Huskers, Tigers search for consistency
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BY STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star
The typically well-groomed head coach's hair was a mess. His deep voice boomed as he expressed disappointment.
No excuses! he shouted.
Nebraska head coach Bill Callahan clearly was agitated a week ago following a 24-point loss at Kansas State. He said the defeat was "embarrassing." One got the feeling Callahan took last week's loss harder than the Huskers' 60-point setback Oct. 9 at Texas Tech.
Only a largely uninspiring home win against Baylor separates Nebraska's two humiliating losses to Big 12 rivals, setbacks that have caused mounting frustration everywhere from inside South Stadium to coffee shops in western Nebraska to faraway lands where fans can follow the team only via the Internet.
"The players and coaches hurt," Callahan said this week. "They hurt from the inside out. We feel gutted in so many respects. But this is a tough staff and these are tough players."
Nebraska faces what figures to be another challenging test today against a Missouri team that also has endured its share of struggles. Tigers head coach Gary Pinkel this week suspended his leading rusher, tailback Damien Nash, apparently for questioning Pinkel's play-calling and substitution pattern in the wake of last week's 20-17 home loss to Oklahoma State.
Pinkel has been routinely second-guessed by pundits for conservative play-calling.
So, to summarize, today's 11:10 a.m. matchup at Memorial Stadium pits two teams with issues, teams that so far have failed to live up to their own expectations.
Yet there exists plenty of time for both teams to make amends. Indeed, the teams enter today's game with identical records — 4-3 overall, 2-2 in the Big 12 — and the winner will stand alone atop the Big 12 North Division. Win today, and there will be ample reason to celebrate and push aside the prevailing feeling of angst that largely defines today's matchup.
Callahan, in his first season at Nebraska, remained upbeat this week, at least publicly.
"There are a lot of positive things you have to draw from when you go through some adverse situations like we're going through," Callahan said.
Callahan said his players have given "great effort."
"They've gone out and played their hearts out," he said. "It didn't work out. As I told the team after the (K-State) game, we have a long way to go. We have to continue working hard and doing the little things you have to do in order to be a championship team."
One area where Nebraska must improve, Callahan said, is in what he calls "crisis situations," the handful of plays that often arise in close games and ultimately determine the outcome. It might require completing a third-down pass to keep a drive alive. It might mean forcing a momentum-changing turnover.
In Nebraska's loss to K-State, the Huskers were 0-for-7 on third-down conversions in the second half as they tried to rally. NU is converting on third down at a 34 percent clip this season. Callahan prefers to be in the 50 percent range.
"That is where the game is won or lost," Callahan said. "If we don't do better in those situations, we don't improve."
Nebraska's defense also is seeking improvement. To be sure, it can't get much worse for the Blackshirts, or so Big Red fans hope. In the last three games, the Huskers have allowed a combined 142 points and 1,341 yards. Consequently, defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove is absorbing harsh criticism from fans.
Husker players have continued to defend the coaching staff, saying the blame falls on those who don shoulder pads and helmets, not headphones.
"It's just us over-running plays, missing too many tackles and not being aligned correctly," Nebraska linebacker Stewart Bradley said. "It gives you confidence that they're easily correctable mistakes, things we're in control of."
Nebraska's task on defense today is to control Missouri standout quarterback Brad Smith, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound junior from Youngstown, Ohio, against whom the Huskers have had mixed results.
In 2002, Nebraska shut down Smith and Co. in the second half, as the Tigers mustered just 28 total yards during the final 30 minutes of a 24-13 loss in Lincoln.
In 2003, Smith rolled up 350 yards of total offense in a 41-24 victory.
Of course, much has transpired at Nebraska since last October. Callahan said he knew it would be difficult in the Huskers' "transition" season, given the circumstances he inherited. He knew there would be ups and downs, he said. Today he hopes for an "up."
"It's a tough place," Callahan said. "The expectation levels are high, and you have to win a national championship here. We put that pressure on ourselves. When we don't meet that expectation, we're all disappointed.
"We'll continue to move on and learn from past experience."
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
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