Life in the Red Group

Posted by: boom.roasted on September 19, 2009 6:49PM CST bam

Posted by: Miller on September 19, 2009 6:49PM CST BAM!

Posted by: nino_43 on September 19, 2009 6:50PM CST GBR! We Love our HUskers!

Posted by: Miller on September 19, 2009 6:50PM CST Boom, you beat me, darn't!

Posted by: Boonies on September 19, 2009 6:50PM CST Yes, that TD play where our lineman (not sure who) was standing there jumping up and down in from of Taylor instead of tackling him is a crusher! Of course, it didn't come down to 1 play, but that's the one I'm gonna have nightmares over (even more than the long bomb). Just gotta get more agressive and I know we will!

Posted by: nino_43 on September 19, 2009 6:52PM CST me too! Damn u boom! GBR! I still love our Huskers! We r gonna romp when we get into Big 12 play!

Posted by: boom.roasted on September 19, 2009 6:54PM CST Gotta give Cody Green a chance sometime in the second half. At some point, hopefully before your qb throws 10 (or whatever number) straight incompletions, you gotta mix things up. Get him in there, maybe he sparks the offense, or at least mixes it up. Props to Helu, the offensive line, Suh and really the defense in general for a tremendous game (-1 play).

Posted by: salmon_slayer63 on September 19, 2009 6:55PM CST i am sick.....pppfffft

Posted by: rankrider21 on September 19, 2009 7:02PM CST This was the most disappointing lost I have experience. Even when Tom lost when he went for the win doesn't hurt this much. We gave this one away. Really gave it away. Just makes you wonder about the points spread and the amount of betting that goes on college sports???

Posted by: salmon_slayer63 on September 19, 2009 7:03PM CST cant have all FG's , have to make TD's. that was a average VT and we blew it!! kinda hoped Bo would go for it 4th and 1, 2minutes left but the smart call was to play D. then poof the great effort went for nothing

Posted by: "huskersRback" on September 19, 2009 7:05PM CST the games THAT COUNT will be Mizzou and Kansas...that early loss traditionally has ALWAYS made Nebraska stronger down the rest of the stretch--you watch

Posted by: StayTrue2NU! on September 19, 2009 7:08PM CST wanna know who the guy doin jumping jacks in front of taylor was...?? N. Suh why play a ZONE defense in a desperation situation for taylor ?? A. west should of stuck w/ the guy in man coverage and had matt over top... for the record, besides that 1 play it was really an outstanding game for the defense as a whole... i feel really good about winning the north still, we just HAVE to get TD's in the red zone instead of FG's, got jewwed by the refs on Holt's TD grab... once he catches the ball, and touches the endzone with his damn foot(and damn knee) its a touchdown!! ya shouldn't have to wait and see if the ground makes him let go of the ball once he hits... with a RB once the ball is across the plane even by a tiny bit, its a TD. with a WR , once he catches the ball(clearly did) and touches the endzone with his foot(clearly did) it should be a TD. regardless of whether the ground causes a fumble.

Posted by: Islander/Husker on September 19, 2009 7:09PM CST We Husker fans have all had to deal with difficult defeats over the years, a few in the TO era. Remember the Jackson touchdown scored a TD, a fleaflicker no less when the sooners won the game when we had it won. The Penn State game in 1982, and there were others. Of course Miami. But this game was painful for me. The better team lost. This team can play with the big boys, it just has to learn how to beat them. I will get over it in a couple days, but right now it's just a tough loss. It's would've, could've, should've type game. There were some great efforts though. Helu played great. And I still say Holt had a TD, but that's a moot point.

Posted by: huskers4_eva on September 19, 2009 7:09PM CST Defense played great. Suh deserves a black shirt as soon as he gets back to lincoln. Helu played spectacular, just about the only guy who came to play on offense today really. I don't want to be to harsh on Lee, because he did some really good things today, but there were times when he had time to throw a good ball but he didn't deliver. I do think he'll get better and learn from this though, this is his team and we're gonna ride that horse till the end of the season. So everyone else get off this talk of cody green taking over the show. I don't care if he gets in to play some, but I don't wanna have nebraska looking like spurrier's south carolina team where they shuffle in quarterbacks all season long because they don't develop them and only win 5 to 7 games each season. Nebraska played good, just not good enough. You want to beat top 20 teams you have to play great. End of story.

Posted by: StayTrue2NU! on September 19, 2009 7:14PM CST 5 plays- 4 penalties(2 holding, 2 false starts) 30 penalty yards and an incomplete pass(previously mentioned jewwing by the refs) absolutely rediculous !! going from 1st and goal at the 6 yard line to having to PUNT !! are u f'ing kidding me !!

Posted by: boom.roasted on September 19, 2009 7:15PM CST yeah. we better not have one damn penalty next week.

Posted by: JeffCo on September 19, 2009 7:15PM CST I am disappointed like everyone else. Now, I have to have hope that we can win the BIGXII championship game and go BCS hunting. We can't simply settle to win the north. I want championships for Nebraska. We need to beef up recruiting big time so we can compete... that's a fact! GBR

Posted by: huskers4_eva on September 19, 2009 7:15PM CST As long as the players don't let this game get them down too much, we'll be fine. Seems like when Callahan was coaching and game like this such as when we could have beat Texas Tech or Texas those years at home, we would let that game affect us and either have a okay season or a horrible season. The players just need to learn from this game and be set to practice and get better. Just don't let this game affect them in a negative way and we'll be all right.

Posted by: Ray in Bellevue on September 19, 2009 7:16PM CST Nebraska always seems to find a way to lose a big game. So nothing has changed. There isn't much else to say, other than we didn't get blown away. That will probably come later, unless Lee improves a lot. When he had time, he missed wide open receivers. As I said before, sameoh, sameoh. Ugh!

Posted by: HuskerBruin on September 19, 2009 7:18PM CST I'd hate to be Bo's dog when he gets home. Poor little thing is going to get kicked to Omaha.

Posted by: BleedRed on September 19, 2009 7:22PM CST Lee was dismal, and let's face it, this was not the VT defense of legends past. Could have been a blowout in our favor. Unfortunately, it's just another loss to a ranked foe. Nice of Beamer to say that we were "back" prior to game. 3-4 years away still...

Posted by: The StepnRaZor on September 19, 2009 7:23PM CST Boy... that was a tough loss. It's a game of inches and Prince just whiffed on the ball. Holt dropped 2 TD's. And after few busted covers... we had one exactly when we did not need it. If any of those things happened... we win. It was that close. Overall though... we are certainly on the right track. I am proud of our guys. Proud of VT's guys also. They never gave up. The goal for this team this year in my eyes was to win the North. I feel like we have a good shot achieving our goal.

Posted by: SoDakHusker on September 19, 2009 7:24PM CST I'm sick to my stomach abou this loss, but if 1 point separates 13th place from 19th place, then I feel pretty good about they way we played today. The Big12N is in trouble if this is the potential we can hit. In fact, I think they are in more trouble because I'm sure we haven't hit our potential. While I want to weep on this loss, I look forward to next week and the week after and say Go Big Red as we showed today why we will be playing in Dallas the first weekend of December.

Posted by: StayTrue2NU! on September 19, 2009 7:25PM CST i don't CARE if it was loud down there... (and i assure you neither does BO) there is no damn reason to have penalties like that with the o-line !! These guys will have to stand all day in class on monday from the ass chewing they will receive ! NU was absolutely the better team today and we machine-gunned our own damn toes off !! during all those penalties I thought BO was gonna eat his own face he was chewing his gum so hard ! lol you know he wanted to just go tear a refs spine out from the crappy calls, coupled with all the penalties. kudos to him for keepin his cool.

Posted by: JonnyZona on September 19, 2009 7:26PM CST Heartbreaker. Too many penalties, poor management of timeouts. Not a great performance from Lee, but I still like him as the starter.

Posted by: HuskerBob on September 19, 2009 7:29PM CST Roy Helu has to get in better shape. Too many times, he'd break a big run then take himeself out of the game. We had them on the ropes on several drives, Roy takes himself out of the game, and the drive stalls.

Posted by: Coughunter on September 19, 2009 7:30PM CST Sad performance. NU is lucky with all the dropped passes that Va Tech didn't make this close like it was. Same thing, different year. Bring back Billy C. At least he's not rude to the media. Why does Bo think he is above the media. Better get things back together for next week.

Posted by: Miller on September 19, 2009 7:31PM CST I think Bo will give his players an ear full of how this game went in his eyes. Bo needs to keep his guys up and keep them moving, we have a whole lot of season left and I want the Mizzou game badly. Bo needs to give some tough love, but keep this team together, I am sure every player knows what their mistakes were and the impact of them were to this loss. It's hard to stomach, but as fans and player we have to move past it!

Posted by: StayTrue2NU! on September 19, 2009 7:32PM CST i bet we're still ranked next week, and we should be... poor LA laf... lol, we are gonna whooooop the snaught out of those poor guys !! look out big 12, we are comin with an attitude now ! best D in the conference and one of the best in the country with an offense that will still get better.

Posted by: The StepnRaZor on September 19, 2009 7:34PM CST F*** the media. Scum of the earth.

Posted by: The StepnRaZor on September 19, 2009 7:34PM CST All media member reading this are excluded of course.

Posted by: hskrnut on September 19, 2009 7:36PM CST hate to stay it but when we didnt get pts on the oh so there flags and were 4 and goal from the 30 whatever and we settled for a field goal again for the first score in the second half i felt that vt would win another ugly one i want to see them win a big game outright for once with out that bogus holding at the 6 we would have won the game but if we could have gotten into the endzone it wouldnt have made a diference i just dont even know at this point btw there is some scarcasim in this post hey there was some more!

Posted by: Miller on September 19, 2009 7:37PM CST Well Step, you did voice your opinion, and I don't know the specific play calling, but I do know that the offense did not show up for this game, but the defense, and they did a good job, they just couldn't carry the whole game. Offense needs to execute, bottom line!

Posted by: The StepnRaZor on September 19, 2009 7:38PM CST Say what you want about our Oline... but they are MUCH improved from last year. They held up well against one of the best schemes in the country.

Posted by: StayTrue2NU! on September 19, 2009 7:39PM CST hskrnut slow down buddy... i have no idea what ya just tried to say... lol. easy, breathe, and type...

Posted by: Hypno Potomus on September 19, 2009 7:41PM CST StayTrue2NU- I'm glad you said it. I thought I was too drunk to understand it.

