Going Back to Ohio

     It may not look like much on the scoreboard, but a rally from a 17 point deficit to a 3 point win is pretty impressive. The swing from last year was a whopping 34 points. Big difference: no Russell Wilson for the Stinking Badgers. Not as big difference, the new and improved Taylor Martinez.
     You always hear how the game is won in the trenches, usually spoken by guys who's only idea of trench warfare is the assorted 22 minutes or so from Downton Abby. If true, then the Husker front four drove the mastodons from UW even closer to extinction. Extra props to the linebackers, too. All made impressive plays, 'Zo Whaley, Sean Fisher and Will Compton stood out at key moments. Compton reminds me of a classic throwback '60's linebacker, except fast.
     I think the ground game has a recipe for long term success. Wave after wave of Burkhead and Abdullah. You could see it starting to take shape in the second half. Sprinkle in a little T-Magic and this offense looks like it might be unstoppable by anyone, save themselves. Dropping 45 points a game on opponents is tough to counter.
     On to the next gig. All the way to Columbus, Ohio. Lloyd and I loaded up the van with lads and began the odyssey all the way to the Arch City...wonder if that's because of Archie Griffen? I could see it. "Groping in the Dark" was booked for a place called 'The Worst Bar in Columbus'. I'm sure the competition was fierce, but that is the actual name of the place. I sought out the owner or manager or bartender who looked like he was in charge in order to get sorted out.
     I wonder if Bo will have any chance to enjoy his homecoming.
     Rod was a decent sort, all things considered. He only looked at us like we were noisy tourists talking too loudly in a cathedral. More tolerant than I expected. I anticipated him looking at us like enemy agents trying to slip by his border post undetected. Yes, he knew where we were from.
     He came sauntering up as Nigel struggled to fit his synthesizer onto the tiny stage with all the other gear. "You know you're going to lose on Saturday, don'cha?"
     Figuring that Nigel had no idea about what Rod was talking about, I intervened. "Lose at what?" I asked, putting on my best confused look. That one is easy, I'm confused a lot.
     "The Buckeyes are going to destroy Nebraska, ol' Braxton will run circles around them."
     "What is a Buckeye and who or What is a Braxton?", I asked, not rising to the bait.
     "The Buckeyes, you know, the football team from THE Ohio State University."
     I always hated that extra emphasis on 'The' that OSU players and fans coughed out.
     "Braxton Miller is the quarterback that will make those Cornhumpers look silly", Rod continued.
     "Oh, ok," I nodded. "You still haven't told me what a Buckeye is, though."
     "Awe, hell, it's a tree. The Ohio Buckeye, a type of chestnut."
     "Why name your team after a tree?"
     "It's not just the team. It's the State, the people. Ohio is the Buckeye State."
     Chas chimed in, "You mean like conkers?"
     "What?"
     "Conkers. You put the conkers, or horse chestnuts, on a bit of string and whack the hell out of them in turn, until one breaks," he explained.
     Rod looked at him as if he had grown a second head, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
     "Yanks," he scoffed and went back to setting up.
     I had a feeling that Chas was on to something, though. I started thinking that the game would be like a game of conkers. Each side is going to take a whack at the other until one breaks. Both offenses are just a bit better than the defenses they will face.
     Nebraska was the more diverse attack, and will force OSU to play honestly all game. The main weapon is Taylor Martinez, who has been making key passes as well as plays with his running. Rex and Ameer are the best running back tandem in the B1G. Kenny, Quincey and Kyler are effective downfield weapons.
     OSU has Braxton Miller. He does the same job as the entire Nebraska backfield. He is the key to the game. He is just a good enough passer to hurt the defense. He won't sit back in the pocket and pick the D apart, he'll do it while running, drawing defenders up and hitting receivers that get left open.
     The band brought me out of my reverie as they sound checked with Blondie's 'One Way or Another'. Seems to fit to me. A huge dude wearing khaki shorts and an Ohio State sweatshirt ambled up to me. The shirt was so badly stretched over his massive gut, that the type 'O' looked more like an ellipse. "Are you Sam?" he wheezed.
     "Yeah," I said. Who wants to know?
     "Susan said to give you this," he said, pressing a folded piece of paper to my hand.
     I opened it right there. It read 'Meet me at midnight at a place called Hang Over Easy -- S'
     That meant I could hang out, catch the game, and still hit the meeting. Finally, a break.
     I settled in to bide my time and watch the track meet that was about to unfold.
     A track meet that I expect the Huskers to win, 38-35.
     Husk-husk and on the qb.

