The Nebraska Cornhuskers arguably have thrown in the towel, but they definitely have thrown in their shirts. Their black shirts, that is.
Remember those practice jerseys that Nebraska’s defensive starters wore, the ones that infuriated Colorado, which really wears black shirts on Saturdays? Well, coach Bill Callahan made the Blackshirts turn them in Tuesday. They didn’t deserve to wear them.
After Saturday’s 36-14 loss to Texas A&M, they may as well turn in their shoulder pads, too. And helmets. And jockstraps. They don’t seem to serve any discernible purpose. And if Nebraska continues a tailspin that is rapidly moving from historic to laughable, Callahan can turn in his whistle, too.
Nebraska’s defense played as if its pride was stripped along with its jerseys. It gave up 359 yards rushing to a 6-2 A&M team that obviously cares a lot more for its embattled coach, Dennis Franchione, than the 4-4 Cornhuskers do about theirs.
What’s the problem with the defense? Start with the players not having a clue.
Said linebacker Phillip Dillard after the game: “I have no idea what just happened.”
Besides blowing his chance for Academic All-American, Dillard obviously didn’t see his defense bite repeatedly on pitch fakes and let quarterback Stephen McGee rush for 167 yards.
Nebraska, 1-3 in the Big 12, not only has lost three home games for the first time since 1968, but stands 115th nationally in rushing defense (227.4 yards per game), 105th in total defense (457.38 – which would be a school record) and 91st in scoring defense (31.9 points per game).
But what was Callahan’s big adjustment for A&M? It came on offense. He handed play-calling to offensive coordinator Shawn Watson.
What’s next? With icon Tom Osborne trying not to look like the Grim Reaper in his new role as athletic director, boosters may put pressure on Callahan to resign this week, effective at the end of the season. Omaha World-Herald columnist Tom Shatel advised Callahan to do just that in Sunday’s column.
UCLA, Michigan BCS-bound? In the Chinese Year of the Underdog, how fitting would it be if the Rose Bowl got saddled with UCLA and Michigan? Don’t look now, but the stodgy Granddaddy of Them All may get stuck with a team that gave Notre Dame its only win and another that lost to Appalachian State.
But UCLA’s upset of 10th-ranked California puts the 5-2 Bruins atop the Pacific-10 at 4-0 along with overrated Arizona State (7-0), whose lone win over a team with a winning record came against 4-3 Oregon State. UCLA, which visits Washington State on Saturday, closes with Arizona State and Oregon at home and finishes at Southern California.
Since its 39-7 debacle against Oregon, No. 19 Michigan (6-2, 4-0) has won six straight and could run the table in the mediocre Big Ten before top-ranked Ohio State visits Nov. 17.
QB decision at USC. Ninth-ranked USC is inching back into the national title picture. Now all coach Pete Carroll needs to do is decide on a quarterback. John David Booty said his broken middle finger is healed, but after backup Mark Sanchez threw four touchdown passes at Notre Dame, Carroll said he’ll monitor the two quarterbacks this week.
“I’ve got this job,” Sanchez said after the game, “and I don’t want to give it up.”
Said Booty: “You usually don’t lose your job to injury.”
This could get ugly. USC visits No. 5 Oregon Saturday.
Brewster blew it. Didn’t Mike Shanahan teach Tim Brewster anything about bulletin boards? The former Broncos assistant, floundering in a nightmare first year at Minnesota, infuriated North Dakota State last week by calling the Bison “the little guys in green.” He added that having the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) school on his schedule hurts recruiting.
Well, how does losing to them, 27-21, help recruiting? The 1-7 Gophers, with Michigan, Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin left, are looking at their first one-win season since going 1-8 in 1958 and worst overall record in their 116-year history.
Don’t be surprised to see Bison coach Craig Bohl, who interviewed for that Minnesota job last year, become a candidate at Nebraska, where he was linebackers coach from 1995-2002 and defensive coordinator the past three years.
Anchors aweigh. Circle the Navy-Notre Dame game Nov. 3. The 1-7 Irish have won 43 straight over Navy, the longest streak in the country, but have lost four straight home games for the first time since going 2-8 in 1960.
