What is the status of NU recruiting?

Nebraska so far has seven offensive and seven defensive recruits that have committed so far. On our present two deep chart, we will be losing eight offensive players and seven defensive players after this year.

Let's take a closer look.......

Quarterback
IN Cody Green
OUT Joe Ganz

The loss of Ganz will be pretty major but there some good QB's on the roster with Lee, Witt, and Spano. Green could compete next fall but usually it takes a year or two to learn the system.

Running Back
IN Dontrayevous Robinson
OUT Marlon Lucky

With Castille and Helu back, our concern will be depth and who will be that third and fourth back. Mendoza will be in the hunt.

Fullback
IN C.T. Zimmerer
OUT Thomas Lawson & Hunter Teafatiller

So far, sadly, not a key position other than blocking

Offensive Line
IN Nick Ash, Jess Coffey, Brent Ovale
OUT Lydon Murtha, Mike Huff, Matt Slauson

We lose some key players but the depth is there to possibly improve before next year.

Wide receivers
OUT Nate Swift, Todd Peterson

Key losses of to the offensive. We have some younger guys coming up along with M. Holt. Gilleylen, Paul, and Cooper. We need to recruit at least one or two receivers in this class.

Tight End
IN J.T. Kerr


DEFENSE

Defensive End
IN Emerson Evans
OUT Zach Potter, Clayton Sievers

The loss of Potter is especially big. Sievers has played well also. We need two or three more recruits at this position as the depth isn't there.

Defensive Tackle
IN Cole Pensick, Thaddeus Randle
OUT Shakuree Barfield, Ty Steinkuhler

We need one or two more commits at this position too. Suh is back but again depth is not there.

Linebackers
IN Shawn Bodtmann, Chris Williams
OUT Tyler Wortman, Cody Glenn

Chris Williams is the real deal. He has the best chance on this year's commits to play right away. We lose Wortman and Glenn so we need two more recruits at linebacker. Depth is an issue but with Mike Hays, Sean Fisher, Lawrence, and Williams, we may better next year.

Defensive Backs
In LeAndre Byrd, Taylor Martinez
OUT Armando Murillo

With the nickel and dime packages, we should recruit one more defensive back. We do have some pretty good at defensive back.

The Toddler comments on the Baylor QB!

I usually don't list specific comments in my blog but The Toddler had some interesting comments on Robert Griffin, the QB at Baylor. This writer thinks this will be a pretty close game. The point spread will be around 14, my guess. This writer thinks it will be closer than that.

The Toddlers comments:
"You are, uh, going to enjoy watching Robert Griffin play QB at Baylor. He has started his career with 155 pass attempts without an interception. That includes last week against Okie State, the same team who intercepted Chase Daniel multiple times. He will be a real challenge for Nebraska. Griffin is the real deal. Both Baylor and Nebraska beat Iowa State by about a similar score, so it should be a good challenge for both teams. Enjoy"

NU football has great week!

First J.T. Kerr, a San Diego (Cal) tight end recruit committed to Nebraska. Then Four-Star linebacker recruit Chris Williams of Abilene Texas committed to NU. This was out first recruits since late August.

Next Friday Jerimiah Sirles, a three star offensive line recruit, will announce whether he is going to Oregon or Nebraska. My guess is he is coming to the Big Red. He is from Lakewood Colorado.

Yesterday the NU Cornhuskers dominated Iowa State with a 35-7 win. The NU lines won the battle and this was the difference of the game.The offensive line overall played well. The defensive line continues to play very well.

NU was quicker, faster and stronger than Iowa State. Iowa State is presently playing ten true freshmen and it was evident.

Our receivers, especially Nate Swift, are playing beyond expectations this year. It doesn't seem that long ago when the receivers had dropitis. Like last year and the year before. None of that now.

What in the world is wrong with our punting. Always a strength at NU, this year we are ranked 118th in the nation. Doesn't make sense.

Nebraska is similar to Baylor statistically and Baylor will give NU a real battle. NU is 18th in the nation in total offense; 64th in total defense. With the game in Lincoln, NU should be favored by 14 points or so.

Defensively we played a similar defense against Iowa State that we did against Virginia Tech. Three linebackers were on the field most of the game.

I hate when Larry Asante showboats and then misses a tackle or gets beat on a pass!

My Top Eight Teams this week are:
1. Texas
2. Alabama
3. Florida
4. Georgia
5. Oklahoma State
6. USC
7. Okalahoma
8. Penn State

Now for Nebraska High School football. It is time to put Lincoln North Star in the Top 10. With their win friday night over 3rd rated Grand Island, 17-14, they have proven they are in the Top 10. Mark Waller, a Holdrege native, is their coach. In Class A, we may be headed to a Creighton Prep/Bellevue West showdown. Both are undefeated.

This week the top two teams in Class B play; McCook and Ogallala. It is at Ogallala, but McCook should win the game. They are really good.

In C-1, the #1 Pierce team got beat by Norfolk Catholic 34-3. Isn't Norfolk Catholic always good? Locally #9 Elm Creek beat #8 Kearney Catholic 38-14 in C-2.

Joba Chamberlain was arrested for DUI Saturday.

Big 12 is the best football conference in America!

Here are my top 7 teams in college football!

1. Texas
2. Penn State
3. Oklahoma
4. Florida
5. Oklahoma State
6. Alabama
7. USC

Oklahoma State beat Washington St. by 26 points, Houston by 19 points, Texas A & M by 28 points and Missouri at Missouri by five points. They are 6-0. This writer would beat Alabama today on a neutral field.

Except for a couple of plays, Nebraska held Michael Crabtree in check Saturday. Crabtree is an All-American.

Niles Paul is a game breaker and fun to watch!

Kudos to Mike Hays and Lance Thorell for their play!

Nebraska has a huge huge game this weekend. They need to win to go to a bowl and we all want a bowl game. Isn't it funny that after the Missouri loss people were saying I don't think we will win another game and now this week the expectations are 8-4.

I found this on the internet today so enjoy as a change of pace.


9 Things I Hate About Everyone

1. People who point at their wrist while asking for the time.... I know
where my watch is pal, where the hell is yours? Do I point at my crotch when
I ask where the toilet is?

2 People who are willing to get off their ass to search the entire room for
the T.V.. remote because they refuse to walk to the T.V. and change the
channel manually.

3 When people say 'Oh you just want to have your cake and eat it too'. Damn
right! What good is cake if you can't eat it?

4 When people say 'it's always the last place you look'. Of course it is.
Why the hell would you keep looking after you've found it? Do people do
this? Who and where are they?!

5 When people say while watching a film 'did you see that?'. No Loser, I
paid $12 to come to the cinema and stare at the damn floor.

6 People who ask 'Can I ask you a question?'.... Didn't really give me a
choice there, did ya sunshine?

7. When something is 'new and improved!'. Which is it? If it's new, then
there has never been anything before it. If it's an improvement, then there
must have been something before it, couldn't be new.

8 When people say 'life is short'. What the hell?? Life is the longest damn
thing anyone ever does!! What can you do that's longer?

9 When you are waiting for the bus and someone asks 'Has the bus come yet?'.
If the bus came would I be standing here, dumbass?

Nebraska will face Texas Tech in first away game for 2008!

Texas Tech has a very explosive offense. We all know that. Our defense plays better this week. Nebraska will throw with some success this week.

Prediction Texas Tech 42 Nebraska 21.

What is your prediction?

Look to Texas to give Oklahoma all they can handle this week.
Oklahoma 28 Texas 27.

Time to regroup and its time to play mean!!

This is a time of the season where NU will need to get together as a team and decide what they want to make of the balance of the season. This is where the leadership of the team needs to have a team meeting and get regrouped quickly.

Against Virginia Tech, this writer thought if we played them ten times in Lincoln, we could beat them five times. If we played ten games in Lincoln against Missouri, we wouldn't win one of them. They are just that much better than us RIGHT NOW.

NU has to knock off the dumb mistakes. Penalties and missed assignments!

NU can make the rest of the season a good one but mentally they have to readjust their approach to the game. We have to get the players on the field who do the job even if they aren't the most talented.

The offensive line has to get meaner to play against the talented teams we face this year. They just don't seem to have the attitude that is needed. Their too passive some of the times. Our backs don't have much to run through.

Texas Tech is going to be tough. We have to be tougher to beat them. We have to be smarter to beat them. We have to do the right things and execute. Enough of a broken record.

Dime Defense will lick the Tigers!

We will be back to the dime defense this week!! More quickness. Better play. Watch for Ricky Thenarse, Eric Hagg, Lance Thorell, N. Suh. Zach Potter, Ty Steinkuhler, and Pierre Allen to excel. Throw in "The Prince" and we will have an action packed exciting game to watch.

More exciting because we will be aggressive in our scheme with more blitzing and gambling. Missouri will get a couple of big plays but the defense will get the crowd into the game with blitzes and great hits.

