...[cricket chirp]...

USC Aftermath

Some things that stuck out in my mind after taking a few hours to digest this one. Feel free to comment on these or add your own.

1. In general, this game played out about how it was supposed to. Our secondary got exposed in some critical situations, their overall team speed was impressive, we didn't get near as many breaks as we needed for the upset, and we lost the game by the spread.

2. We didn't get blown out. We kept it close for awhile. They only had 14 points at the half. The defensive front seven seemed to play very well against a good USC offensive line. These all seem like small victories within the game which we should feel good about afterwards despite the loss; however, the nature of the game, some poor execution on USC's part, and a conservative gameplan by Nebraska dictated most of that. So there's not really a whole lot to feel good about.

3. Back to that gameplan. I can't remember a loss in the Callahan era in which I was so upset at the coaching staff. They didn't even give us a chance to succeed with one puzzling call after another. We would bring up the safeties, but not blitz, leaving the middle of the field open. Twice, we tried running to the outside on 3rd downs which USC's speed just ate up. The FIRST time we even tried going down the field with our WR's was in the last minute of the 3rd quarter! You remember that, the only drive that our offense looked alive. We were actually throwing the ball down the field. That drive also included a nice play-action to Herian for 35 yards. Where the fuck was that the entire game?!? A terrible job by the coaching staff, which is surprising. Brent Musburger called it right when he said that Nebraska looked like it was just trying to get out of SoCal without embarrasing itself.

4. Final word: forget this. It's over and done with. We've got Big 12 battles coming up.

Gameday

Under 5 hours to kickoff, and....I don't feel much different about this game than I did before the season. Cautiously optimistic is the best way to describe it. Sure, we have a shot, but those top 5 recruiting classes for Pete Carroll over the last 4-5 years, and a team that's been consistently ranked in the top 10 going on 4-5 years has to be worth something, i.e. - they've been here before (unlike NU). Nebraska has played well, but we haven't even had a test yet (by the way, did anyone realize that La Tech and Nicholls State are playing this week). So far each game has been locked up by the time we walked out on the field. We haven't faced any adversity.

Now for the good news, USC's secondary is dinged and if Taylor has a really good day then we may be in business. I like our rushing attack, but this might be a game where in order to win we have to play against their weakness. With that said, I think our defense is the key to the game. For some reason, ESPN took it upon itself to ask "Can USC hang 50 on Nebraska?" as a teaser into the halftime show during the Thursday night game. We all know the secondary is weak, so this game is up to the front 4 to put pressure on the QB. I don't think we can afford to blitz much, as we will probably have to double cover the wideouts often.

I'm hoping for a good game, but if we start getting torched for 60 yard bombs at the outset it could get ugly.

USC 34 NU 24

Andre Jones done and fucked up

Aside from the fact that he gave USC more motivation with his stupid comment, he now has given the impression to the rest of the country that Nebraska is so high on itself that this game will be a cake walk. The media, particularly ESPN, is just running this thing into the ground. Sportscenter tonight again mentioned the comment and preceded to lecture Nebraska that LA Tech and Nich St. aren't in the same hemisphere as USC, as if we didn't know that. Who wants to bet that ESPN Gameday will make that comment into a huge story? Maybe it shouldn't matter what everyone else thinks, but any self-respecting Husker fan knows that this game is a loss unless we play a flawless game AND catch some breaks.

Believe me, I'm all happy for our players that they're going into this game with confidence, but can we do it with an ounce of humility? Something we'll need after the game.

TC

So Here it Finally is. . . . USC Week . . .

I can't believe it is already here. The most important husker game on national television since . . . uhhhh . . . oh boy . . . do I say 2002 against Miami? or should it be Penn state in 2002? And did i read that right? The gameday crew will be in Los pimps and whores? Kirk, Corso, and Fowler picked USC-neb over LSU-Auburn?? oh did i mention that whole Notre Lame Michigan game wasn't chosen or even Tennessee-Florida?

We are back in the national spotlight boys. Whether or not we are truly 'back' is yet to be determined BUT for at least the moment we have climbed back into the national spotlight. And as much as I and every beer drinking husker fan wants to believe it, we are outmatched in possibly every way imaginable. Their WR's should wreak havoc on our beat up and inexperienced secondary, and they will use cosgrove's crazy strategy of using linebackers to cover WR's and RB's against us all day. Oh did I mention their Big Game experience? By my calculations we have uhh none. Don't forget the 18 point spread, or the ass whooping of an SEC team on the road by 36. The odds aren't stacked in their favor, the odds were layed by a brick layer who was supervised by a construction science major who gave way to an engineer who ensured every little detail was accounted for. Point is we should lose, and most likely we will, but doesn't that make a possible upset win all that much better? Could you imagine what would happen to the rest of our season IF, and thats a big if, we won? An instant national championship caliber tag, confidence of winning on the road, and a huge recruiting boost come to mind. Wow what an unbelievably huge win this could be . . . But as the ole pocker saying goes you can't win the pot if you aren't in( . . . u hapless sucker). There is a lot on the line, and i'm dying to find out what the river card is and maybe just maybe this time luck is on our side.
out
g

NU 49 LaTech 10

It was a pretty good beat down, but I don't know if I'm as loaded off the Kool-Aid as many others appear to be. The offense was impressive, but the defense has some question marks.

The offense was as balanced as any of us have probably ever seen. 252 yards rushing and 332 yards passing. 46 rushing plays, 36 passing plays. They were clicking on all cylinders. We shouldn't have a problem finding a running back. I would have killed for even one of these guys back in 2002 and 2003.

The defense played well, but a game like that isn't going to tell you much. Based on that game, I think we should be preparing to give up a lot of passing yards this season. Cortney Grixby will probably be picked on all season. He is short, plays with a cast, and doesn't ever look for the ball. I thought I was having flashbacks of a George Darlington secondary. Turns out he was actually coaching the La Tech defense which given our offensive success comes as no surprise. One more thing on Grixby - he made six tackles against La Tech compared to just one by Andre Jones. Who knows if Jones is any better, but they sure weren't throwing that way much. I guess my hope is that our front seven can turn up the heat when they need to. We need to see a lot of blitzing this year.

Also:
- Check out the redesigned Huskers.com
- Jim Tressel lied about voting Texas #1 in this week's Coaches Poll
- Week 1 games indicate that the new game-shortening rules result in 18 fewer plays per game
- USC Safety Pinkard out for season with torn ACL

Destination: Lincoln

I'm not going to wax philosophical nor try to breakdown this weekend's football game pitting the Nos. 20/22 Nebraska Cornhuskers and the UR/UR Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. Instead I'm just going to say that I am pumped to be going back. I can't wait to see the other displaced huskers in a once familiar setting. I can't wait to not get bounced from Sidetracks and leave on my own terms. I can't wait to be in a college football hungry environment. I can't wait to feel the adrenaline rush of 80K. I can't wait for the 1st ole chant. Here's to hoping for sunny and 80 degrees.

NU(-22.5) 41 vs. LT 17

Pictures next week