish just might include keeping current linebacker commit Lavonte David in the fold. David, a JUCO prospect from Fort Scott, Kan., appears to be flirting with South Florida, taking a visit there last weekend. Oh, he returned and remained “committed” to Nebraska.

But you know how these things go. Or, more often for the Huskers, how they don’t go.

David’s grades weren’t good enough to manage a January enrollment with Fort Scott teammate Yoshi Hardrick. So it’s unlikely David can make the same kind of immediate impact cornerback Dejon Gomes did in 2009.

Unlikely. Not impossible. Besides, the last Fort Scotter who chose USF over Nebraska was defensive Jason Pierre-Paul, who parlayed a single season with the Bulls into 6.5 sacks, 16.5 tackles for loss and a likely spot in the NFL Draft’s first round. Bo would’ve taken that and a side of fries - even with his terrific front four in 2009.

It’s about difference makers. Guys you don’t necessarily need - but have to put on the field. Could NU have survived with Gomes? Sure, probably. But Gomes was that last injection of excellence to an already-tough defense. That crucial corner piece. On the offense, it was Rex Burkhead, when he was healthy.

Defensive ends coach John Papuchis - the best recruiter NU has, for my money - fought tooth and nail for Burkhead’s services. And he’s been the lead guy on Odighizuwa. That Nebraska’s even in the conversation for a kid who otherwise would stay close to home speaks to JP’s skills. But if Bo can’t close it, then Papuchis will have spent the bulk of his time on two guys - Odighizuwa and Louisiana wide receiver Curtis Carter - the Huskers didn’t get.

Is Bo a solid closer? I suspect he‘s pretty good in his own way. He doesn’t necessarily project “father figure” in a living room, probably, but many players don’t need a John Blake. Of course, some do. In general dealings, Pelini is honest and confident. If you’re with me, let’s roll, if not, good luck. He’s said before he’s not a hand-holder, but Nebraska’s support staff - in academics, in student life skills - are as good as there is in America.

People critique Tom Osborne’s “input” on Bo’s recruiting - offers to Micah Kreikemeier in 2008 and C.J. Zimmerer in 2009 remain tied to Osborne’s recommendations, for better or worse - but the new student center was one of his best strategic decisions. It speaks to what parents want - a place their kid can succeed without getting overwhelmed or relying too much on football. And while not a perfect antidote to homesickness, classroom success is a key indicator of athletic progress. A surefire sign of a transfer is the student who’s fallen off the map academically. NU’s staff doesn’t let that happen easily.

Not surprisingly, Bo’s already put together a defensive class that can eventually win Big 12 titles. Cooper and Odighizuwa would be cherries on top. And I like Bo's commitment to recruiting a lot of offensive and defensive linemen.

But this offensive class - with or without Carnes - smacks of the transitional phase Nebraska finds itself in. It can’t happen again. Had not Bo and running backs coach Tim Beck personally attended Youngstown (Ohio) Cardinal Mooney, running back Braylon Heard doesn’t think twice about the Huskers. And Heard is, by far, the cream of the offensive crop.

If you want to know the cost of Nebraska’s identity crisis in 2009, the 2010 recruiting class provides some clues. NU searched for one type of quarterback heading into the season; now it prefers a mobile, dual-threat type. Although receivers Quincy Enunwa and Kenny Bell could turn out to be quality picks, they were clearly Plan B cases after a number of NU’s primary targets - Carter and decommit Keeston Terry included - fell away. Bell, a Boulder product who broke his collarbone early in the 2009 high school season, could be a sleeper. But, of course, his frame may make him susceptible to injuries.

Presumably, Bo and offensive coordinator Shawn Watson can chart the course now, and start to land guys who fit their joint vision.

Thus far, the jury remains out on their offensive recruiting efforts.

From the 2008 class, Ben Cotton, Khiry Cooper and guard Ricky Henry have played sizable roles on offense. Tight end Kyler Reed, when he’s healthy, appears to be a playmaker. But tackle David Grant never made it. Tight end Tyson Hetzer and Justin Rogers - who switched to cornerback - were washouts. Most - Lester Ward, Collins Okafor, Tim Marlowe, Brandon Thompson, Kody Spano, Antonio Bell, Steven Osborne - haven’t contributed much.

The 2009 class looks better. Rex Burkhead, Traye Robinson and Cody Green played quite a bit. Brandon Kinnie became a start at wide receiver by the end of the year. Four young offensive linemen may find themselves in the two-deep next year. And the wild card, Taylor Martinez, could fit in any number of places.

The 2010 bunch is fairly set in stone. Only Carnes, who is a decent thrower with better-than-expected footwork, can really add to that.

In other words, 2011 is a big year to accumulate skill talent. Consider that Roy Helu, Niles Paul, Mike McNeill, Dreu Young and Zac Lee depart next year. So does Henry, Keith Williams, D.J. Jones and Mike Smith on the offensive line. The huge senior class dictates a huge recruiting class.

Bo will have more than a few chances to close on playmakers. Consider this final week a trial run. Nebraska doesn’t necessarily need any of the players left on the wish list. But the wish list gets a lot bigger next year.

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Bake these six takes at 350 degrees and enjoy!

*As we coast through the final 10 days of recruiting season, we’ll look closer at Bo Pelini’s production and methodology, although the latter can be difficult to discern with Bo, who isn’t prone to explicating to how he narrows down his prospect list, where he looks for them, and which high school coaches and contacts he leans upon to set NU on the right path. What Bo looks for, publicly, isn’t any different from most college coaches: Character, speed, aggression, athleticism. Which college coach looks for slow, lazy troublemakers, right?

In his third class, you see promise in Pelini’s recruiting - and maybe two concerns.

The promise is in building an elite defense with sterling, big-bodied prospects like defensive linemen Chase Rome, Jay Guy, Walker Ashburn, Tobi Okuyemi and Donovan Vestal, defensive backs Ciante Evans and Harvey Jackson and potentially safety Corey Cooper and defensive end Owa Odighizuwa. Of the commits, NU took Rome and Guy away from other teams and identified the rest early in the cycle, landing players with generally impressive offer lists. The Huskers have stayed in the hunt with Cooper (Chicago-area) and Odighizuwa (Portland) despite the distance. If both pledge Big Red, don’t let any recruiting service fool you: This is one of ten best defensive recruiting classes in America.

The offensive class, as it now stands, isn’t anywhere near that.

But that’s not the concern I want to discuss. Rather, it’s this: NU has only three commitments from high school players in border states surrounding Nebraska. Rome is from Columbia, Mo. Wide receiver Kenny Bell is from Boulder. Offensive tackle Mike Moudy is from Castle Rock, Co. Throw in the three in-state recruits - Tyler Evans, Andrew Rodriguez and Jake Cotton - and you’re talking just six high school players within roughly 600 miles of Lincoln.

As of this writing, Missouri has produced 16 players who committed to BCS-auto conference schools for 2010. Colorado had ten players. Kansas has at least eight. Iowa has its share.

Gleaning the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is good. So is hitting the rest of Texas and California and strengthening old ties at Cardinal Mooney in Youngstown. The Pelinis have made connections at some of the best high school programs in Louisiana, California and Texas, and it will pay dividends down the road.

But, in three classes, Pelini’s signed as many players from Mooney - two - as he has from the entire state of Missouri. He’s signed just three from Colorado. If you exclude the junior college players from Kansas, Bo’s signed just one player - Kyler Reed - from the Sunflower State. And Reed was a Kevin Cosgrove verbal commit in the first place.

