What is the State of the Program?

“State of the program.” You hear the term so many times when evaluating anything. Ask any Nebraska football fan “what is the state of the program?” and most will give a forthright answer to such an open-ended question.



After posting a 44-32 record from 2002-2007 (which spanned the last two years of the Frank Solich tenure and the entire Bill Callahan regime), the Huskers have gone 29-12 in Bo Pelini’s three years at the helm. Nebraska has definitely made progress under Pelini, just not BCS Bowl game material progress. The reasonble thinking fans knew it would take time for Pelini to get Nebraska to the prominence it enjoyed from 1961-2001. However, “patience” and “Nebraska football fans” go together like oil and water.


This is also a much different era of college football. Everyone has their theories such as scholarship limitations creating more parity. That angle can be overstated but it has some truth.


That said, the Nebraska football program appears poised for big things. In this day and age of college football, there are plenty of good teams with plenty of talent who can trip you up over the course of the season. Over the past three years the Huskers definitely shown a propensity to let those teams stick around and, in some cases (Iowa State’s 9-7 win in 2009) SU at home) those teams have beaten Nebraska.


That set of circumstances has to change but I think it’s fair to predict that as Pelini grows as a coach and the staff develops together, that there will be improvements on that front. What I do see as a huge positive is that even though Pelini’s win-loss success is similar to Solich’s 58-19 mark from 1998-2003. The reason that Frank got fired )rightly or wrongly) was that in his last three years, the team looked completely outclassed at least twice a year.


In the past two years, Pelini’s teams have shown that they can compete with anyone on a given day. The only losses in the last two years that couldn’t have been a win if one play had gone differently was the Texas Tech game (31-10 loss) in 2009 and the 19-7 Holiday Bowl loss to Washington last December. During that stretch, Nebraska took the No. 2 team (Texa) in the country to the last second before losing 13-12. The Huskers also led Oklahoma 17-0 in last year’s Big XII title game before losing 23-20. The Huskers also lost 18-15 in 2009 a eventual ACC champ Virginia Tech.


In this day and age in college football, the first thing a top program needs to do is be in every game. Clearly Nebraska needs to win those games and its track record in those situations has not been good but we only have a sample of two years to examine considering how bad the 2007 team Pelini succeeded happened to be.


The reason the Huskers haven’t been far more successful the last two years has been the offense, which has been absolutely putrid at very important points of the season. The posters who have pointed out the fact that the biggest contributors to that failure are still around have a great point. The offensive line has not been able to pass block for two years and has been supremely undisciplined, false starting way more than is acceptable. For an offense which is so weak that it needs down and distances to be favorable, this is not promising. Additionally, for the naysayers, it’s not like we revamped our offensive staff and brought in a proven coordinator with a track record of success. So, overall, I understand arguments against our improvement on offense.


However, I have more hope than the antagonists. I think that the Huskers performance over the last few years has been as bad as it can possibly get. Sometimes a situation can evolve where otherwise capable individuals fall into a trap of stagnation. More than anything I thought that former offensive coordinator Shawn Watson got too caught up in his own head and became a terrible playcaller. I hope that a fresh face will improve things and that the addition of John Garrison will result in more eyes on the offensive linemen watching their bad habits and identifying the things that confuse them so that those things can be rectified. If Nebraska’s offense progresses to middle of the pack Big 10, which there is no reason not to expect, its fortunes will change significantly.


As for our defense, I think that Pelini has assembled a staff of great defensive minds capable of game planning for any opponent. As long as the loss of defensive backs coach Marvin Sanders does not prove disastrous (and it could considering how amazing our secondary has been), the Huskers should be able to count on that unit to keep us in every game.


