Kansas City, Mo. – Monday, the Big Red smiles were back.
And they were back because “we’re back,” said beaming Nebraska cornerback Zackary Bowman.
Yes, the Huskers are back atop the preseason Big 12 North poll; back in the good graces of their fan base; back, the Huskers say, where they belong.
It has been awhile since the preseason good times rolled at Nebraska. The previous time the Huskers were picked as preseason favorites in the Big 12 North was in 2001, and from 2003-05 they weren’t predicted to finish any higher than third.
That might as well have been 20 years ago as far as Nebraska coach Bill Callahan and his players at the first session of Big 12 football media days were concerned.
And first on the list of the Huskers’ thank-you notes are Colorado and Michigan, teams Nebraska defeated to end its 2005 season on an 8-4 high.
“It was confidence,” Callahan said. “It carries over into the offseason, and it’s a matter of how we use that motivation as we head into the last quarter of our offseason, that being training camp.”
Heading into its annual regular-season finale against Colorado last year, Nebraska had lost four of six and was 6-4. But a 30-3 victory at Folsom Field later, the stage was set for an even more eye-opening, 32-28 win over Michigan in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.
“It’s definitely helps. It gives you momentum,” Huskers defensive end Adam Carriker said. “You go 5-6 at Nebraska and that’s a huge deal. I grew up in Washington state, and if Washington State goes 5-6 no one really bats an eye. The expectations are higher this year.”
So much so that Callahan tore a page from the Gary Barnett manual of motivation and took his team on a one-hour trip to Arrowhead Stadium – the site of this season’s Big 12 championship game Dec. 2 – before their scheduled news conferences.
“We just kind of want to visualize what it is going to be like with 79,000 people in the stands,” Carriker said. “We were trying to get that energy, trying to visually get ready.”
Yet finishing has been an issue for Nebraska.
The Huskers haven’t won the Big 12 North since 1999, which was the last time they won the Big 12 title.
They aren’t favored to win the Big 12 this year either, with the strongest teams at Oklahoma and Texas, but giving themselves a chance by getting there is the first step.
“We’re on schedule, in my opinion,” Callahan said. “We’re getting better. We’re more improved. We’re more consistent. We’re starting to make plays that we didn’t make in our first couple of years.”
The play of quarterback Zac Taylor has been key. In the first nine games last season, he had 12 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions. In the last three, Taylor tossed seven TD passes and just two interceptions.
“He’s a coach on the field for us,” Callahan said. “He can absorb so much offense, so much detail, and not only absorb it and execute it, but he can transcend it to other players.”
It’s just another reason for the revived Huskers to smile.
“Even the fans have the sense that we’re back,” Bowman said. “We don’t plan on losing any games this year. We’re just going to go out there and play every game like it’s our last, and hopefully come out with victories.”
Staff writer Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-820-5455 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