The offense will be more productive this week also but don't plan on us winning with the run. We will not run for a lot of yards but our passing will get us some scores.

Watch for special teams to excel. Watch for the defense to score at least once. Watch Jeremy Maclin break a couple of long ones for Mizzou. It will be midnight when this game is over but you won't want to go to sleep for a few hours after this one. With a week of better field position and a strong start look to NU to win 32-31.

WHAT IS YOUR PREDICTION!!!!!!

What???????????

Nebraska had VT to a 4th down and then there was some commotion and the announcers said there is a flag. For what? Personal foul? Who did that? Suh? That wasn't a late hit!! In the above picture, you see Erin Andrews from ESPN/ABC turn around and leave the game because she was upset with the call.

The Huskers didn't play very well most of the game and in reality, VT could have had a three TD lead at half. But they didn't. The calls late in the game took away our "hope" but it didn't cost us the game. What cost us the game was that we were sloppy and made a lot of mistakes.

A real disappointment again from the offensive line. I guess in the great years we could run even if the opposing team stacked the middle. That was until we faced Oklahoma.

The offense has some real issues. It starts with the offensive line. They need to respond starting this week or it could be a very long season!!! Roy Helu has to get more carries! Joe Ganz has to hit his receivers with consistency like he is capable of doing. We have to be able to run the ball I don't care what anybody says. We have to and as long as we can't, we will be an average team at best.

On defense, there was a lot of receivers open. Missed assignments. We seem to play better with the nickel and dime package. We need to find a away to get Eric Hagg in the game all the time. Maybe he should be safety. Ricky Thenarse played well when he was in but he is still hurt.

Enough rambling. Is NU still going to win the Big 12 North? Stay tuned but this writer thinks the team will rally. The point spread is eleven points but many feel it will be worse.

Nebraska will go 4-0 with a last second FG!

This writer sees a low scoring game this week with Nebraska's Alex Henery hitting a 41 FG with seconds remaining. The final score will be 17-14. Stars of the game will be D. Suh, Zach Potter, Cody Glenn, Tyler Wortman, Ty Steinkuhler, and Alex Henery. On offense, it will be a struggle with the VT defense. Special teams will be big this week.

It will be a great game to watch so get buckled up and get ready!!

Guess who will be at the game on the sidelines on Saturday night!!!

YOUTUBE

Nebraska is ready to join the Top 25!

Nebraska gets the national spotlight this Saturday night on ABC against Virginia Tech. This is a big game for recruiting. This is a big game for Nebraska to hit the Top 25 in the USA Today poll and possibly the AP poll. This is a game where we get a better idea where this team is.

Virginia Tech beat North Carolina in a thriller yesterday. Their loss was to East Carolina who is ranked. They play the game in Lincoln this Saturday which gives NU the edge. This writer believes NU will be favored by 3-5 points.

With a win this week, NU will hit the Top 25 polls again. When was the last time we did that? Well actually on 9/30/07, Nebraska was rated 25th in the AP and 23rd in the USA Today poll. After the 5th week of the season last year, we were rated.

Nebraska is rated 30th in the AP poll and 27th in the USA Today poll this week. They are ready to break-in to the elite group.

Who are the top teams in college football right now? This writer rates them as follows:
1. USC-Very talented. Pac 10 is really down this year. USC may not get a game until the National Championship Game. I wish they were in the SEC. That would be fun!!
2. Georgia-QB Matt Stafford is very talented with his top targets being DJ Shockley and David Greene. The running attach is led by Knowshon Moreno. Quite a name. SEC team
3. Florida-Fast and they hit hard. SEC team.
4. Alabama. Big surprise this year with Saban as coach. They play Georgia this week and wow would this writer like to see that one. It is at Georgia so they will be favored but don't be surprised if Alabama pulls this one out. They are good!
5.& 6. Oklahoma and Missouri. Big 12 elite.
7. Penn State. Big 10's best! Not saying a lot but they will end the season possibly undefeated with USC. I think Wisconsin is beatable.
8. LSU. Another SEC team who could beat any team on a given week.
9. Texas Tech They can pile up the points!!
10. Wake Forest.

Teams close to the Top 10. Texas, BYU, Wisconsin, Auburn

Some of this week's games this writer will be watching this week besides NU/VT and Georgia/ Alabama are Louisville/Connecticut, Colorado at Florida St., Tennessee at Auburn, Arkansas at Texas, and TCU at Oklahoma.

The Toddler says Oklahoma needs to be ready for TCU this time.

Who is Nebraska's MVP. Who would we miss the most if they couldn't play this week? These ranking are based on talent and the depth at their position.

1. Joe Ganz
2. Ndamukong Suh
3. Zach Potter
4. Nate Swift
5. Alex Henery
6. Phillip Dillard
7. Lydon Murtha
8. Cody Glenn
9. Matt Slauson
10. Eric Hagg
11. Pierre Allen
12. Marlon Lucky
13. Prince Amukarara
14. Mike McNiel
15. Ty Steinkuhler

Texas A & M, Iowa State, Baylor, and Kansas State are at the bottom of the Big 12. This writer hates to look to next year but Colorado will be favored in the Big 12 North with Chase Daniel and Joe Ganz gone.

And then finally the NFL. The best two teams right now are Dallas and Denver. New England has dropped so far without Tom Brady that it is hard to believe after they blew everybody out until the end last year.

Much improved are Atlanta and San Fransisco. Of course any week, any team can beat anybody.

Nebraska goes to 3-0 but who the heck is Lance Thorell??

Nebraska whipped up on New Mexico St. 35-7. It was Nebraska's best game so far and it was a fun game to watch.

The running game got going. We will see when we play Virginia Tech if it continues or if New Mexico St. just didn't have the defensive talent.

All the running backs and offensive line played well. Mike McNiel had great touchdown. Joe Ganz played well. Marlon Lucky had his best game.

Nebraska played a different defense than what we have seen in the past. Four cornerbacks were playing most of the game. With that, we were playing a lot of the game with one linebacker. This writer is uncertain as to whether the cornerbacks are considered linebackers with this scheme but the defense was loaded with faster, quicker players to defense against one of the nation's top passing teams. Many times New Mexico St. lined up with four wideouts. The cornerbacks played directly over the receivers.

The defense was also assisted by the great play of the defensive line. Suh and Potter played very well.

On the first play of the game, #23 was playing and the fans started to say who is that? Who is Lance Thorell? Lance made four tackle on the opening drive and ended with the second most tackles on the team with eight.

Lance is a tremendous athlete from Loomis, Nebraska. Loomis is a town of app. 400 people. Most people that follow high school sports know that Loomis has been a power in D-2 and D-1. Lance was all-state in football and basketball. During his high school play, he played on the state champion basketball team in D-2 and he played in the playoffs in football. He broke the record in the 110 yard hurdles for Class D and won that race and the 300 yard intermediate hurdle in Class D. He was also a member of the Class D champion track team. He was close to the times that Niles Paul was running in the hurdles the whole 2007 track season.

So those that have followed Loomis know Lance is a great athlete. But we know there are tons of great athletes in sports. Lance's success, in this writer's opinion, is due to his hard work, his desire to succeed, and his ability to understand football concepts faster than most athletes. Lance is out to prove to himself and others that he can play for the Big Red. Who would have thought he would have been a contributor this quickly? Maybe Lance.

Before Lance entered his senior year, we had Lance complete a questionnaire. This may help you to get to know him better even though a lot of accomplishments have been achieved by Lance since this time. Lance is a cousin to Matt Hill, the Lincoln Southeast product, who is playing basketball for Texas. Remember this questionnaire was completed in August of 2006 and a lot of things have changed this that time.

QUESTIONNAIRE

Lance Thorell, a senior at Loomis High School, is relatively an unknown except for the schools that have played against him. Coach Grant Mollring of Eustis-Farnam was quoted earlier in the year in the Kearney Hub "and the best athlete west of Kearney, in my opinion, is Thorell". Eustis-Farnam plays Loomis this week in D-1 action.

Thorell has excelled in football, basketball, and track at Loomis High during his career. He played on the D-2 championship basketball team three years ago. He had top five performances in Nebraska in the 110 highs and the intermediate hurdles.

He is a two time all-stater in football. Last year he had 101 tackles and eight interceptions. Coach Denis Reese has put him in a position where he can help the team the most. His sophomore year he played receiver on offense and had a great year with all-stater Drew Billeter throwing TD's to him. Last year he played QB. This year he converts to running back. He will be tough to stop and should have a sensational season.

His strongest positions in college looks to be receiver and safety. He has excellent speed, great hands, and is a very tough hard hitter on defense.

Lance is 6'1" and weighs 180 lbs. He benches 245 lbs. and squats 315 lbs. His 40 time is 4.6 and he has a 33 inch vertical jump. His best season in receiving was in 2004 when he had 914 yards receiving and 14 TD's.