New Blood on the search

     I finally caught up to Non-Stop John at Brewsky's. He had notebooks, a pitcher of beer, a plate of nachos and two cell phones arrayed in front of him. He seemed to be trying to watch all 15 screens on the wall at once. Neat trick when you can manage it.
     "John," I said, "Or if you prefer 'Non-Stop', I've got a couple of questions to ask you."
     He motioned for me to sit, and gave me a quick glance over his shades. "You can ask. Don't know if I'll have any answers, though. And if it's betting tips, you can go away, now."
     "I don't need betting tips. I've got a missing person and was told that you may have heard something about her."
     John leaned back in his chair. He placed his hands behind his head in an obvious attempt at looking unconcerned. "Why are you coming to me with this?"
     "I need help and I'm stumped. You came highly recommended, but if you don't want to help..."
     "I'm not linked to this chick?"
     "No."
     "Who recommended me?"
     "Preacherman."
     He relaxed. "You should have said so, earlier. Preach and I go way back. What are the particulars?" he asked pulling one of his notebooks toward him.
     I told him about Susan, ''Groping in the Dark" and the trip to L.A. with the tip from Mickey. I told him how Lloyd and I had taken over the management of the band and how we needed to find things to keep them busy. He nodded, took a few notes and asked a few clarifying questions. "I can connect with some people, but if it starts involving a lot of leg-work..."
     "I know. If you get into this for me, I will get you my agency's standard fee for an investigator, assuming you're bonded and licensed, of course," I said, doubtfully.
     "Licensed, bonded, never use it. Just in case kind of thing."
     We shook on the agreement and I nodded toward the screens. "Do you think the Huskers will get their revenge, on Saturday?"
     "Against the Stinking Badgers," he said like the bandito at the end of Treasure of the Sierra Madre. "If they use their speed advantage. It's not like last year where they can load up the box and dare Martinez to throw. They will have to play their defense straight-up, which means that Martinez can check down to plays that will take advantage of what the defense is showing. The speed factor comes in if Beck makes the defense run after them on every play. Tosses, pitches, screens, jailbreaks, that sort of thing. The Huskers are so deep at receiver, they can spread the field all night long, stretch them both horizontally and vertically."
     "How about the ground game?"
     "Nebraska has four backs, three should get a decent number of carries. I hope that Beck uses them in waves, maybe Cross comes in in short yardage situations. Burkhead is back, Abdullah has proven himself and Heard is decent, too. I don't think the Badgers defense will be able to take the pounding for a full four quarters. But that might not even matter. Nebraska has gotten off to a fast start in every game this year."
     "Big question, now. Will the defense be able to handle the behemoths? They have been chasing spread-option offenses all year. Can they change it up and play a team that is committed to a ground game, especially if Montee Ball plays?"
     "If Huskers do to UW what they did to Martinez, last year. Load the box with 8 defenders, dare them to pass and double team Jared  Abredeis in passing situations. Half of Stave's completions went to Abredeis and he has 40% of their receiving yards for the year. They do not have the weapons they had last year. Remember last year when Wilson made the defense look silly? That guy is starting in the NFL this year. Stave is not a pro prospect, yet. The defense needs to take advantage of that difference."
     "What about special teams?"
     "The Huskers have had their ups and downs, I don't expect it to be a big difference maker."
     "Any score predictions?" I asked
     "Nebraska will get out to an early lead, putting even more pressure on the Wisconsin passing game. If Nebraska can get up by two possessions, Pooch will be pinning the ears back and turning the pass rush loose. Every possession Nebraska has with a sizable lead will be run heavy, to quicken the game and take time away from any potential come back. Hostile crowd, emotional weight to the game. I expect a 17-3 Nebraska lead to finish up as a 31-10 grab the conference by the throat game."
    "One last question. Why do they call you 'Non-Stop'?"
    "That," he said with a wry smile. "Is a secret."
    Husk-husk and on the qb.

Almost back to normal.

