Saturday, December 31, 2005
Alawhoa!
Things I think I thought now that I'm sure that game is finally over....I think.
1) Everything that can be said or written about that final play has been by now, but did anyone else expect it to end with a collision between a Wolverine and a member of a Mariachi band in the end zone?
2) Nice for the Huskers to ride off into the offseason with a huge win like that. But you've got to wonder if a bowl game of this nature doesn't impact the losing team more than the victors. Maybe the Wolverines have to wonder if they are gravitating towards mediocrity all offseason.
3) Lots of coaches and teams say they knew they'd win if they kept it close going into the fourth. But by looking at the Ohio State-Michigan game specifically for that reason, the Huskers REALLY believed it. Wonder if they believed they'd have an 11-point deficit to make up, though.
4) Defense, offense, special teams....that was a pretty darn good all-around final 10 minutes by the Huskers.
5) Sure, the Alamo Bowl isn't one of the biggies, but that didn't stop the Husker fans from traveling in large numbers to San Antonio. And as a rookie visitor to the city, I'd have to give it a big thumbs up as a bowl host. Never bad suffering through some 80-degree days in December.
6) So anybody know how the NU basketball team is doing this season? Guess they might get a little attention until spring ball...and baseball, starts up. Hmmm, 14-point loss to Florida State? Guess that's not THAT bad...not like an 87-point loss to Creighton.
1) Everything that can be said or written about that final play has been by now, but did anyone else expect it to end with a collision between a Wolverine and a member of a Mariachi band in the end zone?
2) Nice for the Huskers to ride off into the offseason with a huge win like that. But you've got to wonder if a bowl game of this nature doesn't impact the losing team more than the victors. Maybe the Wolverines have to wonder if they are gravitating towards mediocrity all offseason.
3) Lots of coaches and teams say they knew they'd win if they kept it close going into the fourth. But by looking at the Ohio State-Michigan game specifically for that reason, the Huskers REALLY believed it. Wonder if they believed they'd have an 11-point deficit to make up, though.
4) Defense, offense, special teams....that was a pretty darn good all-around final 10 minutes by the Huskers.
5) Sure, the Alamo Bowl isn't one of the biggies, but that didn't stop the Husker fans from traveling in large numbers to San Antonio. And as a rookie visitor to the city, I'd have to give it a big thumbs up as a bowl host. Never bad suffering through some 80-degree days in December.
6) So anybody know how the NU basketball team is doing this season? Guess they might get a little attention until spring ball...and baseball, starts up. Hmmm, 14-point loss to Florida State? Guess that's not THAT bad...not like an 87-point loss to Creighton.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Countdown to San Antonio...
Things I think I'm thinking about the Alamo Bowl while wondering if a Southern Miss-Arkansas State game can legally mark the start of "bowl season"....
1) Optimistic Nation is loving the Huskers coming off a shellacking of Colorado to end the regular season. Nothing like blasting the Buffs to gain some momentum to head into the bowl game.
2) Pessimistic Nation loves to point out that not so long ago this team was shellacked itself by the Kansas Jayhaws and barely pulled out a home win over K-State, whose pads have been packed away. for almost a month now. This team showed up much more than the Boulder-version of the Huskers, and it is more likely to show up against Michigan, accoring to this Nation.
3) It's easy to appreciate things when they are taken away. You could tell that about a bowl trip during the Husker press conference last week. Everyone was exuding a genuine enthusiasm about the trip. If possible, I dare say football players seemed giddy about something.
4) Sure, this isn't where Michigan wanted to be. But as everyone's pointing out, the Wolverines were 17 points away from being 11-0. They still have something to prove.
5) So, did that CU win make this a little less controversy-filled trip than when the Huskers last headed down to San Antonio?
6) Interesting to hear Callahan at the press conference say he has to win and win now. That's part of the coaching profession. The pressure is never really off, sometimes it just lets up a bit. If NU can down Michigan, I'd say the coaching staff would have a much lighter load on its shoulders this offseason than at any other time in the past two years.
1) Optimistic Nation is loving the Huskers coming off a shellacking of Colorado to end the regular season. Nothing like blasting the Buffs to gain some momentum to head into the bowl game.
2) Pessimistic Nation loves to point out that not so long ago this team was shellacked itself by the Kansas Jayhaws and barely pulled out a home win over K-State, whose pads have been packed away. for almost a month now. This team showed up much more than the Boulder-version of the Huskers, and it is more likely to show up against Michigan, accoring to this Nation.
3) It's easy to appreciate things when they are taken away. You could tell that about a bowl trip during the Husker press conference last week. Everyone was exuding a genuine enthusiasm about the trip. If possible, I dare say football players seemed giddy about something.
4) Sure, this isn't where Michigan wanted to be. But as everyone's pointing out, the Wolverines were 17 points away from being 11-0. They still have something to prove.
5) So, did that CU win make this a little less controversy-filled trip than when the Huskers last headed down to San Antonio?
6) Interesting to hear Callahan at the press conference say he has to win and win now. That's part of the coaching profession. The pressure is never really off, sometimes it just lets up a bit. If NU can down Michigan, I'd say the coaching staff would have a much lighter load on its shoulders this offseason than at any other time in the past two years.