So overall, I think Nebraska’s prospects are bright. I think that the Huskers will be competitive against everyone and should be able to win their division more often than not. I think that their biggest competition will be Michigan and they will have a slight advantage there because Michigan’s cross-division rival, Ohio State, is slightly stronger than Nebraska. The years to be concerned will be when Iowa is (Nebraska’s main rival), plays Purdue while Nebraska plays Penn State. At least the Huskers will have the opportunity to play Iowa in the last game of the year, though, so they’d have to build a two game lead to eliminate Iowa’s chances of a division title before the end of the season. Once you win your division the conference becomes a one game crapshoot.


There are, obviously, points of concern. The Husker offense may not progress as hoped. The defense may not be as rock solid every year. Northwestern is scrappier than they have any right to be. Minnesota has no business being as bad as they are considering their large population base and excellent facilities. Overall I think that the Huskers are poised to be very successful in the new conference. Again, success in my mind is measured by winning the Division at least five out of every ten years (if not more) and winning the whole thing at least two or three times every ten years. That can be done. The State of the Program is probably better than we could reasonably expect it to be.


The dismal collapse at the end of last season along with the attendant negative publicity generated when Pelini went ballistic on the sideline in the 9-6 loss to Texas A&M, followed by the mail-in at the bowl game led to an extremely negative offseason both locally and nationally. Imagine trying to look forward to another season in which the offensiive coordinator attempts to prove his cleverness at the expense of winning games, while everyone else tries to figure out what happened to the electrifying Taylor Martinez that disappeared after Missouri.


Instead, Nebraska is in a new conference better suited to to it in a myriad of ways who actually seemed to embrace what the Huskers bring. Nebraska has new blood to help offensve line coach Barney Cotton, a new offensive coordinator (Tim Beck), fresh energy in the form of new coaches, vastly improved national exposure and respect and a badgered conference badly in need of positive press into which the Huskers fortuitously slipped.


Oh, and by the way, Nebraska has a defense and speed. I’d say the State of the Program is looking good.

Pelini mostly right on redshirt freshman

If there is one thing Nebraska football fans discovered long ago about head coach Bo Pelini is that if there is a matter he feels strong about, he will say so.



That aspect of Pelini’s personality was rather apparent Thursday at Big Ten football media day in Chicago on Thursday. So what topic did Pelini sound off so strongly on Thursday? Eliminating freshmen eligibility.


“That would be the best thing that could happen to college football, and probably college basketball and college athletics in general,” Pelini said. “That’s my opinion. I think that would be a tremendous move. I don’t know if there’s a lot of momentum for that.”

The reason behind Pelini’s viewpoint is that such a move would improve the recruiting process and give freshmen a chance to mature, not only from a football standpoint but academically.


“Let’s slow this thing down a little bit,” Pelini said, “and make them ineligible.”


I don’t agree with that assessment so much that it should be an NCAA mandated rule but I can think of far worse ideas. What Pelini says makes a lot of sense. Well, definitely in football but in basketball or baseball that rule would not wash because you have 18 year olds in the NBA and getting drafted by Major League Baseball teams. In football, however, I say “well and good” because even the best high school running back would get obliterated by the like of Ray Lewis. Even the college version as opposed to the future NFL Hall-of-Fame kind.


Pelini, however, is spot on from an academic standpoint because life would be much easier on the athlete if they knew all that was expected that redshirt year was hitting the books and the weight room. I also think too many coaches want to see a quick return on their investment. Athletic departments pay for scholarships for their star athletes to play, not watch others play. I think academically such a move would weed out kids who are just on campus to play sports and not get an education.


Granted, Pelini’s view resonates of one who is seeking is a move back in the direction of what we used to call the “student athlete” because I think we’ve kind of lost sight of that and it might be time to see if we can’t get that back. I am fully aware of those that only go to college to play but the vast majority are there for an education as well, the same vast majority that will never play in the NFL or the NBA, or even MLB.


There is a lot to be said for starting off well academically because if a youngster starts out by barely passing his classes and it’s an uphill climb all the way.


Plus it would sort of eliminate the effect of those parents who think their kid should only go to a school who promises to start them their first year. Who knows, maybe coaches would be less inclined to dangle that “you'll start your first year" promise.


