On Monday, Missouri coach Mike Anderson suspended five players for a weekend brawl at a bar that broke starting point guard and leading scorer Stefhon Hannah’s jaw ultimately ending his season.  Three of those players are starters who help contribute to the Tigers relentless full court pressure D.  I am going out on a limb here and predicting an NU win.  If they do not win this game, then there are major problems with this program.

Well, after tape delay, the game finally started at 8:30 CST and it looked like NU was going to jump quickly on a depleted MU squad.   Nebraska jumped out to leads of  9-3 and 15-8 only to have the Tigers, who were relentless all night, get right back in it  at 15-14.   The Huskers went on a run  and led 21-14, but again, Mizzou closed the gap to two going into the half only down 32-30.

The second half started alot like the first half ended with NU going up and the Tigers clawing their way back.  Sek Henry scored 12 points in the first half but could only muster 2 in the second.  With the score bouncing back and forth, Steve Harley and Ade Dagunduro stepped up for the Huskers.  Ade had a key put-back off a Sek Henry miss and Harley just kept driving and shooting in the soft spots of Missouri’s zone, ultimately helping NU to it’s first conference win of the 2007-08 season,  66-62.

 Harley led four Huskers in double digits with 15 followed by 14 from Sek.  Alecs Maric and Ryan Anderson both had double doubles, Maric with 13 points and 13 boards and Anderson with 11 points and 10 rebounds.  The Huskers played well enough against a depleted Mizzou team, but that’s what they are supposed to do.  I have to give credit to the Tigers.  They came out swinging and had this “not in my house” attitude all night, but with only 7 players getting in, fatigue had to have played a factor when some players played more minutes tonight than they have combined all season.  Up next for the Huskers is Iowa St this Saturday for a  3 P.M. tipoff. 

One down……and only nine more to go!!!!

[See the box score courtesy of Huskers.com]

 According to the Daily Nebraskan,  Andre Jones has been investigated and cleared by NCAA investigators over the alleged ownership of a 2001 Jaguar that Jones has been driving since August.

Robert Peinado sold the car to Jones for $17,000 and provided proof to show that Jones did indeed own the Jaguar, which had been spruced up with new rims, tires, and stereo by Peinado,  a senior business major at UNL.  Alerts were triggered when Jones began receiving tickets on a car with someone else’s name on the title.  These were left unpaid and his car was scheduled to be towed.  When it was stated the car was his and the title had Peinado’s name on it, the compliance office was called.  And, according to Josh White, an assistant AD for compliance, everything checked out.

“Having someone else’s name listed on a title, that is cause for us to look into it no matter what, and we checked everything out, we interviewed all parties, there was documentation that he paid for the car at a fair market value for the car.  The thing of it is, you can see how this would be a red flag around people on campus.  On issues like this that could be big, we get them done right away.”

There has been talk on here of the JUCO loyalty, and it does strike me a little odd that he did not title the car in his own name after purchasing it more than 5 months ago.  If, in fact, he did purchase the car for $17,000, I would like to know if it was a cash payment or if he has a loan out on the vehicle.  If it was cash, where did a scholarship athlete come up with that from?  Most ”great” JUCOs just see the university as it’s stepping stone into the NFL and really don’t have the loyalty or passion for their alma mater like a 4/5 year guy would in my opinion.  The more a team loses sight of what makes NU a place unlike any other, the quicker a violation will happen.  I am confident these coaches, Pelini in particular, will not let anyone lose sight of that.

Thanks be to dizzturbedNUfan for pointing this out to me.

According to Huskers Illustrated,  a verbal jihad has ensued after this recruiting weekend.  Twins Courtney and Steven Osborne  have committed to being Huskers, as well as speedy receiver,  Antonio Bell.

Bell had this to say about his time in Lincoln:

“It was everything - the coaches, the facilities and the people.  The people knew everybody. A lot of people knew who I was. Like when I was in the mall, a couple of people walked by and told me I needed to come to Nebraska. I was surprised that they knew who I was.”