Lance will excel wherever he plays and would be a great walk on for the Nebraska program.

This year the word will get out how good he really is. Watch his progress this season.

He responded to our questionnaire and here is what he had to say:



Favorite Game Memory:

"Beating Bertrand 48-16"

Best Athlete You Have Played Against:

"Steve Dent of Mullen and Wade Vontz of Cambridge"

Favorite Team:

"Huskers"

Favorite Player:

"Michael Vick"

College Interested in You:

"Iowa, Doane, South Dakota, UNK, Concordia, Morningside, Dana"

College You Are Interested In:

"Iowa, Doane, UNK, South Dakota"

PERSONAL

What is Your Favorite Books:

"Sports magazines"

Who is Your Favorite Movie Actor:

"Brad Pitt"

What is Your Favorite Movie:

"Dumb and Dumber"

What is Your Favorite TV Show:

"That 70's Show"

Which Actor Would You Like To Be Like:

"Brad Pitt"

What Are Your Hobbies:

"Hunting and Playing Sports"

What is Important For You To Be Successful:

"Making money"

Thank you Lance for giving us this information and good luck in the playoffs.

Can Ohio State beat USC?

I have shown up on this hurricane ridden day in Fort Worth, TX to answer some of John's questions. The first, of course, is can Ohio State beat USC?

In a short answer, yes. Will they? I don't know. When I did my Wednesday Preview, I said that before the season started I believed that Ohio State would win the game, but now I lean toward USC. Is USC that good? I don't know. We won't know for a few more weeks. Will they beat Ohio State, if they do, like they beat Virginia? I doubt it. Is Virginia that bad? Well, it seems that the ACC is not really that good this year, and Virginia may be at the bottom. But, Pete Carroll is unbelieveable in opening games. Ohio State did not look very good last week. But, the week before, they looked just fine. Not having "Beanie Wells" really hurts their chances. I agree with with Eddie at The Red Zone Report that Todd Boeckman has to have a career game.

Another thing you have to remember is that these are college kids. The ability of a team like Ohio State "getting up" against someone like Ohio U is not easy. For USC, you can bet they will be ready. Also, Ohio State has played two games where as USC has only played one. Things probably will not go quite as smoothly against Ohio State as they did against Virginia. USC has yet to face adversity this year where as Ohio State has.

As far as my poll is concerned, remember I update every three weeks. My poll is presently still from the preseason. I think things will be much clearer on Sunday. I will update accordingly.

Who's better, Texas Tech or Texas? Right now, I would go with Longhorns. Tech's defense hasn't shown up yet this year. I think that is unfortunate, but the type of offense that they run puts a tremendous amount of stress on the defense. The Lonhorns, however, have looked impressive so far. As a Razorback fan, I am a little glad that game got postponed. However, I look for Texas to plaster the Hogs in Austin on Sept. 27.

The New Mexico State QB, Chase Holbrook, is a Hurst, TX product from the North Texas area. Another one of those kids from Texas. Good luck to Nebraska against New Mexico State. Go Huskers!

Nebraska goes 3-0 this week!!

Nebraska faces the New Mexico State Aggies on Saturday. A lot of fans think this will be our easiest game this year. This writer thinks it could be a real test. My guess is the offense starts to roll this week and the defense has its toughest game.

The Aggies are coached by Hal Mumme. He is actually a pretty funny guy. The new defensive coordinator is Joe Lee Dunn. He coached last year at Ridgeway High School in Memphis, Tennessee. Even though he was at a high school, he is well known for his defensive schemes. He runs a 3-3-5 defensive. He makes his players pass a very rigorous "The Packer" drill before they can play. Dunn is the guru of the 3-3-5 defense. They have three down lineman and pack in three linebackers. Dunn will have the Aggies blitzing, blitzing, blitzing. Nebraska better protect Ganz because this is a game he could be hit very hard a few times. Of course with this gambling defense Nebraska will break some big plays on Saturday.

Nebraska has some ties to New Mexico State. Tony Samuel has the third most wins as the head coach at New Mexico St. He is a former player and assistant coach at Nebraska. In 1999, Barney Cotton was the Asst. head coach and Jeff Jamrog was the defensive coordinator for the Aggies. They beat Arizona State at Tempe 35-7 that year.

Nebraska has beat the Aggies twice. In 1979, we beat them 57-0. We were second ranked at the time. In 1982, we beat the Aggies 68-0 and listen to this. We had 677 yards on the ground and 883 total yards that day.

The Aggies are led by Chase Holbrook who is the real deal. He has no interceptions in the last 55 passes. He has a chance to break nine NCAA offensive records and nine NCAA passing records this year. He has 8485 yards for 60 touchdowns in his career. And believe it or not he has completed 70.1 of the passes he has thrown in his career.

Chris Williams is his top receiver and he is a good one. Probably the reason they are bragging about having better receivers than Nebraska. He is one of the best receivers in the country. He has caught 160 passes for 2284 yards and 23 touchdowns.

The Aggies have won five of their last six opening season games. They had their opening game cancelled against Nichols St. due to the hurricane weather.

New Mexico St could compete as well as San Jose St if we get off to a slow start. We have to get our rhythm going this week. WE need good tackle and tight end play this week. Lydon Murtha is back and the line should be more physical. The run game needs to be better this week. If they can't get going this week, we may have a problem this year. The competition is going to get tougher after this game.

Look to Nebraska to win 42-21. We will have a number of long touchdowns. Nebraska will go over 425 total yards. New Mexico St. will have 300 passing yards.

Now a couple of questions for our friend Todd Jones. He has Ohio State rated number one on his collegefootballtopten.com blog. With the opponent being USC and Ohio State going there to play, how will Ohio State beat USC on Saturday?

Who is better Texas Tech or Texas?

Holy Blowout Batman!!!!!

In Women's Hockey news:

I didn't think I would ever write about women's hockey but........I hope you have already seen this but if not here you go. There were so many crazy numbers from the 2010 winter Olympic qualifying match between Slovakia and Bulgaria. So we are going to play BINGO. Be sure to call out when you get a BINGO. First one is B-0: B is for Bulgaria and 0 is how many shots on goal they had. Next is O-139. O is for Oh my goodness! and 139 is how many shots on goal Slovakia had. Next is N-44. N is for secoNds and 44 is how often Slovakia scored. A goal every 44 seconds! I know, I really streached for that N. Next is I-41-0. I is for Italy and 41-0 is the score of the Italy vs. Bulgaria game earlier in the qualifying. They also lost to Croatia 30-1. Total score from all of Bulgaria's games were 192-1. Next is G-82. G is for goals and 82 is the number of goals Slovakia scored. Yes, the final score was 82-0! Strangly this isn't the biggest blowout in women's hockey. Back in 1998 South Korea defeated Thailand 92-0. By now someone has to have BINGO, please speak up and claim your prize.

NU finishes well to go 2-0

WOW! Wasn't what this writer expected Saturday. The offense just couldn't get clicking and the defense had trouble with Kyle Reed, the San Jose St. quarterback. Reed got hurt, the San Jose St. kickers couldn't make FG's, and Niles Paul ran back a kickoff for a touchdown and Nebraska took over the game. The trouble was it was the fourth quarter before NU got rolling.

Positives:
Roy Helu is a heck of a back and right separates himself from the rest of the field. There is a spark in the team when he is playing.

Niles Paul is doing some good things. The kickoff return for the TD really fired up the team and the fans.

Nate Swift and Todd Peterson continue to be forces on the receiving core.

Defensive Line. Playing well. Suh, Potter, and Allen were standouts.

Prince A. The defensive backfield seems to be less passive when he is playing.

Negatives:
Penalties!!!! Momentum and drive KILLERS!

Barry Turner. His broken leg is a downer for the team and our depth will be hurt by the loss of this fine man.

Offensive line. This includes the tight ends. Many blocks were missed and we were physically dominated at times. We HAVE to get better to be a Top 25 team.

Fullback. When are we going to start using the fullback as a weapon? RUN him three or four times during the game and give the defense more to think about.

Tyler Wortman. We need to find a way to get him some time as he is too good to be sitting when we are running the "nickel" defense. Maybe he could back up Glenn and Dillard to give them some relief.

The offense plays well when Joe Ganz is rolling out and throwing.


The special teams are playing well. The defense got three turnovers on Saturday. That's a huge help to this team in key situations of the game.

This game was decided by about five or six plays. We were outyarded by 50 yards. Next week we will put together a team game and come away with a big game. If not, well there won't be an if not.

Nebraska played another true freshman on Saturday, Alfonso Dennard. He is a cornerback but his action was as kickoff returner. He had two kickoff returns for 21 yards. So far, Nebraska has used Sean Fisher and Mason Wald on special teams this year. This writer is not aware of any other freshman playing. It appears that we will redshirt and large number of freshman this year and build for the future.

