Callahan calls pussiest game ever.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 7:15 am

I have defended BC for going extra-conservative a couple years ago against OU. But this? This was different. This team was wasn't some emotionally fragile, not-very-good team just trying to get through the season without more embarrassment. This was a ranked team that was suppposed to make some waves. This was utter bullshit and you could tell the players thought so as well. They came to play and try to win but their coach wouldn't let them. Our blocking just isn't good enough to run that much on a USC, but we did anyway to burn clock. We have to pass to win games against anyone worth a dang. Taylor is a solid qb, not a glorified running-back like Lord or Crouch. Our receiving-corps is solid. Quit waiting til 3rd and 8 to air the freaking balll out! Our fucktard db-coach and DC still won't let our corners play anyone tough, just try to stop the "big play". Who didn't see the easy completions on the quick slants coming on 3rd and 5? Ya DJ and SS are awesome but we play-off from mediocre wr's the same way.

IMO if the coaches had been aggressive and tried to win the margin-of-loss would have been no-worse and could have been way less. USC is a better program than us right now. But certainly not to the degree that we couldn't get in there, slug-it-out, and hope for a break or two to turn the game in our favor.

Eat shit Callahan.

SoCalTrjn · Post by **SoCalTrjn** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 7:27 am

USC's offense looked horrible tonight, I think losing Powie the way they did realy screwed those kids up and now they may have to burn the redshirt of the only fullback they have recruited the last 3 years.
before Powie went out, the Trojans looked sharp, but it seemed like the whole offense went in to shock.
The Trojans defense looked good and escaped this game without any injuuries but I was surprised to not see Nebraska try to go down field where USC had so many kids playing in their first collegiate games.
Hopefully USC can get Bradford to play FB or maybe convert Luther Brown to FB, then get Sed Ellis back and healthy and build on this win.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 7:28 am

Agreed, Danimal.

As a USC fan I was watching that crap and thinking to myself, "Callahan's playing scared. He's trying to keep USC's score down by shortening the game, and that's it. He's not trying to win."

Even the tv announcers said the same thing. Nebraska was never going to go anywhere on the ground against the speed of USC's D, especially not on those stupid sweeps they kept running on the crucial third and short sequences. Nebraska was never going to score enough points that way to keep up with the ticking time bomb that was USC's offense.

Think of it this way: How much different would that game have looked if Swashbuckling Petey coached Nebraska and Craven Callahan coached USC?

Bottom line, it was a bad hire. How Callahan landed such a great gig following his disastrous tenure with the Raiders I'll never understand. Nobody here in NoCal who witnessed his tenure with the Raiders could understand how he immediately landed on his feet with the plumb Nebraska gig.

Nebraska will never return to prominence with Bill Callahan as their coach. Not gonna happen. Nebraska deserves so much better.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 7:45 am

I'd give USC a B at best for this one. Probably more a C...

The offense looked stiff, especially the running game. They don't look that confident yet, especially in short yardage situations.

The defense looked great against the run but they didn't generate much of a pass rush. With teams like ND, UCLA, Oregon and ASU still to come we're going to need to develop a dominating pass rush from our basic set defense and not just from risky blitz packages.

Thing is, at this early point in the season with this USC team about the best we can hope for is to see continual progress while the talent level disparity keeps winning games for us. I'm just hoping they can keep the ship afloat while all the youngsters gain experience and polish.

We're seeing flashes though; some positive signs...

-Booty again looks like a solid find. There's not too many first year signal callers who ever looked as sharp and as in command as he already looks in that offense.

-Jarrett stepped up and out of the Arkansas game doldrums. He's going to need to be a real game breaking difference maker this year and not just a great possession receiver.

-We're seeing some really nice speed from our freshman RBs. You can almost feel a long one coming soon...

-Our defensive speed is killer.

-Despite Bradhusker's bleated warnings we didn't end up with half a dozen people out for the season with Blackshirt inflicted injuries. We lined up against a supposedly bigger and stronger team in the tenches and had no probem standing toe to toe with them. Our D in particular overpowered their O line in the rushing game.