Cruz Barrett hosted his former teamate from Daytona Beach Mainland High in Florida and according to Bell, who was committed to Tennessee for some time,  NU has the best facilities he has seen. 

Both the Osbornes were impressed by Nebraska’s academics and support of it’s football program.

“I’m committed to Nebraska,” Courtney Osborne said. “It was everything – the school, the academics. That was probably my favorite part – my mom’s too.  They already knew I wanted to come here, I just didn’t commit until this morning. Coach Pelini is a players’ coach,” Courtney said. “He was happy. He gave me a handshake.”

The Osbornes played their High School ball in a very competitive class in Texas.  Their coach, Mickey Moss had this to say about them.

“Courtney, he’s a hitter, a striker, he’s a sure-tackler and he may be the fastest kid we had on defense. When it came to field speed, he blew everybody away. I think he could play multiple positions, but I think his strengths are defense. I mean he’s so aggressive and physical. He runs and tackles so well.  Steven was determined this year that he’s going to be an incredible blocker. The thing about Steven is, he doesn’t go out to just get a block - he’s going out to destroy them. Every play he’s looking to hit somebody. I haven’t seen a receiver get so many pancakes before – I never have.”

Remember pancakes?  I do and they were the glory years of NU dominance in the run game.  I am ecstatic the Huskers got some much needed adrenaline shots in the arm for recruiting.  With two guys from Texas and one from Florida, it will only open up some eyes in those states to Nebraska.  NU now has eight players committed from Texas in this class.  With the addition of Tim Beck  (who is well known in the Lone Star state) combined with Shawn Watson and  his Texas connections then you can only see where this staff is going to start out a full year of recruiting for 2008.   Good times lie ahead my friends, soon the Huskers will RESTORE THE ORDER and take their place amongst the elite of college football.  No team is looking forward to playing these Huskers next year, for under Pelini, they know what is about to hit them and it isn’t going to be pretty!

Another gloomy Saturday in Lawrence is not what the Doc ordered for his basketball team’s mid-season slump, but it is exactly the dose of reality served up to the Huskers by Kansas and it’s multi-faceted squad.  Nebraska was only in this game right before it started and the score was 0-0, but NU never gave up and continued to hound Kansas all game, even though the outcome was never in doubt, and ended up loosing 84-49.

Nebraska fell behind 6-0 but soon cut the lead to three at 8-5.  That’s as close as they would get the rest of the game.  KU was hitting shots from everywhere and had a big game from Brandon Rush, who finished with 17 points.  Rush was 5-6 from the field in the first half, all 3 pointers, and just seemed he could hit whatever shot he took.  Darrell Arthur, who had a 5 inch height advantage over Ryan Anderson, shot early and often and finished with a game high 18 points.  KU’s starters shot the ball  well and finished shooting 56 percent for the game compared to 30 percent by NU’s starters.  Kansas at one time was 7-10 on 3 pointers and finished the game shooting 56% (9-16).

There were a few bright spots for the Huskers today believe it or not.  One of those was Steve Harley getting offensive again.  Harley had an NU high of 16 points, but played aggressive on both sides of the ball for one of the first times this year.  Chris Balham, who averages around 6-8 minutes a game, played 20 minutes and had career high in points (6) and rebounds (8).  His defense could have used some help, but at this time last year the guy could barely walk and he hasn’t been playing alot this year.  He brought some energy in there and wasn’t afraid to bang around the big guys.  Cookie Miller got about 6 inches above the rim and blocked a fast break dunk attempt by KU, causing the announcers to drool all over themselves and quickly ask for a replay.  Someday he is going to be very very good, but I think it might take a couple of years to find out.  He reminds me a little of Tyronne Lue, but has got to be able to hit open shots and be able to score when called upon. 