Posted by: MattWo on September 19, 2009 7:43PM CST Unbelievable...there are probably 20 or so plays that if NU makes, they win the ball game. The difference in this game was that VT had far fewer opportunities but made the most of almost all of them. This team needs to grow up and start playing like a winning program again. This was not about VT winning, this was all about Nebraska beating Nebraska. Bottom line, the Huskers had a prime opportunity to break a couple of embarrassing and ugly streaks today (haven't beaten a ranked team on the road since '97, haven't beaten a team ranked 19th or higher since '01 and are the only BCS team other than Duke to have failed to do so), but instead those streaks live on. How in the you-know-what do you let a receiver get behind you when the other team has to go 85 yards and has 2 first downs the entire half?? Unbelievable.

Posted by: Blackshirtsdef on September 19, 2009 7:44PM CST Come on Step....Dr. Watson is a frign genius! Zac Lee should take this one on the chin... BLAME THE BUFFS!!

Posted by: StayTrue2NU! on September 19, 2009 7:46PM CST too many qb runs(seamingly the same one over and over) our wr's are good enough to get open against even the best defenses, we just need to call the plays. and our rb's are very good and honestly so is the o-line... our run game was really goin there and then wats would "out-cute" himself and get away from the stuff that worked and try stuff that ultimately failed...

Posted by: BearsBeatPackers on September 19, 2009 7:47PM CST 20? I'd say a handful at the most, and most of us know which plays they are. No holding on the called back TD is the big one.

Posted by: Blackshirtsdef on September 19, 2009 7:48PM CST Hey everyone....to make matters worse...Youthofneb lost to the Randolph Cardinals this weekend...lol OMG, I LOVE THE CARDS!!

Posted by: SoDakHusker on September 19, 2009 7:48PM CST Watson kept this one competitive. Don't spite the face to keep the nose on this one.

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 7:48PM CST I'm sooooo tired of "WATSONBALL"!!! Are you kidding me? NO TOUCHDOWNS?! If you wouldve told me that we would have no touchdowns and a chance to win late in the game, I wouldve said youre nuts. Our O-Line is SOFT! Bo gave the wrong criticism. Wasnt there a comment earlier this year about 15 Pancake blocks?! What is a pancake block defined as to these Watson babies? Just put your arms on the opponent and try to "influence" him? What? It sure as heck isnt blowing the opponent off the ball and lying on their back definition that I used to know Nebraska linemen took pride in... We will continue to beat LOW-CALIBER TEAMS like ArkSt, but when it comes to the big games, the offense will be lagging as long as we have Watson. Remember OU in 2002, w/Nate Hybl. Kept winning games with a solid defense and FIELD GOALS. Thats starting to look like us. Except they won more than they lost cause their D was better. I mean, can he get anymore predictable?! For the love of God, even I knew he was gonna run out of that 2 TE, 1 RB, TWINS weak set. FINAL STATEMENT... Get used to this with Watson!

Posted by: Dallas Husker on September 19, 2009 7:50PM CST Jeffco, Don't hold your breath on anything tournamentwise regarding big12 play. This loss tells me that the team simply does not believe in themselves against quality competition, so I am done believing in them. I saw nothing in the final minute of regulation to lead me to believe that they can close the deal in Columbia, Lincoln against OU, or Lawrence. They just don't think they can do it. I am so sick an tired of these agonizing losses we should be winning (LeKevin Smith's fumble in 2005 against Texas Tech, Terrance Nunn's fumble against UT, Callahan's play fake gone bad against Auburn, Ganz' int against Texas Tech last year). I don't think this team has the maturity to pull off a win against anyone that matters. They are kind of like they have been for the past eight years: If they weren't playing cupcakes they would have a losing record in September.

Posted by: The StepnRaZor on September 19, 2009 7:51PM CST No doubt... Watsons O works. I just don't like it. The run game is nice. Lots of good looking run plays we had not seen. Beautiful misdirection run game. But that WCO passing game irks me. Can't stand it. That said... if Lee hits somebody in stride... or Holt makes one of those catches... we would have won. And if we won... I'd still hate our O scheme.

Posted by: Blackshirtsdef on September 19, 2009 7:53PM CST Trolls!!.... load up your el caminos and roll out

Posted by: StayTrue2NU! on September 19, 2009 7:54PM CST like i said... u gotta run man coverage with the corners plus safeties over top covering deep. so what if they catch a short one... the d-line was pressuring him all by themselves so we shoulda gota 3 and out there but instead with the zone coverage A. west passed the wr off to o'hanlon and o'hanlon was out of position in one on one coverage... = big play, then good effort to stop him at the 3 and good blitzes to sack and pressure... on the 3rd and long taylor running all over the place Suh just has to go sack him ! whats he doin standing there jumpin around ?! once he finally decided to do so he almost got him, but too late. that would of been 4th and very long with a great shot to get the ball back and end the game... but alas ! damn

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 7:54PM CST Seriously??!! Watson did NOTHING of the sort? His playcalling was lame, and without Roy running well... this wouldve been really ugly. Did you even see the first half stats?! A real O-Coordinator would've tried to attack their weaknesses instead of running the same old tired plays that everyone knows is coming, and where they are coming from. And who does the lack of discipline fall on before Coach Pelini! For the offense, its WATSON, helloo.......

Posted by: SoDakHusker on September 19, 2009 7:56PM CST ...and if you don't want youre el caminos, i'm sure there are are a couple people around here who would like one....

Posted by: JeffCo on September 19, 2009 7:58PM CST Dallas I ain't holding my breath at this point. I just can't set the bar low for a team that I root for ever day. Winning the North isn't good enough to me. I mean, what's the big deal of beating five (5) other teams??? Nothing short of a BCS bowl game (win or lose) will be considered a good season to me. Rebuilding shouldn't have to take years and years and years. We need quality recruits though in order to compete with the big boys on a regular basis.

Posted by: Blackshirtsdef on September 19, 2009 7:59PM CST Sludge...and if he would have tried to dial up a few more pass plays, you Mizzerians would have tried to blame hime for that too... It was a chanse of circumstances...thats all

Posted by: SoDakHusker on September 19, 2009 8:00PM CST Really?!? So Roy running wild was just the product of chance? Not buying that, especially against a good defense like VaTech has. To me, Watson attacked a weakness, unless a career high in rushing yards isn't proof enough.

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 8:00PM CST And all of these comments about the D-Line not pressuring Taylor wouldve been irrelevant, if we had put the game away with the three prime TOUCHDOWN scoring opportunities in the red-zone. I love the Huskers, grad in '99. And now, we are going in the same direction offensively. The only difference is Solich was playcalling a conservative, everyone-knows-where-we-are-going RUNNING game from the sidelines. Now, Watson is calling a similar predictable PASSING scheme from the pressbox. Plus, our linemen cannot drive block... for whatever reason. Opponents dont end up on their backsides... and end up contributing to stopping our play in some way.

Posted by: JeffCo on September 19, 2009 8:01PM CST By the way, I agree with the vast majority who say it looks like we played "to not lose instead of playing to win." Helu did a great job though as did the defense. I agree again that we should have blitzed at the end when it mattered most!!!

Posted by: drivebyposter on September 19, 2009 8:01PM CST Watson is preidictable. He was predictable when he was at Colorado. Nice offense, kinda, but totally predictable.

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 8:01PM CST Look, BSD, Im not from mizery. I just cannot stand Watson's offense and playcalling. Can ANY ONE of you defend our 1st half offensive statistics?!

Posted by: Dallas Husker on September 19, 2009 8:01PM CST Trolls? There are no trolls on here. This is a matter of fans venting because they are tired of seeing their team soil themselves everytime they have the chance to get a little love from the national pundits. Once again, game won, game given away, head coach has some diapers to change. I mean, it has gotten to the point to where everytime there is manure in front of this team (i.e. game won, final minute of this game), they step in it.

Posted by: drivebyposter on September 19, 2009 8:03PM CST Sunbelt champions are still in the grasp. Big 12 north?

Posted by: SoDakHusker on September 19, 2009 8:03PM CST PT Husker...hallelujah

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 8:03PM CST Thanks Dallas. Make no mistake, Im a HUSKER FAN... Ive taken nuff texts from my co-workers here in Oklahoma that I had to shut my phone off. I'm just tired of the same-ol' choke offensive playcalling that doesnt get it done. Can anyone defend FIVE FIELD GOALS?!

Posted by: ole_o on September 19, 2009 8:04PM CST Don't be too harsh on Watson or Lee. Remember Frost's first big road test at ASU. He had pretty good coach calling plays, and we got blanked 19-0. We made it the Big 12 championship that year and won a NC the next. This game hurts now, but it was a good one to get us ready for the Big 12 gauntlet. GO BIG RED!!

Posted by: Blackshirtsdef on September 19, 2009 8:04PM CST If yall dont think I'm not miffed.....I told the wife Im not watching anymore football, college or pro until next saturday when the boys are at home.... GBR..

Posted by: salmon_slayer63 on September 19, 2009 8:05PM CST Step, why are u blaming Wats? If you would have told me Lee would be 9-25 and we would still be in the lead I would have laughed my @$$ off. Lee couldn't hit the broad side of the barn today. Still I kept having that feeling of FG's and we are gonna be in trouble late. YUP 1 bust and the game is lost. Game should not have come down to that. Any of the 5 FG' could have been TD's. Of course we all know that the 5 offensive penalties were killer in that 1st and goal set. That game came down to US not scoring TD's in the red zone and taking FG's. plain and simple.

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 8:06PM CST Get real yourself "fan" Your opinion is no better than anyone else's. Nor have I heard you defend this team's sad offensive performance or only FIVE FIELD GOALS and NO TOUCHDOWNS.

Posted by: JeffCo on September 19, 2009 8:07PM CST Here's what I saw in the final minutes... Our offense ran three (3) conservative runs so VT would use their final three (3) time-outs. It worked!!! They used all of their time-outs like we wanted them to - and then they came back and beat us. They didn't have their time-outs though so the joke is on them. Yes, I am mad and being sarcastic right now. Now let's learn from this and win some respectable games the rest of the season with complete domination!!

Posted by: SoDakHusker on September 19, 2009 8:07PM CST ole_o: hallelujah! I remember the way I felt after the '06 ASU game and it feels the same way now. we'll be alright, but everyone seems to dwell in the now. take a prozac, drink some vodka, and say your prayers, it'll be alright.

Posted by: Blackshirtsdef on September 19, 2009 8:11PM CST Ssss-kid-ouche!

Posted by: Dallas Husker on September 19, 2009 8:11PM CST Jeffco, Agreed. This game just hit a nerve with me though. Maybe worse than even the 07 USC game. I mean, the final minute of this one exposed the hourglass setting I don't want to see: stub their toe in Columbia, fumble the game away in Lincoln against OU, recover too slowly from the OU game to avoid the ambush awaiting them in Lawrence, recover just in time to beat K-state (K-who?) and CU, MU or KU takes the North, gets clobbered by UT or OU, we beat an unranked team in the Alamo and I have to endure more of the sunshine pumpers talk after THAT game that we had the best team in the North at the end because we played the best ball, winning our final games while the team that loses the big12 title game is paired against a real team in their bowl game and loses that one, and I won't even want to hear it.