The current NCAA rules state that an eligible athlete has five years to complete four seasons. Therefore, student-athletes may practice for a team but not play in a game for one season, not counting against his or her four seasons of eligibility. This is known as a redshirt. Fans don’t see their contributions in that they do not happen on gameday but the redshirt season is a valuable year in a system in that it provides shelter against some of the harsh realities of jumping to a new level of football.


You see, some highly-touted high school studs make their college choices in the recruiting process based on early playing time. Some coaches promise it or tell the youngster he has a fair chance to compete for playing time. Others will demand an automatic redshirt. Pelini might not redshirt 100 percent of his recruits as freshmen but it’s going to be rare when he does not.


There are numerous reasons to redshirt freshmen. For starters, the college game moves a hell of a lot faster than high school, which means decisions have to be made faster. Therefore, the extra season working against starters in practice is a benefit.


Also, highly touted high school studs were often the stars of their team and their league. They were exponentially better than their high school peers. In college, everyone is at least as good if not better. That extra year of conditioning will give the youngster a better chance to handle the rigors of a 12-14 game college schedule.


The verbiage of a playbook (especially on offense) is also far greater in college than in high school as is the intricacy of reading the opposition. Some of that pressure can be alleviated during a redshirt season.


Then there is the whole matter of adjusting from high school to college away from the field. For some of these youngsters, it’s their first time away from home. All of the sudden cooking, cleaning, doing laundry and partying are a juggling act. Throw that in with trying to balance academics with athletics.


Pelini understands that the temptation to put the best talent on the field is tough to overcome. The development of a successful program, however, is not about talent alone but it is about the development of an overall player and his maturity to handle the pressures and demands of being a great college football player.


Though the Huskers had a disappointing finish to the 2010 season (losing three of their last four games), you sense the roster is being better managed under Pelini than Bill Callahan.


I am of the opinion that the star system only matters in high school and freshman year. I will take a three star senior with four years of good coaching over a five-star freshman that demands early playing time with huge expectations and not much else any day.

Options would be good

I remember reading a story http://nebraska.statepaper.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2011/03/08/4d77073d39a21


several months ago by Sam McKewon (former NebraskaStatePaper reporter who has since joined the Omaha World Herald in covering Nebraska football) about the fundamental difference in the passing philosophy of former offensive coordinator Shawn Watson as opposed to the concepts of since named OC Tim Beck.


For starters, I have great respect for McKewon’s work. He is a former cohort of mine from the mid-1990s at the Daily Nebraskan. I thought he was a bright young man then and think the same of him now. Well, he’s not so young now but you get the point.


One thing that I don’t think the Huskers have ever done (at least in recent memory) is give their wide receivers option routes. If Brandon Kinnie had the ability to break his slant route to a slant and go during the last fourth down of the Big12 title game, it could potentially been an easy first down.


I know the West Coast Offense cynics would say the WCO based on option routes but Nebraska has not run a true version since BC. However, it should also be noted that the last team that ran a pure form of the WCO was Bill Walsh’s San Francisco 49ers.

The biggest problem the last couple of years with Nebraska’s offense was the fact that you had at was the parts of the WCO mashed together with power running schemes, then last year which became largely an offense of “watch Taylor Martinez run the zone read.”


Anyway back to the original point of running patterns that feature option routes? Yes, it requires a savvy quarterback to know what route the wide receiver is going to choose based on the defensive look. The last Husker QBs that ran the WCO were Zac Taylor and Joe Ganz but it never appeared even in those days that wide receivers were ever given that degree of freedom.


In order to execute option routes, the quarterback has to have an understanding of the different route options that his intended receiver has, and also has to have a sense of which one he will take depending on the defense. So if you take that aforementioned fourth down pass in the Big 12 title game as an example, ideally the quarterback would see that Kinnie’s DB is playing tight press coverage to take away the slant or hitch, so he would anticipate that Kinnie would instead break the route into a fly pattern and hit him in stride as he passes the defender. Instead, what happened was Kinnie ran a slant, got jammed, and Martinez threw it towards him anyway even though there was no way in hell the ball was going to be caught.