Over the long haul, NU has to own the border states better than that. Contrary to some of the myths about Tom Osborne only making his mark in Nebraska, Osborne frequently pillaged Kansas City, St. Louis, Wichita and Denver for some of his best players. Check it out for yourself.

Nebraska ought to see itself like the Boston Red Sox treat the rest of New England. NU’s winning tradition, its budget, its facilities and its notoriety dwarfs the rest of the Big 12 North. Yes, still. Bo’s influence can’t stop at the state line in Falls City. As uncomfortable as it initially may be, reaching out to the extended Husker nation - through the media, by pounding the halls of border state high schools - is crucial to getting the Huskers “back” in recruiting, as well as on the field.

*The border state player Nebraska most could have used? Liberty (Mo.) wide receiver Marcus Lucas. That 6-foot-5 frame sure would have been nice for three or four years. Shawnee, Kan., athlete Justin McCay would have been high on my list, too, but apparently Nebraska wasn’t terribly interested in him.

*All that said - NU has a chance to make the “leap” in its 2011 class. Oklahoma is signing its monster class of 30 recruits this year, Missouri is plum stocked with offensive and defensive skill players, Colorado will have a lame duck coach in Dan Hawkins, Iowa State is hellbent on collecting crumbs in Texas and Florida, and Kansas State is typically off making its own plans in JUCO land. That leaves Bo and Turner Gill in the Big 12 North working the border state chess board.

*Now that Millard South quarterback Bronson Marsh has committed to UNO instead of waiting for a possible offer from Nebraska, it’s official: The best player on the best high school team in the state wasn’t coveted enough by NU for a scholarship offer.

Now - maybe that says something about the talent in the Omaha and the state. Maybe it says something about the Huskers. But it says something, doesn’t it?

Again - hard to sustain a walk-on program in these financial times. Hard to ask kids to foot the bill when the bill just keeps getting bigger and bigger. The kid better have a bunch of smaller academic scholarships lined up, or have parents who planned decades in advance for the moment their son or daughter chose to pay - and when you can’t hold down a second job because of the time commitment, trust me, you’re paying - for the opportunity to play intercollegiate athletics.

*Carpe diem, Husker women. The chance to define the Nebraska’s women’s basketball program as a perennial contender won’t come around again. Right team, right time, right star player in Kelsey Griffin, whom I suspect becomes a college color analyst - or a coach - after her inevitable professional career is over.

NU is 17-0 and, while it could happen, the Huskers certainly don’t have to lose in the regular season. The slate is tough - especially a road game at foil Oklahoma, and home games vs. Texas A&M and Oklahoma State - but nothing Nebraska hasn’t already seen. The question may become: Would it benefit Yori’s bunch to lose before the NCAA Tournament, so long as a No. 1 seed is secured?

“We know we’re not going to win every game,” Yori said off-handedly last week, before NU’s 71-56 win over Kansas State.

That statement, I suspect, is out of respect for a grueling Big 12 conference. But opponents aren’t singing the same tune. Nebraska is a smart, hustling, aggressive team with top-shelf talent. A coach’s dream. A fan’s dream, too.

*Honest observers of Nebraska’s basketball team had the Huskers at 1-3 through four Big 12 games. So an 0-4 start, while disappointing, isn’t wildly off-target. A loss at Colorado Wednesday makes life for Doc Sadler a bit harder in February and March. And NU’s 1-3 in Boulder since 2006.

Does Doc have time for life lessons like the one he gave Christian Standhardinger at Missouri? The one he gave Quincy Hankins-Cole for the first three league games?

He does if he has confidence that NU can turn the corner over the last two months, and get hot when the schedule gets a bit easier. Yori survived such a season last year, after all, in preparation for a glorious 2010. Danny Nee once survived a similar campaign in 1989, only to win 26 in 1990-91 when his best guys got healthy, and Eric Piatkowski started to play.

These Huskers - or Doc - shouldn’t harbor illusions about a NCAA Tournament run this year. It’s about getting better, building a resume, and creating chemistry. The pieces are there. If it takes two months to make them fit, so be it.

But Doc has to put those pieces on the floor from here on out.

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Winding down another recruiting season like the last turns of the Jack-In-The-Box crank - the music slowing to that 24-hour Pop! They call Signing Day before the recruitniks smush the Jack back into his box and crank for 2011 - and, inevitably, the talk turns to Bo Pelini’s methodology now, compared with that of methods past.

The recruiting styles of Bill Callahan and Frank Solich are fairly well known. Heck, they’d have to be: Solich was fired by Steve Pederson, in part, for his 2002 and 2003 recruiting classes, while Callahan built his reputation at NU - whatever you may think of it - on his recruiting acumen. Judging by Callahan’s excellent work with the New York Jets, we can see why: Given elite talent, Callahan suddenly springs into elite coaching.

Because recruiting rankings are harder to find - and, indeed, fewer recruiting services actually existed - there remains confusion, in my view, over the work of Tom Osborne. A myth, I suppose, that he collected ham-and-eggers for most of his long, illustrious career, kids with five hearts but only two stars. And Nebraskans! Almost solely Nebraskans!

Osborne won 250+ games, in other words, with the Hickory Huskers.

He did indeed collect his share of Nebraska kids, and built his offensive and defensive lines with guys like the Zatechkas, the Wiegerts, the Noonans, Terry Conneally, John Parrella, Erik Anderson, Frd Pollack, Dean Steinkuhler. Because of higher scholarship limits, he also had more to collect. There was better talent in Omaha and Lincoln, too, to recruit.

But Osborne and his crew did more than that. They employed a national search for some of NU’s best players. They returned to the same recruiting trees year after year to pluck new fruit. They spent scholarships and travel dollars looking for just the right quarterback - and often finding him. They hit Texas, California and Florida - but didn’t stop there.

Here’s a brief look and where Osborne and Co. went, and what they did. Not exhaustive by any means. But a glimpse. We start in 1980 and move through 1996 - Osborne’s most successful chunk of time, in which the Huskers played for six national titles and won three.

A national search for the right quarterback: You can take this trend back to Dennis Claridge, if you like, but Bob Devaney, and then Tom Osborne, always conducted national searches for signal-callers, drawing commitments from all over America. Some quarterbacks who played for Osborne came from local haunts - Gerry Gdowski, Craig Sundberg, Clete Blakeman, Scott Frost, by way of Stanford - but not very many. To wit (excluding the Eric Crouch/Bobby Newcombe class of 1997):

1980: Turner Gill, Ft. Worth.
1983: McCathorn Clayton, Orlando
1985: Steve Taylor, San Diego
1987: Mickey Joseph, New Orleans
1987: Keithen McCant, Grand Prairie, Texas
1988: Mike Grant, Brandon, Fla.
1991: Brook Berringer, Goodland, Kan.
1992: Tommie Frazier, Bradenton, Fla.
1995: Frankie London, Lake Charles, La.

Now look at that list. Three All-Americans. Four all-conference QBs. For any other team, Berringer probably would have been, too. The above list accounts for every start but one, 1990-1995. Recruiting rankings before a certain point are fuzzy, but we know Gill, Clayton, Taylor, Joseph, Grant, Frazier and London were right at the top of the anybody’s list.

What is Nebraska in early 1980s without Gill? What is NU in the late 1980s without Taylor? Take Frazier and Berringer away from those Huskers teams in the 1990s.

An elite quarterback - wherever you could find him - was always part of the equation.

That’s just the guys who consistently played. There are more than a half-dozen out-of-state scholarship guys over those years - Todd Gragnano, Matt Jones, Jeff Perino, Jeff Miller and Wendell Wooten among them - who never panned out. The point being this: NU spent a lot of scholarships, in-state and out-of-state, to find a quarterback. Nothing appeared to be as important.