Posted by: PT Husker on September 19, 2009 8:12PM CST Hell yes I can defend 5 field goals. We played one of the best Defenses in the country today. Did Watson drop the pass. No Holt did. And I bet he feels a lot worse than any of us. The play was correct and the TEAM did not execute. The great Teams make the plays. The good ones think about what could have been and blame somebody else.

Posted by: huskertherapist on September 19, 2009 8:13PM CST PT, it is good to see your common sense and managed-expectations approach on this blog. It was a tough loss but as stated before, "totally predictable." If victory would have reared its head happiness flows. It is good to see you are doing so well. Happy fishing. Note: Recall my predictions.

Posted by: SoDakHusker on September 19, 2009 8:13PM CST I think LITR should be renamed Under the Bridge with all the trolls gathered 'round. it's one loss...there are a bunch of games in front of us, and the results will be a lot better than today. am i the only one who sees the rainbow here?

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 8:13PM CST Jeff... Wish I could believe that, but we have Oklahoma coming to Lincoln, and we are in for a rude awakening when we play their D and we have to defend against the likes of Gerald McCoy. If we stay predictable... ie the 1st/2nd downs of the first redzone tries where we line up in a Goal Line formation and RUN out of it, we are gonna get hammered. In that case, on 1st down, a 4 WR spread, shotgun QB/RB run wouldve been a perfect call against the VT D-Line/LBs. If Watson wouldve playcalled like that... wed be tough to stop.

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 8:15PM CST So you defend being in the redzone, lining up in a goal line I, and RUNNING the first two plays? Then finally running a shotgun pass play on third down when they knew that was coming? Wow, drinking the kool-aid, eh?

Posted by: HuskerinColorado on September 19, 2009 8:17PM CST I have no doubt that Bo is the future of Husker football BUT he needs to cool his jets when dealing with the media! I am sure Dr. Tom will have a chat with his pupil. This loss could have recruiting implications and we need to see how Zac handles this loss and if he can step up next week. Don't pull a USC and overlook a team you should beat. After all LA-Lafeyette is 2-0 and playing LSU right now.

Posted by: boom.roasted on September 19, 2009 8:18PM CST Weird as it is though, our program has generally been defined by losses like this one as much as the national championships. Miami 83, FSU 93, etc... The next step is to see if our guys get PISSED, or if they come out with a hangover.

Posted by: Dallas Husker on September 19, 2009 8:18PM CST Sludge, I don't blame the offensive side of the ball except where I heard the lady announcer on the sideline quip how VT's D was gassed. If she knew it, our team certainly did. Why at that point did we not shove it down their throats? Lee's misfires in the third quarter didn't help matters either. I was starting to think he was abducted by aliens at halftime. I do think, however, we could have gone man against man with them on the last two FG's and turned them into TD's. Of course, with a team destined in their heads to lose these types of games, does it really surprise you?

Posted by: The StepnRaZor on September 19, 2009 8:19PM CST Not sure about the "attack" stuff. I think we did what we should have.... which was not turn the ball over. We should have been careful with it like we did. Just sayin.... I don't like our scheme. I'm not blaming Wats at all. I blame Holt for whifing on two blocks and dropping two TD passes that would have won the game. And OHanlon of course. Personally... I believe we just don't have the players to be great. Not yet. But we are g3etting better every day. tough loss. I'm out guys. Gonna go out on the town... drown my sorrows.

Posted by: PT Husker on September 19, 2009 8:20PM CST Therapy dude. I am not Managing my Expectations worth a Sh*t. I am extremely ticked and we should have won that game. I am very disappointed how this TEAM preformed in the clutch. Just think the blame should be where it belongs. One guy don't win it and 1 guy don't lose it.

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 8:21PM CST My whole point is that with Watson, we are starting to look a whole lot like Ohio State... beat up on easy teams, then dissolve against tough teams. Even though I wish we had their athletes. Either by lack of discipline or poor playcalling or poor execution, we cannot get into the endzone when needed. Thats really all that needs to be said. Those are the FACTS, and no kool-aid drinker can dispute them.

Posted by: The StepnRaZor on September 19, 2009 8:23PM CST If we had a go-up-and-get-it WR.... or if we had a true star QB... or if we had a playmaking S. We win. Period. Thats why I say we don;t have the players. If you think we can beat the big boys with Holt and OHanlon out there... then I think you are wrong. Everything else was good. We just don't have the players.

Posted by: JeffCo on September 19, 2009 8:23PM CST Sludge, I hear you. Trust me it's going to be a tough game. Like you, I live in Oklahoma and my neighbors give me a good "ragging" when we lose to them. What is it going to take to get back to the National level??

Posted by: PT Husker on September 19, 2009 8:24PM CST Spot on Step. Spot on. Just tough to take.

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 8:25PM CST Dallas, I hear ya... I disagree but understand what you say. I almost dread watching the Huskers on national TV, cause it seems like after USC came to Lincoln in 07 and just beat us to a pulp, we've had deep seeded scars that wont heal. We see big TV lights and we just shoot ourselves in the foot. One game that gives us a chance to get back into the limelight and we just give right back to them and completely underperform on offense. I WAS NOT SURPRISED, AT ALL! I wanted to be, but wasnt. Appreciate your point of view though..

Posted by: huskertherapist on September 19, 2009 8:25PM CST Most of the postings here do not mirror the optimism prevlelant after the previous two games. It is quite interesting actually. Perhaps only the "deep-red" fans can truely see what was accomplished today, especially if comparing say the games 24 months ago. The bridge is being crossed. Be patient. 24 months ago, the bridge could not even be identified let alone found. 12 months ago the rebirth started. Even an elephant has a 22 to 26 month gestation period. And this elephant probably didn't really get pregant until about 8 months ago. And it was an elephant. Ask lubens he knows all about elephants. The corn lost today. Just like the corn won the previous two weeks. Pointing fingers is what undisciplined and insecure children do. Tomorrow the sun will rise and 9 games remain. Winning the north has always been the goal, and to pretend otherwise is immature at best. It is still out there. gbr

Posted by: Dallas Husker on September 19, 2009 8:25PM CST boom, I am guessing hangover until they prove me otherwise. Like Mark May, I am now left to wonder when this team is ever going to actually do something. Duke would have won this game in the final minute as they have a better record against these types of teams over the last ten years then we do. By the way, to those who say it just wasn't our day, if not today, then when? If this isn't our year to seize the north, then when? Next year, when the stars line up perfectly, like playing our stiffest competition of the North in Lincoln? Once again, I saw nothing in that final minute to give me a positive feeling about any other games this season that actually matter.

Posted by: SoDakHusker on September 19, 2009 8:26PM CST sludge....let's get to the Ohio State level first and then deal with the rest.

Posted by: HuskerinColorado on September 19, 2009 8:26PM CST How about all of you "nay-sayers" look at Dr. Tom's records over the years!! I remember when he lost people were up in arms in the papers, like here, screaming for his head and wanted him ran out of Lincoln! Seems to me he was a pretty decent coach.

Posted by: MoJon on September 19, 2009 8:26PM CST If this is what we can expect from Zach Lee in big games, than we might as well start the Freshman Green and let him learn. Lee was horrible today!!! His passes looked as bad as...gulp...Jamaal Lord's!

Posted by: skers90210 on September 19, 2009 8:26PM CST 0-17 vs Top 20 on the road since 1997 enough said!!! There is no way to spin this one!!! Unless we beat CONTENDERS we will still be pretenders!!!

Posted by: thebone63 on September 19, 2009 8:29PM CST 1st and goal at the 6 and we are in a hostile loud stadium and we use the spread. If you cant run a full house backfield and beat the man in front of you, you deserve to lose. I would rather lose that way instead of this way. We had VT's defense worn out and we refuse to put in a fullback at any time and pound them to set up a play action pass to a tight end. Watson is boring and predictable. I liked football when it was a physical sport. The Big 12, and all its stats, were exposed last bowl season in the red zone. Guess we didnt learn

Posted by: JeffCo on September 19, 2009 8:29PM CST Winning the North is not a big enough goal. I mean, how tough can it be to be the best of 6 teams? Yeah, we have been down..for years!!! It shouldn't take years for a turn around. We need BCS or bust mentality!!

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 8:29PM CST Whatever huskertherapist.... Im not a child. I saw this loss coming, even though I didnt want to. My point is that with this offense, they are soo fragile and often underperform. Yes, I can handle a loss... what's new, I'm just tired of getting used to it against ranked teams that dont have a choke mentality. I was only truly surprised last year in the Gator Bowl, that we actually hung on to win. Now we are back to our old Ohio State mimicking ways. Win the itty-bitty games, and lose to strong RANKED programs. Oh well, guess I can hope for Tech to beat Texas.

Posted by: earniechambers on September 19, 2009 8:29PM CST therapist- good post We need the missle defense

Posted by: hskrnut on September 19, 2009 8:30PM CST whew, nothing like throwin the pigskin to down calm down that game was amazing till the last 2 min if only we could have gotten into the endzone oh wait we did, but anyway i have a problem with the way the game was called by the refs some of those holding calls were not holding calls. also watson called that game kinda weird it was different than the last two games granted we couldnt pass the ball to save our lives. some like the option on 3 and 6 at the beginning of the game were confusing. also on the 3 and 1.5 in the 4th with 2 min to go if we would have went for it and made it we had the game made and if not with less field to defend and prevent the deep ball we may have stopped the big play over all a great game nice to see the rushing game go so well many positives just need to make redzone visits count and score 6 instead of 3 and then we will be a force to be reconed with i hope we play vt soon again in a bowl game and turn them inside-out like we should have today with the way our offence played

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 8:30PM CST Sure fan... go drink some more kool-aid like a good, blind little boy.

Posted by: skers90210 on September 19, 2009 8:30PM CST Not saying this coaching staff isn't making strides but a loss is a loss.

Posted by: SoDakHusker on September 19, 2009 8:31PM CST huskertherapist: is there a newsletter i can subscribe to because you speak the holy truth. love it, brother! HuskerinCO: i was thinking the same thing. too bad we don't learn from history. too many "in the now" thinkers around here...IMO

Posted by: HuskerinColorado on September 19, 2009 8:31PM CST Bravo therapist!!!