Most people who gripe about playcalling and the offense late last season don’t realize that Martinez couldn’t operate any sort of offense that required decision making in the passing game. That makes you a one-route offense with no chance for audible. That makes you extremely easy to defend. The ability to spot a rush and flip out a short pass to an outlet receiver was gone. No screens to slow down the rush. No running threat from the quarterback that kept defenses honest earlier in the season.


Hopefully Martinez can develop enough to operate a competent collegiate attack this season. If not, don’t expect too much. Option routes are not exactly brain surgery. High school teams all over the country run spread offenses with option routes.

Sometimes simpler is better

Through spring practices, the buzz surrounding Tim Beck’s appointment as Nebraska football offensive coordinator was about “keeping things simple” and “sticking with what works.”



When Bill Callahan was the head coach, he had a tendency to at times call the same play even if it was not working but also had a tendency to out-think himself. When Shawn Watson was the Huskers offensive coordinator, he fell into the latter category.


Husker fans are counting on Beck’s simplified approach leading to more consistent results. After all, the Nebraska defense played well enough the last two seasons to win Big 12 titles but a subpar offense cost Nebraska consecutive conference crowns.


Beck’s offensive philosophy is about what happens at the point of attack. Basically, there’s no point running six yards to gain two and no point throwing three straight passes when it’s first-and-goal from the 1.


The challenge Beck faces is that Nebraska will be young on the offensive line. The Huskers have 29 offensive linemen on the roster but only four of which are seniors. The good news is three have starting experience. In the meantime, there are three juniors, eleven sophomores, three redshirt freshman and eight true freshman.


The root of Beck’s simplified approach will revolve around keeping which plays have worked but using simplified verbiage rather than having it take a full sentence like the West Coast Offense.


On the passing side, look for the receivers to run where the defenders are not so as to include option routes within the play to get open and put the defender at a disadvantage.


On the running side, the simplified approach is more likely to be guys firing off the ball and knocking people down. The key is to get a real play action and normal passing game going that compliments the run game or can be gone too just for the heck of it for fun.

I believe Beck can and will accomplish those things in time.


The key to success this season will be how fast Beck can adjust to being the guy in charge. Some people can handle it and others are not very good at it. When there are 85,000 fans watching your every move even if you are hiding out in the sky box, the results will be seen on the sidelines, getting players on and off the field, getting plays in timely and last but not least, what happens once the ball is snapped.


More to the point, however, is that football is not a hard game if you outexecute your opponent,

Like it or not -- patience will be required of Husker offense

Not long after taking over as Nebraska’s offensive coordinator to replace Shawn Watson, Tim Beck indicated the Huskers are starting with a clean slate on offense.


After two consecutive years that saw the team fall short in the Big 12 title game, Watson resigned and is now the quarterbacks coach at Louisville. Beck had been Nebraska’s running back coach the previous three seasons.

Neither Beck nor head coach Bo Pelini have been openly definitive about what direction the offense will go other than “being multiple.” That statement can mean any number of things. Part of the criticism of Nebraska’s offense, even dating back to the Bill Callahan era that spanned from 2004-2007 was that the unit had no identity. Were they a running team? Were they a passing team? How quickly some people forget that the Huskers had a true identity for 30-plus years under Tom Osborne and Frank Solich as an option team that run the ball down opponents’ throats. That offense was the greatest thing known to man from 1993-1997 when the Huskers went 60-3 and won three National Championships. Then in 2002-2003 when the team went 17-10, the offense was stale.