We're still eminently beatable though, even if Nebraska still is not yet capable of pushing us or even scaring us. One or even two losses still are not out of the question for this team.

ND's offense could get us.

Oregon could get us.

Washington State in Pullman could be a trap game.

Cal could be a problem, if only the game were to be played in Berkeley. Since it's at USC though this year the only way Cal will show up and win is if USC has already lost a couple games and the game is no longer that significant. Otherwise, Cal will again shrink from the moment.

We were merely decent tonight, when being merely decent was always going to be enough to beat a not yet ready for primetime Nebraska team led by a timid buffoon of a coach.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 3:02 pm

Ya decent was all USC needed to be when their opposition approached the game like they were an outgunned Sun Belt-squad, focusing more on keeping the score in-hand than winning.

Props to USC on a solid game. Props to Neb on scraping-in under the spread I guess.

Ken · Post by **Ken** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 3:06 pm

I've said it before (not sure if here or not), but Pederson effed up royally when he didn't court Rich Rodriguez. At the time, I was practically screaming through my newspaper/tv/radio at Pederson to give RR a chance.

He'da been a perfect fit. Clearly, he knows how to win with a running attack, but not amny know that he really has a passing background. As a matter of fact, he tried bringing a passing attack to WVU when he took over for Neyland. Took one frustrating season to find that it just wouldn't work with the level of talent he can woo to WVU, so he morphed to a running O.

Guy can coach.

NU screwed up.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 3:18 pm

Ken wrote:I've said it before (not sure if here or not), but Pederson effed up royally when he didn't court Rich Rodriguez. At the time, I was practically screaming through my newspaper/tv/radio at Pederson to give RR a chance.

He'da been a perfect fit. Clearly, he knows how to win with a running attack, but not amny know that he really has a passing background. As a matter of fact, he tried bringing a passing attack to WVU when he took over for Neyland. Took one frustrating season to find that it just wouldn't work with the level of talent he can woo to WVU, so he morphed to a running O.

Guy can coach.

NU screwed up.

Meyer and Rodriquez were the top guys on my list when Solich got canned. Rodriquez would have been a hell of a hire. The only college-guy we really jocked was Houston freaking Nutt.

Cornhusker · Post by **Cornhusker** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 3:36 pm

Danimal wrote:Our blocking just isn't good enough to run that much on a USC,

The O-line is very weak, yet he tried to smashmouth SC, I wanted more mis-direction stuff, running sweeps against that speed isn't real sound. We had some success with the screen and inside underneath pitch, anything to flow one way and go the other, but nooo...he's running iso's at the heart of the defense, what if we break one, we were gonna outrun SC's speed?
I understand trying to hold the ball and keep SC's fireworks on the sideline, and that did work somewhat, but running between the tackles wasn't a recipe for victory. And pulling Austin to lead on the permeter is just asinine. I thought is was seeing things, hell the SC backer side stepped him and still could recover to make the tackle.

Our fucktard db-coach and DC still won't let our corners play anyone tough, just try to stop the "big play". Who didn't see the easy completions on the quick slants coming on 3rd and 5? Ya DJ and SS are awesome but we play-off from mediocre wr's the same way.

I wanted to reach thru the screen and chock Cosgrove. This guy has real issues with vanilla ball. How many freekin' times does Jarrett have to set in the slot and have Booty "hand" him the ball 25 feet away with Grixby 8 yards deep watching the fun? No freekin' press coverage, did we even have safeties playing in the game? I know they didn't want to give up the big play, but SC could convert 3rd and long about 60% of the time anyway. 100% in the 4th quarter.

IMO if the coaches had been aggressive and tried to win the margin-of-loss would have been no-worse and could have been way less. USC is a better program than us right now. But certainly not to the degree that we couldn't get in there, slug-it-out, and hope for a break or two to turn the game in our favor.

Eat shit Callahan.