Stomping grounds: Throughout the era of Osborne’s most success, he repeatedly returned to certain city centers for some of his best talent. Some of the highlights; we exclude Texas, California and Florida, for they’re a given for any top ten team in that era:

New Orleans: Neil Smith, Reggie Cooper, Joseph, Leroy Etienne, Tyrone Hughes, Jason Wiltz, Vincent Hawkins, Sedric Collins

Chicago: Nate Turner, Johnny Mitchell, Daren Williams, Trumane Bell, Ed Stewart, Marvin Sanders

New Jersey: Irving Fryar, Mike Rozier (found in NJ, and hidden at Coffeyville, Kan. JC for a year), the Peter Brothers, Doug Colman, Ernie Beler, Scott Baldwin, Troy Branch

Kansas City Metro: Neil Harris, Bruce Pickens, Chris Spachman, Lorenzo Hicks, Bryan Carpenter

Denver/Colorado Springs: Mike Knox, Marc Muncford, John Nichols, Rod Smith, David White, Brian Boerboom, Morgan Gregory, Tahaun Lewis

Wichita: Lawrence Pete, Jeff Smith, DeAngelo Evans

Pay closer attention to the final three. It’s been my contention that NU needs to superimpose an outline of the state of Texas, with Austin doubling as Lincoln, and make that the Huskers’ primary, six-state recruiting area. Own every major city within, oh eight hours, which stretches from Denver to St. Louis, Minneapolis to Wichita. If you want a player from that area - smile like you mean it.

This six-state region is packed with Husker alumni, high school coaches who followed the Big Red in the 1990s, and players who see NU’s red on a fairly regular basis. It includes Nebraska, but is hardly limited to that.

From a financial and historical point of view, NU is in a far better position to own the region vs. its Big 12 North competitors. As important as recruiting in Texas may be, Missouri’s recruiting class - ranked ahead of Nebraska for now - has nine kids from this aforementioned recruiting area.

A golden era in Omaha: I don’t know about the overall quality of football, but 1987-1997, Omaha produced a healthy number of top-shelf talent at skill positions - all scholarship players, all earning two letters or more - on top of offensive and defensive linemen recruited out of the area.

1987: Leodis Flowers, Omaha Central, George Achola, Prep
1990: Calvin Jones, Central
1991: Tony Veland, Omaha Benson, Clester Johnson, Bellevue West
1992: Damon Benning, Omaha Northwest, Clinton Childs, Omaha North
1993: Vershan Jackson, Omaha South, Lance Brown, Papillion
1995: Ahman Green, Central
1996: Willie Miller, Bellevue West, John Gibson, Papillion
1997: Eric Crouch, Millard North

Do you know how many scholarship skill players from the Omaha area have earned just one letter out of the previous five recruiting classes?

Niles Paul. That’s the list! Extend that list to 2003, and you only add two more players: Cortney Grixby and Tierre Green. That’s seven recruiting classes, and three contributing scholarship skill players from Omaha. And two of them played mostly on defense. Guys like Collins Okafor (2008) and CJ Zimmerer (2009) are seemingly well down the depth chart. Okafor already left NU once for a day.

Unless Nebraska makes a late, unlikely offer to Millard South’s Bronson Marsh, NU won’t have any scholarship players from Omaha in 2010.

What happened in the River City? Television happened. Video games. Stressed-out families. A disintegration of the city center. Benson, Northwest and South can’t field competitive football teams. Other sports go year-round, and rob football of its some of skill talent.

And some skill players? Nebraska just didn’t want them - or they didn’t want Nebraska. The Prater twins out of Central both went to Iowa. Millard North’s Adam Shada and Jeff Tarpinian both headed to Iowa, too. Omaha North quarterback Philip Bates went to Iowa State, then Ohio. Central quarterback Daryle Hawkins went to Oregon. Westside tight end Tim Biere starts at Kansas.

The point is: Osborne didn’t have this problem. Frank Solich not so much either. Callahan appeared to start a trend, or at least be witness to it, while Pelini definitely lives with it.

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“I thought Coach Osborne was very genuine. I knew he really cared about me as a person, even more than he did as a football player. Yes, he recognized me initially because of my football talents and all that, but I knew he cared about me deeply as a person. That means a lot to me.”

-- Turner Gill. Former Head Coach at Buffalo, and now the newest of the Big Twelve Head Coaches. Gill took the position of Head Coach at Kansas on Monday.

From “Beyond the Final Score” by Tom Osborne, 2009 published by Regal

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“Success, as far as I'm concerned, cannot be measured in terms of wins. It's more than winning. To make an effort to win in a manner that reflects well on the university. That has a positive effect on young people."

-- Tom Osborne, Athletic Director and Former Head Coach of the Nebraska Football team in his book, "More Than Winning."


Osborne retired from coaching in 1997 after 25 years as head coach, winning national championships in 1994, 1995, and 1997. His record was an amazing win/loss percentage of 255 wins, 49 losses, and three ties.

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I know, given Bo Pelini's connection to Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, that it's très gauche to even consider Texas coach Mack Brown as an optional template for success in the Big 12. After all, 2000-2004, Stoops owned the guy, winning five straight by an 38-11 average score. OU played for three national titles, and that visor might as well have been embossed in gold.

But Texas has now won four of the last five. It's UT poised to play for its second national title in five years.

Beyond that, Nebraska and Texas' programs share surprising recent histories one decade apart:

*UT's John Mackovic was an NFL coach who installed a pro offense, recruited well and pressed for better facilities. He won a single Big 12 title that eluded Bill Callahan, but was run out after a 4-7 collapse in 1997, which included a 66-13 loss to UCLA. Sound familiar?

*Brown won ten games in his first season, 1998, largely with the help of Ricky Williams. He played for the Big 12 crown in his second year, 1999. Sound familiar to Pelini's situation with Ndamukong Suh, and playing for the Big 12 crown in his second season?

*Upon his hiring, Brown immediately reached out to former players and former Texas legend Darrell K. Royal to help repair rifts between the program and its booster base. Sound familiar to Pelini and Tom Osborne?

Stoops is undoubtedly a terrific coach. Nobody argues this. His role at OU is to win football games, and if the bottom doesn't drop out on his starting QB like it did this year, he's quite efficient at doing it.

Brown's role is also, of course, to win. But he speaks for a certain culture, as well. Just like Bo does. Both are ambassadors for the game in their state. Texas tried it the other way after Royal retired. Nebraska, too. The job simply takes, at this point, a man willing to be a little iconic.

And although Bo uneasily wears that crown in public, he is a gifted, well-liked leader around the athletic department.

What can Bo learn from Mack? On the field, probably not much, although, one day, Pelini may choose to step back from the defensive coordinator role. But in terms of program-building and maintenance, here's four things Brown does that Bo can use in his own regime.

Mack gets out in front of potentially embarrassing stories as they break: Texas has had its share of miscreants through the years – who hasn't? - but Brown rarely tries to defuse a bomb that's already went off. He doesn't merely answer questions about disciplinary issues, he talks at length around them.

The best way to keep a prowling reporter at bay? Keep your lips moving. Brown defrays team distractions better than almost any coach.

Mack plays smart with the media - new and traditional - and uses it to his advantage: Bo may not love it – but he'll learn to manipulate it. The personal Web site is a good start. Now he has to invest more time and interest in his weekly football show – after a rough start to this year, he's getting livelier – and continue conducting air hangar tours of the state each summer.