Nebraska will go to 2-0

Wouldn't it be cool if Usain Bolt would sign to play football at Nebraska? It has been reported he runs a 3.5 40 and has all his college eligibility left. Well it may be as probable as San Jose St beating Nebraska tomorrow.

Last week Bo Pelini became the fifth straight Nebraska coach to open his first full season with a win.

Bob Devaney 1962 59-0 over South Dakota
Tom Osbone 1972 40-13 over UCLA
Frank Solich 1998 56-27 over Louisiana Tech
Bill Callahan 2004 56-17 over Western Illinois

Did you know that Bill Walsh and Vick Vermeil were San Jose St. Alums?

The two-time Hot Dog Contest champion Joey Chestnut is a San Jose St. alum.

Nebraska wins Saturday 45-14.

What is your prediction???

Q & A With the Toddler

John asked me a few questions the other day. He wanted me to share them in a post. I have done so at my site in a segment called CFTT Inbox. The link to that post is here.

That being said, here is John's questions followed by my answers.

1. What kind of season do you think A & M will have. They have a strong Husker connection from last year’s coaches and also Tim Cassidy.

2. How good is Alabama? Can they beat Georgia on a neutral field today or USC? Is Saban that good of a coach/ He has a pretty good track record with wins.

3. Who do you think will win the North in the Big 12? Is Missouri a lock?

4. What is your game of the week? It could have been Florida and Miami but Miami has gone down hill.

Here are my answers.

Games of the Week

Wake Forest vs. Mississippi–WF defeated Baylor soundly, and Ole Miss looked pretty good in Houston Nutt’s debut. We have a game between a coach who turned down the Arkansas Razorback head football coach job and a coach who left the Arkansas football head coaching job. This will be a good early test for the Rebels to see if they are bowl worthy, and it will be a chance for the Deacons to get a little redemption for the ACC.

Louisiana Tech vs. Kansas–A lot of people weren’t talking Jayhawks coming into the season. Back to earthy they would say about KU. Louisiana Tech beat a Mississippi State Bulldog team that went to a bowl game last year and most people think Sylvester Croom has headed in the right direction. Is La Tech for real? We’ll see if they can stop KU’s “Blue Collar” spread attack.

I just don’t know about A&M. Their fans have already written them off for the season, but I have to think they have enough talent to be at least 6-6. However, it seems Oklahoma State is much improved, but Baylor ought to be someone they can beat.

About Alabama. I saw a mature, seasoned team on the field with Clemson. They dominated the line on both sides of the ball. They appeared to have made the offense more manageable for John Parker Wilson (the QB), and they seem to have the horses to run the ball. Their TE was super Saturday, too. As far as them beating Georgia or USC, that is hard know just yet. Alabama has a lot of freshmen on the field. They will make a mistake (most likely) at some point. I think that they might be able to line it up and go toe to toe with both teams.

As far as the Big 12 North goes, I am not sure about Mizzou. The score in the Illinois game tells me that their defense is not there yet. They gave up 451 yards to a QB who was known for his feet. Either way, giving up that many yards to any QB says that your defense is not quite ready to win a championship. I need to evaluate Kansas and Nebraska before making my analysis. Also, Colorado.

Todd

NU goes 1-0!

This writer has very seldom seen the fans so excited for a game as yesterday. They were starved for some good defensive play. They wanted the Blackshirts back. Well. they are almost back. We are just not sure how good Western Michigan is. On the offensive side of the ball, our passing game was good but our running game didn't meet expectations. There has been very few times where this writer has seen the fans almost want the offense off the field so they could watch the defense play. Excitement was in the air.......

POSITIVES
In the middle of the third quarter, this writer wondered if he had ever seen a Nebraska quarterback throw as accurately as Joe Ganz. He was evasive and mobile and was throwing the ball as good as Vince Ferrogamo, David Humm, Turner Gill, or Tommy Frazier ever threw it. Then he had a tipped pass and just had a bad throw for interceptions but he finished the day 20-36 for 345 yards and four touchdowns. He didn't have many balls dropped and he threw some balls away but he had a really good day overall.

Dreu Young made the best catch that this writer has ever seen by a Nebraska receiver. Junior Miller and Johnny Mitchell caught memorable passes but this reception was unreal. Young couldn't have been defensed any better. Ganz's pass was perfect also. That catch will be on highlight reels for a long time.

Nate Swift stood out. He had a great day with five receptions for 121 yards and two touchdowns. It was great to see. Melelik Holt also was impressive. The reivers had a fine day. Marlon Lucky and Mike McNeil both caught touchdown passes.

On defense, the linebackers had a good day they will also be mentioned in my "concerned" section also. They were all over the field. Cody Glenn will have a lot of turnovers with his aggressive play. Phil Dillard caught a receiver from behind and saved a touchdown. Tyler Wortman, well you know this writer is high on him.

Most of the day NU played with three cornerbacks and only two linebackers. Whenever there are three or more receivers on the field for the opposition, there will usually be this setup on defense. NU played Eric Hagg, Prince Amukamara, and Anthony West exclusively at cornerback and Larry Asante and Matt O'Hanlon at safeties. Very few reserves played at all in the defensive backfield.

The defensive line played very well. This writer was very impressed with Tyler Steinkuhler. N. Suh had a good game also. Barry Turner recorded the first sack of the year. Terrance Moore, a reserve had two sacks. Jared Crick put in a good performance and with Dreu Young made the Cozad Haymaker fans proud.

Let's not forget Alex Henery as a highlight. Wow! Four FG's of 44,43,44, and 44 yards. That will come in very handy as the season goes on.

CONCERNS
Where was the running game? The offensive line should be a strength this year but even with Western Michigan playing the run, NU should have been more of a force in this department.

The concerns with the linebackers is their pass coverage on the tight ends. Brenden Ledbetter caught nine passes for 123 yards and one touchdown. That was a third of their entire offense. Too many times he was wide open. What happens when Chase Coffman of Missouri lines up as a wide receiver? Hopefully by then we will improve in this area. With the tremendous desire of the linebackers, they WILL improve.

WHO WE DIDN'T SEE ON SATURDAY
Armando Murillo, our best corner, sat out the game due to injury. Ricky Thenarse got hurt early in the game and he was absent after that. Lydon Murtha didn't play. Major Culbert either didn't play or he didn't play very much. This writer thought we might see the corners Leverson, Dennard, and Thorell play some to spell the first unit. The defensive line was shuffling players all night long.

The offensive line also had a lot of kids play. The replacements did very well. They didn't have penalties. That has been a problem in the past.

The game management during the game was really pretty good. Probably as well as this writer has seen in a few years. Really good when you consider this was this coaching staff's first game.

It was a beautiful evening with a perfect breeze to watch the game. The game was very entertaining. If we could have stopped the game at the end of the third quarter this writer would have come away feeling better because the 4th quarter seemed to be too ugly.

If the biggest improvement during a football season is between the first and second games then next week could really be fun.


OTHER GAMES
What in the world happened to Texas A & M getting beat by Arkansas State 18-14?
It is my understanding they just got outplayed and it wasn't a fluke.

#9 Clemson was beaten at Clemson by Alabama 34-10. This writer has always heard how hard it is to win at Clemson. Is Alabama that good?

Virginia Tech looks overrated but Skip Holtz is a heck of a coach at East Carolina as they beat Tech 27-22.

Bowling Green whips Pittsburgh.????!?!?

That's college football!!!!

Jake Gdowski starts for Colorado State tonight.

Last night we saw a fine performance by Londen Fryer, Irving Fryer's son, for Western Michigan. Tonight Jake Gdowski, the son of former Husker Tom Gdowski, starts for Colorado State. He is #58. Gdowski was asked to walk-on at Nebraska but was never offered a scholarship.

Ready for Some Football?

I know I am. I have been invited by John to write some posts this year for the Nebraska Sports Journal. My name is Todd E. Jones, and I run Collegefootballtopten.com. Why would he ask me to post? I don't know. If you find, out let me know. He made some nice comments about wanting a non-biased opinion about Nebraska football. Well, I guess I could throw my opinion your way.

What do you need to know about me? I grew up in rural Arkansas, but I live in Fort Worth, TX now. Now, I think there are a lot of similarities between Arkansas and Nebraska. Folks in both states are hard working, people of character, salt of the earth type of folks. When I was a kid, I use to love watching the Nebraska vs. Oklahoma games. They were classics. I was always impressed by Tom Osbourne. He just seemed like a great coach and great person. Coach Osbourne was like the Tom Landry of college football. I was excited for Nebraska and Coach Osbourne when they finally won the National Title. Coach Osbourne was a good Christian guy and deserved everything he won.