KU coach Bill Self had this to say about guarding Maric:

 “We really didn’t do anything (special)…we trapped them some when they had two bigs in the game, but for the most part just guarded him. He got off some good looks that he normally makes, but for the most part limited his touches. Our perimeter pressure was good enough that they didn’t get the ball to him too easily in the first half.”

Nowhere to be found were Alecs Maric, Ryan Anderson, and Jay-R Strowbridge.  Combined they were 1-19 from the floor on offense and defensively it wasn’t much prettier.  During the game Anderson took a “fast” break from a steal and had about 10 feet on the nearest defender at the top of the key.  It ended up being 1 on 3 by the time he hoisted up a terrible lay-up.  I don’t know if that is more of KU’s quickness or the fact that RA is too slow to play the forward spot, but is probably a little of both.

NU is now 11-6 (0-4) for the year and has a mid-week game against Missouri next Wednesday night at 7.  It is televised on FSN Midwest and could push the Huskers to 0-5 in conference.  I certainly didn’t see this happening and will not be holding my breath for a Husker conference win.  About halfway through the first quarter I was thinking dizzturbedNUfan was right when he said to pull the redshirts and play your guys now, but after I reminded myself that Doc is building for the future of this team, I figured one more year isn’t too much to ask.  Doc’s team continues to play at times with fire on defense and seems to never give up,  which is a trait of a focused team.  Losing is never fun, but how you  lose is what you can build on and show the younger guys for the future.  I just wish that future was now and not in 10 months.

[see the Box Score courtesy of Huskers.com]

I’m going to be doing some server maintenance this weekend which will likely include some small amounts of downtime. If you can’t get the site or see some things that look amiss, you now know why.

Give it a few minutes and check back.

With so little time left before signing day arrives on 2-06-08,  Nebraska is beginning to roll ahead at full steam when it comes to recruiting.  The newly assembled staff has been zig zagging this great nation of ours for some in-home visits and finally, this weekend, they become the hosts to several intriguing prospects.

Prentiss Waggner-  This guy has great speed and size.  6′2″ and runs a 4.45 ( rivals states 4.51, but he states 4.40) forty and has had 25 picks in his last 2 years.  Combine him with David Whitmore and we  have 2 really good lock down corners.

Baker Steinkuhler-  You know his lineage, and if you watched the Army All-American game, you saw him dominate the best of the best.  Offense or Defense, either way you are gonna win, but I would like to see him at DT which is probably our thinnest area of true talent.

Steven Osborne-  Tall and quick wide receiver out of Texas, who with twin brother Courtney, will probably be a package deal.  Steve is very versatile and shows some good quickness and moves in one of Texas’ toughest H.S. conferences.  Courtney is projected as an athlete, but looks like he was playing as a DB in school.  If you can watch this guys film, he gets downright violent sometimes.  Add on a little weight and we just cloned Ricky Thenarse, my favorite Husker.  Anyone remember the Bullocks Bros?  Marvin Sander’s teachings and Bo Pelini’s Defense is what made those guys NFL’ers.

Laron Byrd-  Another tall and speedy wide out, however at 6′4″ and 205 lbs., this guy could play right away with his 4.45 speed.  He has an upcoming visit to Miami right before signing day, so look for that to be when he makes his decision for his football future.

Also visiting are:  Kenny Stafford, NU commits Kyler Reed and Ricky Henry, Jordan Makovicka( Geez, what is in the water in Brainard, NE…I mean isn’t he like the 30th Makovicka to go to UNL in the last 15 years?), and Antonio Bell.  So far, Khiry Cooper is the only scheduled visit for February, but I expect that to change due to the fact this staff has brought in a lot of kids since the dead period. 

Only two weeks to go, so should be exciting around these parts.  My wish is this class will stay intact all the way past signing day.  Over the last couple of years, during the last administration, our cupboards were raided on signing day by other schools looking to fill  their spots.  I just hope Bo can keep em’ from jumping ship.  Good Luck HUSKERS and GO BIG RED!