Brown's too much of a glad-hander, we agree. He shopped Colt McCoy around to just about any media outlet that would interview him this summer, which ratcheted the pressure so high on the senior that he tried much too hard through the first month of the season. Bo doesn't have to do that. But, with time, he can learn to lobby for his team in the polls and for bowl games and become a pillar of the Big 12 North to combat the strong personalities in the South.

"Bo" can and should be a brand in Nebraska.

Texas locks up the best local prospects: UT's spring Junior Day is becoming legendary for Brown's ability to get commitments the minute he asks for them on campus. The Longhorns apply a bit of pressure, true – and that's not Pelini's way.

But do this: Superimpose the state of Texas onto Nebraska, with Lincoln and Austin matching up. You'll find the area reaches from Kansas City to Denver, from Wichita to South Dakota, spilling into parts of Iowa and Wyoming. NU should continue to gobble up some of UT's leftovers from Texas, absolutely. But it needs to own its local recruiting area with aggressive recruiting right after Signing Day. If Texas doesn't lose many recruits to A&M, Baylor, Tech or even Oklahoma, then Nebraska shouldn't lose anybody it wants in that seven-state region. Period. There isn't one Big 12 North program with the prestige, tradition, facilities or cachet of NU.

Mack uses a lot of names: This is an old-as-time-yet-effective tool for gaining positive momentum and linking the past to the present. Many of the great coaches – including Tom Osborne – just know how to do it. Brown personalizes almost everything. He says the names of reporters when they ask questions. He often sprinkles in anecdotes about former UT players and coaches in press conferences – he did so Monday by mentioning Vince Young's 99-yard game-winning drive for the Tennessee Titans on Sunday – and he knows the names of opposing players and coaches, as well.

Osborne has a similar “everybody's friends here” vibe about his public appearances. It's something that his successors, Frank Solich and Bill Callahan, lacked.

See also: Big 12 Postseason Awards, 10 Unforgettable NU-UT Moments, Big 12 Rankings, Bowl Watch, Onward to DFW, Huskers Giving Back and [url=http://www.huskerlocker.com/blogs/view/bid/2363/i/podcast

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The swift, sad decline of Kansas head coach Mark Mangino is more than just another tawdry tale of a coach who prodded, poked and pushed the wrong football players in his seven-year tenure at KU. And it's about much more than merely his weight.

The investigation into Mangino's behavior – and his presumed firing, the way he's hacking away at former players and their parents (and the way they're hacking away at him) - is a cautionary tale that deserves a little perspective. A little tough talk, as I'm sure Mangino would term it.

The recap is this: Mangino is like hundreds of college coaches in every division, in every sport, of both genders, and all ages: He uses words – apparently cruel ones – to get the attention of his players. The physical stuff – what little of it there is in this case – is merely a logical extension of his verbal abuse. You don't arrive in someone's face, after all, by silence service.

Mangino threatens. He cajoles. He curses. He brays. He molds like a punk-rock potter would handle bricks of mud and hay. Maybe you've played for a man or woman like this. Maybe you know someone. Maybe you are that person.

Like most angry people, Mangino blames the whistle-blowers - the outspoken players, some of whom were quite good at KU – for bitterness. He blames their parents for failing their children before they arrived on Mangino's doorstep. Never mind that Mangino readily admitted, at the Big 12 Media Days, to recruiting “tough” kids with an “edge,” which means he's fully aware – and always has been – of the risks his style involved. You can't offer Pandora a full-ride scholarship and expect her box to come with a chastity belt.

But, in the face of allegations, Mangino's sheer refusal to admit any wrong – legal tactic? – and unequivocally blameshift deserves a strong rebuttal that, again, goes for any Big 12 coach – Nebraska's included – who may indulge such notions.

Sure, kids have changed. Parents have changed. The money has changed. The scrutiny has changed. Most importantly, athletic directors have changed. They're businessmen. They raise money, press hands and kiss the feet of rich boosters. When you move and sit in the worlds of men and women who barely lift an eyebrow to summon a phalanx of aides to their side, you learn to loathe the cajoler. The world is a colder place for the domineer. Fewer willing souls to dominate.

But, you know, some things haven't changed. Namely: People rarely forget a personal slight or insult. And parents never forget the insults levied at their children. What – you think one imperfect man's notion of “character-building” can ultimately get in the way of blood? Child, please. Since when? On which day? In which sliver of a minute in an hour?

That time, to a rational person, does not exist. But a coach – or any leader with great responsibility – is not always rational. Primordial forces and all that. Delusions – of grandeur, of whatever – are reasonably necessary in college sports. You have to be a little mad – figuratively (and doubly so!) - to drive a bunch of kids toward a championship. Madness lends itself to audacity, audacity to conscience-crossing cruelty. Ever stepped outside yourself in your worst, most rage-filled moment? Did you ever just know it was gonna hurt the intended target in a personal way? The id running amok.

You think of military/political leaders, best to worst. Admired to reviled. But the line between Hannibal and, oh, Nero is thin, practically indistinct, even as their legacies are magnified in opposite directions amidst historians. In their own days, both struck their chords in Rome. The first was exiled, the latter, a suicide case. History's master strategist and decadent fool both arrived at the same port of life.

Their other bond was, according to most historical records, a shared taste for cruelty.

I think some coaches walk around presuming their victories and rare compliments make up for the hours and hours in which they've run down some kid for running out of bounds, or making a bust on a play.

In the short term, sure, OK, maybe. The burning current underneath? That's not how human nature works. There's a reason Solomon writes so many Biblical verses about the proper use of your yap.

Here's a lovely lesson from Proverbs 25:28: “A man without self control is like a city broken into and left without walls.”

In the long run: Negative Reinforcement. Does. Not. Work. Anger. Does. Not. Work. It doesn't. Write it on a chalkboard 1,000 times. If, as a coach, you don't negate that prospect of fear with heavier doses of love and encouragement, the chain of success will always – always! - break down.

Maybe not in the first generation of players. Maybe not in a coach's entire career. But it will somewhere. In families. In the workplace. Rage, contempt and plain old-fashioned pissiness is the root of so many basic-now-endemic American problems. It threatens to ruin our political system, for one thing. The next smile I see from a politician on TV that isn't rueful, gloating, sarcastic or masking ideologue rage will be the first in some time.

Some coaches think their stentorian bellow is, I dunno, something to behold. They think their constant display of anger is almost virtuous, and reflective of their desire, their passion, their competitiveness. Mangino seems like a smart enough man to have considered all of that, and a driven enough man to thought through none of it. Like a lot of blue collar folks, Mangino seemed only to glance at his methods for fear of losing the ferocity of vision it takes to win. That he rationalizes it with the Brooklyn Bridge analogy – the rest of the Big 12 does it, why not me? - strikes me as a clumsy ex-post facto gambit that isn't true anyhow.

It is not unlike, you see, the “bitter” player, blaming his parents, or his peers, for his own disobedience.

The larger lesson is that we're not merely wise to those indiscretions and departures from consistency – we're willing to tap into our personal offense at them. Woody Hayes was once literally allowed to punch his way out of his profession. And he was, in many ways, a brave and innovative man. Patton was used as a decoy in the latter stages of World War II for indulging in a pointless slap. Mangino, a gifted mind who truly gave the Brothers Pelini fits last Saturday – the only coach to slow the tide of NU's pass rush all year – is bound to a lesser legacy than his talent deserves far before it reached a critical mass.

All for what? Some sharp words that Mangino's long forgotten – but his targets have not?

You look at a man like Tom Osborne. How he did it. How he managed above that fray of chaos and insult. Oh, he made his share of poor decisions - I'm sure, every so often, he'd like to take back the phrase “that girl” - but he had a courtliness about him. Still does. Greatness does not require a rough tongue. There is such a thing as righteous anger, if you're slow it. No such thing as righteous vulgarity.