I have been blogging college football for the past two seasons. I started with the Toddler Top Ten. I kept my own top ten for Division I A which they now call Bowl Championship Subdivision. It was fun. The next year I decided to get my own domain and continue. It was rather awkward as I kept some of my info on my own site and domain while keeping my top ten and commentary on my blogspot. Last year I struggled to keep up with a top ten last year because there were so many upsets. I changed much of focus to a commentary. Then, I decided to change how I did my blog during the offseason. I installed Wordpress on my domain and put everything on my domain. After making this move, starting in April I kicked everything up a notch or two. I became more intent on making it a top level blog. I checked out other sites and even contacted some including Brian at In the Bleachers.

I did play football in high school, but I was always intrigued with the strategies and schemes in football. I like to make up plays, etc. I like to evaluate what I see on TV or in person. Last night I watched a high school game here in Fort Worth and, subsequently, wrote a summary of the game at Pegasus News where I will be writing some articles this fall. My best writings were this summer when I broke down the offense, defense and schedules of TCU, SMU and the University of North Texas for my site. Most of those were also published by Pegasus News.

I plan on catching a couple of Nebraska games, checking stats, watching some footage and tell you what I think about the job Bo Pelini is doing. I think the biggest question Nebraska fans have to wonder is, "Was Pelini a better choice than Truner Gill?" I really like Gill, and he is doing a great job at Buffalo. Did you catch the score of their game with UTEP? John clued me in on that. I look forward to visiting with you this fall. And please, check out Collegefootballtopten.com!

First game will be here Saturday night.

Finally the first game is here! Should be a fun game and really it won't be a gimmee. Nebraska's offense will go against a defense that beat Iowa last year and has eleven starters back. Nebraska's offense should be improved with a strong defensive line and the return of Joe Ganz. NU has a lot of depth at running back also.

Look to a closer game than most expect! Also the game may be somewhat low scoring. NU 27-Western Michigan 10. What is your prediction for the score????

The Big 12 has some interesting non-conference games coming up. NU plays it whole non-conference schedule at home which is huge. Its big game is Virginia Tech at home. Missouri also plays their non-conference schedule at home.

Here's the non-conference schedules for the other Big 12 schools.

Baylor
@ Wake Forest
Northwestern State
Washington State
at Connecticut

Iowa State
South Dakota St. (Don't say anything. We play them next year)
Kent State
at Iowa
At UNLV

Colorado
Colorado St.
Eastern Washington
West Virginia
@Florida State

Missouri
Illinois
SE Missouri St
Nevada
Buffalo

Oklahoma
Chattanooga
Cincinnati
@ Washington
TCU

Oklahoma St.
@Washington State
Houston
Missouri State
Troy

Texas
Florida Atlantic
@UTEP
Arkansas
Rice

Kansas
Florida International
Louisiana Tech
@South Florida
Sam Houston St.

K-State
North Texas
Montana St
@ Louisville
Louisiana/Lafayette

Texas A & M
Arkansas State
@ New Mexico
Miami (Fla)
Army

Texas Tech
Eastern Washington
@ Nevada
Southern Methodist
Massachusetts

I give the easiest schedule to Texas Tech. It can't get much easier than that. Playing at Nevada will be their toughest non-conference opponent. Oklahoma St. has a pretty easy schedule with Washington State, away, being their toughest game. The third easiest schedule could be Oklahoma playing Washington, away. Iowa St. has a pud home schedule during non-conference but has to go to Iowa to play. Usually the underdog wins that game so Iowa State could be undefeated after non-schedule games. Texas has Arkansas at home but should win. NU has a test with Virginia Tech at home. Western Michigan won't be easy either. Baylor has one tough non-conference game @Wake Forest.

The toughest non-conference schedule in 2008 is with Colorado. They play West Virginia at home and play Florida St. away.

The Big 12 should have a 80% winning percentage after the non-conference season. Look for some lower Big 12 teams to be undefeated after the first four games.

Hey and I am not sold on Missouri YET! This writer thinks they will struggle against Illinois early. They will probably pull the game out but don't be surprised if...........they just win by a field goal.

This writer thinks Texas may be the most underrated Big 12 team and they will give Oklahoma and Texas Tech all they want in the South Division.

13 days to game time!

Nebraska plays Western Michigan in 13 days. This will be the first game on our journey to win the Big 12 North. Watch for Western Michigan to have eight men up front on defense to stop Nebraska's running offense. Nebraska will need to have a strong passing game, which they will, to win.

No real surprises so far for the team. The defensive line has had some guys out but they should be in good shape for the game.

This writer had thought that Niles Paul would return punts but he is not listed among the top four or five who are in the running. It looks like right now it could be Nate Swift. He has some experience.

The following is some of the former Nebraska players who are looking to playing in the NFL this season. The team is listed first, then the player, and then the ranking by position for their team. An example is Maurice Purify who is listed as the 9th receiver for Cincinnati. This would mean that he is on the 4th or 5th team assuming they are playing only two receivers.

GREEN BAY
Brandon Jackson-RB-Second

HOUSTON
Ahman Green-RB-First
Kris Brown-Placekicker-First

PHILADELPHIA
Correll Buckhalter-RB-Second

ST. LOUIS
Josh Brown-Placekicker-First
Richie Incognito-Offensive Guard-First
Adam Carriker-DT-First

CINCINNATI
Kyle Larson-Punter-First
Maurice Purify-WR-Ninth

BALTIMORE
Cory Ross-RB-Fourth
Fabian Washington-CB-Third (Suspended)

ARIZONA
Ralph Brown-CB-Fourth

BUFFALO
Chris Kelsay-DE-First

CAROLINA
Courtney Grixby-CB-Tenth

CHICAGO
Zach Bowman-CB-Sixth
Mike Brown-FS-First

DETROIT
Daniel Bullocks-SS-Second

KANSAS CITY
Demorrio Williams-OLB-Third
Steve Octavian-OLB-Seventh
Trevor Johnson-DE-Third

NEW ORLEANS
Josh Bullocks-FS-Second

PHILADELPHIA
Stewart Bradley-MLB-First
Correll Buckhalter-RB-Second

NEW ENGLAND
Bo Ruud-OLB-Fifth
LeKevin Smith-NT-Second

SAN FRANSISCO
Jay Moore-DE-Fourth

SAN DIEGO
Ryan Bingham-NT-Second
Carlos Polk-OLB-Fourth

TAMPA BAY
Barrett Ruud-MLB-First

If you have some other players you know about that I missed, please leave a comment and let us know the information you have.

Nebraska begins journey to win Big 12 North!

Oh yeah you think this writer is a blind NU fan that is too optimistic. NU won the North Division two years ago. What is the difference in talent and coaching from two years ago? The offense is better.

Joe Ganz is overall equal to Zac Taylor. Taylor threw a better ball but Ganz is mobile and with this offense, the Nebraska offense, it is big plus. Besides he can throw the ball too. He threw seven TD's in one game last year.

The running back position is better with Lucky, Helu, and Castille. Brandon Jackson is gone but overall we are stronger and more experienced.

The TE position is better with Dreu Young and Mike McNiel. Mike McNiel will have a great season.

The receiver positions have a lot of talent. We need a couple of younger guys to move up and show they have the home run threat. Purify is gone and hasn't been replaced yet. Look for Menelik Holt and Curenski Gilleyhen to step up this year. Hopefully Niles Paul will make some big plays too.

A strength of the offense is the offensive line. The overall line and the depth is better than two years ago.

On defense, Suh is an All-Big 12 player who is highly underrated. This writer thinks he is as strong a player as there is in the Big 12. Steinkuhler, Steinkuhler, and Terrance Moore will be good due to excellent coaching.

Linebackers are led by Phillip Dillard. The coaches are high on Cody Glenn but he has to show the team he is a leader. This writer thinks he will and he will have some takeaways this year. Matt Holt is showing some good things early and he is a true freshman. Wortman could be really good as he showed in the Red-White game. NU will play more nickel defense this year due to the offenses they will face so two linebackers will be used a lot during the games. So you take our weakness away to some extent. Two years ago, we had Stewart Bradley, Bo Ruud, and Steve Octavian. This writer would have to say that today we don't have these kind of players at linebackers but the coaches will make Dillard, Wortman, Glenn, and the rest very good.

Cornerbacks are pretty good again with Murillo, West, Blue, and Prince A. We also have Asante who will play safety, some CB, and probably act as a linebacker at times. That is this writer's guess after watching what Bo Pelini did with Demorrio Williams a few years ago. Asante may be that guy this year. Don't forget Ricky Thenarse, the hitter. He will make plays and cause takeaways.

Remember two years ago, we had we had Fluellen, Spain, and Brothers fighting for starting positions in the secondary. We are much stronger this year.

At defensive end, we don't have Jay Moore and Adam Carriker. We do have Zach Potter and Barry Turner. Moore and Carriker were hard to beat but Potter and Turner are close. They will need to show they are as good as those guys. It can happen.

