Ever since Monday’s crushing blow (delivered by a loss that should not have been), HuskerZone has been presenting the disgruntled fans’ perspective. Now it’s time to see what it looks like from another important point of view—a player’s.
Omaha World-Herald reporter Rich Kaipust spoke to offensive guard Matt Slauson, a 335-pound sophomore from Colorado Springs after the game.
Some might call it wishful thinking. Others may see it as educated guessing. But the Nebraska players who hung around the Cotton Bowl interview room and by the team buses Monday are sure feeling bullish on next season.
“We’re going to be fighting for a national title shot,” said offensive guard Matt Slauson.
“We’re going to be so, so ready,” Slauson said. “We were so close in so many of our games, and just let it slip. We know we can play with anybody. And I’ll tell you next year we’re going to be fighting for a national title shot.”
Of course, that’s easier said than done. Nebraska faces a strong schedule in 2007 filled with eight bowl teams and nine teams that finished .500 or better in 2006.
A player has to believe. So I find no fault with Slauson’s read. The fact is we DO have the horses to win. That’s what makes the loss in Dallas and a 9-5 season so hard to take.
January 3rd, 2007 at 9:17 pm
National Title? With Loserhan botching sure wins and under-achieving within the Conference like he keeps doing? Keep dreaming, Matt! The recent postings on the need to send Callahan packing are SO RIGHT ON TARGET! I tried to sell Husker Nation a few months ago, and perhaps now more of us can see it…the reasons that BC was run out of the NFL by his former players AND organization ARE PLAIN AND SIMPLE! Just like the reasons that there are only 3 people on the face of this earth who the University could find to say something non-negative on BC’s artificial website ARE PLAIN AND SIMPLE! The man can not only not coach his way out of a paper bag, but he is also blatantly incompetent and poorly respected among his counterparts. He MUST be run out of Lincoln before it is too late, and Steve Pederson should be right behind him for stupidly saddling us with him to avoid the very mud of mediocrity that we are now spinning our 5-loss-per-season wheels in…and the beat goes on.
January 4th, 2007 at 5:35 am
Evidently Callahan and his staff are distributing hallucinogenic drugs in the locker room, too!
January 4th, 2007 at 6:58 am
I don’t fault the players for believing in themselves. Not at all.
I think Loserhan is probably a decent motivator, he prepares well and recruits well. All good things to have. Now, if he could just learn to stop overthinking the game on the field, he might get somewhere. I prefer he do it at another school, of course.
January 9th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
To all the haters,
It’s easy to blame Callahan for a 9-5 season, but don’t forget the 2 point loss to Texas and 3 point loss to Auburn. We out played both those teams, but didn’t quite get it. That’s only 5 points from a 11-3 season. Then if we wouldn’t have shot ourselves in the foot vs. Oklahoma on the first play of the game it would’ve been 12-2. All this means, we were only a few mistakes/plays away from a top 5 finish this season. We just need a couple play makers or even one solid play maker and we are there.
Have faith. One of our biggest strengths is our incredible fans! Don’t handicap Callahan and the team by spreading discontent.
January 9th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
Ansel, if you are going to play the what if game, please take into account the way Kansas manhandled us in lincoln no less. Almost 600 yards of total offense, more than the Huskers. Into overtime in lincoln by unranked Kansas. That game too could have gone the other way against us.
What about the A & M game? But for a questionable penalty on 4th down against A&M that allowed us to come back from behind and win in the last seconds, THAT TOO could have gone the other way. In that respect WE COULD HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT A 7-7 season, depending on the CCG and bowl adjustments to losing the extra 2.
I don’t think it is healthy for any of us to play the ‘what if’ game. Count your blessings we were only 9-5. Kinda mediocre, wouldn’t you say??
January 10th, 2007 at 6:00 am
Is Ansel living with Gretel in a Fairy Tale? No fans have ever “handicapped” Callahan except himself, we’re just so sick and tired of putting up with a severely inadequate and mentally handicapped coaching staff. BigRedFred is absolutely right on, NU could have been easily been 7-7 or worse, especially if the Big 12 North wasn’t loaded with bad teams. Before you simplify the fans plight by merely saying “have faith”, please take a few moments to read the last few weeks of blogs on this website, including the Site’s Administrator and all the many newspaper articles, both locally and nationally, that document what a “handicap” that Loserhan actually is to this program (and has been for the last 3 years of an embarassing total of 15 losses). As has been previously mentioned, it’s not the fans’ duty to sit idly by and just hope against hope when we know that BC is the wrong man for the job, and a proven under-achiever. There are many reasons why Callahan was despised and run out of town in his former job, and the “incredible fans” of Lincoln and Nebraska that you speak of hopefully will band together for the same result. Only then, will we get our team back and true Husker football, pride and tradition. Right now, the Ohio Bobcats are the only team around playing Husker football, and if the fans continue to tolerate non-true Huskers like Pederson and Callahan, the pathetic (non-Husker) performances of 5 losses per year will continue, like it coincidentally never did before Loserhan got here with his “Brilliant West Coast Offense” that D-Coordinators everywhere welcome and salivate to compared to Devaney & Osborne’s dominating smash-mouth running games which was our trademark and formula for success for generations.
January 10th, 2007 at 8:09 am
Yeah Ansel, if the New England Patriot fans and management just “had faith” in 2000, they would have stuck with Pete Carroll who unlike Loserhan, is a good coach but was like BC in that he was the wrong man for the Pats job. New England’s having faith would have prevented the right man Belechik from ever being hired, and their 3 Super Bowl trophies would have gone right down the drain. Just like our 5-loss seasons continue to do. Come on, a “few plays away from being 12-2 and “Top 5″? The OU game was not about 1 play, we were totally shut down on offense by a better team from start to end. Callahan did not even lead the team to a Top 25 End-of-the-Year ranking (again), and he was very fortunate to finish with the mediocre 9-5 record that he did. NU’s not “a few plays” away, just “One Quality Coach” away from being good.
February 4th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
ansel is right. have faith. i thought nebraskans were optimistic. the people on this website beside ansel and myself are the “bad nebraskans”. the people that make nebraska look bad. You people probably represent 1% of the nebraska fan base. Ansel and i are fans but i dont know about the rest of you?? and if your gonna talk about coaching heres something for you.bill callahan calls the fake punt that fails and he’s a goat, yet charlie weis does the same thing with the game against lsu and no one questuioned him. why? he didnt completely remaster an offense. he had all his talent when he arrived in south bend…..
when the ND job came up, it was a coaches dream. he had not near as much work to do as bill. dont blame our season on coaching. ansel is right. he’s a fan!
February 4th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
Dear “Actual Fan,”
Get a clue. I’ve been a Husker fan since the womb. Maybe before. Which is why I’m pissed at the lackluster performance of the team–a fact too easily traced to the athletic director’s office and the head coach’s office.
I believe we’ll be back someday, but believing blindly in a system and a coach that are unproven at best is not something a thinking Husker is apt to do.
February 6th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
OU a west coast offense?? i dont thibk so
February 6th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
OU a west coast offense?? i dont thibk so. and after the big 12 championship bill totally took the blame. dont say things that arent true