     The drive back home was loooong.
     The band made a few bucks, entertained some new fans, and probably committed a couple of misdemeanors with their, ahem, followers.
     But, that's the biz.
     Lloyd and I were anxious to get back. We needed to see if there had been any word on Susan. We thought that maybe she had skipped ahead, if Mickey's info was worth anything. It was possible that she was anywhere from Utah to Pennsylvania. We had to narrow down the search area.
     We asked the lads where they had been scheduled to play.
     "Not sure, mate," said Nigel. "We know she booked several gigs in Lincoln, the L.A., deal and she said several other travel opportunities."
     "Did she mention where the travel opportunities were?"
     "Dunno," Chas chimed in. "Sounded right foreign to us, Ohio, Iowa, Michigan..."
     "Chicago!" Derek interrupted.
     "Chicago?"
     "Yeah. I remember Susan telling me that she had to go to Chicago at some point to secure the venue for a gig. I remember it because it was the one place I had heard of."
     "All nighter, Lloyd?" I asked.
     "We can do it. If we drive in shifts and sleep when we get the chance, only stopping for gas and food, we can get home in 24 hours."
     We blazed right by Las Vegas. The lads got mad. Maybe on our next vacation, I told them.
     We stopped in Cedar City, Utah, for gas and packaged preservatives in snack cake and beef stick form.
     As we roved through the mountains, Derek observed that the Rockies could have inspired Tolkien for the Misty Mountains.
     Derek has got some depth, to him.
     I started keeping an eye out for goblins and trolls. Especially around Boulder.
     From Denver we swept through the plains. Lloyd and I struggling to stay awake. The coffee and five-hour energy shots hardly living up to their name.
     The lads were rapt. I wondered if they expected to see the whole Sioux Nation riding out to waylay us. Nothing about America fascinates the Brits as much as the Wild West.
     I promised them each a Stetson, because Stetsons are cool.
     We finally rolled back into Lincoln, unloaded the gear and caught a few hours of kip time. They had a gig on that Saturday.
     That Saturday turned out to be Anxiety Saturday. The Huskers played well, Taylor had an awesome game. But Bo was ill, sidelined, under the weather.
     He didn't come out of the locker room. He took an ambulance ride. The press didn't know where he went or what was done. They were thwarted by privacy laws.
     They don't know that you have to talk to housekeeping. Housekeeping knows all and moves like wraiths through the halls of every hospital. They are invisible, but they know and see all.
     Malcolm is a junior pre-med student who pulls shifts at St. E's. He's on scholarship, but needs cash to take care of some things. He will also impart information from time to time for the right dead president; or statesman if it's really good.
     For the price of a conversation with Mr. Franklin, Malcolm said that the brought Bo in, ran his EKG, ran the full cardiac panel and rayed his chest. He had some of the symptoms for a cardiac event, but the blood levels and EKG were normal. They proceeded with the G.I. cocktail, a mixture of Maalox and liquid lidocaine. Discomfort resolved. Dx papers signed and Bo was out the door.
     As for this weeks game against Idaho State, get your media guides out. You will see names you have never heard before.
     Rex will get about ten carries as we welcome him back. Ameer will shoulder most of the load and Braylon and Imani will get a lot of work in the second half.
    I think Taylor will run the show in to one possession in the second half, then give way to BK3.
     We welcome back Chase Rome to the team who settled his personal issues. I translate that as he broke up with his girlfriend from back home, just a theory, I could be wrong.
     Zaire Anderson got hurt, blew up his ACL. Sadness. Time for Santos to step it up.
     Final score, Huskers 63, Idaho State 10.
     Getting caught up takes a lot of work,
     Husk-husk and on the qb.