Special teams are better than two years ago. Henery and Kunalic are better at kicking. Titchener is still our punter and has only improved from two years ago.

Overall, we have a better team than two years ago. Last year we were 5-7. Takeaways, schemes, coaching, and a renewed team spirit will win us three more games. We only had 11 tuenovers last year. We will have 1 turnovers after the non-conference schedule this year. The home games with Kansas, Missouri, and Colorado will help us win one more game. That gets us to 9-3 during the season. With better talent, we are looking at picking up another win which will get us to 10-2 with losses away to Oklahoma and Texas Tech.

The intangibles such as a renewed fan support and enthusiasm will offset the improved overall Big 12 competition.

If you don't believe me just watch!!!!

Pictured above is Lance Thorell. He is a walk-on from Loomis who will hopefully get some playing time this year and have the chance to excel on special teams!!!

Favre is traded to the NY Jets!

Fox News has reported that Brett Favre has been traded to the NY Jets. He will battle Chad Pennington for the quarterback job.

The Harlan Count Lake is now below normal elevation at 1945.61. Normal elevation is 1946. Yesterday there was 517 cfs leaving the lake and only 50 cfs of water flowing into the lake.

The PGA golf tournament, one of the four majors, starts today at Oakland Hills in Michigan. With Tiger gone so is the pre-tournament hype. Look for VJ Singh to win it all.

Nebraska gets its 10th commit!

DeAndre Byrd, who had 21 offers from schools like Arkansas and Wisconsin, committed to Nebraska tonight according to Rivals.com. Byrd is a cornerback from Tallahasee, Florida. He is 5' 10" and 170 lbs. The reason he committed to NU without a visit? The coaching staff and Bo Pelini.

Sport Shorts

The Nebraska basketball team may get a big man this season yet. The Lincoln Journal Star reports that Teeng Akol is visiting NU this week. He is also interested in Oklahoma State. Akol was born in Sudan and raised until he was 14 in Egypt. ESPN rated him the No. 42 center in the 2008 class. Akol had signed with South Florida but was not cleared with th NCAA. So there are a lot of ifs but there is a chance he will be playing for the Cornhuskers yet this year. Paul Velander would lose his scholarship if Akol comes to NU.

Who will be this year's Demorrio Williams? My guess is Larry Asante. He is 6' 1" and 210 lbs. He can play a lot of positions on defense and he would make a nice blitzer when he lines up at an end position. When Asante plays other positions, Major Culbert can play strong safety.

Linebacker Nick Covey is now a defensive end. It will be interesting to see if he can het some good quality time.

Football 202-Part 4

This is Part 4 of the Football 202 series that this writer attended on July 25th. Today on KOZN (with Matt S and Mike L Severe), they talked about what a Football 303 might be like. Really, the material we discussed in Football 202 is about as far as you can go even with an avid fan. As Tom Shatel said in his column, "Finally my head has stop spinning!"

One thing this writer would like to know about is the preparation the coaches do the week before a game. How much film do they watch? Where do they get the film? What basic tendencies do they look for? Can they talk to other coaches that maybe this team has faced?

It would be interesting to know more about what the team does the night before a game. They used to attend a movie and stay at a motel as a team. Will that change? What is game day like? What do the coaches like to see as the temperament of the team? What about the pre-game speech... or is there one? How does does Coach Pelini come up with a way to motivate his team week in and week out?

Now on with the substance of Football 202. Coach Pelini is passionate about his job, his fellow coaches, and his players.

He said "EFFORT is the center of everything I believe. We will outwork our opponents! As to what is expected of the team, it will be clearly defined for the players. There will be no gray areas. Accountability and effort is vital."

Coach Pelini talked about coaching defense. He talked about a term called "Conceptual Perception". The ingredients to this term are:

1. Relentless effort
2. Personnel
3. Formation Identification
4. Defensive concepts and team
5. Defensive Installation
6. Communicate adjustments

A subpart to this is the fundamentals:

1. Alignment
2. Stance
3. Vision
4. Footwork
5. Defeating blocks
6. Tackling

Coach Pelini talked about relentless effort. "Linebackers set the effort box. this kind of culture will lead to an increase in turnovers and a decrease in big plays."

When Coach Pelini says his team will be ready when the games begin, you believe him and this writer believes the players believe in him and his assistants also.

The middle part of the afternoon was spent with Coach Watson showing how the offensive coaches implement a new play. The offense meets as a team and Coach Watson and Coach Cotton will review the play. Then the position players take their respective players to their offices and they go over the play in detail.

Coach Watson showed us the play book. It wasn't as thick as you might expect and it is a little thinner than last year. We were asked to NOT put the play they discussed on the internet, so this writer won't for two reasons: 1) Because they asked us not to. 2) This writer's head was spinning too!

Some other notes from the offensive coaches presentation:
1. It was noted that the offensive is called the "Nebraska Offense" not a west coast offense.
2. Coach Cotton was very happy with the offensive line he has this season and complimented Coach Wagner for his coaching ability.
3. Coach Ron Brown was always coaching and teaching his section of "students" as Coach Watson explained the play.
4. The video equipment and film that the coaches have make it a great teaching tool. It is easier to show problem areas or great technique by the players.

This writer split off with Coach Cotton. He is very passionate and knowledgeable about his job!! It is evident that he knows how to teach the kids.

The final segment of the day before pizza and pop was going onto the field, and then meeting back in the "classroom" to ask four players questions. The four players were Marlon Lucky, Niles Paul, Cody Glenn, and Barry Turner.

These are my observations of the four players:

Marlon Lucky- Modest and confident. This pre-season all Big 12 player will be a key for the season. When asked by a student as to whether he or Niles Paul would have more receiving yards this season, they just looked at each other and laughed.

Nile Paul- Seems like a great kid. He said right now he is in line to return punts. You could tell he would like to do that job.

Cody Glenn- He is happy and having more fun. He said defense is more fun than playing tailback. The players think that Cody Glenn is going to be good.

Barry Turner- He looks lighter but said he had only lost ten pounds. He is well spoken and a leader of the team. He is very complimentary of the new coaching staff and you can feel that he is going to have a great season.

The players respect their new coaches and they are excited to get the season started.

This writer would like to thank is daughters for Football 202. It was a great present!!

After attending Football 202, this writer feels NU will have a great year. In 2006, we won the North Division of the Big 12. We were supposed to repeat that in 2007 but something went wrong. We have more talent than we did in 2006 and 2007. We have a great coaching staff and the players support them, and we have Kansas, Missouri, and Colorado at home. Look to NU to win the Big 12 North Division in 2008!! It makes sense!

Football 202-Part 3

This is the third segment of Football 202 attended by 132 Husker fans. There were fans from twelve states that attended Football 202. One of those fans was the dad of Husker great Terry Connealy, Marty Connealy. He had two of his grandsons with him who look like they could be Huskers soon. They go to school in Mullen.

Also in the football office on Friday was Cody Green, a great quarterback recruit in the 2009 class. He was with his sister and mother. He is a tall athletic looking kid who reminds this writer a little like Josh Freeman. It looked like he was having a good time. He did not attend Football 202.

The Football 202 group had the pleasure of listening to Bo Pelini for a generous amount of time during the day. He told about his story of getting into the coaching ranks.

After playing for Ohio State, he went to Iowa as a GA and worked with the offense. He left after one year because they didn't offer the right setup to go into Sport Administration, which was what he wanted to do. He still wanted to coach also so he did send out numerous resumes to various teams. He was helping coach a high school team when one day the following fall Dwight Clark of the 49ers called him and asked if he was interested in being a scout for them. Clark met with Pelini and asked him to analyze three players and send the results to San Fransisco so they could evaluate his work. They were impressed and Pelini was hired as the head of scouting.

Pelini said he quickly "became bored" working in this area. He spent evenings with Ray Rhodes and other defensive coaches looking at film. They were impressed with his ideas and he was hired in mid-season as an assistant to the assistant secondary coach. At the end of the season Ray Rhodes went to the Philadelphia Eagles and Mike Shanahan went to the Denver Broncos. They both offered him jobs. But Mike Shanahan did give him some advice. He suggested that Coach Pelini stay with the 49ers who had a great system, George Seifert as head coach, and a defensive coordinator named Pete Carroll. Coach Pelini said "the best career decision he ever made was not taking the Bronco or Philly job as an assistant coach." He said "you are a product of what you are exposed to." The five years with the 49ers formed him into a great defensive coach. The rest is history.

Coach Pelini believes that coaching is all about relationships and teaching. In regards to teaching he learned in San Fransisco the following concepts:

1. Teach a player what to do
2. Teach a player how to do it
3. Most importantly, you need to teach WHY you are doing that way.

Whatever job that you have, you have to know the WHY. That way when there are changes in formations or adversity, you know how to react in a positive manner.

