H U S K E R D A N
HUSKERS' "O" A NO
SHOW, BUT BO-BOYS SHOW POISE, 17-7
BO'S "RUUD" DUDES
SUBDUE BOO-BIRDS AND COWDUDES, 17-7
THE BLACK PACK
ATTACK'S BACK, 17-7
PELIN'S MEANIES BEAN
OKIE WEENIES, 17-7
BLACKSHIRTS RING THE
BELL, PLOW THE FIELDS AND CHOP THE WOODS
USED CARS FOR
$5.00
**********************************************************
BIG WED
WAP-UP
THE PRE-GAME
STUFF
HAIL TO THE
CHIEF
Somehow, one of the guys I
went to the game with Saturday, was able to finagle our way into the President's
Pre-Game Luncheon held on the second floor of the Hard Rock Cafe at
14th & P before each Husker home game.
There were members of the
Board of Regents, State Senators-even the Husker cheerleaders and Li'l Red. There was an open bar (I had only one
beaker of firewater). I went through the buffet line with a nice, sweet
lady, with "LeVon" written on her name tag. "I've been going to Husker games for 42 years," she said
proudly.
We sat at a table in front
of a big screen TV. Seated to my right was a couple from
Scottsbluff. They told me about the abuses they've experienced while
attending Husker games in
Boulder.
"We had our tires slashed
one year", the woman said almost matter-of-factly. "They're even
worse when they win. The Colorado fans are even mean to elderly
people."
We left the luncheon about
1:00. We fought our way through the Husker throng, past Misty's and inside the Old Chicago
bar to meet some friends. Then I walked back to campus in time to see
the Cornhusker Marching Band parade down Stadium Way and file into Memorial
Stadium. I still get chills hearing them crank up "Hail Varsity" and "The Band Song"
(I even sang the lyrics as the band marched by-don't that impress
ya?!)
My buddy Bill caught up
with me just as the band was passing by. "Right behind the band are all
the ex-players!", he said announced.
We watched as the 800
paraded in front of us. Leading the way were Tom
Osborne, looking uncomfortable as he always does with all the fuss,
AD Steve Pederson and another man who, as I later learned, was Bob Devaney's
son.
Most of the Huskers, especially those who played a long time ago,
were hard to recognize. I did manage
to find Larry Jacobson. The dude is still huge. I shook
hands with an elderly man in a wheelchair and with Forest Behm (from the '41
Rose Bowl team) as he walked by. What a thrill!!!!
Later, as I made my way to
the Stadium, I found myself behind the ex-players.
It was much easier to identify them because their names were on the
backs of their jerseys. They should have been on the
front so people could know who they were.
ELECTRIC
COMPANY
I caught all the pre-game
festivities. The electricity was incredible. There was more
excitement and anticipation with this Husker home
game than I can ever remember.
The Tunnel Walk was great
(I just wish they'd play more than the first few bars of the tune-at least
through the guitar solo.)
ROLLING STONES
GATHER NO TUNES
It was disappointing not to
hear the Stones' music jumpstart the game. The song needs to be played at
every home game.
ROCKY &
HERBWINKLE OR "HOKEY PART II"
A Husker helmet (a cheesy replica stuck on a golf
cart) made its appearance before the kickoff. Out
popped the "new" Herbie Husker (brainchild of new AD Steve Pederson) and
looking dorkier than ever as he unwrapped a flag with the #256 denoting the
number of consecutive home sellouts. The crowd, already in a frenzy and
who would have whooped and hollered for Mussolini that day,
voiced its approval. Herbie's entrance was accompanied by the theme from
"Rocky".
I mean, I like the
"Rocky" music and all, but it's tired and dated. The Huskers deserve something better and more original than
that. The Herbie entrance ranked down there with Skippy Neu-weasel's
Samoan War Drum bit a few years ago at Colorado and the all red uniforms worn by
the Huskers in a home loss to Oklahoma back in the
mid 80s. Bits like these are gimmicks and usually misfire.
If this dorky Herbie entrance is going to be repeated at every home
game, I think I'm gonna throw up. Get rid of it!!!! Give the
mascot some "Herb"acide" and put the little dude to out of his misery!
FOR THE YELL OF
IT
Chalk up another
change to Steve Pederson. Gone is the great tradition of the "HUSKER POWER" yell, with the East Stadium yelling "HUSKER" and the West Stadium adding "POWER".
Now we have this whack-butt "HUSKER-NATION"
cheer. Steve-o, some things you shouldn't mess with and this is one of
them. Please, please, pretty please, go back to "HUSKER-POWER". Don't mess with
success!
AND THE WINNER OF THE RICK
SCHWIEGER AWARD IS...