LA Noire Shirts

     Los Angeles was everything I hoped it would be. Loud, sprawling, cheap, oppressive, glittery and dismal, all wrapped in an enormous ball of confused anxiety about what it was and what if anything, existed beyond whatever borders happened to define it.
     The LA of Chandler was gone, pushed aside by wave after wave of broken dreams that had dashed themselves along Hollywoods fabled shores, lured by the sirens of easy fame and success.
     The LA of Ellroy still showed signs of peaking out from where it had been pushed. One still saw bits and pieces of that LA. The LA that still made appearances in scratchy newsreels shown in retro theaters and might be reflected in the eyes of the dispossessed, who may have, at one time starred alongside Joan Blondell or Joel McRea.
     The LA of Jack Webb had never existed, but you could see the possibilities of the shiny, modern, just, city that yearned to stand front and center. Only wishful thinking could create a world where just the facts were enough and just a few bad apples could be turned around by a strong hand that would make everything ok.
     The LA of the Rockford Files was still there, but fading down the stretch like a distance runner who had rabbitted at the start of the race and was now succumbing to the smog and the lack of training. The bodegas and dive bars; the bail bonds and badasses on the corner were in abundance. Even then, you hoped that somewhere there was a kind hearted-hero that would take on on overwhelming case that he knows deep down that he'll never get paid for.
     Right now LA is somewhere between Bacchanalian city state and ultra-modern Dystopia. Read Joseph Wambaugh and Phillip K. Dick on the same night and your dreams will display 21st century Los Angeles.
     It is into this city, or rather, this League of Extraordinary Contrasts that the Huskers play in, today. There have been several significant games between UCLA and Nebraska in the 'modern' era. In 1972, UCLA ended Nebraska's 32-game unbeaten streak, behind the foot of a short, fat, soccer style kicker named Efren Herrera and the passing of that dude from NCIS. In 1973, Dr. O got his first win, but that was in Lincoln. In 1983, Mike Rozier ran for 102 yards on a 6 yard scoring play that helped propel him to a Heisman. In 1984, No. 1 Nebraska destroyed 8th ranked UCLA the week before the wheels fell off at Syracuse. In 1987 Steve Taylor went 10-15 with five TD's, connecting with Tom Banderas for three of those. Banderas's kid will be a Husker next year. In 1988, Troy Aikman got his revenge, in LA, as the Huskers looked hapless and helpless against a future NFL hall of famer. Mark Blazek returned an INT for a TD in what was one of the worst officiating calls that helped Nebraska. He fell down, got up and ran to the endzone. No whistle. In 1993, Nebraska escaped LA with a 14-13 win. UCLA had scored a TD on a huge run, but a holding call negated it. In 1994, the Huskers pounded the Bruins 49-21 as the chant of 'over-rated'  washed over the 13th ranked Bruins in a game that wasn't as close as the scoreboard indicated.
     This week, the Huskers roll into town with some momentum, but quite possibly without the services of I-Backasaurus Rex. Taylor is returning home, kind of. Corona is East of East LA and less than 50 miles from the Rose Bowl. The kid is hot and UCLA will actually have to prepare for him. I think he has finally reached the skill level where teams can't load up eight defenders in the box and dare Taylor to pass. They have to play honestly, which will free up the running game. Ameer, Braylon and Imani look more than capable of filling in for ROAR Burkhead. Depth is a problem for the Bruins, so Beck's up-tempo offense should be yielding positive results early. UCLA might be dead weight by halftime. It was good to see so many different receivers get touches last week. With Marlowe out (it saddens me that Marlowe has to miss a game in LA), Jamaal Turner will get his opportunity to prove that his habits have improved since last year. The offense has so many weapons that there will be no way that UCLA will be able to take everything away.
     On the defensive side, the Blackshirts will have to contain a mobile quarterback. UCLA runs the spread offense that Bo solved years ago. Expect to see a lot of nickle defense with only two backers, today. Today is also the debut of Mohammed Seisay, Hoping to get Huskerfan to adopt the British Paratrooper battle-cry of 'Whoa Mohammed' whenever he makes a big play. The D-line has got to make strides this week, Southern Miss had some decent players on the o-line. UCLA has some talent and scored on several big plays last week. But that was Rice.
    The whole big picture thing is that this entire week lacks any really interesting games. Nebraska should win this one going away. The final score might even be a little misleading. I expect Nebraska to be able to score at least 42. I think the game will be firmly in hand when UCLA gets a couple of late scores. Going to call it a 42-24 win for Nebraska.
     The rest of the B1G is similarly underwhelming.
     Lloyd's Power Ratings for the B1G and this week's games.
     Leaders
     Ohio State -- 11, vs. Central Florida; Ohio State 45-17
     Purdue  --  9, at Notre Dame, Notre Dame, 34-24
     11. Wisconsin  -- 7, at Oregon State, Wisconsin 31-17
     Illinois -- 5, at Arizona State, ASU 28-24
     Penn State -- 2, at Virginia, Cavs 28-10
     Indiana -- 2, at Massachusetts, Indiana 17-14
     Legends
     Michigan State -- 9, at Central Michigan, MSU 27-10
     10. Nebraska -- 8, at UCLA, Nebraska 42-24
     Northwestern -- 5, vs. Vanderbilt, Northwestern 28-27
     Iowa -- 4, vs. Iowa State, Cyclones 21-16.
     13. Michigan -- 3, vs. Air Force, Michigan 35-21
     Minnesota -- 3, vs. New Hampshire, Gophers 31-3
     The new Top 13 isn't even involved in a whole lot of interesting games. 1. Alabama vs. Western Kentucky, 2. USC at Syracuse, 3. LSU vs. Washington, 4. Georgia vs. Missouri, 5. Oklahoma vs. Florida A&M, 6. Florida State vs. Savannah State, 7. Oregon vs. Fresno State, 8. West Virginia idle, 9. South Carolina vs. East Carolina, 12. Clemson vs. Ball State. LSU and Washington is kind of interesting. Georgia and Missouri might be intriguing to see how Georgia handles the spread. Florida State is favored by 70 1/2 over Savannah. Bet the dog, that's a big number.
      Got the lads straightened out for their gig, tonight at Club 1984. Lloyd convinced them to record the shows on tour, and put out a cd, and make the songs available to download. The lads are interested and want to call it 'The Terror Wolf Incident". No idea what that means, but has a very '80's feel to it.
     I need to do some leg work, find out if anyone here remembers Susan, or remembers what she might have been up to. The Lads are opening up for a band called 'Book and the Guinea Pigs'. What I really want is for the crowd to remember 'Groping in the Dark'.
     Gathering up my Star Maps and list of LA contacts, ok, that's Marcus. Hopefully I can find his store. He is a quite successful new-age books and spiritually accessories store. He drives a Lexus, but keeps his orange 1968 VW bus parked out front. To the casual observer the Birkenstocks and pony tail are all they need to see to confirm his modern hippy status. Too bad they don't notice that the jeans are Diesel, the flannel shirt by Scotch and Soda, and the watch by Fossil.
     Appearance is everything.
     Hope I can make some headway before my gas money runs out. In LA, that could be a BIG problem.
     Husk-husk and on the qb.