I'm on board Dan and ya know, their out in So Cal trying to sell the program to kids...I'm thinking wideouts aren't gonna be lining up to play in that style offense. It didn't look very west coast to me. I know he was protecting Taylor, but like you say, quick slants and dumpoffs to backs would have been more creative and still kept Taylor healthy.

Pretty damn disgusting.

the_ouskull · Post by **the_ouskull** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 3:54 pm

I just read the thread title and yeah... sounds like Cluelesshan to me too...

That f'in' guy. How can a coach quit on his team while he's gameplanning the freakin' game? Unbelievable.

the_ouskull

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 3:58 pm

Ya BC is supposed to be "Mr Recruiting" but what did we show recruits last night? That was the most vanilla play-calling since we had to play Turman at qb against KSU back in 95. Geez. Saturday night on ABC and we revert back to the Gulf Coast Offense. Ya I'm sure recruits are burning up Callahan's phone. He'll likely spin-it to them that we don't have the guys to run the offense he wanted to run but excuse is getting old.

AZhusker · Post by **AZhusker** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 4:05 am

I have never been so pissed at a football coach in my life as I was Saturday night. Me, along with about 25,000 Nebraska fans traveled to USC knowing we didn't have much of a chance of winning that game, but with that play calling we had ZERO chance. From what I saw it seemed we could have been in the game, and maybe a shot at an upset if we would have at least run our offense. Bill seemed scared to get blown out. Maybe he had a bet and wanted to cover, but everyone coming out of the stadium was pissed. USC fans were asking me what the hell was that. They have been watching our highlights and expected a shootout.

I don't think SC is that great of a team. At least they didn't look it on Saturday, but they didn't need it either. Does Booty ever look off a safety? He stared every WR down and threw it to him, but our worthless CB's couldn't close their 18 yard cushion to get there in time. I guess I don't know how good their defense is since we didn't really challenge it. Seems they can stop the little delay run up the middle thoughI never, ever, talk bad about the big red, but at least give these kids a chance to win. I would guess the 90% of the first and second down plays we didn't even have a WR in game. Then on the rare occasion we did pass we would send our HB in motion so everyone on the field would know it was going to be a pass.

BTW, what is up with the 1978 stadium? Have there been any upgrades to that place? That place is a dump!! I have been to only about 8-10 college stadiums in my life, but that is the worst one!! I couldn't even see the down and distance. I know my tickets weren't the best, but damn one scoreboard on the west side of the stadium would be nice. They are vary lucky it is in SoCal or they would have no chance of recruiting to there. The actual Campus seemed pretty nice, but not one damn bar within walking distance?? Finally, what is up with the Karaoke guy that has to tell the student section about every cheer?? I have never heard such a gay voice on a load speaker!! "ok now, we are going to spell USC, lets go.....gimme a U..................Gimme a S.......Gimme a C.......beat the Huskers!" By far the weakest college football experience I have ever seen. I think I hate Pac-10 football even more if that is possible. Some of the fans seemed knowledgeable, but most think college football history starts about 2001. They have no idea who the coach was before Pete. Most I talked to were SC fans because it was cool to be and they are good.

Husker4ever · Post by **Husker4ever** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 4:16 am

Maybe USC is floating money to opposing coaches now that Bush's family moved out.

Frank Solich would have been more creative and gambled more for fucks sakes.

GrizBearStare · Post by **GrizBearStare** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 6:29 pm

I think Callahan realized early on that he wasn't going to be able to pass pro against SC's rush. If he dropped Taylor back there 35 times, he would've gotten pressured and hit 35 times with a good number of those being sacks. Also, there would've been more forced throws that would've been picked. Not only that, but if Taylor goes down, the remainder of NU's season = fucked.

AZhusker · Post by **AZhusker** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 6:45 pm

Pretty hard to say he realized this with 9 passes in the first half. He didn't give them a chance to pass protect. The only time we would drop back was on 3rd and 12 with an empty backfield. Everyone in the stadium knew a pass was coming. I think a PA Pass on first down at some point would have been a good idea. You can't play scared and be successful. He didn't try to win that game, but rather was trying to not get blown out. Good luck recruiting any offensive players that were at the stadium on Saturday.