Posted by: earniechambers on September 19, 2009 8:31PM CST Florida State whoopin up on BYU, goes to show you that it is going to be a long interesting year,

Posted by: Dallas Husker on September 19, 2009 8:32PM CST Sludge, We are not Ohio State. Jim Tressel wins this game his second year. After all, he beat Miami for the Sears trophy his second year, remember? I am not asking for a title this year. I am just asking for a significant win against a quality opponent. K-State did against UT when Ron Prince was their coach. Two years in a row, so they pulled it off on the road. CU managed to beat OU a couple years ago and look at them now. Why can this team NEVER pull a good one off?

Posted by: hskrnut on September 19, 2009 8:32PM CST that was supposed to be 4 and 1.5 in the 4th with 2 min to go

Posted by: PT Husker on September 19, 2009 8:34PM CST Does it occur to anyone that Perhaps Watson call plays based on the personnel he has?? Our players are still taken baby steps. Call what they can (or should) execute. If they do their job he is a hero.

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 8:35PM CST Bone... My point is we were running the spread UP TO THAT POINT, even inside the 20. Remember his run to get there, that was a scramble out of the spread. Stay with what was working. We are NOT a man up and drive people off the ball running team. We are a finesse west coast team with some running thrown in. Playcall for what our team IS, not for what they cant line up and CANNOT do. Our O-Line CANNOT drive people off the ball.

Posted by: HuskerinColorado on September 19, 2009 8:35PM CST Yup yup SoDakHusker! You would think that after the Callahan years Husker Nation would be extatic with a win or even a close game but they want more. REAL Husker fans know this loss stung a bit BUT we are heading in the right direction. There will ALWAYS be second guessing from the "Sunday" morning QB but they most likely don't have an athletic bone in their bidy. I hate watching the highlights as much, if not more, than anyone but to be where NU is now vs 3 years ago makes me smile! Hey yall you could have the issues the Buffs are having!!! Didn't think so!

Posted by: HuskerinColorado on September 19, 2009 8:37PM CST How would you like to be living in L.A. right now wearing Trjon colors? Wow what a loss!

Posted by: MoJon on September 19, 2009 8:37PM CST Did we have any receivers open? Seems like we had a lot of one on one coverage at times and nobody can beat their man and make a play! We need more playmakers!

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 8:37PM CST I understand playcalling to what he has, but when the spread shotgun was working, why did we go to Goal Line I running for two of three plays, which DOES NOT work for us? Thats all I'm trying to say.

Posted by: PT Husker on September 19, 2009 8:39PM CST I am out. Gonna watch a game where I don't care who wins.

Posted by: Dallas Husker on September 19, 2009 8:39PM CST I am not calling for the coach's head. 90210, the coach made zero strides today from where we were in Lubbock last year. Same story, different game. Game won, game given away. What can we do in THIS game to lose it at the end? They showed today that they really haven't grown up from the Saturday evening in Lubbock last year.

Posted by: HuskerinColorado on September 19, 2009 8:40PM CST I don't if this is true or not but I read that NU didn't send a small band to play for the fans in the stands?

Posted by: SoDakHusker on September 19, 2009 8:40PM CST sludge, I'll second guess you when you become offensive coordinator. all i know is there are smarter people doing what they're paid to do doing what they do while i'm sitting on a barstool getting drunk watching them. if only someone else could say the same thing about me, and then maybe i'd have two feet to stand on questioning them.

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 8:42PM CST Oh here we go.... The typical "sunday morning qb" response. Look fellas, I've played QB in 8 man, I coached high school when I was in college. What I'm saying is that Watson is not a good O-Coordinator. He is far too predictable and doesnt design his offense to take apart the opposition. I dont care whether its a pass or run offense. I've never been impressed or happy with him since his days here with Callahan. On a good note, other than the busted coverage to set up the winning drive and winning play, our D played very well! I was happily surprised for them! Just love Suh... those of you talking trash about him, NOW THATS unjustified. A defense will get beat every now and then. HinC, I AM A REAL HUSKER FAN. I love em and I take alot of crap from coworkers here in Okieland (tinker afb, where I work) for them. So dont talk trash unless you know what youre saying.

Posted by: skers90210 on September 19, 2009 8:44PM CST When you boil down this loss, there are simply three to blame: the offense, the defense, and the special teams. Look on the bright side husker nation at least you're not USC wasting another shot at the national title against another crappy PAC 10 team. Mark my words here, this loss will be a springboard to next year. NU vs USC for the 2010 National Title.

Posted by: HuskerinColorado on September 19, 2009 8:44PM CST LOL!!!! I salute you SoDakHusker!!!!! There are some bandwagon fans on here at best! Let me see here, we have a new and untested qb compared to TT and you say nothing has changed? Did you see what the winning score was today? Yes the offense, despite Helu, was soft at best BUT the blackshirts looked mean except for a few plays. Damn what more do you want?!?! How about NU wins next week and then are crowned National Champions with a 3-1 record!!! GET REAL!!!! Your parents are probably the ones screaming for Osborne's head!!!

Posted by: Dallas Husker on September 19, 2009 8:45PM CST Colorado, The Callahan years are just like these years so far when you think about it. Unless we play Cupcake University we lose. We can't close the deal against a quality opponent. We have to rely on the schedule to work in our favor in order to win even the North, as we sure as hell won't win it this year. The toughest of our competition plays us where there isn't a sea of red. Maybe next year we can do that, when MU and KU play us in Lincoln, this regime's third year like the previous regime did THEIR third year. Better hope these teams aren't in the top10 next year though.

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 8:46PM CST Give it a rest. We are fans and we can question them. I questioned them when they brought Callahan in... Supposedly he was a smart guy too, who was overly paid. Look where that got us. My criticisms are in the best interests of the team. If we get an O-Coord who gives us an offense that isnt afraid of anybody, and plays to its personnel and playcalls to win, then Ill stop. Cause thats what I look for, not this cowardly offense that settles for field goals or less in big games.

Posted by: HuskerinColorado on September 19, 2009 8:47PM CST OH HERE WE GO, I have been there! DONE THAT!!!! Good for you sludge so turn your resume in to Mr. Osborne is you are ALL THAT!!!! I have a feeling Watson is a wee bit better at play calling than you are, or were.

Posted by: hskrnut on September 19, 2009 8:48PM CST watson didnt stick to the game plan of the last 2 games "take what they give you" he did for the most part but didnt just completly take advantage of it lee didnt play well but he could have dove for the 1.5 yard needed to win the game remember that this game hinged on 1 and 1/2 yards not 81 but 1.5 if we go for it on that 4th down we win the game on kneels but we expeced the d to come up with another big stop has anyone else noticed if vt gets the ball they have a way of making it work if it means the win seems like someone said here that they normaly dont win pretty well they didnt today and to that not us not winning the big one (thats OU) SAME OL SAME OL and with that im out.

Posted by: SoDakHusker on September 19, 2009 8:48PM CST sludge, i played 8-man and coached high school too. just saying that it can be a lot worse. we didn't hit a few key reads and missed a couple passes. two years ago this would have been a laffer. step off the ledge my friend...we can get through this together.

Posted by: Dallas Husker on September 19, 2009 8:49PM CST As far as USC is concerned, a win today just might have put us in the top10. Instead, we soiled ourselves in the final minute of regulation and deserved to be soiled out of the top25.

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 8:50PM CST I agree Dallas... I was never on a bandwagon, cause I'm a straight up Husker Fan. I love them. Right now though, if I were an opposing D-Coordinator I wouldnt be scared of us. You can take one half of any game and predict our playcalling to a T. THAT'S BAD!

Posted by: zeke3079 on September 19, 2009 8:50PM CST Let's be honest, we aren't there yet, maybe a couple years. As much as this one stings, we should have some hope, we are young. I don't mind Bo, but it would be really nice if he at least pretended to be a professional in dealing with the media. As mentioned, 4th and 1, with a chance to end the game, def playing great, seems like you have got to go for the kill. Bob Stoops goes for it, as does Urban Meyer.

Posted by: thebone63 on September 19, 2009 8:50PM CST we have 2 capable fullbacks. get under center and force the issue. we do have enough up front. At least, with the crowd on top on us, we wouldnt have had so many false starts. We still could have kicked a FG. We didnt even attempt to get the fullback game going in the first 2 warmup games. That is the time to learn and grow. Like I said, I would rather try and lose instead of using smoke and mirrors. Real champions control the line of scrimmage and the clock. We did neither. When we were in the middle of the 4th, we could have kept the clock running with running plays but we had incomplete swing passes and ran out of bounds. They had 3 timeouts at the end of the game. Poor coaching. JMHO

Posted by: skers90210 on September 19, 2009 8:51PM CST Dallas Husker, Agree no big strides today, still upset!!! This was a win!! But brighter days are ahead!

Posted by: earniechambers on September 19, 2009 8:51PM CST I have to laugh, had there been blogs back in the 70,s,80,s, and 90,s Devaney and TO would have been ran out on a rail

Posted by: HuskerinColorado on September 19, 2009 8:51PM CST Callahan AND Peterson were JOKES!!!! Husker Nation was aware of what was to come and we made it through it fine! Now we have, in my opinion, the coach we need and he has only a recruiting class under him! Again go back to Osborne 9-3 days and the tar and feathering going on. We all know the saying that "Opinions are like #$&$#, everyone has one!" YUP horrible loss! Yup the sun will rise in the east tomorrow and YUP NU will strap it on next Saturday to play another tough team! GO BIG RED!!!!!!

Posted by: SoDakHusker on September 19, 2009 8:52PM CST top 10?!? we would have beat a team rated 13th! we would have maybe cracked 14 at best. name me another team other than USC that deserves to be demoted after playing today?

Posted by: HuskerinColorado on September 19, 2009 8:52PM CST Yes sir earnieichambers!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 8:52PM CST SoDak... Cool, so we have a common frame. Let me put it this way, would you be scared of the Huskers? I wouldnt. I would have their playbook down and know what they are gonna call before the game even starts. If we are that predictable, we are in trouble for the big games.

Posted by: hskrnut on September 19, 2009 8:54PM CST back in the day we could tell the other team what we were running and still have won ahh the good ol' days...

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 8:56PM CST Let me put it this way... how many of you are close to knowing what are gonna playcall when watching a game on TV? Ive been pretty close. So, if I'm close, think of what their D-Coord is doing with gamefilm of us. Actually 2 weeks of gamefilm. If we stay this way, we wont beat Mizzou or Kansas and wont compete for the B12 North.