Post Iowa and a few picks

     Watching the Nebraska-Iowa game, yesterday, was like watching two exhausted boxers in the 12th round of a fight. No belts on the line, a decent undercard, but not a main event. Yesterday was no Ali-Frazier, it was more like Jerry Quarry v. Jimmy Ellis.
     It also had an old-school feel to it that I dig. I-Backasaurus Rex led an attack that was like five-yards-and-a-cloud-of-rubber, but I like that. I actually do enjoy watching the offense grind away at a team, at any moment a play could pop for a huge gain, but the steady erosive nature of the attack did wonders for a defense that was probably still trying to recover from last week.
     Speaking of the I-Backasaurus, he gets my nod for offensive MVP. The team MVP is obviously Lavonte David, but Rex has been the go-to guy all year long. Excellent story to emerge from the game; Rex had tied the school record for carries in a game with 37 (again), the o-line convinced him to come out and take the last snap in 'victory' formation so he would get one more official carry, and the record. I have heard that it was Yoshi that convinced him to do it, saying that the o-line wanted him to get it, and that they wanted to be a part of it. Pretty cool, huh?

(It's unclear what T. Rex's exact speed was, but it could run down all other animals in its ecosystem)

     Taylor had a pretty decent game, and passed Tommie Frazier on the passing yards list. He tweaked an ankle, early in the game, which limited the playbook for him. He did get lucky on one pass that should have been picked, and had a couple of attempts that went off of defenders faces at the line. All in all, a decent game. Kenny Bell looked like he has shaken off his issues of the past couple of games, and really stepped up. Jamal Turner got into the game, which shows some improvement for him. Kyler Reed finally got a touchdown reception.

     Let's hear it for the o-line. A battered, beat-up bunch of dudes who gave a gutsy performance when they really needed to. Speaking of o-line, Mike Caputo must have jilted the umpires daughter or something, two clipping/crack-back block penalties against a guy who has had zero all year, neither of which should have drawn a flag. Caputo, Yoshi, Jones, Choi, Long gave Rex the room he needed to do what he does. Let's also hear it for Sirles, who came in when Jones went down and filled in, nicely. I think there is a pipeline getting built in Nebraska, and it doesn't end in XL.