According to The Birmingham News, Crimson Tide head coach, Nick Saban, has been sniffing around Bo’s new staff in hopes of poaching a key member.

Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson has been approached by Saban, with an interview possibly scheduled this week.

The offensive coordinator position became available Wednesday when Major Applewhite left to become the University of Texas running backs coach.

Watson is the third known candidate targeted by Saban. On Friday, he interviewed former Michigan quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler, who would likely be brought in as a quarterbacks coach. That would leave offensive line coach Joe Pendry as the play-caller and offensive coordinator.

I wish we played Alabama. That would be such a great September battle.

[UPDATE] According to Lincoln Journal Star sources close to Watson, said the assistant received an offer for the Alabama job on Monday. And that it would have bolstered his $225,000 salary to $300,000 or more. The article also claims other teams, including one NFL team, are interested in Watson.

Alabama coach Nick Saban told Rivals.com that he did approach Watson but said Alabama “didn’t really offer it to him. We called and asked permission to talk to him and he decided to stay at Nebraska.”

1st half re-cap 

NU weathered the storm of the Baylor Bears 3 barrage and pulled ahead with 5 minutes left in the half to lead, 35-30.  Steve Harley is having a great game going 5-6 from the floor, punctuated by a 2 hand fastbreak jam,  and is leading the huskers with 11 points.

 The Bears have hit 7-13  from behind the arc as the Huskers continue to struggle with defensive pressure on the long ball.

The Huskers have hit 41% of their shots compared with 39% for Baylor.

2nd half highlights 

Second half has just started and Baylor tipped in it’s own shot to only be down 3.   Nebraska needs this game BAD!  Let’s hope the D can hold up and the offense can catch up.

Starting out the second half, Maric is possessed by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.  But, unlike KAJ, Maric is not hitting the sky hook so he should definitely stop doing it.  DUNK IT MAN!!!!  Poor passing is killing the Huskers right now and they need to tighten it up.  A close game is not going to favor Nebraska as BU has alot of weapons at their disposal.

BU jumped out on a 7-0 run to start the second half and clearly distanced themselves from the now 11-5 (0-3) Huskers.  Steve Harley had a great first half but couldn’t capitalize on his hot shooting any longer, going 1-5 in the second half to end the game 6-11 for a career high of 15 points.  Harley finished just 1-6 from the free-throw line while Nebraska as a team only shot 61% on 21 of 34 attempts.  This is the difference between a win and loss in conference and NU just couldn’t hit the free ones on their own court.  Baylor had four scorers in double digits let by Henry Dugat with 19.  The Bears, 15-2 (3-0),  showed poise and patience by weathering NU’s runs and answering with one of their own.  NU went on a 9-0 run early in the half to take a 54-49 lead only to be aswered right back as Baylor matched their run to take a 58-54 lead with 5 minutes to go in the game.  With Baylor up 3 after a pair of NU free throws, they stepped on the line after bringing the ball in and gave NU one more shot to force OT.   Jay-R Strowbridge pump faked his opponent to get an open look at a 3, but travelled, and ended NU’s chances with it. Nebraska had it chances down the stretch, but poor shooting at the line and bad shot decisions would ultimately derail the effort put forth today.  Nebraska played with some heart and never gave up.  They did not have one of their best games and still almost won for the second time in as many games.