Posted by: huskertherapist on September 19, 2009 8:56PM CST Posted by: JeffCo on September 19, 2009 8:29PM CST Winning the North is not a big enough goal. I mean, how tough can it be to be the best of 6 teams? Jeffco, winning the big 12 north is a monster task for this team. Todays team. And recall you play 5 of the north teams and 3 of the south teams which means you get either/or sooners, longhorns, red raiders, or the horns. You are misguided if you do not believe winning the north is a critical and important goal. It gets you to the title game and a pretty good bowl.........better than last year. If you win it, and it can be won, a BCS bowl is handed to you. The big 12 north is a very important step that has to be taken each and every year. If it cannot be done there is only a little, or no bowl laid at your feet. Win the north and most things are possible. Do not win it and you have nothing.

Posted by: HuskerinColorado on September 19, 2009 8:57PM CST So do you want to see Lee constantly throwing interceptions? Of course not! Watson wanted to try to settle Zac down and he just didn't have it today. Wow this poor kid has 3 starts and people are ragging him? I saw alot today in the defense and yes the offense needs to be teaked but to say the season is over after this? Hmmmmm. As much as I HATE the PUFFS IN BOULDER at least they are keeping their chins up and I HATE CU!!!! Hell I live in Boulder!

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 8:59PM CST Therapist.... Finally you said something I agree with. That is a strong step to take and we must take it, otherwise we really are no better than last year. Now, honestly, do you feel we can do that? I know I'm feeling alot of doubt right now. Especially with the way Mizery's offense is starting to gel.

Posted by: HuskerinColorado on September 19, 2009 8:59PM CST Love your last line therapist! Well I have had fun chatting but I am off to do better things. I can't wait to see what everyone has to say after next weeks game!!!! GO BIG RED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FOREVER RED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: Dallas Husker on September 19, 2009 8:59PM CST Col, And like the Callahan years, "The cavalry is on its way!" This team may never be good again, plain and simple. I could care less about the first 59 minutes of today's game. Been there, done that. It always goes like that, no matter who the coach is anymore. If anything, I think this game raises more questions about the team's mental toughness. I thought last year was supposed to be the year they ridded themselves of the attitude that they were destined to lose these games. Nope. They remind me of Warren Powers' teams at Mizzou in the 1980's. At least he did it on the road in Lincoln against Gill, Rozier, Friar and Dean Steinkuhler. Our competition we couldn't close the deal with is ranked 13.

Posted by: earniechambers on September 19, 2009 9:01PM CST Therapist- Can you elaborate

Posted by: zeke3079 on September 19, 2009 9:01PM CST You can blame Wats if you want, but really without him who's running the offense? Bo calling plays? The last few years, the issues have clearly not been on offense Who knows how long we will have him, he's probably a likely HC candidate elsewhere

Posted by: SoDakHusker on September 19, 2009 9:01PM CST sludge, you know just as well as I that the minute you go into a game scared, you lose. so that argument is not valid. as a coach i would have looked at their last two games, but examined their last five to see what they are capable of. seeing how they won their last six, i personally would have respected anthing they showed during that time. and by personally watching the last upteen games in a row, you have to see they are capable of anything. just saying as a defensive coordinator, your scheme has to be be as flexible as possible, although having players capable of making plays on the fly makes it a lot easier.

Posted by: SoDakHusker on September 19, 2009 9:04PM CST I'm out...a pretty girl on the other end of a bad personality awaits....later

Posted by: HuskerinColorado on September 19, 2009 9:04PM CST FYI 31-3 LSU over NU's next oppt.

Posted by: earniechambers on September 19, 2009 9:05PM CST Dallas- I used to hear those same comments about TO, THIS ISN;T pee wee league, USC, BYU, went down today, others will follow.

Posted by: argentoGJT on September 19, 2009 9:07PM CST I am proud to be a husker fan. Thanks to the guys for playing so hard. Better times are a coming; lets give the offense some more time...things will be just fine.

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 9:07PM CST Dallas... Thanks for the good words. I am a Husker Fan for life, but I dont drink KOOL-AID, ever! I would love to be wrong, but my gut is worried about what you said and how truthful it seems. Our history is showing a bad trend of dropping these games and needing to play some weak teams to get some minor stones back. I just dont feel scared of our Huskers. In the 90s I felt as though we could travel and win. The 96 loss at ASU was hard cause we were a good team that played decently on defense but just couldnt get it together on O. Other than that, I felt that most people didnt want to play the Huskers. Nowadays, its just "another game" against us and VT wont feel bad tomorrow. No big hits, no punishment in the trenches, nada... they will probly hit each other tomorrow so they can tell their families they were in a college game with Nebraska. Until we prove different, we are still a scared pretender. Sucks for us.

Posted by: zeke3079 on September 19, 2009 9:07PM CST We can win the north, but KU & MU will challenge us. Tech hanging with the horns, that's a tough game. OU, well, let's forget that one The north is obviously winnable, but we aren't exactly going to blow any of the contenders away

Posted by: CORNINTX on September 19, 2009 9:07PM CST i am proud of the way the huskers played today last year at this time the huskers were struggling to beat san jose st today they were 21 seconds from beating va tech at va tech like coach pelini says its a process and from struggling to beat san jose st in lincoln to almost upsetting va tech in their home in a year that looks to be a pretty good progression

Posted by: thebone63 on September 19, 2009 9:09PM CST HuskerinCOL. I watch the first game at foxnhound with all the husker faithful. I told the guy next to me, after the 1 quarter, not to expect much this year if we werent going to use a fullback and learn to run the ball against the warm up teams. I left at halftime because the games are so boring and predictable. It may be me, but I like power teams with great defenses. May not be good for TV, but they are good for championships.

Posted by: earniechambers on September 19, 2009 9:09PM CST OU could easily come to town with 2 loses, with Miami looming large

Posted by: huskers4_eva on September 19, 2009 9:10PM CST Well I've now had about 3 hours to reflect over this game and this is what I've come up with. Nebraska lost to a good Nebraska team. Yep thats right we beat ourselves. We had it in the bag and we let it go, no questions about it. All we can do now is wait for Zac Lee to get up to the press microphone, pull off a Tim Tebow speech, saying that you will never see anyone play harder than they will the rest of the season. Well I dunno if thats going to happen, but i can tell you this, Nebraska is not going to let something like this happen again this season. I'm gonna say it. Nebraska will not lose another game this season. I originally said that they would have a two loss regular schedule games, but i am confident this team will get this train moving again and win out the rest of its season schedule.

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 9:14PM CST Not really, we also dont hit hard. When was the last time you saw a bone jarring hit from our Defense? Where it was bad and made you cringe in your seat? I miss those. And our offense is just plain weak and predictable. I hope we play Mizery and the chickinHawks tough, even given our current predicament. That would make the year better.

Posted by: Miller on September 19, 2009 9:14PM CST Helu had a great game, but he cannot carry the offense, and the defense played great, I am so proud of them. The offense has to pull themselves together. Hopefully they will be ready to play next week. This was a tough loss, especially with the 2nd half penalties, a TD that we didn't get and just some bad luck! I hope the Huskers can recover and play out the rest of this season in great Husker style!

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 9:15PM CST Ive got some KOOL-AID for ya, eva.

Posted by: zeke3079 on September 19, 2009 9:16PM CST What kind of odds you looking for on that "win out" bet? There are really no dominant teams (exception-Florida possibly), we will be in this situation again, probably several times this year. We play in the Big 12, there will be chances to knock off some big time opponents so we will see...

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 9:16PM CST You too Miller, let me go make another pitcher. Anybody else in...?

Posted by: GBR in Texas on September 19, 2009 9:17PM CST Are we still "hashin' and rehashin"?

Posted by: huskertherapist on September 19, 2009 9:17PM CST earnie, Elaboration in most cases only offers opportunities for confusion. Win the north. Simple yet effective. I am sure you know the benefits. I have made my predictions quite some time ago. Even Russ became very angry with me. I stick by them. The husker big 12 schedule is brutal. Next year it is more favorable. Perhaps a year away the next steps can be taken. Regardless managing expectations is critical. Okay later. gbr

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 9:18PM CST Now Zeke, you may be right.... The Big12 is pretty shaky this year, and the north is especially weak. We could get lucky and sqeak into the North championship?! Who knows.

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 9:20PM CST Yeah, good nuff therapy for tonite. I'm out fellas... drink up! Good nite Big Red, get some rest. You need it.

Posted by: GBR in Texas on September 19, 2009 9:20PM CST I was not a happy camper when this one ended. Had to get away from the keyboard for awhile, didn't want to get any more critical than I already had. Still not very happy, but think I can type now, I mean speak now.

Posted by: armchair on September 19, 2009 9:22PM CST I have concerns about a team who can schedule three mop up games and still not be able to preform against equal competition. Receivers got consistently bumped off their routes. The line could not drive on a consistent basis. The mere thought of red zone produced a melt down. Evidently we don't possess a wide out that demands double coverage. We don't have a back that can carry the team. We don't have the line on offense that can hold a candle to anyone except Div 2. If it's not the players not being as advertised it must be the coaches. Really first down on the six yard line then 4th down at the fifty from penalties on the O line? I don't care how mean you are in practice, if you line up in a game and produce nearly fifty yards of consecutive penalties your not what we need. What I saw today has to be making OU, KU, TT, MU, licking their chops. The team I saw today will be lucky to win 4 conference games. I was one who preached patience in the last staff, I am not going down that rode again.

Posted by: JayBr on September 19, 2009 9:23PM CST Dallas Husker....you're crackin' me up with your optimism. There is no comparison to this current team and the Callahan years. The Callahan years destroyed the confidence of the players, including those who are currently juniors and seniors. Do you really think a Pelini coached team would give up 70 points to TTech? There are a lot of things this coaching staff has to teach the players. The next step in the process looks like it is teaching them how to finish. We are already seeing the talent upgrade and will continue to see it progress as the season goes along.

Posted by: earniechambers on September 19, 2009 9:25PM CST Sludge= Your name says it all greasy,dirty and abrasive, we went through these things in the 80's

Posted by: JayhawkMarriedToAHusker on September 19, 2009 9:31PM CST Duuuuuuuudes. Five field goals?!? That's all you can muster?!?! That says it all. Sad that Reesing and Co. were firing on all cylinders today. Big 12 North Champs? I think not. Maybe you and Stinkel can play for 2nd place. After all second place is the first loser.

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 9:34PM CST Earnie... funny name, BTW. Thanks, I like to be abrasive. But I give the truth. Armchair said it just like I did. Our B12 opponents CANT WAIT to tee it up on us. They arent scared of our offense cause they already have every play we will call and know what situations we will use them. Also, he cites FACTS. If our O-Line cant perform better than what they did, we arent gonna make it happen. I like Bo, however, I dont like how unprofessional he is at the after game press conference. Why dont we see that directed at the O-Coord before the game? I swear Watson is like a used car salesman. Remember last year when he had the whole journalstar staff conned into thinking the O-Line was gonna be great, then BAMM-O, reality hits. See, I think he just coaches a weak idea of an O-Line. To him, a "pancake" is just where the lineman engages the defender long enough to "influence" him NOT putting him on his back. Thats why he keeps teaching this way, he doesnt know any better. I mean, can you expect more from a West Coast offense type guy?