     The Blackshirts did what was expected of them. They shut down the run, and Alfonzo took their best receiver out of the game, again. Lavonte David was here, there, and everywhere; hitting dudes, covering the tight end, getting a sack and stripping a fumble. I still want to see that holding penalty in the end-zone, again. The series that Iowa scored on was one of the weirdest I've seen. I don't think the Iowa receiver caught the ball in-bounds at the three, and no-one sought to review it. I hate to play the fake injury thing, (that's not true, I loved it when Joe Nash, and his bum knee, did it to Cincinnati back in '88) but we should have a flopper to buy more time to get plays reviewed. It took Iowa four plays and three penalties to get into the endzone after a first and goal from the three, to take away the shutout.

(Carl just wanted me to tell you thanks for keeping him employed)

     Just wanted to drop a few quick notes and picks for yesterday and today.

     Leroix picked LSU, trust me. He also has Alabama in the Iron Bowl, and Virginia Tech over Virginia. Bubba is Enjoying the week off. Marcus says Stanford should beat Notre Dame.

     Lloyd says Ohio State will beat Michigan, making Huskerfan say 'Whaaaaa'? Northwestern will play Sparty tough, but not tough enough. Illinois will lose to Minnesota, costing Ron Zook his job.

     Granny is taking whisky, and is picking the Stinking Badgers to beat Penn State. Indiana and Purdue are playing for the 'Old Oaken Bucket', proof that some of these B1G trophies are just stupid. Purdue will win.

     Time to kick back, relax, and get healed up for the bowl game. It appears to be either the Insight.com Bowl or the Outback Bowl. Insight.com pays $6.7m and the Outback $7m, so we're in for some decent cash. I've seen one projection that puts us in the Outback with South Carolina. It would be nice to take on pickle-puss Steve Superior, again.

     Husk-husk and on the qb.















Northwestern Post-Game

     Three years in a row, now, the Huskers have dropped a game, at home, that they had no reason to. In 2009, it was Iowa State, 7 turnovers and a 9-7 loss to an awful team, with their best two players hurt. Last year, it was Texas, who finished 5-7 as the Huskers had a virulent case of the dropsies. This year, it was Northwestern, their second and third string quarterbacks playing the Blackshirts like a virtuoso. It's almost like I wish Dan Persa hadn't gotten hurt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piVnArp9ZE0
     No-one had better lay this on Martinez. He had an excellent game, 28-of-37 (.756 comp. pct.), 289 yards, 2 TD's (should have been three), and NO interceptions. Trying to recall all the incompletions: 2 Kenny Bell drops, one Brandon Kinnie drop, one Ben Cotten drop; the intentional grounding call (good call by the ref's), the interference call on the final TD drive, the go-route to Bell where he got tangled up with the db, and one PBU that should have been interference on Northwestern had the refs applied the same standard as the call against the Huskers in the first quarter; and one pass where Taylor got hit as he threw it on the final drive. Not a bad day's work, all in all.

     Taylor scores a two point conversion

(photo courtesy Kim Adams Johnson)

     I don't really think one can blame the turnovers, even though both of them happened inside the Northwestern 20, including Rex's fumble at the one. The Huskers won the turnover battle with two interceptions and a fumble compared to two fumbles.

     Rex fumbles at the one (we still love you, Rex)

(photo courtesy of Kim Adams Johnson)