Of course, it is natural to consider Bo Pelini. No shrinking violet there, right? And the cameras don't lie as to how he acts on the sideline. His berating of assistants and officials is already tiresome and due for an offseason overhaul.

But Pelini enjoys some crucial advantages, too. By all accounts, he relates quite well to his players. He knows how to joke with them – even in brief moments at press conferences – and earn their confidence. Based on every anecdote we've ever heard, he's good with their parents, too. Part of it is a relatively low-pressure recruiting process.

And Pelini is an athlete. Still. He's a runner. He played and knows basketball and baseball. His exultation after the Oklahoma win was a bonding moment in itself – even though he was connecting with the fans, and few players were around. Mangino, because of his size, must struggle to even hug his players after a big win.

Football is rough trade. No coach tiptoes his way the minefield every hour/day/week/year. The bigger question: Has the program invested in love? Not just workmanlike respect. But a bond greater than that.

As more allegations of Mangino's players emerge, this much is clear: They might have enjoyed the taste of winning, but they lacked a heart for the program. Loyalty is born in those positive emotions. And the coach has to plant the seeds. As lovely as it may have looked in 2007, Mangino's garden, sadly, was one of cultivated weeds waiting to poison their own soil.

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It was halftime of the Missouri game, and Nebraska had just laid a scoreboard egg. As NU offensive coordinator Shawn Watson left the coaching press box, Tom Osborne wanted a word.

“Remember,” Osborne said, “You have that route.”

The “route” to which Osborne referred was actually a concept: A hook pattern by a slot receiver, with the primary receiver running a deep post behind it. Osborne – and Watson – had noticed in film study that Mizzou safeties would sit on certain short routes, exposing the corner to one-on-one coverage downfield.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Watson dialed up the play, and it opened up beautifully. The Missouri safety chased the short route. Niles Paul beat his corner inside. Zac Lee hit Paul in stride for a 54-yard touchdown.

“(Osborne's) box is up by ours,” Watson said. “Every so often, he'll offer advice.”

And you thought it was a rumor.

Turns out that, yes, Virginia, there is an Ozfather.

***

It's a role fit for Brando, were he taller, thinner and still alive. Maybe Clint Eastwood could fill in. You hate inject more saccharine than necessary, but – dadgummit! – if this isn't an interesting story.

We caught a sliver of the tale Saturday when Watson revealed that some of the plays in Nebraska's 31-17 win over Kansas – notably the 37-yard option pass – were from the Osborne vault. So, too, were some of the option runs and power plays in the 10-3 win over Oklahoma.

But it's the way Osborne did it, casually dropping off some film for Watson to peruse, that adds to the mystique of it.

“He left it for us to find,” Watson said. Which, of course, they did.

Could it really be that elegant? Can the spirit of one of the best offensive minds in college football history simply waft off a page of notes, twinkle like a speck of dust in the afternoon light?

Osborne makes no real attempt to hide himself. He's around, a fixture at practices of many sports. I sense he likes to watch coaches in their element – because that's his element. Practice is where teams are born. Practice is where Osborne built a venerable Varyag of a squad, complete with two scout units that prepared twice-as-many players for gameday.

After football practice these days, he smiles as he walks by reporters. Often says hello. Holds doors, waves and moseys out. Some days he's in his trademark red blazer. On Tuesday he was decked in winter wear – a coat and sweatpants. He'd been outside, obviously, on the practice field.

What is his true level of input? Watson and head coach Bo Pelini seem to suggest that Osborne's touch is so light that it barely makes an imprint.

“He has a unique way of doing things in such a way that believe me, he makes it real clear to me that, hey it’s your job, you have to run your team the way you have to run it,” Pelini said. “If anything I wish he would speak up more. He’s not overbearing about anything he does.”

And yet, in the next sentence, Pelini – fully aware of the implication of his statement - said: “He talks to me like my father used to talk to me.”

Supportive. But corrective.

“He’s willing to give his opinion and be real black and white, and say, 'Hey I think this is something you need to fix,' or 'I like how you did this, but this is something you should probably think about working on,'” Pelini said.

It goes without saying that there isn't one athletic director in college football anything like the Ozfather.

Like Somerset said at the end “Seven:” “Around. I'll be around.” And so Osborne is, popping his head into Bo's office when time allows.

“He’ll look at the game tape,” Pelini said. “There are always going to be some Xs and Os things that he thinks could help. I’ll just run some things by him - 'In this situation, what do you think? Punting the football or going for it on fourth down?' The dialogue kind of happens pretty continuously.”

Some Husker fans – a small faction, but vocal – bristle at the image. They think Osborne wields too much influence. They suggest he helped shape Bo's offensive coaching staff. That he pushes for Bo to offer scholarships to in-state kids who aren't worthy of them. That he wants to restore the walk-on program back to a level that no longer is useful.

The landscape has changed, they argue. A well-meaning Osborne is still inserting himself where Bo should assert his leadership. Instead of Osborne acting as paterfamilias, Bo should be the one with the vision for the offense, and he should make Watson adhere to it.

If only life were as simple as it looks, in these human equations we always tend to figure out in our heads.

The flip side is a more compelling argument. Pelini's not a finished product as a coach. He admits as much, of course, but he's better off, right now, growing into the role with Osborne as a net, especially in some of the intangible areas – media, community relations, cultivating a positive sideline image with referees, assistants and players.

One can argue, if they choose to wade into deep water, Osborne's methodology when it comes to winning football games. They can argue with some of his personnel decisions during his coaching tenure.

But the intangible stuff – what made Osborne so likable amongst his peers – probably won him the parting gift of a split national title in 1997.

And I don't see any Husker fans handing back that trophy.

Win Two Free Tickets to NU's Last Home Game of the Year!

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“The fans used to think Oklahoma was the enemy. They actually made us better.”

-- former Nebraska Head Coach, now AD Tom Osborne.


"Early in my coaching career we lost five straight times to Oklahoma which did not go over very well in Nebraska. But I can say each time we lost we learned a lot, we became a better team. We lost seven straight bowl games at one point and I think each one of those losses was very instructional. So sometimes losing can be the most important thing that happens to you. It depends on how you react to it."

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Vince Gill and Warren Buffett teamed up to support the TeamMates Mentoring Program on Friday, October 16th. The duo entertained a crowd of more than 1200 during an interview moderated by local celebrity Mary Maxwell. Gill wowed the crowd by performing Amy and What You Give Away. Gill is a twenty-time Grammy Award winner and eighteen-time Country Music Association Award winner. Buffett is an investor, businessman and philanthropist. He is regarded as one of the world’s greatest stock market investors and is the largest shareholder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.


Honorary Chairmen Cindy and Mogens Bay helped raise over $550,000 to support the 4,000 mentor/mentee matches in the TeamMates Mentoring Program. Bay is Chairmen and CEO of Valmont Industries, Inc. Event Co-Chairs Lisa and Terry Connealy and a committee of over 30 former players and volunteers organized the event. Next year’s TeamMates Tailgate is scheduled for Friday, October 29, 2010 at the Embassy Suites La-Vista.


The TeamMates Mentoring Program was founded in 1991 by Dr. Tom and Nancy Osborne. TeamMates is a school based mentoring program that matches adult volunteers from the community with students in grades four through twelve. Mentors meet one hour per week to provide support and encouragement to school aged youth. The goal of the program is to see youth graduate from high school and pursue post-secondary education. The TeamMates Mentoring Program serves over 4,000 youth in 114 communities across Nebraska and Iowa.