Coach Pelini believes that the best player is even in his emotions. "Players have to in control. Emotion happens when you have built a team, when you are playing for "N", not themselves."

Coach Pelini said "the players aren't quite ready yet, but they WILL be ready for the first game." This writer believes him.

In the afternoon, we had the pleasure to listen to Eric Crouch. Crouch was introduced as not only a great player and Heisman winner, but also a great person by Jeff Jamrog.

Crouch discussed his pro career. He said "he wanted to play quarterback" but the Rams drafted him as a receiver. Crouch was burned out from football when he left the Rams. He was injured most of his pro career and had nine surgeries before it was over. He said he doesn't know if his pro career is over now, but he does enjoy his recreational equipment sales business in Omaha.

Crouch raved about his high school football coach Fred Petito of Millard North.

Crouch said you always needed to "know what you were doing during the game" at NU. He said he would stay after practice and throw balls for an hour or two after practice. He worked hard.

His greatest college game, he said, was beating Notre Dame in overtime at Notre Dame with the stadium mostly red. He also mentioned the TD pass he caught from Mike Stuntz and the long Missouri run for a TD.

Crouch was very humorous and talked about the time when he was in New Orleans for the Walter Camp award. He said officials called him to go eat. He met Rex Grossman in the elevator and asked him if he was going out to eat because he assumed all the candidates were invited. Grossman was in shorts and had a pizza so he figured out real quick that he was going to eat with them by himself. They told him that night at supper that he was going to win the award.

Crouch also talked about running to a defensive team's strength sometimes when the defense would shift. He said "I thought, what the heck and they would go out and make ten to fifteen yards."

Part 4 will be the final segment. It will include more on Coach Pelini, the offensive coaches installing plays, and meeting with four of the players! Stay tuned.
Crouch had a great message and was interesting to listen to.

An interesting web site is www.tv4u.com. Check out Classic Sports/Classic Football and look for the 1976 Bluebonnet Bowl with Nebraska vs. Texas Tech. Ron Franklin is a sideline announcer and the game is shown in its entirety.

TV4u.com

Football 202-Part 2

This is Part 2 to this writer's day at Football 202. 132 Husker football fans attended "class" to learn more of the "inside" workings of the football team. Please refer to my July 26th blog for this writer's first set of notes.

It was mentioned in my Part 1 blog that next year's attendance may double when it gets around what a neat time we had with Football 202. The great thing of having 132 was that we all fit in the players meeting room in the football office.

After James Dobson spoke to us we took a break. At that time my daughter Kim introduced me to Chris Kiffin. He is a son to Monte Kiffin of the Tampa Bay Bucs and a brother to Lane Kiffin, the Oakland Raider head coach. Chris is 26 and is an intern for the football team. He will work with the tight ends this season. He played football for Colorado State as a defensive lineman. Coach Watson said that when he was with Colorado they had to use a smash block on Chris when they played Colorado State. A smash block consists of two lineman blocking one defender using a certain technique. Needless to say, Chris Kiffin was an excellent college football player and is a very good kid.

Also working as an intern is Austen Everson who was a standout QB for Coach Frank Solich at Ohio University in 2005 and 2006. It is my understanding he will be working in the video area.

After break we had the pleasure to hear Trev Alberts speak. His story is interesting and he has a passion for Husker football that may only be matched by Jason Peter.

Trev said that a Husker player has the "burden and responsibility to represent the state well" and to win football games. To be a Cornhusker means you do everything possible to put a winner on the field and anything less than that is not acceptable. He mentioned that, as a player, you have to understand what Nebraska football means to the fans.

Trev Alberts was from a small school in Iowa. He said his dad really didn't want him to play football because he needed to help with farm work. He said when they grew up they didn't have a TV. He did go out for football and had a pretty successful career.

Back when Trev was getting recruited, they didn't have internet recruiting services but Tom Lemming had a publication. Trev's dad called Tom Lemming and asked why his son wasn't on his all Midwest team. Lemming told him to send $25 and he would send Trev future copies. The next publication had Trev Albert as second team on the Midwest team. This helped him get recognition with college football programs.

One day Earl Bruce, who was then coaching Northern Iowa called him and said they would like to offer him a scholarship. He asked what that meant. Coach Bruce said that if you come here we will pay for your schooling if you play football for us. Trev said "alright, sounds good to me."

One day the legendary Nebraska linebacker football coach, John Melton, showed up at his door. That started his relationship with Nebraska. He had two or three offers from other schools and Iowa had asked him to walk-on but then Nebraska got interested. Dave Gillespie asked Alberts to send him some film. Trev laughed when he told us what his football tape consisted of. A father had taped a couple of games on an old recorder. He sent that tape to Nebraska.

Trev Alberts admired Tom Osborne. When Coach Osborne visited him, he wrote down on a piece of paper eight names. Trev's was at the bottom. Coach Osborne explained that if Trev came to Nebraska that he would be listed as the eighth linebacker. It would be up to him to move up. He admired Coach Osborne because he didn't make promises that he would start if he went to Nebraska. Coach Osborne also wanted competitors on his football team and they had to have the drive to improve themselves to start.

Trev Alberts went to Nebraska despite his parents wanting him to stay closer to home and attend Iowa. Iowa offered him a scholarship after Nebraska did. The other reason he went to NU was:

1. He loved the visit to Nebraska
2. His high school football coach told him to go to Iowa because he could never play at NU. He said he still loves his high school coach dearly.

Trev Alerts said playing at Nebraska created a "larger mission of college athletics". He said that the student-athlete was never mistreated. We were always treated right."

He said that playing at Nebraska gave him many life lessons. Perseverance was a key. He felt like quitting many times but his dad told him he was not to quit and that being a quitter makes it easy to quit other things in life. He learned a different level of toughness and work ethic and that the work ethic was set by those that had an investment in the state.

"We believed in what we believed and we didn't waiver. We had principles." Another life lesson learned was honesty.

Trev Albert ended up as a rush end for the Cornhuskers. He attributes a lot of his success to his position coach, Tony Samuel. He won the Butkus award when he was a senior.

Trev Alberts was very entertaining. You can see why he has been successful on television. He said he is still friends with Mark May and had just spoke to him a couple of weeks ago.

Trev left us with "Football can't be about total thinking. You have to be free to play."

Next up is Bo Pelini.

Football 202-Part 1

PICTURES COURTESY OF THE OMAHA WORLD-HERALD

This writer found out how little he knew about the new age of football last Friday when he attended Football 202, a new program headed by Bo Pelini, the Nebraska football coach. Jeff Jamrog, the head of football operations, organized the day that allowed Husker fans to see up close a small sampling of what goes on inside of "Nebraska football." 132 attended the event. My guess is that next year there will be double that amount.

My daughters, Sarah, Jessica and Kim, paid and registered me for Football 202 as a birthday/Father's Day present and it was one of the best presents a dad could get. It was also fun to see Kim during the day as she works in the football office.


In addition, this writer sat in front of Tom Shatel from the Omaha World-Herald. See his article about Football 202 :

Tom Shatel

Jeff Jamrog started the day reviewing information regarding Nebraska football. Their budget is close to $34 million. The football programs helps pay for most of the budgets for the rest of Nebraska athletics.

Some of the items budgeted are interesting and mind boggling. Here are a few of the budgeted items:

Guarantees to non-conference teams to play at Nebraska......$2,700,000...
Recruiting expense ......$560,000...
Postage.....$50,000....
Supplements......$112,000....
Autographed footballs....$12,000....
Team travel.....$437,185...
Contest or game expense....$1,350,000.. Out of this officials are $170,000..
Scholarships......$2,000,000....

Nebraska is #1 in the conference in paying out for guarantees for teams to play at Nebraska. The average guarantee is $710,000. Jamrog said this is not a position NU wants to be in.

Recruiting is a top priority for Nebraska. Their priorities in the area of recruiting are:
1. Nebraska (500 mile radius)
2. California
3. Texas (In the 2009 class, six of the nine recruits are from Texas)
4. Florida
5. National Junior Colleges
6. National Position Recruiting

The Huskers grade each player they are looking at. One of the items that is very important is that social skills must be good. If a player doesn't act like a team player or doesn't seem to blend in with the present players on a visit, they are eliminated right away.

Jamrog discussed official visits vs unofficial visits. He noted that on an official visit that "we have 48 hours to impress the recruit".

Jamrog is down to earth and a very funny guy. He was enjoyable.

James Dobson was the next part of the program. He is the new strength coach for Husker football. He says when a recruit is looking to a college team one of the first things they should check out is the strength coach, his assistants, and the weight room facilities. He said a football player will spend more time working out and lifting than he will with everybody else during his college stay.

The new emphasis to the NU football team by the new strength coach is developing burst and speed. They do their workouts based on 40 yard dashes with very short rests and then repeating the short bursts again. They also workout almost year around which they hope will give NU an advantage. Dobson doesn't believe in taking time off because you lose what we have gained in a short period of time.