     There were some penalty issues, but none were really game-changing except for the interference call in the first quarter. From where I sat, it looked like the defender made a play on the ball, and actually touched the ball before he touched the receiver. That changed a defensive stop, that would have forced a field goal attempt, into a first and goal from the three that resulted in a touchdown.
     For the first time since the Wisconsin game, I've been scratching my head about the play calls by Tim Beck. He ran a lot of read-option plays. The same kind of read-option plays Northwestern sees in practice every day. Northwestern showed up with a great game plan. Take Burkhead out and make Taylor throw. Taylor did throw, and threw well. Beck relied too much on the run, which played right into Northwestern's strategy. If anything, I think Beck stuck with the run too long. I almost got the sense that he felt that the Huskers would wear down Northwestern, and by the time he realized that wasn't going to happen, it was too late.
     When Nebraska hasn't performed well, there has been plenty of room under the bus for Taylor, Beck and even Bo. I've heard a lot of 'take the black shirts away', 'make them wear pink shirts', etc., etc. I'm pretty mystified, too, as to how a great performance against Michigan State was followed up by such a bad performance against Northwestern. Some of it was injury, there were guys in at defensive tackle that hadn't seen any game time until Northwestern. There were obvious communication problems all day, guys were hurrying onto the field as Northwestern switched out their personnel packages. the linebackers were looking at each other...a lot, and didn't seem to know what their responsibilities were. The same went for the DB's at times. Northwestern receivers were getting between defenders, and between responsibilities. Add in the fact that the Northwestern QB's all were making their throws, and the Blackshirts wore out by the end of the game. It is rare, but I saw it yesterday, the other team out-muscled the Huskers in the fourth quarter.

     One of those 747-sized holes (as one friend put it)

(photo courtesy of Kim Adams Johnson)

     Which brings me back to Carl. If Husker Nation expects Tim Beck to own up for calling a bad game, then it is only fair that it does the same when Carl does it. He looked like a freakin' genius, last week, against Sparty. This week, his play calls looked lost. He called the same defense on first down, most of the game. That's fine, if it's working. It wasn't. Northwestern consistently picked up positive yards on first down, leaving them with 2nd and manageable most of the day. They played like champs in the second quarter, forcing three straight 3-and-outs. On the possessions following those 3-and-outs, the Huskers lost two fumbles and got stopped on fourth down. It went downhill from there.
     On the back breaking play, the 81-yard touchdown pass, Ciante Evans got beat on an inside move and Cassidy played the wrong receiver, coming up to cover the receiver running the fly route. He was out of position to help Ciante. The Northwestern quarterback hit the receiver in full stride and he never lost any energy having to change direction. Perfect execution by Northwestern.
     I have nothing but admiration for Northwestern. They came in with a great game plan, handled all sorts of adversity, and adjusted on the fly way better than Nebraska did. Just Nebraska's luck that the Northwestern defense gelled for a whole game at the worst time for Nebraska, but at just the right time for them.
     Getting ready for Penn State, which may have been where the team's head has been, all week, anyway. No way to be sure, but it's the feeling I got. That, and a bit of over-confidence. There are no off weeks in the Big Ten. Iowa, who lost to Minnesota, beat Michigan. Minnesota took Sparty to the fourth quarter. Indiana took Ohio State into the fourth quarter as well. That being said, even if Nebraska sweeps their last three opponents, they now need help to get to the Championship game. If Nebraska wins out, and doesn't get help, the likeliest scenario is Sparty playing Penn State in Indianapolis. That would really stick in Huskerfan's throat, to see the Big Ten decided by two teams that the Huskers beat. That's why it's so important to take care of business.
     National picture time. LSU beat Bama. Yay. There is still plenty of football left, but I think we have one opponent for the National Championship game set. Good thing for Les Tigres that Bama's kicker was terrible. The three remaining "BIG" games that will shape the picture for the other half of the National Championship. TCU at Bosie State: BSU should win, finish the season undefeated, but will probably get left out in the cold. Oregon at Stanford: De Facto Pac-12 Championship game. Leaning toward Stanford, right now. If they finish the season undefeated, they will have a strong case for going to the big show. If Oregon wins out, they will still be behind the 8-ball, since they already lost to LSU. Oklahoma at Oklahoma State: Despite OU throwing up on themselves against Texas Tech (much like Nebraska did, against Northwestern), I was leaning toward the Sooners winning the Bedlam game, knocking the Pokes out of contention. Then Ryan Broyles got hurt. The Sooners are an excellent offense with a good overall defense that is vulnerable to the pass. Now they are down their best running back and best receiver, and have to play a team that throws the ball all over the field and more often than has ever been seen.
     If I were to make a snap pick, right now, I would say that the National Championship will be LSU and Oklahoma State. Oddly enough, Boise State and Stanford could both finish the season undefeated and not even get a shot at the title.
     Oh well, bring on Penn State, but leave your teenage boys at home if you know what's good for you. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/sports/ncaafootball/former-coach-at-penn-state-is-charged-with-abuse.html?_r=1
     Husk-husk and on the qb