One of the prerequisites
for the new stadium announcer must have been the need to sound just like
Rick Schwieger, last year's yapper. But the dude should hold the
microphone away from him when he says a consonant that starts with "P". He
sounded like the Victor Borge's punctuation comedy routine.
THE GAME
13 SECONDS AND
COUNTING
Any mention of this game
that doesn't begin with the whack-ass play calling with 13 seconds to go in the
first half, should not be taken seriously. I mean, what's up with
attempting a field goal with 2nd and 5 with 13 seconds to go deep in OSU
territory? Your team trails 7-3. Solich and Cotton must not have
much faith in #5's ability to toss at least one into the end zone.
There would still have been enough time to attempt a field goal. Yes, I
know the Huskers didn't have any timeouts, but there was plenty of time.
If the pass is complete, it's a TD; if it isn't, the clock would have stopped.
As it turned out, no pass was attempted, the field goal was blocked (we had
another one earlier that hit the upright) and nearly run back.
Justifiably, the crowd booed. The weren't mad at the players, but at
the inept (in my opinion) play calling.
WPD
Make no mistake about it,
Jammal Lord is a great athlete, a gifted runner and as a quarterback can look
brilliant at times, but he can also look terribly confused and out of
place as a QB. His one-hop passes to wide open receivers left Husker fans scratching their heads
Saturday. Lord's erratic play must drive his coaches nuts. The
Huskers might be able to get by with
his inconsistency against teams like the Okie State, Kansas and Utah State,
but it won't work against Texas and K-State. Right now, Jammal is a WPD-a
Weapon of Pass Destruction.
.758
Okay, so Frankie got his
50th. With one game into his sixth season, he's 50-16 compared with Tom Osborne's record through the same number of games
at 50-14-2.
PELINI'S
MEANIES
I can't recall when a new
Husker assistant coach has had as much of a positive
impact his first game as Bo Pelini did Saturday. Pelini's "Black Attack"
was a thing of beauty and clearly stole the show Saturday. Demorrio
Williams was a one man wrecking crew. Blitzes were coming from
everywhere. Josh Fields looked confused and rattled. With the
exception of the opening drive, the much heralded Cowpoke scoring
machine was reduced to a mere whimper. Folks, the Cowboy offense led the
Big 12 last year with an average of over 400 yards per game. They ain't
chopped liver. And yet they had the door slammed shut by Pelini's revamped
D. Pelini for President anyone?
"HONEY, I SHANKED THE
PUNT"
Kyle (Josh-according to
Huskers Illustrated) Larson is entitled to at
least one bad punt a year. He's a great player.
THE NEW HUSKER TAILGATE
PARTY
The new Husker tailgate party,
another Steve Pederson creation, gets a thumbs up from this writer.
The event is to take place at the old Buck Beltzer
Field before each Husker home game.
Families, especially those with young children, will love this
gathering. Fans can watch the game on a huge HuskerVision screen and best of all, the activities are
free and open to the public. People were having a blast
Saturday.
QUOTES OF THE
WEEK
"He's special", Offensive
Coordinator Barney Cotton said of quarterback Jammal Lord during a post game
interview with Adrian Fiala on KFAB.
"I love the smell of urine
in the morning" said a 20 something kid in the men's room during the
halftime of the Okie State game.
"This is as bad as the
Husker offense will look all year", said ABC-TV's Bob
Griese after the first half of the Okie State game.
"These two teams are here (holding his hands about chin level), but Oklahoma State's is going this way (pointing upward) and Nebraska's is going that way (pointing downward)", said ABC-TV's Terry Bowden after the Huskers were booed going into the halftime of the Okie State game.
"Why don't you play that new quarterback, Joe
Davies?" asked one of the callers during the Frank Solich coach's KFAB
radio call-in show after the game Saturday.
"Nebraska's offensive line can not pass block", said
ABC-TV's Bob Greise during the NU-OSU game.
A UTAH STATE OF
MIND
About the only suspense in
this week's game with the Aggies is how big the Huskers' margin of victory will
be-and how many snaps the backup quarterbacks will get.
If Solich pulls another
McNeese State and keeps Lord in for the entire game, we'll know pretty much how
the season is going to unfold. But if Stuntz and/or Dailey get snaps when
the game is still in doubt, the Huskers might have an
exciting year. The coaches should give the backups a chance to see
what they can do and try to develop some insurance in case Lord goes down.
Cotton and Pelini should have the luxury of using players who may not
otherwise get an opportunity to play.
HUSKER DAN
SEZ
The Aggies have the dubious
honor of being selected as the worse college football team in Division 1-#117
out of a field of 117.
There is no need to talk
about match-ups and team records this week. Come Saturday, the only thing in doubt will be
how well the Husker reserves play.
The Huskers will reserve the right to win and will tag the
Aggies this Saturday.
NU
48
USU
14
GO
HUSKERS!!!
You can email Husker Dan
at: [email protected]