Well, it’s about time, isn’t it?
When you get humiliated, you can do one of two things - you can either go hang your head, feel sorry for yourself, and go into the next game with zero confidence, or you can learn from it, get fired up, and dish it out the next time around.
Judging by today’s performance against Kansas St., it appears Nebraska decided to go the latter route.
After getting one of their worst beatings in school history, the Huskers obviously decided they’d had enough of taking it on the chin, and dished out like the Huskers of old did (well, minus the fact that they threw the ball all over the field), blowing the helpless Wildcats out of Memorial Stadium in a 73-31 rout.
They did exactly what Kansas did to them last Saturday, blowing open a close game with a big second quarter, and then, after the game was well in hand, kept the starters in to put a few more scores on the board.
This is the performance Nebraska fans have been waiting for all season long, and for that matter, for the last several years. But, is it too little, too late though?
Bill Callahan’s fate hasn’t been sealed yet, but even with today’s impressive win, the Huskers still have to beat Colorado to be bowl-eligible.
Even if they do win that game, they’ll only be 6-6 and 3-5 in conference play, and that means, at best, a trip to the Insight or Independence Bowl.
After last year’s trip to the Cotton Bowl and all of the expectations coming into the season, a holiday trip to Shreveport is a letdown, to say the least.
And, it still appears that Nebraska is going to need some defense if they’re want to be more than a .500 team, or at least not make Joe Ganz have to throw the ball 40+ times every game. Even in today’s win, they gave up 31 points and more than 400 yards, and who can forget that game against Ball State, where they had to eke out a 41-40 win?
But, the last couple of weeks have shown that Ganz (school-record 510 yards, 7 TD today) - has the ability to succeed in Lincoln, especially if Marlon Lucky (181 yards rushing/receiving, three total TD) decides to stick around for his senior year, and also, defense has been addressed thus far in their 2008 recruiting class, getting several talented high school and junior ocllege players who can come in and contribute immediately.
If Nebraska can beat Colorado and then make and win a bowl game, it may well provide enough to give Bill Callahan one more year to make things work.
But, if they’ve waited until now to wake up, it might still be too late to save Callahan, because the entire body of work looks shaky, no matter what.
However, today’s win was a definite step in the right direction, and it shows, if anything, that the team is going to fight for their pride, for their season, and for their coach. Desperation certainly brings the best out of some people, doesn’t it?
Tags: Big 12 Football, Bill Callahan, Joe Ganz, Kansas State Wildcats, Nebraska Cornhuskers