[Husker] Initial Impressions

[Steve Stone]

Without having had a chance to review the game tape, here are a few 
early comments:

1) The Huskers did their level best to give the ballgame to Clemson, 
but the "home team" showed that ol' Southern hospitality by refusing 
to accept.

2) CBS can save a buck by hiring a trained chimpanzee to replace 
Fouts and company. AND improve the announcing.

3) Winter conditioning for the Husker offensive linemen will more 
than likely  concentrate on strength and quickness, if today's effort 
against the Tigers' D-line can be accepted as evidence of their level 
of training. Fortunately many O-liners are underclassmen and can move 
up the scale, so to speak.

4) For much of the game, Shaun Watson's playcalling seemed either 
incompetent or insane - - or both. One has to wonder if a twelve year 
old got hold of his mic every now and then. Example: after Q's 58 
yard dash, the next play went to Q, who seemed still wobbly, for 
zilch.

5) This was the first game in which I saw some questionable on-field 
tactial coaching. Example: Roy Helu was hurt early in the game and 
tapped his helmet as a signal to the bench to replace him but was 
ignored for two more plays.

6) Today we saw how the NFL philosophy of using quarterbacks to the 
full extent of their endurance doesn't work well at the collegiate 
level. When Ganz went out late in the game, his replacement had 
played only enough to have thrown a total of eight passes in a total 
of 12 preceding games. That his near-fumble didn't result in a 
Clemson TD and victory can be attributed only to "instant review" and 
Divine Intervention. The blame here does NOT lie with the RS freshman 
quarterback.

9) Half a century ago, true gameness (refusal to be beaten no matter 
what) was a highly prized masculine characteristic, but that virtue 
has been all but sidelined for the past several decades. Today, 
however, we got a glimpse of gameness. No greater compliment can be 
given a college football team.

Steve Stone