[Husker] NU-KSU Comments

[Steve Stone]

1) Although the uniforms, numbers, and faces of the players remained 
the same as always, yesterday we saw a new and in some important 
respects a  different Husker squad that played with new-found 
self-assuredness. Most of the prior games' hesitancy and desperation 
was missing from both the offense and defense even though the D was 
playing without the services of Philip Dillard and Cody Glen. This no 
doubt was due partly to the knowledge that they had the horses to 
roll over the Wildcats and partly due to the handing out of 
blackshirts in practice. But more than that, the team seems to have 
emotionally matured and come into its own at the right time.

2) In August I would have been content with a six and something 
season, qualifying for a lower bowl bid, and thought HuskerListers 
prognosticating eight or nine wins were smoking some of the wrong 
stuff.       :-)       For my unspoken disbelief, I hereby apologize 
to one and all.

3) Now we KNOW that Callahan picked the wrong QB in early 2007.

4) The starting-team panels in the early minutes of the first quarter 
had it that true freshman Will Compton would be a starting 
linebacker. Needless to say, they were wrong again. (sigh!)

5) To date I like everything Bo Pellini has done with and for the 
team. He is keeping most of the true freshman in redshirts. He and 
Carl have somehow kept the linebacking corps together with spit, 
chewing gum, and baling wire. He continues to call his coach's show 
"The Nebraska Football Show." He took public blame for the Missouri 
and Oklahoma debacles. If he's put a foot wrong, I must have missed 
it.

6) When Bo first hired Carl, I suspected it might be a mistake. I was 
wrong. Carl's part in managing the defense has generally been 
overlooked by the public, but it is considerable. Now perhaps I 
understand why Bo hired Carl: iot allowed him to split himself into 
two parts, the part named Bo who has plenty to do as head coach and 
the part named Carl that would spend full-time with the defense. Bo 
could wreak his will with the defense through Carl. (Remember, Carl's 
the big brother in the Pellini family.)

7) My nomination for the most under-appreciated player: Jake Wesch. 
As Dr. Tom often said, the kicking game is one-third of the game, and 
Wesch has been solid as a rock in his role as holder and occasional 
passer. His lateral to Henery in the Kansas game beat anything of the 
like I've seen in many decades of watching high-school, community 
college, college and professional football.

8) The following URL might be interesting for those interested in 
more than headlines:

http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=1&SPID=22&DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=1625843

Steve Stone