[Husker] Football As A Change Of Pace

[Steve Stone]

Fortunately I had to leave Denver at 6:00 am on Friday Nov. 23rd to 
drive home to New Mexico, so I missed the Buffs game entirely.

I realize how rude and unfeeling it is of me to post a message about 
actual football and football players, thus distracting from the 
really serious posts.       :-)

One must ask: how does a team score 51 points in a game and still get 
beaten by two touchdowns? That requires as least a knack if not 
outright genius. How can a team score at will in the first half and 
fold like a cheap accordian in the second? How can a second-string 
bench-sitting quarterback come in for the last three regular-season 
games and throw for nearly 1500 yards? And be on the losing team in 
two of those three games? And these questions are merely the snow on 
the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

None of us knows (yet) who's to be annointed as the next head coach, 
but at least he's not coming into a cupboard berefdt of talent if 
every player sticks with the team and stays healthy. The new 
recruiting class will doubtless see some shuffling, even possibly for 
the better, but true freshmen seldom make major contributions in 
their first year. Those recruits who stay with the Huskers will 
surely be those who want to play FOR Nebraska. Also, the walk-on 
program will be enlarged and strengthened although it probably won't 
have much of an impact for, say, three years or so.

In my view, whether or not Marlon Lucky stays at Nebraska may be the 
single most important decision affecting the 2008 season. My guess is 
that because the shelf life of running backs tends to be brief, he'll 
send out inquiries this winter as to his draft prospects. If it 
appears that he won't be selected in the first two, or possibly 
three, rounds, he'll stay with the Huskers. The odds? I'd say about 
60 percent he'll leave, about 40 percent he'll stay. Why? Because 
running backs who can block and receive are always in short supply 
everywhere. The one thing in NU's favor: Lucky probably realizes he 
may needs additional emotional maturity before turning pro. 
Physically he's already there.

Defense has to rank as the Number One concern. My take: this year's 
defensive front four, except for Suh, will be seniors next year, and 
under a new strength coach and with hard physical practices should 
look more like the Huskers of old. We shall see what a new secondary 
coach can do with the considerable talent he inherits.

The offensive line looks like a nice mix of seniors and juniors with 
a lot of promising youngsters coming behind them. How well they gel 
will determine most of next year's outcomes.

Keeping or junking the WCO or switching to the spread or some other 
system is relatively immaterial just so long as the the players and 
the system synchronize, i.e., the system doesn't make success - - 
players do. WCO, full-house T, single wing, spread, whatever - - 
ultimately the system doesn't really matter. Only the players do.

Point of fact: those of you who watched Buffalo University play this 
year immediately apprehended that the Bisons played a system 
completely unlike that in which Turner Gill played at Nebraska. Why? 
I'd bet that the head coach knew he simply didn't have the troops to 
play old-time Cornhusker ball.

Anyway, it appears that most of those who skinned their knees while 
jumping off the Husker bandwagon are going to be missing an 
interesting era in 2008.

Steve Stone