To become a mentor or to support the TeamMates Mentoring Program, go to

www.teammates.org

or call 1-877-531-TEAM.

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Our first Husker Locker giveaway went over so well - we're back for more!

We're giving out two prizes this week, too! The first is a copy of Tom Osborne's latest book, Beyond The Final Score. The second is another set of 300th sellout glasses.

Both are FREE!

There are, again, 2 ways to win:

1. Now that hunting season is here - Huskers and hunting go well together - we will randomly give ONE of the prizes to any member who comments below on a memory of hunting, fishing or just being outdoors (working on the farm, etc) while the Huskers are playing on the TV or radio in the background!

2. We will give ONE prize to a random Husker Locker member who:

a. Follows HuskerLocker on Twitter

b. Retweets the following message:

RT @HuskerLocker: RT to Win FREE Osborne Book...http://bit.ly/1vnCr6

We will pick the winners at random and announce them Wednesday at noon! Have at it, Husker fans!

If you're not a member of Husker Locker and want to join the contest, click here! It is FREE to join!

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Country Music star Vince Gill and Omaha investor Warren Buffett will celebrate the mentors and musical influences in their lives at the TeamMates Tailgate scheduled for Friday, October 16, 6 p.m. at the Embassy Suites in LaVista.


Gill is a twenty time Grammy Award winner and eighteen time Country Music Association Award winner. Buffett is an investor, businessman and philanthropist. He is regarded as one of the world’s greatest stock market investors and is the largest shareholder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.


Honorary Chairmen, Cindy and Mogens Bay will Join Tom and Nancy Osborne, co-founders of the TeamMates Mentoring Program, at the event. Bay is Chairmen and CEO of Valmont Industries, Inc. Terry and Lisa Connealy are event co-chairs and Mary Maxwell will emcee the event.


“Nancy and I are looking forward to a great event that will benefit youth by supporting the TeamMates Mentoring program,” said Osborne. “I just hope they don’t ask me to sing – that would be a bad call.”


The TeamMates Mentoring Program was founded in 1991 by Dr. Tom and Nancy Osborne. TeamMates is a school based, one-to-one mentoring program that matches adult volunteers from the community with students to provide support and encouragement. The goal of the program is to help youth graduate from high school and pursue post-secondary education. The TeamMates Mentoring Program serves more than 4,000 youth in 112 communities across Nebraska and Iowa.


To reserve seats or for sponsorship information contact Gayle Norris at 1-877-531-8326.


For more information, contact: Suzanne Hince, Executive Director, TeamMates Mentoring Program, 402-323-6252

shince@teammates.org

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Join Husker Locker today - it's free!

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Yes, 300 consecutive sellouts is an impressive thing.

“They’ve sold out every game since my mom was born,” Nebraska center Jacob Hickman said.

It’s the state’s trademark, for better or worse, one that’s soothed a family farm crisis in the 1980s, water battles on the Republican River, brain drain and bright flight, immigration raids, 9/11, the meth nightmare, Whiteclay, West Nile, Lawrence Phillips, the firing of Frank Solich, Bill Callahan, Steve Pederson, the rising tide of troubling violence in Omaha and a political culture that, even in this populist land, is getting more toxic by the day.

"Even with a certain degree of excellence on the field," athletic director Tom Osborne said, "it’s still kind of unthinkable that people come through all kinds of weather, and ups and downs, to be here every week…there’s no question that whatever success we’ve had here is due in large part to their faithfulness and loyalty and their devotion to the football program."

Through every bit of that pain, we’ve sought glory and community in Memorial Stadium, a handful of times in the fall. And rarely has it failed us.

Will the time come when we fail it?

Maybe. You hope not. The college football fan base, even at Nebraska, is changing for worse. And, yes, I put the responsibility on the fans themselves, not ESPN, not “the times,” not “the world we live in.” For, after all, it’s we who live in that world. The world doesn’t make us. We make it.

Nebraska fans are still among the best and most gracious in America, but we worry too much about what ESPN says, or whether we’re keeping up with Texas, Oklahoma, Florida and USC. We only think Pederson planted that seed in our brains. Truth is, he got it from somewhere, some of NU’s boosters, quite frankly, and the assorted cognoscenti out there who equate their own business acumen with understanding an enduring human culture. Winning made Nebraskans restless. And the way Nebraska won, too. Then again, a lot of Americans were restless in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It was a strange time, triumphant and tragic, private and public, with the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal, the 2000 election and 9/11 as its centerpieces.

Do we worry too much about winning? Yeah, we do. It’s probably always been that way to some extent – I’m not one to carelessly look back on mythic “golden days” – but the influx of money and attention into college athletics has turned every weekend into a pressure cooker, a do-or-die, what-have-you-done-for-me-lately atmosphere where heroes and villains change outfits on a weekly basis.

That’s a nice line for TV ratings, but, to be a little crass: Who gives a rip about TV ratings? Or ESPN? Or Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, USC, Miami, Missouri, Ohio State or Michigan. Or maybe the better question is: Why do we give a rip about those things? Did it ever define the culture here? Do you walk down Stadium Drive before a game, feeling the warm embrace of TV waves emanating around you? Do we feel lonely or something, hoping for the affirmation of a celebrity like Kirk Herbstreit, who, after years of loathing the Huskers, openly scoffing at their history, suddenly is in their corner because his former teammate is the head coach?

A 24-hour news cycle – which, again, didn’t simply “come into being,” but arose with our tacit assent – peppers us with questions, thoughts and shivs in logic. The daily media assault on NU’s program is…interesting, to say the least. I can’t say I’m not a part of it, but the sheer number of stories and angles being churned out of fall camp and practice – there is no stone left unturned. If there is, trust us – some fan on the Internet is all over it.

“There’s so much more expectation, there’s so much more criticism of these kids,” said Dennis Claridge, NU’s quarterback in 1962, when the sellout streak began. “You’ve got to remember their age. It’s a big step up. They were all stars in high school and now you come here, they’re aware from home, they’re competing for a position against great players, there’s enough stress on them already.”

What have we allowed the Web to make us? Creatures without a moment of reflection. Like Bo Pelini after the Virginia Tech game, we wear whatever raw emotion is within us. Whatever frustration in our life – it comes out on the Internet. The online fights I see between Husker fans! What are they about? Anger, really. Personal anger. It just gets projected onto the football team. It’s easier to type rage than it is handwrite or speak it. Rage seems simpler in courier and arial fonts, although some among us are becomingly alarmingly casual with loose tongues.

I hear them, sometimes, at games. Where are they learning it? Their parents. TV. Radio. From people paid to piss them off, to deliver a black/white version of the world that sells ads. Some of whom don’t appreciate the game of football –its meaning, its culture - for a half-second. Getting suckered into that is an active choice, when you take it to the football stadium.

If this seems like a sour column in light of NU’s achievement, think of it, instead, as sobering. Older generations of fans brought us to this point by staying committed and positive. Even in some tough years. Most of them weren’t “lean,” exactly, but the Huskers have endured their share of tough, ugly losses. Each home game, they’d come back, hopeful. And the fans next to them rarely let them down.

One of the things I enjoy doing most in this job is our 50 Husker Fans, 50 States series, where we talk to fans who get to Memorial Stadium once a year, at best, and maybe only a couple times in their lifetime. And it’s the (extra)ordinary stories they tell that truly reveal the magic of our shared culture. It’s really nothing more than bonding over a football team. But that bond – that’s the stuff of life. It lasts longer than a TV show.