Posted by: GBR in Texas on September 19, 2009 9:34PM CST No need for people to make comparisons to the BC era, this is a completely different situation and cannot be compared to that quagmire. Many are upset about the loss, myself included, but if you can't see the improvements in what's going on with the NU football program then you obviously have no clue in regard to the game and the building of a program. I'm not happy either, we simply gave that one away. I am as disgusted as I have ever been with a few individual players, but I won't give up on them. There were alot of things about the game that I did not like, hopefully that changes as we move forward.

Posted by: earniechambers on September 19, 2009 9:35PM CST Jayhawk- Kansas is a lonely place on saturday nights, but I just googled a heard of sheep near your location

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 9:36PM CST Jayhawk... Take care of your business between us, then come talk trash. Geez, who did you play.... DUKE, AT HOME? At least we played a real defense with a real team.

Posted by: JeffCo on September 19, 2009 9:36PM CST I still say that we need national recruits in order to compete with the big boys. That's not to say that there won't be an ocassional upset (think Washington against USC)... but we just won't be a dominant team until we recruit the top kids in the country.

Posted by: earniechambers on September 19, 2009 9:40PM CST Jeff-USC has national recruits

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 9:40PM CST Jeff, I disagree.... We had the players to win today. We dont have the offensive mentality, nor do we have the will to close out games. Blame who you want, I lay most of it at our O-Coord, regardless, the fact is... We still play to NOT LOSE, period.

Posted by: GBR in Texas on September 19, 2009 9:40PM CST Hey Jayhawk who married up, I saw the KU score, they had some difficulties early with the Dukies. I expected them to pull away. Clickin' on all cylinders might be a little strong though.

Posted by: JayhawkMarriedToAHusker on September 19, 2009 9:41PM CST Great. My buddy GBR comes in with a level-headed view of everything!!! :) Of course, you guys are getting better! A little luck here and there and you would have beaten at Top 15 team. Not bad, give the Callahan trough you were in a few years ago. Husker Faithful, be happy with what's yet to transpire. You've got a great future in store, As an neutral observer, I believe Order is being Restored. And as long as you lose to KU in Lawrence, I wish you all the best!

Posted by: JeffCo on September 19, 2009 9:41PM CST Earnie... I know...that's why I made the reference. Sludge... I ain't saying we won't upset some teams. I mean in order to compete every day of every year.... we have to recruit the best players.

Posted by: JayhawkMarriedToAHusker on September 19, 2009 9:41PM CST Great. My buddy GBR comes in with a level-headed view of everything!!! :) Of course, you guys are getting better! A little luck here and there and you would have beaten at Top 15 team. Not bad, give the Callahan trough you were in a few years ago. Husker Faithful, be happy with what's yet to transpire. You've got a great future in store, As an neutral observer, I believe Order is being Restored. And as long as you lose to KU in Lawrence, I wish you all the best!

Posted by: earniechambers on September 19, 2009 9:42PM CST Texas Tech scores, hmmm

Posted by: Dallas Husker on September 19, 2009 9:43PM CST JayBr, What I saw today reminded me of the second year Callahan was here against Texas Tech. Same mentality, different team. You can't give me one reason to believe in this team with the way this one ended today, plain and simple. The only way you lose one you have already one like today is if you, the player, doesn't believe in yourself. These players don't think they can win these games because they don't believe in themselves. Nobody will believe in you until you believe in yourself. The staff can only do so much in this regard. They put them in a position to win and they screwed it up. They weren't outmanned. Tom Brady didn't complete those passes on the last drive. They simply didn't believe they could close the deal. If they don't believe, then nobody will. Not me, not the ap polls, not the coaches polls, and certainly not Mark May, Kirk Herbie goes bananas, Lou Holtz, Brent Musberger, or any other doubter on the national stage. Why should the critics believe when the players do not?

Posted by: huskers4_eva on September 19, 2009 9:45PM CST Well I gotta say this. I'm glad Nebraska lost 16 - 15 than 50 - 10. Yes, Yes, a loss is a loss whether its by one point or by 30 points. But the fact that Nebraska lost in a style like this is much similar to the way Florida lost to Ole Miss last year. And well we all know what happened in the end for Florida. Now I'm not trying to compare Florida to Nebraska all I'm saying is that I think a team losing in this style of fashion will take more out of it in motivation, like Florida. If Nebraska would have lost by a couple touchdowns, oh god, there would be chaos happening right now in these chat blogs. But instead we learned a lot from this game. 1) Nebraska's defense is capable of being pretty good if they play assignment football (it was just one play folks, just happened to be a very important one) 2.) we can run the football (should have ran the football on 1st 2nd and 3rd down when we had the chance at the 3 yard line. What we ended up with was a first and goal from the 40). and 3.) the offense can move the football (just need to score td's instead of fieldgoals). So to end this, everyone needs to relax, Nebraska should take a lot out of this ONE point loss and in my opinion i wouldnt be surprised if this team won the rest of its schedule. Yes they can beat any one in the big 12. This is college football baby, anything is possible.

Posted by: earniechambers on September 19, 2009 9:45PM CST Jeff- USC was beaten by a medicore Washington team today in cased you missed it, TT is giving Texas all they want and there is a national recruit diparity big time, hmmmm, we used to win with walk-ons, as we will this year

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 9:45PM CST AND... we still have no idea that there is a position called FULLBACK, that can be very useful. ALA, NU/Texas game in 06, we throw a quick out and the WR drops it, we lose. Today, all we needed is ONE YARD and we win. Watson, get a clue, life doesnt revolve around passing the ball or running from two set formations. Open up the playbook and call running and passing plays from all formations and make the opposing D-Coord actually earn their paycheck. Come on dude, we are paying you good money.

Posted by: GBR in Texas on September 19, 2009 9:47PM CST Sludge, I'm inclined to agree with you to a degree. We are recruiting good players, certainly more than good enough to win this game today. I'm not real pleased with our offensive approach today eiher, but I have come to realize that we can't place the bulk of the blame at the feet of our QB. No he did not play well, but I'm sure Wats observed that as well and IMO he did not handle it well himself. My hope is that this is an aboration and it won't happen again. We shall see.

Posted by: thebone63 on September 19, 2009 9:47PM CST i agree with you Dallas. If a coach doesnt believe in his players to get 6 yards with physical football, he is calling them weak. I would rather a team tell the defense the play, and challenge them to stop them. TO went for 2 against Miami, he wanted to WIN not just get voted a national championship. I respect that. NU wants to just win, even if its not earned. Sad

Posted by: JeffCo on September 19, 2009 9:48PM CST Earnie... the disparity is better these days bit it has a long way to go. Just ask La Tech, Tulsa, New Mexico State, etc etc. If things were close ALL teams would be evenly matched. Do you really think we can compete with Florida?? Again, I know Washington beat USC (that was an upset by a team that does NOT have the national recruits (Washington)).

Posted by: earniechambers on September 19, 2009 9:49PM CST Sludge- If we want national recruits as Jeff has alluded to, we won't be seeing a fullback anytime soon, don't blame Watson for that, blame the NFL

Posted by: huskers4_eva on September 19, 2009 9:49PM CST Got a jayhawk fan in here talking about how great his team did against Duke. Wow congrats man. Kansas beat Duke. I didn't expect that. Man, I mean Kansas must be pretty good if they beat Duke.

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 9:49PM CST Eva.... You KINDA have a good point. At least we werent blown out. But thats a poor excuse for a team that controlled the game for 3+ qtrs with mediocre offensive play and solid D play. Still not happy with mediocre, even though others here seem to be. I've heard every apologist for Watson, but still no reason why we dont open up the playbook and why we dont use a FULL BACK.

Posted by: Dallas Husker on September 19, 2009 9:50PM CST Do we need better recruits? Absolutely. What happened to all the talk I keep hearing about though, the big heart in their chest, the pride of playing for NU? Seems to me that mentality would have worked in the final minute. Two years ago all I heard was we have the recruits, just no heart. Now we need better recruits to win this type of game? I guess what's good for the goose is good for the gander.

Posted by: JayhawkMarriedToAHusker on September 19, 2009 9:51PM CST Gentlemen/Ladies, One quick reminder - We're talking about COLLEGE FOOTBALL... Not war in Iraq, not foodstamps, not terrorism. College footbball! So as much as I'd like to yank your chain (KU win, NU loss), I really think both teams are generally equal, and whoever shows up to play the hardest will win KU/NU.

Posted by: JeffCo on September 19, 2009 9:52PM CST Earnie... all I am saying is that USC will win 9 out of times they play an undermatched (meaning USC has better recruits) school. Upsets will always occur.... I just wish it was Nebraska doing the upsetting!!!

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 9:53PM CST Yes, I do blame Watson for that. The FULLBACK is vital. If we buck the trend of pass first, and take care of first downs, then the FULLBACK is a much needed cog. Not just a block but an occasional runner. Like I said, we underwhelmed today with our offense and were highly undisciplined. Do you seriously think Watson is the way we need to go on offense? Or are you playing devil's advocate?

Posted by: thebone63 on September 19, 2009 9:54PM CST Recruits will fix it? Go watch an Airforce game or a Navy game. They can give the best a run for their money any day and they have some of the least in talent. What they have are men with hearts and discipline. Undersized and outmanned but always competing.

Posted by: JeffCo on September 19, 2009 9:55PM CST What about Army?

Posted by: thebone63 on September 19, 2009 9:56PM CST sorry, can only follow so many teams. no disrespect intended

Posted by: GBR in Texas on September 19, 2009 9:59PM CST Jayhawk who married up, yep...that's pretty much it in a nutshell. KU will probably lose one down the line and the will have their week of soul searching and then picking themselves up off the turf just like NU will do this week. That one should be a good one.

Posted by: JeffCo on September 19, 2009 9:59PM CST lol...too funny. Trust me... I am a retired soldier and it darn near killed me to ask that question.

Posted by: Sludge on September 19, 2009 10:00PM CST Yeah, you say that now, Jayhawk.... What happens when KU basketball lost to Michigan State? Same stuff, so dont sound all high and mighty about "not war in Iraq" or some other BS. Its just something people are passionate about, and our hot button happens to be the Huskers. Of course I know where to put this in perspective, but I'm just upset at how bad our offense is. Let me find your boards when KU basketball loses in the tourney and say the same stuff to you. Maybe get off your "perspective" soap box then?