Some things that concern me after this game are:

1. If we use Alecs Maric to do sky hooks all game long we can kiss this year good-bye.  Too many times on Saturday the Huskers ran the same play over and over again to get Maric the ball in the post.  75% of the time he tried a sky hook that most of the time missed badly.  Maric can’t be expected to put the ball on the floor and dribble.  He is just too slow for that.  Drive some people to the basket and create a double team which will open Maric for a wide open shot.  To Maric I have to say…… there was only one Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, so let the sky hook retire with him, don’t bring it back.  DUNK IT!  I know coach Sadler always says the offense has to run through Maric, but I am almost tempted to say NO IT SHOULDN’T!  If he was going to be putting up half-hearted attempts all game long, let someone else try to get in a rhythm.
2. Everyone else.  These guys need to hit a shot!  The last 3 games have been atrocious to say the least.  Score, Score, Score.  Doc Sadler says he is not worried about offense, but with it, we’d be 2-1 in conference.
3. Three point defense.  I have said this is the key to a good conference record since the beginning and it is not pretty for NU.  In three Big 12 games the opponents are shooting 26-61 for 43% and it’s only going to get tougher.  This better get tightened up quickly.  The last thing NU wants is a team that is lights out from behind the arc against them.
4. Free throws.  If they were really free, we’d be hitting them.  Sixty-three percent is just plain not good enough over the last 3 games.  For the 2 home games in there NU has made just 59% on 32 of 54 free throws.  For the season, NU averages 68% while their opponents average 69%.  The Big 12 is not Savannah State, so I expect this number to increase the rest of the year.  This can be the difference in games and it certainly was today.

The Huskers return to action next Saturday for a 12:30 game against #3 Kansas in Lawrence followed by a visit to Columbia  on January 30th for a 7 P.M. match-up against Mizzou.

[see the box score courtesy of Huskers.com]

Yeah, you read me right.  I am a Jets fan!  I am a fan of those Jets that will take Callahan right out of Lincoln and back to where he belongs!  Man, they can’t fly fast enough.  According to Fox Sports, Bill Callahan has got a new gig as the offensive assistant  head coach and will be mainly in charge of building a dominant line to help spur a productive running attack. 

Coach Mangini on what he thinks abou the hiring:

 ”Bill brings valuable experience as an assistant coach and head coach on both the college and NFL levels,” Jets coach Eric Mangini said. “His expertise with the running game and with protections will be a big asset. I look forward to adding him to our staff.”

His expetise in the running game gained a little more experience this year as he watched his defense get pulverized game in and game out.  Callahan could do nothing except study the offenses that were picking apart his 116th ranked rush defense and figure out how to incorporate them into his next job.

Bill Callahan, in his monotone, “I am more intelligent than you” voice, had these thoughts:

“I am excited about the opportunity to join the New York Jets,” Callahan said. “Coach Mangini has assembled a fine coaching staff and I look forward to working with them and contributing to the team.”

Yes, I too am excited!!!  It seems karma and destiny are coming back full circle, and with the departure of Callahan, goes the heartache of four years past and the aura of stank.  The page has been turned and I like how this chapter is starting out!

[props to dizzturbedNUfan for pointing this out]

Elizabeth Merrill of ESPN gets to the heart of matters, in a flattering piece on Bo Pelini.

At Nebraska, pre-2002, assistants rarely left. They bought houses, weathered 9-3 seasons, and stayed for a couple of decades until their knees or voices gave out. But in 2002, near the end of a 7-7 season, coach Frank Solich fired nearly half of his staff in the biggest coaching purge since the early 1960s. Reporters camped out in below-freezing temperatures just to catch candidates shuffling by in SUVs … assistant coaching candidates.

When Solich hired Pelini as his defensive coordinator in 2002, it smacked against Nebraska tradition. Pelini was an NFL assistant, with no ties to the state or the program. He was uber-confident, a trait that almost seemed anti-Nebraska. His first meeting with the defense was so legendary it was detailed in a widely circulated e-mail. With a steely glare and get-tough speech, Pelini, supposedly, put the fear of God into a handful of players.

“That meeting,” he says, “probably got overblown a bit.”

But it only boosted his popularity among Nebraskans.

“He’s the blue-collar type of hard worker, he’s the guy who will shoot it straight to you,” Mike Kortum, an employee at Nebraska Bookstore says. “He’s not going to feed you a bunch of fluff.

“That’s why people here like him. He’s like them.”

Hat tip to dizzturbedNUfan.