Spartan Accomodations

     I love being right, well, kind of right. In my pre-game post, I indicated that Nebraska should employ the base nickle defense instead of the 4-3 they've been running all year. Carl did me one better. He utilized Green Bay's 'Psycho' defense in obvious passing downs, which for Michigan State seemed to be third-and-greater than 3.
     Old-school, smashed mouth, slobberknockin' football is my favorite. Sure the kids are bigger, faster, and stronger than the kids in the long, long ago, far away time. but the principles are the same. Get there the fastest with the mostest and you win the engagement before it even starts.
     For having a really cool mascot, and an outstanding legend to build a football team and athletic department around, MSU sure does seem to have a lot of  ass-holes on the team. I'm not saying you shouldn't be edgy, or try to get into the other guys head, but play with some control to that edge. To be fair, if you want to be an ass-hole and cost your team fifteen yards, that's fine, I'll take it, swing away at the guy wearing a helmet, genius.
     Herodotus should be required reading for every football player. Why? Check him out for yourself.
     Blackshirts should be in lockers this week, at least in my humble opinion. Best performance of the season, and Bo pretty much let it slip during the post-game conference that they had been earned. In that vein I want to congratulate Ankrah, Steinkuhler, Rome, Cameron, Compton, Fisher, David, Dennard, Stafford, Austin, and Jean-Baptiste. I want to toss a couple extra shirts in the lockers of Evans, Thorell, and Green for not giving up and growing into their roles, even when surrounded by negativity. Plus one more for Jared Crick, who has more than earned his.

     Check out Coach Carl presenting the Blackshirt

     Rex Burkhead may end up as one of he all-time best running backs in NU history. He may not end up with the numbers of a Rozier or a Green, or have the highlight reel of Phillips or Jones, and I will pretty much guarantee he never gets the cover of Sports Illustrated, but play-for-play, pound-for-pound, this guy is one of the best and I would want him on any team I was coaching. Which is probably why 85,000 fans were holding their collective breath when he didn't get up after a third quarter play. This is a guy who always gets up. Leg cramps. Two plays later he caught a 27-yard TD toss from Martinez. Bo calls him a warrior. I dare anyone to disagree.

     I-Backasaurus Rex in action

     I like this big, physical, tough Big Ten Conference. It suits Nebraska and the way they play. I especially like how defensive linemen look in the fourth quarter when they are out of gas and keep looking at the clock wondering when it's going to be over. I especially like how Yoshi smiles and helps a defender up after all 320 pounds of him have been crushing him into the field turf.
     If Taylor Martinez comes Trick-or-Treating, tomorrow. I want to slip a guide of proper throwing mechanics into his treat bag. He's got speed, he understands the offense, he is a leader, but I really, really, really wish he would learn to step into his throws.
     Nebraska may have to play Penn State twice in four weeks. Their offense isn't that impressive, but their defense looks to be almost as good as Sparty's. Hmmm. They are 5-0 in B1G play and have the pole position for the LeaderS. If Nebraska wins out, Penn State would have one loss and could win their division with a 7-1 record. That would make a re-match for the B1G Championship game. But, get this. If Ohio State wins out, and Nebraska wins out, then there would be a Nebraska-Ohio State re-match. There is also still a possibility of a Nebraska-Wisconsin re-match, but a lot would have to happen, now that they have dropped two straight, to teams Nebraska beat.
     Nebraska should be back in the Top 10, now that Clemson, Michigan State and Kansas State each got dropped, yesterday. The University of Nebraska's Geological seismology department recorded a spike at 5:33 p.m., yesterday. Leading theories indicate that it was the sudden impact of Wildcatfans expectations meeting reality.
     I got to watch some Stanford and Andrew Luck. Based on what I've heard, I'm hoping that I saw the worst game of his career, because he did not look like future #1 draft pick against USC.
     Going to the Northwestern game, this Saturday. It's on the 5th of November, Guy Fawkes Day, or Bonfire Night. I have to get a 'V for Vendetta' mask and paint N's on it. I'll be sitting in the faculty section, so you'll probably be able to hear me. I'll be the only one cheering...loudly, anyway.
     Husk-husk and on the qb.