James Dobson is very likable and as energetic as any person you will ever see. The tour guide mentioned that the players are drenched in sweat now when they leave a workout. Asked if they were not this way the last few years, the tour guide diplomatically said "Next question!"

Part 2 of Football 202 will be completed in the next couple of days.

Sport Shorts

Brett Favre should be the starting quarterback for the Packers in 2008 but it doesn't look like it will happen. The Packer fans are the best pro football fans. They are even more loyal than the Steeler and the Cowboy fans. The fans and TV should want Favre back. He gives them the best chance to make the playoffs next year. Aaron Rodgers is a good quarterback but he is no Favre. Management is being too stubborn. I would hate to be the new quarterback when he has a rough start to the season.

Favre is likely to land with Tampa Bay to play for Jon Gruden.

Nebraska has picked up two more recruits this week. One is Emerson Evans from Houston Texas. He is a defensive end and he is not rated very high by Rivals or Scout. He had offers from Ole Miss, Utah and UTEP. Emerson is known as a rising star and a power rusher which will fit a need for the defensive side of the ball. I would guess he will end up a three-star. Also Nebraska got an offensive tackle from Texas. His name is Jesse Coffey. He was down to Kansas and Nebraska as to his last choices. Arkansas had also offered Coffey. Nebraska is hitting Texas hard in their recruiting efforts.

The media has picked Missouri and Oklahoma to win the Big 12 divisions. Missouri will have a season similar to Texas last year. Colt McCoy was the preseason pick for MVP of the Big 12 in 2007 and had a so-so year. Look to the same thing happening this year to the Tigers. In the south, the game of the year will be Texas Tech at Oklahoma. Ohlahoma has 17 starters back but they lost a lot of depth. Injuries could be a factor for them. If they stay healthy, Oklahoma wins.

The Big 12 final will be Nebraska with home games against Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado and the winner of the Oklahoma-Texas Tech game. I take Oklahoma if they stay healthy.

The South winner will win the Big 12 Championship this year. The writers are wrong about Missouri. Nebraska will prevail in the North but they will need to improve even more to win it all.

United Way and You

Along with United Way and the Susan G. Komen Foundation (Breast Cancer) you can give back. If you would like to donate money to the research for breast cancer please visit the link below. There is a $10 minimum donation but anything over that is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your support.

https://volunteer.united-e-way.org/dundermifflin/donate/?_vm10283527261_=75_119846&catalog_code=1049292969

Republican River

The river was up to 600cfs this weekend compared to 60cfs on Thursday. Rain caused the river to raise. How was the fishing? As good as it gets!

Fishing near Orleans, Bryce Boehler of Lincoln caught ten catfish. Seven weighed four to six pounds. He fished for about two and half hours and spend most of his time putting Balkers on his rubber worm. The key to his success was finding a hole around some downed trees where a school of large catfish were located.

Meanwhile this writer was up the river fishing using shrimp and nightcrawlers as bait. A wiper, a number of channel cat, a few drum, and a flathead catfish were retrieved. The biggest only being three pounds.

Mr. Catfish, Michael Boehler, let the fishing exposition.

In the picture above is Elle June, Bryce's girl,and his catch of fish. Should be some good eating.

Padraig Harrington won the British Open today. Greg Norman faded in the closing round. It was reported Wednesday that Harrington may withdrawn because of problems with one of his thumbs. Must of healed after this writer took him off his fantasy team.

This writer will be attending Football 202 this next Friday thanks to a Father's Day/Birthday gift from my three girls, Sarah, Jessica, and Kim. That will be fun and I am looking forward to it!!!!

Can Greg Norman win the British Open?

No, but he is only one stroke out after the second round.

Did you know Greg Norman is married to the tennis legand, Chris Evert. They got married last month.

Kyle Busch won't win the Nascar race this week. Oh that's right they don't race this week. He won't win next week at the Brickyard either. Kyle Busch is the best motorsports driver in the world right now, but he won't win them all.

Kerry Earnhardt may be driving for DEI for the Cup next year. That would be fun to watch and add some more excitement to the sport. Kerry Earnhardt is 38.

The Harlan County Lake is at 1946.77 in elevation right now. 1946 is normal elevation. The Republican River had 600 cfs running in today due to local rains. It had dropped to 50 cfs the day before.

Sport Shorts

When I was a kid Major League Baseball's All-Star Game was something we all looked forward to for months. How was Maris and Mantle going to do against Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax? Who was better, the American League or National League. This writer was an American League fan so it was depressing when they lost. Depressing like when Nebraska loses a a football game. It was that important. Maybe its due to Free Agency and players switching teams every other year that the game isn't like it used to be. Maybe because there is so much sports on TV that the game isn't any big deal anymore. The press doesn't seem to care about it either. Nobody treats it like the Super Bowl the way we used to. It was a huge summer event.

The other sporting event this writer looked forward to in the summer as a kid was when the college all-stars who were going into the NFL played the NFL champions from the year before. Watching Jim Taylor of the Packers knock down a bunch of college studs was fun. Sometimes the game was pretty close. Usually the NFL champs won. They stopped this annual game because of potential injuries to the players and the fact that the NFL camps get started a lot sooner now.

Brett Favre should be a Packer again. He is the best QB they have and they should readjust their plans and take him back. Aaron Rodgers is no where close to Bret Favre. The Packers pushed him to a decision and he realized he made the wrong choice. Let him come back Green Bay!!

This writer feels strongly about Kyle Busch being the best racer since Dale Earnhardt, Sr. I have mentioned this before and the feeling is still there. The "Intimidater" always sent a fear through the other competitors when he was driving to take the lead. Well, Kyle Busch does the same thing and if you watch him a work, he can take a driver out if they don't get out of the way. Some drivers seem to let him go past them for the fear that they may get wrecked if they battle with him. Like Dale Sr. he is the best driver on the circuit and he takes advantage of it. Over the next few years Kyle Busch's popularity will grow and grow. Just watch!!

The world heavyweight boxing championship was on TV today. How sad boxing has become. These fighters couldn't hold a candle to Mohammed Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, and the boys. They listed five contenders that the winner may fight next. All no names. Boxing needs an overhaul with somebody that will promote the sport. The Heavyweight Champion of the World was globally known at one time.

Cody Green

Quarterback Cody Green committed to Nebraska today. He is 6'4" and 220 lbs. He is from Dayton, Texas and is part of the 2009 class. He was recruited by Shawn Watson and Mike Ekeler. Green is one of the top quarterbacks in the nation in the 2009 class and Rivals rates him a four-star.

Nebraska has had commits from top QB's in the past such as Curt Dukes, Harrison Beck, Josh Freeman, and Blaine Gabbert. They didn't pan out for NU for various reasons. Cody Green will need to prove himself but it is a great signing for NU.

A movie about Sal Aunese is in the works!

Husker Extra reports that Sal Aunese, who died at the age of 21 in 1989 from stomach cancer, will have a movie made about his life. Tom Osborne was recruiting Aunese, but lost out to a young Buffs assistant named Les Miles. Miles now has Aunese's son, T.C. McCartney, on his LSU roster as a walk-on quarterback.

Alec Maric is playing well so far for the Indiana Pacers. Let's hope he continues to play to the level that will allow him to make the team.

Tonight Maric played his summer league game against the Chicago Bulls. He played twelve and a half minutes, had two points and three rebounds. Courtney Sims is the Pacers summer league center. He had ten points and five rebounds 25 minutes of play.

Sport Shorts

Kyle Busch won the Nascar Dayton race last night in a narrow win over Carl Edwards. One of the better cars in the field was Tony Stewart who got sick. He was replaced early by J.J. Yeley.

The Republican River is starting to get very low with only 160 cfs. During the flooding it ran 9000 cfs. What a difference. At least there is still some water in the river. It has been dry most of the past eight summers. The Harlan County Lake elevation is at 1947.29 down from 1947.83 a week ago. Normal elevation is at 1946.

The fishing in the lake was slower this week. Mr. Catfish and myself caught carp, large mouth bass, catfish, wipers, drum, white bass, and bullheads on July 4th. Mr. Catfish, Michael Boehler, caught a two pound and a four pound catfish. Otherwise most of the fish were small. We used leeches, minnows, shrimp, and nightcrawlers for bait.

"Hero of the Underground, Jason Peter" is a new book out. Looks like interesting reading.

Tom Kropp has been elected to the National High School Hall of Fame.

Nebraska basketball redshirts Brandon Richardson and Toney McCray are getting praises from their teammates this summer. Also 6'9" Alex Chapman, who is Nebraska's tallest player until 6'11" German recruit Christopher Niemann arrives, is also showing improvement.

Former Kearney High School and University of Nebraska-Lincoln player Drew Anderson is Triple A Louisville's top hitter this year. Watch for him to move to the majors soon.