The Huskers will be Back

By Big12-Fans Writer Zach Ocken

For a few weeks the have been sitting in the shadows. Silenced by a 5-1 start their argument was loosing ground and loosing ground quickly. After the unbelievable, unthinkable, unimaginable happened Saturday though they came out of the woodwork. I guess it was inevitable. Taxes, death and Nebraska football used to be the only thing guaranteed in this life. After a 40-15 dismantling at the hands of the Jayhawks (and not in basketball), nothing seems right anymore. Soon news stations will be rambling about congresses unanimous revoking of the Tax code. Crime rates will go down if murder is impossible. The world as we know it is over.

Forums across the net were crawling with Huskers and non-Huskers alike screaming for Callahan’s head. The west coast will never work in Nebraska they say. Give us back our old Nebraska they say.

I’ve got news for the anti-Callahan contingent; you’re stuck with him for a while. Now I will be the first to admit this season is not exactly what I expected, but it is not far from it. When you take a team who’s based on beating the other team down and going through them and change it to finesse and going around them you are going to have some problems. Using option players to run the west coast is not going to give the desired results. Expecting them to play like a USC or even Nebraska of the 90’s is not only naïve, its insane. You might as well ask the basketball team to do it.

If you take a glance at the Husker roster one thing will become immediately clear, this team is young. All of the impact players are either freshman, sophomores or first year starters. When you have a team based around this much youth and a new system there is one thing you can expect, problems. Nebraska has seen its fair share of problems this year, blocking, catching running, limited yards on first down. You add all of these together and a difficult season is all you can expect. Add that to having your top 2 receivers (Fluellen and Hardy) out with injuries along with the best player on your team (Herrian) and things start to look a little less drastic.

Many fans have been screaming that this offense will not work in the cold and wind in Nebraska. As much as they put the ball in the air, they say, there is no way you can get the offense to work in the Nebraska wind. News flash guys this is not a Texas Tech style offense, this is not the fun and gun of Spurrier fame. Callahan’s offense is going at a 55/45 pass to run ratio, about the same run by the likes of Michigan, Ohio State, Iowa, Colorado and Missouri. If the west coast/pro-set offenses can work for these Midwestern colleges then why can’t they work in Nebraska?

Nebraska has two games left to make a bowl. By reading forums you would think that this would be their first bowl bid in ages too. The difference between 2004 and 2005 is drastic, with an actual passing quarterback in the pocket. With a top 5 recruiting class under his belt and another top class in the making Callahan is starting to get the players needed to run the offense. Come March Nebraska will have its first true quarterback controversy since Newcombe-Crouch. Herrian will be ready to play and Hardy and Fluellen will be at full speed. Add this to future stud in the making Nathan Swift and future Heisman candidate Marion Lucky, the offense is starting to look formidable in key positions.

Will Nebraska return to its dominance it enjoyed in the 90’s? Maybe, but to ask any team to repeat that kind of dominance is asking for a lot. I do believe that Nebraska will return to the top of the heap. They will soon be a constant top 10 presence and be once again in the National Title race. Could Callahan fail? Yes he could, but you have to give him a chance to get his players in positions he wants before you can make that assumption.

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