Petty things, like who stands to cheer and who doesn’t, or whether the students have good enough seats, need to be set aside on game day. Memorial Stadium was never about being vicious, a Temple of Doom from the Indiana Jones movies. Rather, the place is a warm spirit the color of its sea of fans. Remember that.

“When you’ve been other places as I have,” Pelini said, “and you’ve been around the country, the visiting people who come into this stadium and the respect that people walk out of here with our fan base, it something that really touches people that come in here. It’s something to be proud of.

“Opposing teams, opposing coaches say ‘Wow, it’s different here than anywhere else.’”

Said Osborne: "It’s a place where you feel comfortable bringing your children, your grandparents, whoever. You don’t have to be nasty, you don’t have to be ugly, to be good. Sometimes that gets lost in our culture today."

Don't let it get lost here.

Husker fans should give themselves a nice pat on the back for 300 sellouts. And a gentle talking-to for 300 more.

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“I thought Coach Osborne was very genuine. I knew he really cared about me as a person, even more than he did as a football player. Yes, he recognized me initially because of my football talents and all that, but I knew he cared about me deeply as a person. That means a lot to me.” -- Turner Gill

From “Beyond the Final Score” by Tom Osborne, 2009 published by Regal

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Several different times during what was supposed to be a brief press conference Tuesday on his new book, “Beyond the Final Score” Tom Osborne tried to wrap up the media’s questions. He even once said “I don’t want to wear this out.”

But the questions just kept coming. Thoughts on a college football playoff? Your worries before a first game? Your take on the 1984 Orange Bowl, just one more time?

And Osborne, the natural Nebraska gentleman, offered his opinion, wading into the subject hesitantly before delivering a solid, grounded take. You may agree, and you may not – Osborne, in the view of many, is dead wrong in his opposition to a college football playoff – but his stances are so easily assumed, and offered so affably, that, well, it’s just pleasant to listen to.

It’s what the man does well. And it’s precisely what Nebraskans want to hear.

“Beyond the Final Score” contains more of Osborne’s calm-headed philosophies on life, teaching and football – we’ll have a proper review up in the coming days – and specifically, how he grappled with Washington as a Congressman, dealt with defeat in the 2006 Nebraska Gubernatorial Primary, and returned to NU’s athletic department to clean up a mess of low morale and shark-like, corporate leadership.

“Hopefully it’s non-fiction,” Osborne joked. He added that former Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer used to call beat reporters “fiction writers.”

“I never made that accusation,” Osborne said.

And nothing he writes in “Beyond the Final Score” ever rises to an accusatory tone. But, just like when he fired Bill Callahan at the end of the 2007 season, Osborne doesn’t pull too many punches, either. No cheap shots. But some direct blows.

NU’s athletic department under Steve Pederson “did some good things,” - facility improvement, budget tightening – but when UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman chose to dump Pederson (just months after he gave him a big, fat raise, you’ll recall) and hire Osborne, the coach returned to a department where “mental health professionals” had been brought in counsel employees in stress management.

“I was a little bit alarmed,” Osborne said. “There were some pretty good people who told me they were planning to quit…I began to realize that people were serious about this, that there was quite a bit of stress. From that, I began to get the idea we needed to get things changed around a little bit.”

So out went Pederson’s corporate consultant, who vetted emails and acted as a shield between Pederson and the rest of the staff. The consultant’s job, Osborne said, had been to dial up department expectations and productivity to their ceiling.

Who knows what that would look like for the night security guard, or the travel agent, on a daily basis, but Pederson, drunk on some economic model that flat-lined in the Wall Street crunch, apparently thought it prudent.

“Eventually you get painted into a corner where there’s not much more you can do,” Osborne said. “I think some people had reached that point. They were at loose ends at what they might do to hit higher goals.”

So, in its place, a mission statement, based on five core values, that the department itself wrote. Osborne invited every employee, in groups of five, six or seven, into his office for a meeting.

“Most of them had never been in that office before,” he said. “If nothing else, they appreciated that.”

Osborne, a student of politics, replaced a bizarre autocracy (doomed to fail, eventually, and even more dramatically than it did) with a direct democracy. Town hall Huskers, you know?

“When you get a lot of buy-in, a lot of ownership, you’re more apt to make it work,” Osborne said.

It’s not so easy on Capitol Hill, where grievances are deep, the partisanship is fierce and the memories are long, long, long. “Beyond the Final Score” finds Osborne talking to fellow Republicans remembering slights from Democrats across the aisle that happened 30 years ago.

“All I could think,” Osborne wrote, “when I heard these recitations of past injuries, was that someone sometime must break the cycle of retribution and animosity.”

Most coaches wouldn’t write that. Most of them wouldn’t think it. Maybe Bobby Bowden, although who knows what he’s been doing at Florida State the last seven years, letting the program slide into the abyss on the back of academic fraud, player gambling and other nonsense. Maybe Coach K at Duke. Maybe Phil Jackson, in a lucid moment.

But not many. Not many are good at hitting reverse on their mental engine, or saying no to an opportunity of advancement, even when it’s not the right one.

Osborne was never offered the Secretary of Agriculture position by then-President Bush, but he had the distinct impression that “I might have been the first person” Bush advisor Karl Rove called. Rove called a lot of Nebraskans, and got then-Nebraska Gov. Mike Johanns to accept the offer, which in turn set in motion Osborne’s failed bid for governor.

Back to the Ag position. Osborne balked because he knew it’d be a strain on his wife, Nancy, in terms of time and commitment, but, of course, what he’s doing now is a strain, isn’t it? More to the point: Osborne’s conscience just didn’t have room for it.

“When you’re in the cabinet, you’re pretty much at the discretion of the president,” Osborne said, referring to the Congressional Farm Bill that was introduced and eventually passed in 2008. “I was expected to carry the ball, the party line, and I knew there’d probably be some things I probably didn’t agree with.

“So I’d be hamstrung. You want to be loyal to the administration and at the same time let people know what you really believe and what you want and what you see is best for rural America.”

His vision for NU remains intact, and his own.

See also: The Big 12...One Division?

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"Celebrity is only important in how you use it—whether you use it to help people or not. Tom did that. He could have endorsed a football shoe or something and made more money, but he chose to do something with his celebrity that would make a difference in the lives of people.” -- Warren Buffett


Praise for “Beyond the Final Score” by Tom Osborne, 2009 published by Regal

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The next in our series of 50 Husker Fans, 50 States comes us to via Wade Landman, who grew up in Jackson, Mississippi, and yet has been a Big Red fan all of his life!

Known as 0510914D on our site, Wade brings a tale of what it really means to be a Nebraskan, and how it’s about a spirit, and not just where you live. It’s about fathers and sons, integrity, a team attitude and appreciating the leaders of the program, like Tom Osborne. We think you’ll enjoy his moving comments as much as we did.

And remember: If you want to be a part of the fun, or know someone who might be, just email us at sam@ne.statepaper.com , and we’ll shoot out the questions – leave the Big Red light on for you.

Go Big Red!

Q: Tell us a little of your personal history as a Husker fan. Were you born into the Big Red Nation? Did you attend school there? Just decided to follow the program from afar? Did you grow up in Nebraska? How did you get to living where you are today?

A: My late father was a graduate of the University of Nebraska so yes, I was born into Big Red Nation. I did not attend school there as I was born and raised in Mississippi, and at 18 years old out of high school it was a bit too far away from home for my comfort zone. But because of my dad I grew up watching the Huskers and being a huge fan. He was so passionate about it and about the work ethic and the quality of the people in Nebraska, especially Tom Osborne. With those kinds of things being instilled in me at such an early age, it was absolutely impossible not to be a huge Nebraska football and Tom Osborne fan. It's a little like being born into the mafia. The difference is, you stay because you want to.

