Our favorite college football team isn’t the only business with something to prove on game day. Richard Claussen of ad agency Bailey Lauerman says, “Business is about impressions. And making the right impression. And a weekend like this is probably the greatest opportunity to make a terrific impression.”

I think it’s important to remember how interwined football is with the culture and economy of Nebraska. Our writers, designers, musicians, architects, plumbers, teachers, chefs, doctors, investors and inventors all–in their own way–want to show the nation and the world that Nebraskans kick ass. The Cornhuskers are but one vehicle by which we do that. Yet, the Huskers serve as the most media-visible example we have.

Alright, I was really hesitant to start any new post following the Fire Bill Callahan mantra given there has been at least one a year for the last couple of years. Especially over a game the majority of us picked Nebraska to lose anyway (though not in as dramatic fashion as we saw Saturday night).

But Pete, sounding off in the comments, argues that the Fire Bill Callahan crowd is the minority in Husker Nation.

Given the absurd amount of traffic Huskerzone.com has seen since the Wake Forest game from people Googleing, Yahooing and MSNing the phrase “Fire Bill Callahan,” - let alone the conversations I’ve had with people - I can’t believe that Pete’s comments ring true (No offense to Pete, keep contributing, you’ve brought on many great debates and are a welcome contributor).

Plus, I also found this cool Poll plugin for the blog and figured this would be a great place to check it out.

So without further ado…

Samuel McKewon of the State Paper is one of many reporters on the Husker beat without much nice to say after Saturday night’s humiliation.

Football pride matters around here. And it can’t get any more bruised than it did Saturday night.

Not even USC could have expected the Husker linebackers to seem so, well, “lost” isn’t a strong enough word. Bewildered? Statuesque? Just like they weren’t ready for Wake Forest’s speed, they just weren’t ready for Southern California’s brand of nasty. A fullback doesn’t run for 50 yards on the first play if you’re ready. The next play doesn’t go for 40. Wide receivers in motion don’t trigger massive brain freezes.

And to think Husker coaches and players talked all that psychological rot last week.

The opponent is the opponent, huh?

Before McKewon wraps his piece, he rallies and finds something nice to say. He believes Keller should be a captain, even if the players didn’t vote for him.

Keller was one of the few who actually came prepared. He took shot after shot, tossed two dumb interceptions, bounced right back up and still kept flinging it. He answered the media’s questions, took responsibility for the picks, and made a point to mention the fine play of his receivers.

Keller is the face of this team. He’s the arm of it, too. He willingly played scout team last year, arranged voluntary workouts with receiver Mo Purify while Purify was suspended, and has said all the right things during and after the quarterback competition with Joe Ganz.

I don’t know about the captain thing. Leaders often don’t have the titles they deserve.

For the gamblers, Nebraska opened as a 21.5 point favorite at home against the Ball State Cardinals.

The disclaimer: I’m not a gambler, and obviously, this information is presented for entertainment purposes only.

Nebraska falls ten spots to #24 in the AP Poll and falls eight spots to #22 in USA Today Poll. Personally, I was expecting to drop about six spots, but UCLA dropped out completely after their previous spot at #11 in both polls, so it was a rough week for mid-level losses. Georgia Tech, Arkansas and Tennessee also fell out of the top 25.

Terry Douglass, sports editor at The Grand Island Independent on the state of affairs:

What now appears to be an increasing talent gap between the Huskers and the cream of the crop couldn’t have come at a worse time for Callahan and athletics director Steve Pederson. With the ink just starting to dry on a contract extension that will keep Callahan on here through the 2011 season, the powers that be at Nebraska simply had to have a better showing than this.

It’s way, way too early to start going down this road again, but the last time we saw this many empty seats at Memorial Stadium prior to the start of the fourth quarter, it didn’t turn out to be a good thing for the guy in the head coach’s office.

No, it’s not too early.

Fire Bill Callahan reminds us to express our displeasure with the program to Chancellor Harvey Perlman, the one man, presumably, who can do something about it. His email address is hperlman1@unl.edu.

And let’s not merely vent our frustrations. Let’s offer the head man some ready solutions. Here’s one: hire Turner Gill away from Buffalo and help him return us to our traditions.

AJ is a Husker hater who lives in the state. He has a blog that is painfully critical of the program and its Kool Aid-drinking fans.

Here’s some of what he’s offering today:

USC exposed just about every single shortcoming I’ve been preaching about here for nearly a year. I said your D-line was absolutely putrid…I was right. I said your week-1 rushing performance was an anomaly against an 8th grade WAC team? I was right. I said Sam Keller wouldn’t be able to make big plays under pressure, I was right. I said your offensive line was improved, but still light years removed from the days where you actually pushed people around…I was right.

The fact isn’t that you don’t have a decent team…you do; but the fact remains that you are actually WAY worse than you were 4 years ago. Do you people realize what you’ve done? Do you realize how much that option attack and power game intimidated people?

AJ says he’s not a fan, but he sure sounds like he cares. Maybe he just cares for the truth.

Callahan’s Post-Game USC Comments (MP3)

There are a couple of questions that I wish I could hear, especially intriguing are the comments approximately 3:58 seconds in.

Click to play in your default MP3 Player or right-click to download to your computer.

USC ran the ball right up our gut last night, giving us a sour taste of the medicine we once dispensed.

The emerging and electrifying tailback Stafon Johnson (144 yards) averaged 13.1 yards a carry, and his counterpart C. J. Gable (69 yards) averaged 17.2 as U.S.C. outgained Nebraska, 313-31, on the ground.

“I have not seen holes that big since I have been here,” said USC sophomore Stafon Johnson, who rushed for 144 yards. “My eyes got real big when I saw them. Our line is great.”

“I don’t think there was any question we could run the ball at any time,” USC Coach Pete Carroll said. “We didn’t have to throw the football at all.”

The loss Saturday was Nebraska’s eighth in a row against a top-10 foe, and the points surrendered the most allowed at home since a 61-7 loss to Minnesota in 1945.

[via The Washington Post and The New York Times]