Rational Champs

Well, at least that jackass Toby Keith isn’t rooting for us!

To speak nothing of Larry the Cable Guy, those are the types of stupid, inconsequential things fans declare in their attempts to rationalize embarrassing defeats. You’ve got to have something on your side, right?

With our Huskers down 28-0 after five minutes – five goddamn minutes! – and 35-0 after one quarter Saturday night to No. 4-ranked Oklahoma, that’s the “something” that my friends and I came up with. Well, the first “something.” The fact that Tom Obsorne would have surely kicked Barry Switzer’s ass circa 1982 “because soft-spoken guys are the ones who are actually the toughest” was rationalized five beers later. The fact that we beat Oklahoma 28-27 after falling behind by that first 35 was rationalized another six or seven beers after that. The fact that three hours later I ended up waiting for a cab outside of Nico in a makeshift Zorro costume? Well, that sort of thing can’t be rationalized.

Needless to say, it was a tough night.

But just like the NU players said after Monday’s practice – pretty much to a man – I’m moving on. There’s really not a whole lot to say about Saturday night – Oklahoma’s players were just a little bit faster, a little bit bigger, a little bit stronger, a little bit meaner, and coached a little bit better. Joe Ganz would have had to have been just a little bit better than he’s ever been for the Huskers to stand a chance. He wasn’t, obviously.

Combine all of those “little bits” and you get what you got – a 62-28 Sooners win. For those of us just old enough to clearly remember the glory days, losing to Oklahoma like that flat out sucks. But you know what? It sucked for them when Nebraska crushed OU by a combined score of 192-31 over a four-year period from 1994-97, Osborne’s last four games as head coach in the series. Whoever’s on the wrong end of the stick in this series, it’s always going to suck. But turnarounds are possible – we just have to keep the faith that things will be a little different when the teams meet next year in Lincoln and a whole lot different the next time NU visits Norman in 2012.

So that brings us to the rest of the season, and there’s a whole lot left on the table for this team. How the Huskers finish after these three remaining and winnable games is absolutely crucial to the “Bo-mentum” that Pelini and Co. are attempting to build in Lincoln. The best-case scenario is that NU wins out, finishes 8-4, and depending on how the BCS shakes out – specifically, how many Big 12 teams get into a BCS game – gets an invite to the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio to match-up with a big-name team from the Big 10. That would be huge. A trip to the Insight Bowl is more likely.

There are many reasons 8-4 can still happen. Ganz is still a beast, no matter what happened against OU. I say he outplays both Kansas’ Todd Reesing and Kansas State’s Josh Freeman. The situation at running back is still good as long as either Marlon Lucky or Roy Helu are getting a bulk of the carries. And most importantly, the schedule sets up well with the two toughest games, this Saturday against Kansas and an after-Thanksgiving Day game with Colorado, in Lincoln.

But there are many reasons 6-6 or God forbid, 5-7, can still happen. The defense is still on the wrong side of average. It’s encouraging to see them flying around out there, but like my boy Yoda once said, “there is no try, only do.” They’re mistake prone when it comes to their assignments and I’m finally getting sick of making excuses for all the personal fouls. That has to stop. On top of all that, NU’s turnover margin is a joke; the team ranks 103rd in the country in that statistic.

The factor that feels like it could go either way right now is coaching. For better or worse, this team has taken on Pelini’s fiery personality – he’s got to find a way to get his players to channel that aggression the proper way. They also can’t afford to lose any confidence. Nebraska’s had a couple of rough defeats this year; that won’t be an easy thing for a rookie coach to do.
I still say he can. But no matter what, at least Toby “Kobe Teeth” Keith – I’m eternally grateful to Bill Maher for that one – will not be rooting for us. So there.

Looking back…

Oklahoma 62, Nebraska 28

Overall: NU got put in its place by the vastly more talented and better-coached Sooners, who were ahead 35-0 before 15 minutes had elapsed off the clock en route to cruising to a 62-28 win.

What went right: If you’re looking for a bright spot, you could point to that fact that Nebraska never completely quit, and managed to outscore NU 28-27 in quarters two through four.

What went wrong: Damn near every single thing that happened in the first quarter; NU had turnovers on its first, third and fifth plays as the opportunistic Sooners built to their big lead.

Stock rose: Sophomore running back Roy Helu Jr. had a nice game – 157 yards on 16 carries – although most of his yards came during garbage time, which on Saturday, was most of the game.

Stock fell: Tough to know where to point the finger here – Bo Pelini? Carl Pelini? Defensive backs coach Marvin Sanders? The players themselves? I’ve never seen so many open receivers.

Looking ahead…

Kansas (6-3 overall, 3-2 Big 12)
at Nebraska (5-4, 2-3), 1:30 p.m.,
Fox Sports Pay-Per-View

What it means: This one means a lot to NU; revenge against a team that beat them 76-39 last year, a chance to prove itself as the second-best team in the Big 12 North and obviously, to make itself bowl eligible.

The Huskers will win if: Kansas can run and pass so this game boils down to how well the Huskers can defend … does that defense have any confidence left?

CW Prediction: Nebraska 38, Kansas 35; this one will be another shootout but finally, the Huskers find a way to protect their home field against a quality team.