The Seer · Post by **The Seer** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 8:05 pm

AZhusker wrote:

BTW, what is up with the 1978 stadium? Have there been any upgrades to that place? That place is a dump!! The actual Campus seemed pretty nice, but not one damn bar within walking distance?? "ok now, we are going to spell USC, lets go.....gimme a U..................Gimme a S.......Gimme a C.......beat the Huskers!" By far the weakest college football experience I have ever seen. I think I hate Pac-10 football even more if that is possible. Some of the fans seemed knowledgeable, but most think college football history starts about 2001. They have no idea who the coach was before Pete.

1. That's why it is called the L.A. Mausoleum

2. Any bar in South Central would have more deaths than the morgue.

3. Most SuC grads couldn't spell SC if you spotted them the S.

4. Don't hate on Pac-10 football just because of SuC and our officiating.

5. There was no college football played as SuC prior to pom-pom pete.

Jimmy Medalions · Post by **Jimmy Medalions** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 8:15 pm

It looked to us like Callahan was coaching not to get blown out, as opposed to coaching to win. I don't understand their stuborn commitment to the run, when most of their successful plays were in the air. All in all, a pretty borning team to watch.

Our offense looked terrible. Booty didn't look good and the running game was nominal.

Seer, props on not losing this weekend. ucLabia should schedule more byes each season - they seem to work out well for you.

"There was no college football played as SuC prior to pom-pom pete"

Drinking on your lunch break, I see.

Van · Post by **Van** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 8:19 pm

Yep, the two biggest areas of concern so far are the rushing attack and the pass rush.

I think the QB position play has been pretty solid so far.

Jimmy Medalions · Post by **Jimmy Medalions** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 8:24 pm

I actually came away impressed with the dline's performance, especially with Ellis not playing.

King Crimson · Post by **King Crimson** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 8:33 pm

Callahan's post-game (unsolicited) comment about "this is not a moral victory...." speaks volumes in my mind.

and it's too bad a kid like Taylor who's overcome some tough breaks and got hit a bazillion times last year....and is a gamer and shown he's a more than legit D-1 QB....has his coach not give him a shot to play ball on the big stage.

Vito Corleone · Post by **Vito Corleone** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 9:15 pm

Nebraska needs a guy that is a wicked recruiter and can also build a program without getting the stud recruits. I would point to Kirk Firenz as a perfect fit for Nebraska. His ties to Big 10 country would open doors for Nebraska to pull recruits from that part of the country.

Jimmy Medalions · Post by **Jimmy Medalions** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 9:20 pm

Beat me to it, BtH.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 9:24 pm

Believe the Heupel wrote:Callahan's a pussy. He'd rather lose with style points than go for it and maybe win a game he's not supposed to. Oklahoma fan called it in 2004 and 'Husker fan defended it.

Nice to see you guys coming around. But hey, I'm just a fucking hillbilly.

I understood in 04, it was unballsy but I got why we'd try to just keep things in-check. The circumstances were much different Saturday. We had a legit shot at USC, not good but reasonable anyway. If they had a blah day and we had things fall our way we could walk out of there with a W. In 04 we just weren't very good. This year we are top25. But we called the game like we were still the lame 04 team just trying to get through the season without further embarrassment. It was a major insult to our players and to the fans that travelled for that game.

Maybe I was dead-wrong about 04, maybe it was just a sign of things to come. If-so then props to Frozen for calling-his-shot and a nuts-kick for me for giving BC the benefit of the doubt.

All I can say is we better play to win against Texas or BC should be plunger-raped on the sideline.

Snake · Post by **Snake** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 9:28 pm

I'd love to find out how much money BC had riding on the game.......and I guess he unveiled the new west coast smashmouth offense.......................................grow some Billy.......................

Van · Post by **Van** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 9:57 pm

It's Bill fucking Callahan. I gotta ask, didn't anybody at Nebraska do their due diligence before hiring the guy? Did nobody in the midwest notice the absolute train wreck that was his tenure in Oakland?