Posted by: Dallas Husker on September 19, 2009 10:02PM CST And another thing, I don't want to hear any smack talk for KU or MU fans. Nothing worse than hearing that our team isn't what it used to be by fans of teams that never were. Blue tick's crowning achievement was an OB victory without a conference title in what? five years? If Osborne had a five year stretch like that, his coaching career and Nebraska would have been over. I'll make a deal with you, KU fan: If you run the table, beat us, beat Texas or OU in Arlington this December, then beat Florida or whoever in Pasadena for the Sears Trophy: you know that sort of thing, believe me, I will be the first Husker fan to take your smack talk, in fact, I will welcome it. Until then, stick to your trash talk battles with Mizzou and K-state, because until you can even hang a big12 title banner in Lawrence, let alone national title banner, you will continue to sit at the little kitty table. Texas, OU and Nebraska have actually won things in the past, regardless of what the future holds. You have a long way to go.

Posted by: JeffCo on September 19, 2009 10:03PM CST Here is my last point (I think anyway). If we look at all of the schools that we beat the past few years I bet we had a better recruiting class (Maybe not Clemson). If we look at the teams that we lost to - I bet we had a worse recruiting class than theirs. I am not saying 100% is correct.... but I bet I am right for the most part.

Posted by: GBR in Texas on September 19, 2009 10:06PM CST Easy Sludge. I am a fan of the fullback, but I am also a fan of the spread offense, I work with it every day. There is nothing wrong with the offense itself, it's how you utilize what the offense has to offer. We didn't utilize it very well today. That said, you also have to consider as a coach how you can give your QB opportunities to be successful. Lee was not very good today and I'm sure finding those opportunities was difficult at best.

Posted by: GBR in Texas on September 19, 2009 10:16PM CST JeffCo, what you are saying makes sense but may be slightly flawed. No one gets more total stars in their class than USC, yet USC has lost to a Pac 10 team in 6 of the last 8 years. If you are averaging 2.5 to 3.5 stars per recruit you have an opportunity to be successful provided that you do a good job coaching up your kids. Some of those kids are 5 star players that have yet to mature and some of those 5 star kids are as developed as they are going to get. It's a crapshoot, so you recruit what fits your system and you coach 'em up.

Posted by: FrontRangeHusker on September 19, 2009 10:18PM CST T-tech is giving the whorns all they can handle is right.. nope wait, oh crap....whorns back up by 14 now. wow, I saw a lot of good things today, but I saw more of the 'same' too. Seems to me coaches need to manage the game better, can someone tell me who is in charge of the offense on the sidelines? Is it zac lee? Who is it? Who is pulling the Offense together on the sidelines? Also, why can the majority of teams in america get lined up on the ball without the playclock ticking down to 8 seconds left, except for the huskers? .....Whether we win today or lose, one thing bothers me the most, management of the game seems to be lacking, especially on offense. Am i missing something here? (Does watson plan to be a head coach somewhere from the pressbox, ala Jo Pa?) All the resources in the world, and we can't find this guy a spotter in the sky to relay info? Okay, maybe we still let the 81 yard pass disaster happen, even with Wats on the sideline, but if one thing was exposed today, it's this fact, the huskers are seriously lacking leadership on offense? You don't need leadership to beat arkansas state, nor will it be needed next sat, but leadership and better management was needed today, that much was evident.

Posted by: JeffCo on September 19, 2009 10:23PM CST I feel better now that I have vented my anger. Thanks for everyone's insights and comments. Come on Huskers!!!! LEt's get on track and rise to the top.

Posted by: gtsum2 on September 19, 2009 10:24PM CST sad state of affairs. I was there, and my worst fears were realized 1) Beamer Balle (opening kickoff), and 2) our offensive line got beat...plain and simple. Tech could not run against us (which I thought would happen), and yet our offensive line could get the yards they needed when they needed them. Yes, Heluy had a career day, but the penalties, and then not closing the deal really killed it. Zac lee was great the first 2 weeks, but obviously there is quite a ways to go before we can be an elite team. Throws were off, and receivers could NOT get open...Credit the Hokies for taking advantage of a busted coverage (unreal...hard to believe that can happen at that point in the game), but the better team lost today...they did not get beat imo..this one hurts, and hopefully they bounce back quickly...I am still in disbelief

Posted by: ITSTHABOSHOW on September 19, 2009 10:31PM CST well as u all know nebraska cant win the big game wait not even a big game a top 20 game rediculous again penalty after penalty same thing that always gets us might as well quit the season cuz that was it right there even if u think we will make the big 12 campionship we cant hang with texas our season just washed down the drain with all the red beer in Blacksburg Phuck Life GO BIG RED somewhat

Posted by: gtsum2 on September 19, 2009 10:33PM CST A couple more thoughts from Blacksburg - fans were great (very much like lincoln). The play calling was way too conservative I thought. Where were the down the field passes in the seam? Of course, zac lee had an off night (nbo question the the fans and the hokie d had a lot do with that). The WR's either dropped balls or could not get separation from the DB's - the O line, (helu's career game notwhithstanding) got beat by the Hokie line. husker d line played great...the Husker LB's need a LOT of practice...they consistantly get beat and do not deliver a blow as much as they take the blows...trust me on this one...when you see it first hand you will know...our LB's need to get much bigger and stronger and bring the wood...there is not a LB playing tonight that played balls out and brought it. In the end, I guess we are w that here we are...a 2-1 team that still cannot close the deal. No matter what happens in the game, you have to close it out and the huskers do NOT have that mentality yet. Hopefully next year, but I am guessing we will be about the same as last year record wise, although I do think the Huskers are a much better team then they were last year.

Posted by: GBR in Texas on September 19, 2009 10:34PM CST gtsum2, actually I don't think the Beamer Ball thing was a factor. What I mean is on the opening kickoff it wasn't anything they did it was what we did. Two guys got a little too close together running their lanes and one got knocked off his feet causing the other to fall over him. The ball carrier just did a good job of getting through that hole. Other than that we probably outplayed them on special teams.

Posted by: gtsum2 on September 19, 2009 10:45PM CST for some reason, I cant stop....I thought we would come out fast, but that was obviously not the case...I thought we would punch it in (1 out of the 5 times), but that was not the case. The O line is a joke, and quite frankly, has been since Cotton has been there. We are unorganized, undisciplined, and not tough enough...plain and simple. The play calling was way too conservative, but then again, lee choked...simple as that...he looked like a different player out there, and yes, I realize tech is good on defense, but this is not the Miami Hurricans of 2001 defense. I was there..I saw it.....tech D is solid..that is it..is not great...I think most of us heere would think that NU had'has a better offense then Alabama, and you can see the difference in in the two games. I hate to admit it, but the truth is there...as long as watson calls a predictable (was there any ballsy play calls?!?!?!?), and as long as our O line is average at best, we will continue to be lucky to be a middle fo the road team that is lucky to win 9 games. I fully expected it to be a tough game, and it was, but (aside from the D line play), we were outplayed, and outhit and out physicalled (is that a word?). WE are likely a year away, and hopefully we continue to improve, but the killer instinct is definatelty not there in the 3rd game of the 2nd season of pelini and company (for the record, I 100% think pelini is the right guy for the job, but it is also painfully obvious that we are not anywhere close to an elite team)

Posted by: ITSTHABOSHOW on September 19, 2009 10:45PM CST even washington can get a big time win lets face nebraska will never get back to national prominence it just not happening anytime soon DUKE and NEBRASKA might as well be the same place

Posted by: ITSTHABOSHOW on September 19, 2009 10:49PM CST watson called vanilla the whole game i figured he would and he did he isnt ballsy enough gives way to much respect to bud foster just let the guys play callahan oh i mean watson

Posted by: BubbaBu on September 19, 2009 10:52PM CST It was said earlier in the year that Lee new all 380 plays and green new 30. Well, we look like we have 30 plays and 2 sets we run them out of. If your back runs for 170 yards, and your defense gives up 8 first downs, you better win the game. I'm not placing all the blame on Zac. If you notice on most of our routes, the db's are right on us even when we catch the ball. I mean, Zac has 2 wrist bands and a belt clip full of plays he has to look at. All of these plays and we run QB draws??? 1st and goal and no FB? We went through this last year also before we started using 2 backs and Suh in backfield. Great game by many players, poor game by Watson.

Posted by: GBR in Texas on September 19, 2009 10:56PM CST gtsum2, I'm not too happy about a few things either, but I don't think the O-line was that bad. They did struggle at times with the pass rush, and yes there were the mental lapses with the penalties, but after the first quarter they steadily began to wear down their D-line in the running game. At times there was some serious "mashing" going on. I rewound the DVR on a number of plays to make sure I was seeing what I was seeing. I wasn't very happy with the LBers early on, but they got better once Dillard got in there and someone finally started going downhill. I thought the defense looked pretty solid minus a few bonehead, and very costly, mistakes. I was not as impressed with VT as you were. They did have one rush end that was extremely quick off the edge and will give any tackle that lines up there trouble. Yep, there's still a ways to go.

Posted by: gtsum2 on September 19, 2009 10:57PM CST GBR - I agree that we likely won the kicking game, but that opening sequence of events and the ensuing 3 and out by our offense kind of set the tone for the game...as in tie our balls up and play conservative. I cannot stand the way tech plays (likely cause I live out here and see it up close and personal every week), and the better team lost today imo. Bottom line is we are an average to above average team and nowhere near an elite power. We do not have the athletes yet (up and down the roster) Tech was much faster on the field. I think the coaches are getting the most out of these players as they can...they know how to coach...that is undeniable on the defensive side of the ball anyways...the offense...not so much...either the offensive coaches are not doing it good enough, or simply dont have the players (O line in particular as well as the WR's)....where was the separation? Where was the downfield blocking to spring a 20 yard run into 80 yards? I know the huskers are on the right track, and I thought they could win tonight (which they should have), but bottom line is OU is likely to school us, KU has more of a killer instinct and likely much more talent on the offense then us, and who the hell knows with Mizzou??? Expect a very similar result to last year and we will be lucky to be ranked at the end of the year...heck, I can promise you the media heads will be talking up taylor and we will be out of the rankings after this one...even though huskers dominated (somehow???) the game...I said it at the beginning of the year...next year is the year...if they cannot break though (because I dont see it happening this year), next year, then we might be relegated to an average team like clemson, tech (there is a reason they got dominated by bama ealier.) and others...so, so far removed from the powerhouses of the 90's that we might not ever get back there imo

Posted by: GBR in Texas on September 19, 2009 11:01PM CST Bubba, I can't say that I disagree with you. There is definitely work to be done. Wats screwed the pooch as bad as Lee did. That said, I've been in both their shoes, albeit to a lesser degree, and both can fix the problems. I'm sure they're both fully aware of what we are talking about and I'm sure the effort will be made to rectify the situation.

