Nebraska Football Tickets

Husker Tradition vs Coaching Skill

After Bill Callahan was fired the conversation piece around Nebraska football fans has been "who do think is next?"  A lot of opinionated bloggers and sports writers have given their opinion on who the next Nebraska football head coach should be and who it shouldn't be.

In hearing the arguments for each coach I thought it was odd how much some people value the "Nebraska football ties" of the coaches.  I admit, Callahan was not the most in tune with Husker fans, and he lacked some of the beliefs (walk on program, west coast offense) that has made Nebraska football what it has become over the years.  But, I also don't think that in our coaching search we should base the decision of a new coach on how well he knows the Nebraska system or how well he knows the tradition.

Many talk about Bo Pelini and Turner Gill having clear ties to the Nebraska football tradition (they both coached for the Huskers).  But I think that they should be judged on their coaching abilities first.  You would hate to dismiss Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe just because he has never coached or played for the Huskers.

Nebraska Searches for New Coach

After a disappointing loss to Colorado on Friday, a whirlwind of Nebraska football news has occurred:  Bill Callahan was fired, Tom Osborne is interviewing possible replacements, and a decision could be made by this Wednesday.

Well, we all saw it coming, but no one could be for sure about the firing of Nebraska head coach Bill Callahan and his staff.  There is the same situation happening now with who the next Nebraska football head coach will be.  Bo Pelini seems to be the obvious choice along with Turner Gill because they both have ties to Nebraska and have proved their expertise outside of Nebraska.

Interim AD Tom Osborne flew down to Baton Rouge to interview Bo Pelini.  Pelini has been the LSU defensive coordinator since 2004 and has been successful in creating the LSU defense into a force to be reckoned with.  If you remember, Pelini replaced Solich as interim head coach after Solich was fired in 2003.

Turner Gill is the other leading candidate from Buffalo.  He has led his team to a 5-7 season this year.  Yes, this is a losing season, but take into consideration that the Bulls had only won five games total in the four years before Gill was named their head coach.

Nebraska vs Colorado

With bowl eligibility on the line, the Nebraska football team will have increased pressure put on them to win Boulder against Colorado.  This is Nebraska's last game of the season, and it may be their last this year if they do not win.  Both Colorado and Nebraska are 5-6 and need one more win to be considered bowl eligible.

The game is very unpredictable in nature.  Both teams have shaky record and the Buffs have pulled off huge upsets and had some huge upsets on them.  Just last week they lost to Iowa State 31-28.  Isn't that the same team who upset Oklahoma, and was minutes away from upsetting #2 Kansas?

Colorado's offense has been anything but spectacular this season but their defense has stayed solid.  Joe Ganz and company will have to pass around their fast cornerbacks and use Lucky to run through the line. 

Go Huskers!

Sad Day for Nebraska Fans

I am deeply embarrassed as a Nebraska Football fan to hear that defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove received death threats.  The Lincoln Journal Star reported that the death threats were received on Cosgrove's office voicemail the night of the Kansas game where 76 points were put up against the Huskers.

As they say, it only takes one person to ruin everyone's fun.  That is exactly what happened here.  Somebody took it to far and has tarnished the reputation of Nebraska football fans.

Husker fans are known for their nice and friendly nature.  We are known to cheer the opposing team after the game as they leave to the locker room and greet and tailgate with other team's fans.  Some call it sportsmanship, and some call it just being a Nebraskan.

Sports should never be taken to the terrible extent that it was on the day of the Kansas game.  Even if we do not agree with Kevin Cosgrove we still need to respect him as a coach of our beloved team.  The Husker tradition was built on good sportsmanship and strong values.  After all, we don't want to turn out like Colorado do we?

Huskers Hit In-State Recruiting Hard

With the future of the Nebraska football coaching staff in question for next season they have decided to focus on in-state recruits only this week. Under normal circumstances coaches during a bye week late in the season would be flying all over the country to really solidify commitments and pick up prized recruits that have not committed. 