The guy was absolutely horrible. His team quit on him; him, specifically. It was a mutiny. Names were named, publicly.

How did he then go out and land the Nebraska job?? Who in hell was in charge there that they put stock in this guy and handed him Big Red's keys??

This was never going to work.

Van · Post by **Van** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 10:10 pm

That's sad. This is Nebraska we're talking about here. This ain't Ball St.

Then again, hell, Petey only got the USC gig after a boatload of other guys turned the gig down too. I guess anything's possible.

I'm guessing some of those guys are kicking themselves now though, ya' think?

Still though...Bill Callahan?? Dude simply brings nothing to the table. Petey at least brought boundless enthusiasm and a great resume as a DC, and he wasn't coming straight out of a pile of still smoking ruins that were largely his own doing...

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 10:13 pm

Believe the Heupel wrote:Steve Pederson, man.

Trust us, everyone was just shaking their heads in the Big 12 about the mess the guy made of that coaching search. How many coaches turned him down? And in public fashion?

The search was a joke. Then-current assistants that were supposed to be up for the job were ignored, I still wish Bo had gotten the job. We got repeatedly shot-down, including by the likes of freaking Houston Nutt. Pedey lied about getting shot down, hiding behind the semantics of what officially counts as a job offer(the deal is already done for all practical purposes before the chancellor makes the "official" offer). Pedey also lied about why Solich got canned immediately after the CU game. First it was because the media-controversy forced his hand, then it was because he wanted to give Solich the opportunity to job-hunt. In reality Solich wanted to coach in the bowl no matter what and Pedey canned him because the last thing he could afford is Solich getting a tenth win. Pedey was never stand-up in dealing with any of the former staff, always being a passive-agressive snake about things

Even if BC works-out I will never have respect for Pedey.

Vito Corleone · Post by **Vito Corleone** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 3:25 am

Van wrote:It's Bill fucking Callahan. I gotta ask, didn't anybody at Nebraska do their due diligence before hiring the guy? Did nobody in the midwest notice the absolute train wreck that was his tenure in Oakland?

The guy was absolutely horrible. His team quit on him; him, specifically. It was a mutiny. Names were named, publicly.

How did he then go out and land the Nebraska job?? Who in hell was in charge there that they put stock in this guy and handed him Big Red's keys??

This was never going to work.

To be honest, a lot of people saw the NFL failure that is Pete Carrol and thought and equal failure like Bill Callahan would do the same for Nebraska.

Van · Post by **Van** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 2:16 pm

Pete Carroll wasn't a failure in the NFL. He went to the playoffs and compiled a decent record.

Meanwhile, if the Raiders truly were the bunch of pirates their Halloween crazed nation likes to think they are then Callahan would've been made to walk the plank by his own players.

Then there's the personal magnetism and enthusiam each guy brings to the interviewing table/recruiting table.

No comparison.

At Large · Post by **At Large** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 3:36 am

A couple of thoughts.

I tend to not reply from work, so sorry for the lateness...

I've been very critical of BC. See some of my threads last year in which I accuse him of killing NU football.

I can understand, somewhat, what he was trying to do. He was trying to draw out the game so that NU could possibly wear down USC and make a game of it late in the second half. He said basically as much after the game.

It might have worked has Lucky held onto the ball early in the third, but even then, USC was already leading by 11 points. Then, down by 18, he decides to turn on the jets and cuts it to 11, but by then our D was worn out and USC cranked out a long drive to bring it back to 18 points again. Game over. Nice try, Bill.

I'm cutting him some slack because his hands were really tied. He was missing his starting center, who may or may not have mono and a few of his experienced tackles are pussies and the ones that aren't still need to learn the playbook. I noticed that in the few times he did try passing that Zac had little time to throw, but then again, they were on obvious passing downs. I'm sure a little play-action on one of those first down runs (all 11 of them) in the first half, might have caught them napping, Bill.

However, I'm again going to cut him some slack. He doesn't have the line he wants yet. And the receivers that he does have, still need some seasoning. So he's working with half a deck early.