Posted by: BubbaBu on September 19, 2009 11:06PM CST GBR-that's why I brought up last year. Watson already went through this. He should know better by now. I know he will fix it, but he already fixed it last year-

Posted by: gtsum2 on September 19, 2009 11:09PM CST GBR - I was not that impressed with Tech...it is more of a sad state of affairs of the overall talent level on our team. Yes, we have some players, but c'mon now...nobody on this O line is anywhere near all big 12 caliber, nor is anyone on defense, EXCEPT SUH...he is an absolute monster and he played a whale of a game. Helu is a good back, but he is not anything close to green, LP, etc (of course, they had MUCH better O lines in front of them). Tech is solid...that is all they have been since Beamer has been there...much like Huskers of the 80's...good, but not great....and am I the only one that is getting tired of the predictable play calling of watson? I really can't tell if it is lack of talent on the Offense, or coaching and game calling, or a mix thereof? I am quite happy with the defense, as I honestly belive the D coaches are getting as much out of those players as possible - the exception is SUH like stated above...he has talent, will power, and is a monster out there...hopefully those LB's will get better with years of experience, but I was not impressed with the lateral movement and speed out there...tech was much faster on the defensive side of the ball, and we all know how important speed is...we need more time to get better players...plain and simple. I will likely watch the game when I get home, but my seat of the pants feeling from here is we need bigger, stronger, and faster players to get back to an elite level....hopefully we are on the way, as there has been considerable improvement over the past 2 years..there is no doubt about that...I am out...heading to bed and back to richmond...

Posted by: GBR in Texas on September 19, 2009 11:12PM CST gtsum2, you're not off track, I agree with most of what you say. I was not impressed with Taylor, he's really not that good. He can run but his throwing ability is beyond suspect. He really didn't do that much except for the two big plays that were gifts. Our speed is gradually increasing, give it another year or so and our competitive speed will be there. The edge is not there offensively, maybe this is the game that puts the chip back on their shoulders. Defensively, well the front 4 are playing with a chip on each shoulder. They were pretty good today.

Posted by: zeke3079 on September 19, 2009 11:13PM CST We just gotta finish ONCE! We need a breakout, we don't have the killer instinct-offense or defense. It will be a battle all year, I would tend to agree 8 or 9 wins might be in the cards with a lot of toss up games mixed in there. Not to pass too much judgment, but does it bother anyone else that Bo just doesn't have that "head coach flair"? Just that element or professionalism? Probably not a fair comparison, but look at Pete Carroll, Urban Meyer, Mack Brown. Not saying they are superior in X's and O's, but as figureheads they have a smooth, calm demeanor generally speaking

Posted by: gtsum2 on September 19, 2009 11:17PM CST GBR - I agree with you 100% above:) Hopefully we can get back there and in the meantime at least play hard and with passion (which we have been since about the Mizzou game last year) On another note, how about the sooners and texas???? Sooners shut out the #1 ranked offense from last year!?!?!? Very, very impressive imo. Texas pass D is very suspect, and I hate to say it will be their undoing somewhere along the line (either against OU or against Florida/Bama). Texas was not impressive at all against texas tech.

Posted by: GBR in Texas on September 19, 2009 11:18PM CST zeke, it doesn't bother me a bit and I live it every day. Mack is a politician. He doesn't do a good job coaching kids he does a good job coaching coaches. Bo's professional, he's just not a schmoozer for lack of a better word. He's really not that much different, just a little more "earthy" if you know what I mean.

Posted by: zeke3079 on September 19, 2009 11:18PM CST gtsum 2 I concur, VT is not a great team, Taylor is mediocre at best, but yes, we don't have a stacked team. Definitely talent at some positions, but not overwhelming at all. Helu is amazing though, might end up being the best back of the decade for us if he stays healthy. Imagine him with our O-lines from the good ol days

Posted by: BubbaBu on September 19, 2009 11:21PM CST An alarming bit of info going around the boards. Some are saying that Zac broke his hand towards end of game. Not sure which one...

Posted by: zeke3079 on September 19, 2009 11:23PM CST GBR in Texas, where do you live in Texas? Im in Austin myself I would agree, Mack is a smooth "salesman" but hey what do they have 9 or 10 years straight with 10 wins? Texas will always be good, mostly due to an obscene amount of talented high school players around the state, but Mack does do a good job reeling them in, and he has surrounded himself with solid coordinators. Yep, you are correct, sounds just like a politician-figurehead while the advisors run the show

Posted by: gtsum2 on September 19, 2009 11:23PM CST zeke - yep, you are right...helu with some of our past o lines would be nice for sure...he is doing what he can, but I still think he is a bit physically limited and cannot carry the rock 25 times a game like LP, Rozier, Green, etc...ahh...time to hit it fellas...see ya all next week

Posted by: GBR in Texas on September 19, 2009 11:24PM CST gtsum, I know what you are saying about Texas but it's just hard to tell. It's kind of weird when these old Southwest Conference Schools get together, anything can happen. Some of these people still live in those days and those feelings run deep. As long as we're talking about living in "those days" I think there are still people in Texas who think the Civil War is still going on. Still alot of north and south ramblings from people, expecially in the rural areas.

Posted by: GBR in Texas on September 19, 2009 11:26PM CST I'm out too, see you all later. Notice I didn't say "yall." Just can't bring myself to do that, even after living here for 27 years. Night all.

Posted by: thebone63 on September 19, 2009 11:35PM CST Helu is a pretty good back with good vision and a nice burst. He can run behind any line but remember, Green, LP, Rozier, etc all had corn fed farm boys with atitudes at fullback knocking guys on their butts. Fullbacks are underappreciated but greatly needed. Maybe I am old school, but I will take a nice all control O and a dominating D over any high flying passing team. Has Florida healed yet from their Frazier led thrashing? Dont get me wrong, we still need passing and the seam with a TE still works.

Posted by: zeke3079 on September 19, 2009 11:35PM CST Where are you hearing Lee broke his hand? Can anyone confirm this?

Posted by: Silicon Valley Husker on September 19, 2009 11:47PM CST Yes, Watson is predictable and horrible...that's why this offense has been in the top 15 or better for the last few years. His play calling was uninspired. I mean, what's up with calling a quarterback draw, so predictable. (Did that go for 15 yards? oops, sorry.) Wats is doing fine and I think he is a major strength of this team. For the "here we go again" crowd...the difference between this team and BC's, or even last year's at this point is that Bo doesn't need to give them a tongue lashing after this game to have them ready next week. They know they should have won and know that the coaching and play calling had them winning this game. They know that they must step up and will take it upon themselves without needing someone to hold their hand or kick their butt. Great effort by the team and they will continue to clean up their mistakes and become stronger. GBR

Posted by: JayBr on September 19, 2009 11:52PM CST Dallas Husker I agree with you that players believing in themselves is an issue....that's why I put that in my original post. I disagree with you, though, that the coaches can't do anything about that. After the debacle known as the Callahan era, confidence and belief will not magically appear. Regarding talent, we thought Callahan was bringing in top notch talent, based on what the "gurus" were saying. We found out over the next few years the inaccuracy of that. This is a point that has been thoroughly discussed and does not merit additional discussion. I am also not going to harp on Watson's play calling. Holt had two opportunities for TD's that he simply has to make in this game at this level. McNeill's TD catch is nullified by penalty. I will certainly agree that confidence and focus are issues and believe that Pelini is the guy to take care of these issues.

Posted by: Silicon Valley Husker on September 19, 2009 11:59PM CST Jay....agree that Callahan's rep on bringing in good talent was highly over sold. Then again, in fairness, he brough in people like Helu. Helu played HS ball about 15 minutes from the Cal campus and 1/2 hour or less from Stanford. Cal has been a good offensive team and put lots of players in the pros, so to get Helu out from under them is pretty good. The impressive thing is how much more the current staff is getting out of the players than the previous staff did. We need to keep upgrading talent, but its a work in progress and we're more effective than before and I credit Bo and staff for that.

Posted by: VA Husker on September 20, 2009 12:09AM CST I didn't read all the posts, but I kept seeing a theme here. O-bashing. Sure we have played better, sure we missed a ton of opportunities to put the game away, but we played one of the best D's in the country and probably the best one we will play all year. We lost this game with penalties, pure and simple.

Posted by: JayBr on September 20, 2009 12:30AM CST Silicon Valley Husker Oh, I agree that Cally brought in some good ones....Helu, Lee, Suh, etc, just like you said it was "highly over sold". I also agree with you that Pelini is doing a great job at balancing the need for talent upgrade and getting the most out of those he inherited. My hope was that we wouldn't have to worry about needing a miracle to beat Ball State at home, or to not be down 38-0 to Okie St at halftime at home. I will also never forget having breakfast in a Columbia Missouri hotel two years ago after the debacle in Columbia. Things are changing for the better. We are on the right track.

Posted by: Silicon Valley Husker on September 20, 2009 12:42AM CST Jay.....agreed. I think Ball State was better than people knew (many 49er fans think Davis could be the QB of the future, but its a bit like people thinking Green is ready). I don't have any personal venom towards the previous staff, but I do feel bad for the players that suffered through that time. Being a technically solid staff is no replacement for being one that makes the players believe in themselves and turns them into leaders. My dad's college coach (John Gagliardi..all time college win leader) had to coach hockey at St. John's (MN) when their coach quit unexpectedly. Gagliardi had no hockey experience but they won 75% of their matches because he knows how to motivate and lead.

Posted by: ITSTHABOSHOW on September 20, 2009 1:21AM CST guess what suh did have a good game but he pranced around on pass coverage like a lost little kid on the play that mattered i like suh and he is the face of the program crap he is the program right now but he should have rushed the qb there and made him throw that touchdown earler when it would have been a much tougher throw i mean they had to get the td so why stand there and dance like he did everyone saying it amukamara bad play weel that reciever came all the way accross the endzone cuz suh stood there and watched him throw it basically let hime wait till the reciever got open rediculous by my eyes even pelini said it in postgame video

Posted by: drivebyposter on September 20, 2009 7:11AM CST snauz defines why the 'n' really does stand for "nowledge'

Posted by: huskerdog/colo. on September 20, 2009 12:33PM CST SCREWED AGAIN!! This time BIG 12 "OFFICIALS" How many penalties called in a row on qoute, quote TD drive to take us out of fg range?? And of course, lest we forget BIG EAST "OFFICIALS" '93 NC game & '82 PEE ST. game!!! As I predicted - we'd roll or lose a heartbreaker (check my predic's before game)

Posted by: rluben on September 20, 2009 2:57PM CST Peanut butter jelly time