If It's A Saturday In Late November, It Must Be Time To Talk About College Football
I've always loved college football. From growing up in Nebraska to graduating from Kansas (where I could cheer for Nebraska when they came to Lawrence) to living now the next city over from Boise State University, I've always been close to the game, but especially to the teams from KU, BSU, and above all NU. All three are in the news today.
The biggest news comes out of Lincoln, where Nebraska football messiah Tom Osborne fulfilled his destiny by firing the coaching staff after a horrible 5-7 season; the now-former Head Coach Bill Callahan had, in four years after being hired by former NU Athletic Director Satan, "led" the 'Huskers to their only 2 losing seasons since 1961. While many in Nebraska (including at least one whose diapers I used to change) are calling for the hiring of former NU Defensive Coordinator Bo "Sooner" Pelini, those who have a longer appreciation of 'Husker history and tradition know that 'Husker hero and current University of Buffalo Head Coach Turner Gill is the only honorable option for the job. (And although most people don't want to mention it, having an African-American head coach will surely help in bringing some talented players to Nebraska.) I'm sure Tom Osborne, who was Best Man at Turner's wedding, will make the right choice.
Here in Idaho, people are feeling deflated after Boise State lost the de facto WAC championship game to Hawai'i last night. I admire the BSU coach and many of the players, and am amused by many of the local fans who don't quite understand what real big-time football is all about. (For my Idaho readers who wonder what they're missing, compare the number of comments in the main local paper in-game thread for the NU-Colorado game vs. the BSU-UH game to see what high-level football is all about. For those who don't want to click, the comment count is currently at 875-43 -- plus over 550 comments on the NU site for the former HC's post-game remarks.)
Today's game between #2 Kansas and #4 Missouri marks the biggest-ever game in the "Border War". As the excellent article in this week's Sports Illustrated points out, these two fan bases really, really dislike each other; the hatred leads back to the Quantrill Raid on Lawrence by Missourians in the 1860s. While I still have a hard time believing KU is for real in football, I'd really like to see them kick Mizzou's butt. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!
posted by Bubblehead at 10:22 AM
7 Comments:
Do the right thing Tom....Barry Switzer for Cornhusker Head Coach!!!
11/24/2007 12:17 PM
I just moved from Nebraska and while I'm no fan of NU football or Bill Callahan, this business of firing coaches so quickly really needs to stop. Gary Pinkel went 22-25 in his first four years in Mizzou and he now has his team 2 wins away from a potential national championship. I'm not sure that Callahan is going to do the same, but he is the same guy they hired 4 years ago. And so is Dennis Franchione for that matter.
11/25/2007 5:45 PM
The thing about Bill Callahan is, I was never really opposed to him until about midway through this season, when he refused to fire the Defensive Coordinator after we started giving up record numbers of points and yards. I always figured he was doing what he was hired to do -- install the Wet Toast offense at a school that really can't recruit for the kind of players you need to run it.
I figure these last four years of Cornhusker football are kind of like in the Asimov novel "Foundation", where a character ("The Mule") comes in and completely disrupts the foreordained timeline. Our only hope is that we can return to NU football of old and just look at this period as a bad dream.
11/26/2007 9:49 AM
Ah, but can the "NU football of old" compete with the modern offenses of today? Ask Ohio St. how they're doing with that.
Love the Foundation reference, BTW
11/26/2007 4:28 PM
Bo being a ex-sooner i believe will only help. Look at Kansas's head coach. Ex-sooner and at no. 5 and played a damn good game vs. mizziou. Turner gill is a great man we have always loved him here, but his record at Bufflo just is in my mind not good enough. I believe that CLEAVER person whose diaper you changed so long ago may be on to something. I do think Gills offencive set-up is sound and would work great here.
11/27/2007 12:45 AM
My compliments to Cameron, and last time I looked, Ohio State was 11-1.
11/27/2007 6:29 AM
Three of OSU's last 4 losses have come against teams with modern offenses. They lost to Illinois at home. Care to recall last year's championship game? The Big 10 plays OSU's brand of football, so they win. But pit them against teams from modern football playing conferences, and they lose.
11/27/2007 8:46 AM
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