[Husker] gameness and the Gator Bowl

[Rober R Czeranko]

I completely agree with Steve Stone regarding 'gameness'. When I was a
freshman on the swim team once of the senior captains talked about
'proving oneself a Husker' to me. He said that it didn't get as much
attention as it did when he first joined the NU swim team.

He stated that there was one swim meet or race that the athlete 'proved
themselves to be a Husker'. What we used to call 'proving oneself a
Husker' is what Steve is calling 'gameness'.

I have been amazed all season long how much Coach Pelini was able to get
out of his defense. This defense is pretty much average, and the stats
back that up. However, these guys played with so much heart and gameness,
proving that they are Huskers.

It is interesting to me that Clemson when after Nebraska's running game.
Clemson's strength on defense was their pass defense. They must have felt
that if they could take away Nebraska's running game and make them one
dimensional, this would play into their defensive strength. The first two
turn overs were the result of good defense by Clemson. Their coaches
really studied their game film and knew what tendencies the Nebraska
offensive would run.

Gantz being a mobile quarterback helped the offense out a lot. His
ability to keep plays alive and find an open receiver or tuck it and run
was the missing dimensionality that Keller did not provide.

As the game went on, Nebraska was more physical and wore down Clemson.
This bodes well for the future of Nebraska football.

I was happy to see Castille have a good game. He is a heck of back and I
have been worried that his fumbles would keep him on the sidelines. It
would have been nice if Lucky would have gotten a little more playing
time. He's been unselfish as a Husker, and I would have liked to see him
end his career on a really high note.

What I believe is best about this past season, is that the defensive
staff was able to get the players to put 2007 behind them and get
confidence. As the coaches continue to recruit and implement their
schemes this defense will become one of the most dominate D's in the
Big-XII.

It will be hard to replace Gantz, Peterson, and Swift, but the talent
looks good coming up. Playing in the Gator Bowl and getting the extra
practice time will really help out for next year. There will be another
60,000 at the spring game.

As I said in a previous post, I fully expect Nebraska to win the North
and play in the Big-XII Championship next year, then to win it in 2010.

Rob Czeranko
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