How hard, or easy, is it to follow the Huskers from where you live? Do you watch the games at home? Listen on the radio? Use the internet? Is there a “watch site” in town you like to frequent? Also: How many Husker fans are there in your area?

I was born in 1970 and up until about the early 90s we didn't get too many Nebraska games on TV in our area. In fact, the typical weekend consisted of about 3-5 games on TV and I guess that was pretty much the way it was with the whole country at the time. We have come along way since then haven't we? Now, everyone all over the country can literally watch college football games from morning to midnight. I watch all the games that are on and if it is a pay-per view game I buy it every time as I am currently batting 1.000 on those. There are three this year and I will again be buying all of them. I can't wait!

I can remember back in the early 1980's when Huskers Illustrated magazine was this little tiny thing about the size of a TV guide. Back then, with no internet, that was the only information we could get on the Huskers and when it arrived I read it cover to cover without putting it down. Unfortunately, we don't have any watch sites in the Jackson, Mississippi area that I am aware of. As far as the number of fans in my area goes I would say it's miniscule but the few who see my license plate frame always honk and acknowledge their fellow Big Red faithful.

How often do you get back for games? What’s the last game you’ve been to? How has the Husker experience changed over the years? Will Nebraska be playing a game in your area any time soon?

The last time I saw a game in Lincoln was the Pigskin Classic against TCU in 2001. It was the first time my wife had ever been to Lincoln and while not a sports fan, she really enjoyed herself at the game. How could she not? It's Nebraska and there's no place like Nebraska! The last game I went to was when we played Southern Mississippi in Hattiesbur. I'd have to say that's probably the smallest stadium Nebraska has ever played in but it was great for me as that is only about 90 minutes from where I live. We are not scheduled to play a game in my area anytime too soon, unfortunately!

What’s the predominant college or pro team in your area? How is that fan base similar or different to Nebraska’s fan base? Hear a lot of trash talk about the Big 12, or anything like that? Give us an example of how Nebraska fans might be the same or different from some of the fans in your area.

Well, there are 3 Division I (sorry, I'm a traditionalist) schools in Mississippi which are Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Southern Mississippi, so fans are spread out among those as well as a smattering of fans from other SEC schools like LSU, Georgia, Auburn, Alabama and a few Florida State and Texas fans as well. The closest pro team that fans identify with and have for years is the New Orleans Saints.

In my opinion, the fan base of any one of the three universities here is nothing like the Nebraska fan base at all. In fact, there simply isn't a fan base anywhere in the country that is similar to Nebraska's. I don't say that because the fans are so much better, although they are in many, many cases but rather because the saying, "there's no place like Nebraska," is true. Its uniqueness is in the fact that it's the only Division school in the entire state and therefore, the population is not splintered into different fan bases for different teams fighting for supremacy over the same territory.

I do hear some trash talk about the Big 12 because that's just SEC fan for you but for the most part, they realize that pretty much year in and year out, the two best conferences are the SEC and the Big 12. Also, when they realize I am a Nebraska fan they don't say too much because despite our recent struggles, they remember all too well how Nebraska beat their league’s elite regularly in bowl games.

As far as an example of how NU fans might be the same or different from some of the fans in my area I would have to say that it's just an entirely different dynamic altogether. Where I'm from the fans spend a lot of their time arguing amongst themselves over stupid things and making baseless predictions about the upcoming year. They simply don't comprehend that the people of Nebraska live and die with the Huskers and that the morale of pretty much an entire state is dependent on the performance of a football team. Not necessarily whether they win or lose, although we do much prefer to win, but rather on whether or not the team plays with the kind of effort, grit, heart, determination and perseverance that makes up the majority of the population in the state. Therein lies the difference. NU fans look out onto the field and see an extension of themselves, a kind of extended family, and they want that part of their family to play in a way that represents them honorably, win or lose. The fans in my area and really, any other part of the country, look out onto the field and they see 70-80 kids, strangers who are there to entertain them for a few hours and if they lose they would just as soon cuss them as anything. There's no comparison!
What’s one or two unique things about where you live? What makes it stand apart from other places?

Well, if you like fried food you are in the right place and we have some of if not the most beautiful women in the country. If anyone reading this has never been to an Ole Miss game in Oxford, you need to go one time. Go tailgate in the Grove and you will see more gorgeous women in 2-3 hours before the game than you will for the rest of the year. I guarantee you that! Just ask the guys on the College Gameday crew, they know exactly what I'm talking about.

Give us one or two of your favorite Husker memories. They can be from any time period.

Well, I can remember going to the NU vs. WSU game in Lincoln with my dad during the 1995 season, a 35-21 Husker victory in which a freshman by the name of Ahman Green happened to have a pretty darn good game. For me this was really special because despite being 24 years old at the time, I had never been to a game in Lincoln before. My dad was ill with cancer and here we were together watching our beloved team in person. It was the greatest experience in the world and I was really glad we got to do that as he would pass away less than two years later.

Another thing that I'll never forget goes back to the 1994 season. It was the night of the national championship game in Miami and dad was sick and I went over to the house to watch the game with him. Early in the third quarter we both started kind of getting that sinking feeling of, here we go again syndrome, when Miami made it 17-7 with a TD. When it was all over and Nebraska had finally done it for Osborne (although we got robbed the year before by the officials against FSU) I saw my dad's eyes tear up and I didn't even need to say anything. Although he was extremely happy that NU had just won the title, those tears were for Tom Osborne, a man he had never met, yet loved and admired so much so that his success meant that much to him. My dad got to see the back to back titles and I am eternally grateful for that. Unfortunately, he didn't make it for the 1997 championship. I miss him a lot, but during football season, when I'm watching the game and I'm jumping around cheering by myself, I know he's there with me. I know he's saving me a good seat up in heaven because we are definitely going to all of the games then.

Besides Husker football, what other Husker sports do you like to follow? How do you follow them?

I enjoy the men’s basketball team, especially now that Doc Sadler is the coach and it's much more exciting to watch. I think he's going to do good things at Nebraska. I don't really follow college baseball too much, but I keep up with how they are doing as well as the women’s volleyball team.

Feel free to add anything you like. It can be a story, an anecdote, a saying, or a simple “Go Big Red!”

I got to meet Osborne one time in Jackson, of all places. He was there to speak at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes luncheon and this was shortly after my father had passed away. I got in line and waited to shake his hand. I didn't realize that he was a much more physically imposing person than what you imagine just seeing him on TV or from afar. Big hands, a firm shake, and warm smile with what seemed like the most sincere, genuine eyes I had ever looked into. I got to tell him about my father and his reaction to the end of that Miami game, how much it meant to him that Osborne had gotten the championships and had the success that he deserved. It was interesting because even though I had never met the man before, it felt like I had known him all my life.

To this day, it still bothers me how the media and fans of other schools threw him under the bus for the way he handled the Lawrence Phillips situation. I know he is a Christian man and did what he thought was right and in the best interest of a young man’s future. It was not about personal gain but that was the way it was portrayed of course. I think the team pretty much proved during the six games he was suspended that they didn't need Lawrence Phillips, Lawrence Phillips needed Nebraska, and apparently a whole lot of psychiatric help as well.
Osborne said something once that I'll never forget because it really is so true and it's a valuable life lesson as well: "It's interesting to me how quick people are to formulate opinions based on very few of the facts." I immediately became more cognizant of this fact and can just about bet you that if you pay attention, you can point to an example of this from the people around you at work every single day of your life. It's so very good to have T.O. back at Nebraska where he belongs.

GOOOOOO BIGGGGGGG REDDDDDDD!

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