Husker Extra ran a great article about the Chadron football recruiting visit they just received.  Chadron assistant football coach Aric Harris said the assistant Nebraska football coach "was very up-front that he wasn’t sure about his future.”

This isn't all bad for Nebraska football.  The team did lose top recruits Jonas Gray and Blaine Gabbert but as Kansas knows, the best players may not be the top recruits.

Thank You Joe Ganz

Thank you Joe Ganz for saving the Nebraska football season.  I was awe struck at the absolute turnaround in Nebraska's attitude and performance against Kansas State.  It took a lot of heart to put up 70 points a week after being beat by 70 points the week before.

Joe Ganz was the player of the game and even earned the Big 12 offensive player of the game for his performance.  Pretty impressive for a second string Nebraska quarterback playing only his second career game.

Ganz put up huge numbers against Kansas State including the single game record for passing yards with 510.  Ganz completed an impressive 30 for 40 attempts and threw for an unprecedented seven touchdowns.

This revitalizes the Husker's chance for a bowl game.  It also eased all Nebraska football fans worries about the declining nature of the program.  For those still worried remember this, next year Callahan will be gone, but Joe Ganz will not.

K-State: Real Test for Ganz

The Nebraska football team will take on the Kansas State Wildcats this Saturday in Lincoln.  Nebraska football fans are hoping for a win to break the five game losing streak that has plagued the Husker's 2007 season.

K-State is the Husker's best chance of winning a game.  Colorado has looked strong its last games and will likely crush Nebraska at home in Boulder.

The key to the K-State game will be Joe Ganz.  Poor Joe had to face the #4 team in the country for his first official start.  Ganz put up whopping 4 interceptions and threw 50 passes.  Kansas State leads the Big 12 in interceptions and has the leagues highest turnover margin.  Ganz will have to use his limited one-game experience to navigate the receivers around the potent K-State pass defense.

The Nebraska football game against the Kansas State Wildcats starts at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.  The game will be shown on the Versus TV channel.

Go Huskers!

Maybe Kansas IS All Their Cracked Up To Be

I might have underestimated how good the Kansas Jayhawks actually were after watching the Nebraska football game this Saturday.  It was not fun to watch the Jayhawks trounce the Nebraska Cornhuskers 76-39.

I didn't think it could get much worse this season, but I was very wrong.  The Jayhawks took 90 snaps against the Blackshirt defense that was somehow running two feet behind every Kansas player on the field.

Kansas has its sights on the National Championship and is sitting pretty at #4 in the nation and a 9-0 record.  The only way they will not clench the Big 12 North is if #6 Missouri takes it away on November 24.

The Huskers are likely looking to November 24 for another reason, the end of the season.  There last game is against Colorado is on the 23rd at Boulder.  Most Nebraska football ticket holders will be looking forward to that date for the firing of Coach Callahan who is sure to be gone after letting almost 80 points on the scoreboard against Kansas (among other things).

Can Nebraska Win In Lawrence?

Can Nebraska win in Lawrence against the all mighty Kansas football team?

Yes.  Why?  Because Kansas is not all they're cracked up to be.

Sure, on paper the stats are amazing.  Kansas has only allowed three 300+ yard games against them this season.  They have the sixth best rushing defense allowing only 2.8 yards per carry on average.  Did I mention the Jayhawks also have the second best pass defense in the Big 12?

Well, there you have it, it makes me nauseous just looking at those stats.  But is Kansas really all that they are cracked up to be.  Did anyone mention that they got all of those stats with the weakest schedule in the Big 12?  Their only real challenges have come from mediocre Big 12 teams.  They don't have to play Texas or Oklahoma and will not play Missouri until the end of the season.  Kansas has not beaten a Big 12 team by more than 8 points, critics should put that in their "amazing Kansas stats" columns.

As for their non-conference schedule at the beginning of the season; even Nebraska could have put down South East Louisiana 62-0!