More than likely, Beck’s version of the Nebraska offense will include a steady diet of zone reads but after that, who knows? Given how a suspect offense wasted outstanding defensive efforts in back-to-back conference title game losses, change was necessary. Change, however, requires patience as players and coaches make the adjustments. Will the players be fully comfortable with the changes in time for their first season in the Big Ten? Will fans be patient?

Husker fans being patient? Good luck. The dynamic behind the concept of change after the fact is that most people will back change until Nebraska does not win big. Then the complaining will begin. It may start with a trickle, but it will grow. That is until the Huskers start to win big again.


Just as an example, ask any random Husker fan about Coach Osborne now and you hear words like “legend” and “icon.” In the late 1980s and early 1990s, however, those same bipolar fans were saying things to the effect of, “The game has passed him by” or “Option football is dead. The defenses are now to fast to run that type of offense against.” See seven consecutive bowl losses. However, Osborne stuck to his guns, and went on to coach Nebraska to three national titles.


As for coach Beck, Husker fans love him now because he’s not Watson. Just wait until the first time Nebraska’s offense struggles, you’ll hear plenty of groaning.


This change isn’t about having a good offense this season. It’s about having a killer offense for the next ten years or more.


Maybe it will happen fast. Or, more likely, it will take some time to iron out the kinks in the new offense. Keep in mind, it would time whether Pelini hired Tim Beck or Urban Meyer or Tom Osborne to be his offensive coordinator. This kind of overhaul doesn’t happen all at once, and fans throwing temper tantrums about it won’t make it happen any faster.

2011 Blackshirts have many proven players

Much of the offseason discussion regarding the 2011 Nebraska football team has centered on the move to the Big 10 and whether or not the retooled can offense take enough pressure off a stout defense as it did in the first half of the season.



Since Bo Pelini arrived as the Cornhuskers head coach in December 2007, he has fostered a culture on the defensive side of the ball. Talented players will come and go. Some years the talent will be better than others. However, as long as the Pelini brothers (Bo and Carl) are in Lincoln, we won’t see disasters like the Kevin Cosgrove, and to a lesser degree, Craig Bohl eras.


In 2007, the Huskers rated 112th in the nation in total defense and that was quite possibly the worst defense ever to set foot in Memorial Stadium (including Nebraska opponents). In 2008, Nebraska improved to 55th in total defense in Pelini’s first season. In 2009 led by Heisman Trophy candidate defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, the Huskers finished second in scoring defense behind National Champ Alabama and ninth in total yards. Despite the loss of Suh in 2010, Nebraska was No. 7 in scoring defense and No. 10 in total yards per game. The defense put up such numbers despite at times showing wear and tear from an inconsistent offense.


The 2011 defense figures to be pretty stout as well with Jared Crick and Baker Steinkuher forming a strong tandem at defensive tackle. Cameron Meredith returns to start at one defensive end position with Eric Martin moving from linebacker to end.


As for the linebacker unit, Butkus Award candidate LaVonte David was the surprise star of the defense in 2010, without an offseason as the starter to prepare. With an offseason’s work, David should have an even better season in 2011 at middle linebacker. Sean Fisher is the likely starter at SAM linebacker with Will Compton getting the call at WILL linebacker.


As for the secondary, Austin Cassidy is the probable starter at strong safety. Cassidy established himself as a heady playmaker in the second half of the 2010 season. The starting free safety could be either Courtney Osbourne or PJ Smith but in the second half of last season the coaching staff clearly had more confidence in Osborne.


At cornerback, the Huskers lose Prince Amukamara to graduation but some people believe his running mate Alfonzo Dennard might be even better. Ciante Evans would appear to be Dennard’s partner in crime. Evans performed admirably after injuries pressed him into extensive duty as a true freshman.


While the X factor in how well Nebraska’s defense performs is predicated on how much pressure the offense relieves them, the Blackshirt defense should e just fine in 2011.


