[Husker] General Husker Observations

[Jeff Volk]

Greetings Husker fans, 

I have finally had a chance to read all of the emails, rants and miscellaneous musings on the Texas Tech game and here are my general observations on the game and the season thus far:

1. The people who one would expect to be negative after the game certainly came through as expected. To suggest that Texas Tech, the #11 team in the nation and arguably the second best team in the B12 South is an "also-ran" is ludicrous and so entirely off base it barely warrants acknowledgement. 

2. There is no such thing as a "moral victory" or a "good loss". However, you can glean a lot of positive things from the Huskers so far.

  a. As already mentioned, the in-game adjustments that the coaching staff made in both the ISU and TT games, especially the TT game, were excellent. Coach Cosgrove, who was much maligned on this list last season to put it mildly, has definitely crawled out from under the shadow of Bo Pelini and deserves a lot of credit. 

  b. You can see the offense definitely making strides - LARGE strides over the last 2 games. Once we can limit mistakes and stupid penalties, largely a bi-product of inexperience, we should be in very good shape on the offensive side of the ball. 

  c. The offensive line play is getting substantially better and is the major reason the offense has improved so dramatically. When given time to throw the ball and read the defense, Zac Taylor is a very solid QB. The running game has also dramatically improved of late due to the O-line - they absolutely DESTROYED TT on that second rushing TD. 

  d. While I know that a lot of people question the end of the game playcalling by Callahan against ISU, I think Callahan is also starting to call the games a whole lot better as well. In fact, I would put the playcalling against TT as the best game of Callahan's tenure with a nice balance of run and pass. Again you can see the WCO really starting to take shape. 

  e. Say what you want, but recruiting does matter. Where would the team be this season without a good number of the players Callahan brought in with last year's class? A whole lot of young guys are getting a whole lot of quality playing time and contributing. Hopefully they continue to get better and that can only mean good things for the Huskers - this season and beyond. 

3. I think that the Baylor game will be far from a sure thing and will actually be pretty close. I wouldn't even be surprised if several of the ESPN "experts" pick Baylor to win. I have watched most of the Baylor games replayed on-line (they are a client) and they look very solid. I wouldn't be surprised if they finish 3rd or 4th in the B12 South behind UT, TT and possibly aTm. 

4. I think that overall this season will be a very solid one for a program that has gone through such a huge and oft times painful change. I really can see us winning out and going to the B12 Championship game 10-1. Realistically however I think we are looking at more like 9-2 or 8-3, 2nd in the B12 North, a good bowl and a probable Top 25 finish. I'll gladly take that for year 2 of the WCO and think most practical Husker Fans will as well. 

5. When Corey Ross packs up his locker and heads to the NFL I sure hope Husker Fans give him the legacy that he deserves as one of the greatest leaders by example that may have ever touched the turf at Memorial Stadium and as the player that was the bridge between the end of one great era of Husker Football and the start of hopefully another. I can't think of a player that has more heart, courage and dedication than #4. Through all of the changes and problems and whatever else it has been a constant pleasure to watch Corey Ross play football and he is the type of player that makes one proud to be a Husker. 

When I think about beyond this season, I think that a continued success of the WCO on the field along with the new facilities that will open up next season will continue to attract better athletes to Lincoln and hopefully more wins and a return to national prominence. 

It is no secret that I have "drank the Kool-aid" as some like to put it and am probably as over optimistic as those on the other side of the fence are over pessimistic - but only time will tell. All I know is that we sure are starting to look a whole lot better and I think Callahan is in the very early stages of changing the minds of a whole lot of Husker Fans. 

And this Husker Fan will be making the trip from Minneapolis to Waco this weekend for the game and can't wait. It really is a shame that fans are stuck watching OU vs KU because this could be a really, really good game. 

Go Big Red. 

Have a great day!

Jeff