LINCOLN, Neb. — Bo Pelini knows he needs to cool it.
The first-year Nebraska coach acknowledged his volatile sideline demeanor is casting a negative light on himself and the program.
Pelini has drawn unwanted attention for his tirades against officials, assistant coaches and players. He said Tuesday he knows his temper could hurt the university’s image and work against the Cornhuskers in recruiting, especially with videos of him seething and screaming readily available on
A montage of Pelini blowups was posted on that website Monday and had generated more than 1,000 hits by Tuesday.
“Perception is reality, so that’s something I’ve got to fix,” Pelini said. “I understand that. I’m a highly emotional guy. I’ve got to be careful.”
Pelini said he realized he had a problem when a couple of lip-reading family members pointed out their disapproval of his behavior in Saturday’s 62-28 loss at Oklahoma.
“I regret that,” said Pelini, married with three young children. “There’s a difference between being animated and using some words you wish you didn’t use.”
Pelini offered no apologies for briefly clutching Terrence Moore’s face mask after the defensive tackle had been ejected late in the game for trying to punch an Oklahoma player.
“He’s a young man who took a swing at somebody on the field,” Pelini said. “To me, that’s something very undisciplined and not going to be tolerated on our football team. If I need to grab his face mask so he gets the point and he looks me in the eye, I’m going to make a point. I’m not going to hit the young man. I would never do that.”
Footnotes.
Duke coach David Cutcliffe quashed any speculation about him returning to Tennessee to replace his good friend and former boss, Phillip Fulmer. “I’m at Duke, staying at Duke,” Cutcliffe said.
• Weber State and coach Ron McBride agreed on a new contract through the 2012 season.
• Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark (concussion) is expected to play Saturday against Iowa.
• Minnesota coach Tim Brewster said Eric Decker will be limited in practice this week by a sprained left ankle, but he expects the Big Ten’s leading receiver to be in uniform Saturday against Michigan.
• Despite winning his past two starts, at West Virginia and Notre Dame, Pitt sophomore quarterback Pat Bostick will return to the bench in favor of Bill Stull, who has been cleared to return from a concussion for Saturday’s game against Louisville.
The Associated Press