There isn’t a single person along the projected starters that is not a proven commodity. This defensive team is probably better than some schools all-time teams and even though none of the pass rushers will make me forget the likes of Grant Wistrom, the 2011 Huskers are strong enough at cornerback that they will give a little more time to the pass rush to get to opposing quarterbacks and allow for less coverage and more carnage.

2011 Huskers more under the radar than last year

The 2011 Nebraska football team is not being counted out by any means and is projected by many to win the Legends division in its first season in the Big 10.



In fact, with the trials and tribulations of Ohio State, some are saying that the Huskers could win the Big 10 title outright. Keep in mind, Nebraska’s last conference title was 1999.


To refresh your memory on Ohio State, on March 8, head coach Jim Tressel was suspended by the university for two games, and fined $250,000 for not informing the university and the NCAA that he had information that five of his players received improper benefits from a tattoo shop in downtown Columbus. Among those those players, including Mike Adams, Dan Herron, DeVier Posey, Solomon Thomas, Jordan Whiting, was quarterback Terrelle Pryor. The five players are suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season. Pryor has since decided to enter the supplemental NFL draft.


Tressel’s suspension was also later increased to five games by the university. The NCAA filed a letter of allegations in late April 2011 with Ohio State alleging that Tressel lied to the NCAA in December, 2010 when he claimed to have no knowledge of the players activities with the tattoo shop. Furthermore, he is alleged to have knowingly used ineligible players during the 2010 season. On May 30, Tressel resigned as head coach.


Nebraska and Ohio State meet in Lincoln on Oct. 8 and could potentially play on Dec. 3 for the first ever Big 10 title game at Lucas Oil Stadium.


In 2009, Nebraska went 10-4 but won six of its last seven games. The last two of those contests included a controversial 13-12 loss to Texas in the Big 12 title game and a 33-0 flogging of Arizona in the Holiday Bowl.


That strong finish had a lot of Husker zealouts (including this one) sipping the Kool Aid in the form of thinking Big 12 title, BCS bowl bid and potentially a shot at the National Championship.


Those aspirations looked realistic when the Huskers opened the season 5-0 and moved as high as No. 5 in the polls with quarterback Taylor Martinez having a Heisman Trophy candidate season. Then Martinez was banged up in the second half. The Huskers had three close losses (20-13 to Texas, 9-6 to Texas A&M and 23-20 to Oklahoma). Nebraska then took Washington lightly in the Holiday Bowl and lost 19-7.


Even though Phil Steele’s magazine, which has been the most accurate preseason predictor the last 13 years, picked Nebraska to meet Oregon in the Rose Bowl, this preseason of expectations has a “under the radar” feel compared to last year.


On the surface, the Big 10 schedule makers did Nebraska no favors in its maiden voyage in the conference. The Huskers face what most tab as the top three clubs in the Leaders division (Ohio State, Wisconsin and Penn State) but despite just 12 starters returning, Nebraska has a better-than-average chance to win the Legends division. Michigan State might have a say in that matter but the good news is the Spartans have to come to Lincoln on Oct. 29.


Much of the fate of Nebraska’s season will come down to the return to health of Martinez. When he was healthy, Nebraska’s offense averaged 38.9 points per game but when he was banged up that scoring average dropped to 22.7. The other half of the equation will be how soon does new offensive coordinator Tim Beck find a scheme he wants to settle in with and develop. Keep in mind, that was the ultimate downfall of his predecessor Shawn Watson, who changed schemes about as often as most people change underwear.


On defense, despite losing quality players like CB Prince Amukamara, S Eric Hagg, S DeJon Gomes and DE Pierre Allen, Nebraska has more than enough quality talent defensively. Keep in mind some consider Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini as bright of a defensive mind as Alabama head coach Nick Saban even though Pelini is not in Saban’s class as a head coach.


The Huskers definitely do not lack for talent on defense because DT Jared Crick, LB LaVonte David and CB Alfonso Dennard are among the best in the nation at their respective positions.


Even though preseason hype is not where it was entering last year, look for Nebraska to be better than certain people think.