Also, I was thinking back to when I watched many NU games when NU was a few years away from dominance in the early 90s. They'd struggle against the good teams. I don't know how many times I heard myself or others scream when it wasn't working, but Osborne stubbornly kept doing it, "Why are your running? It's not working!" Osborne was trying to establish the run so that the 3-yard runs early on would turn into 5-yard to 10-yard runs late in the game. When they had the talent in place, it worked great, but not so great if talent is lacking.

So I'm giving Bill a pass on this game. He had a dillemma (choice between two unfavorable results). Run to keep it close and controlling the temp and risk getting criticized for playing conservative or pass and lose a big shootout to USC (and possibly injure our QB in the process). Like I said, he was playing with half a deck and he chose the safe path.

He made giant strides after I had all but given up on him last year when he turned the team around from a horrific loss to KU to a shaky win against KSU to a dominating win against CU and a huge win against a talented, but luckless Michigan team.

But he's still on thin ice with me. I expect us to win the Big 12 North. I predicted 9-3 with losses to Texas, USC and a loss in the Big 12 championship. He's on pace. Surprise me, Bill.

:x

AZhusker · Post by **AZhusker** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 5:07 pm

At Large wrote:A couple of thoughts.

Also, I was thinking back to when I watched many NU games when NU was a few years away from dominance in the early 90s. They'd struggle against the good teams. I don't know how many times I heard myself or others scream when it wasn't working, but Osborne stubbornly kept doing it, "Why are your running? It's not working!" Osborne was trying to establish the run so that the 3-yard runs early on would turn into 5-yard to 10-yard runs late in the game. When they had the talent in place, it worked great, but not so great if talent is lacking.

:x

The big difference to me is the Osborne was running his offense. It wasn't working, but he stayed with it. He didn't really have a choice because we couldn't really pass effectively. BC's offense to to pass or have a balanced run/pass offense. He didn't run his offense except for one drive which resulted in a TD. He may as well have done the kneel down on every first down play so we don't get our running backs hurt. He was just scared. I didn't want him to come out and throw 50 passes, but mix in something. At least put a WR in the game on first down so they may actually think we may pass.

He has a lot of making up to do with me. He better go 9-3 at this point. Last week I would have accepted 8-4 if we were competitive against the good teams, and maybe have a slip up against somebody else like Missouri. Now, for me at least, he has to go 9-3 and not lay down against Texas.

Cornhusker · Post by **Cornhusker** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 5:27 pm

AZhusker wrote:Now, for me at least, he has to go 9-3 and not lay down against Texas.

What with the media hounding him early after the SC game, and now kinda softing on the deal after the "what if" scenarios, he isn't likely to come close to that stunt in Lincoln.
I'm pretty sure he'll feel he'll have a shot at Texas at home.
I guarantee Pedey will want that one more than any on the schedule what with his "refuse to surrender" line back in the day.
It will be time to put up or shut-up come the Texas game for Callahan and Pedey.
You can bet the hacks will be playing it.

At Large · Post by **At Large** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 3:26 am

I guarantee you, if he tries to pull this at home against Texas people will be yelling and screaming from the stands to pass the damn ball!

By the way, I'm on a husker board and I've read them analyze and analyze some more video clips and screen captures from the game. What we saw were a lot of linemen blocking air on pass plays and ignoring real linemen. We saw a running back, Lucky, trip over his feet on more than one occassion when there were actual blocks that could have been sprung by a more natural back. Not saying Lucky sucks, but he needs to work on his moves. Don't be surprised if you see Juco Kenny Wilson starting soon. I think they were trying to keep Lucky happy by starting him, but now I think they'll sit him down, show him the film and tell him that he needs more work.

Oh yeah, there were also lots of missed blocks on running plays. All in all, it was a team not quite ready for primetime trying to hold it's own against a team that handn't lost at home since 2001.

T1B

Callahan calls pussiest game ever.

Callahan calls pussiest game ever.

Re: Callahan calls pussiest game ever.