McKeon left game on field, not in the media
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BY BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star
Nebraska senior linebacker Corey McKeon, a chatterbox in previous seasons, didn’t want much to do with the media this fall.
On Friday, with his Husker career just finished after a 65-51 loss at Colorado, he stepped up to the mike again.
“I understood that our focus wasn’t on the field like it should be. It was in a lot of places,” McKeon said of his silence. “Regardless of what happens, you guys are kind of a big distraction, especially in Lincoln, where the media coverage is very heavy.
“I wanted to stay away from it and take the opportunity to kind of focus on my senior year and have fun with my friends and just leave it on the field, and not take it off the field and into the newspapers.”
McKeon didn’t give a direct answer to a question about whether he thought Husker coaches should be kept around after NU’s 5-7 season.
“It’s not my decision and it’s not what I think (that matters),” he said. “Speaking of my coach, I couldn’t play for anybody else. Coach (Kevin) Cosgrove, he’s a great coach, a great man. He treats me like family. If I had to ask anything else out of a coach, I’d be selfish.”
Friendly foe
Colorado coach Dan Hawkins had some kind words to Bill Callahan after the game, perhaps his last as Nebraska’s head coach.
“I have a lot of respect for him, and what he has had to endure and go through,” Hawkins said. “He has handled this tough situation with class. His starting quarterback goes down, and they gave Kansas a run, and got all over Kansas State.
“No matter what happens, I respect him, and he is a good guy and a good coach.”
Lucky’s 1,000
Junior running back Marlon Lucky became the first Husker to have 1,000 yards both receiving and rushing in a career. He cracked the 1,000-yard career receiving mark on a 38-yard catch in the first quarter, setting up his 2-yard TD run. He has 1,019 rushing yards this year.
Mo’s big day
Husker senior Maurice Purify caught a career-high 11 passes for 136 yards and three touchdowns.
His performance made him just the fourth Husker to catch more than 50 passes in a season and moved him to sixth all-time on NU’s receptions chart..
“It’s not the coaches’ fault, we don’t play good,” Purify said of the team’s rough season. “I feel we just didn’t play well. We went from potential Big 12 champs to no bowl game. It’s not hard to believe because it’s football.”
Sticking up for Bill
Husker players weren’t about to make any negative comments about Callahan, even if it does seem likely he’s on his way out.
Junior nose tackle Ndamukong Suh even offered a prediction differing from many.
“I really can’t speak for anybody else,” he said. “But I figure he’ll be here next year and I pray that he is. We’ll see.”
No offense taken
Someone asked Callahan if he was offended by Colorado’s last touchdown run that gave the Buffs 65 points.
Not surprisingly, Callahan took no offense. You wouldn’t think he would since Nebraska was stopping the clock with timeouts on the drive.
“That’s college football — you can score from anywhere,” Callahan said. “They were trying to run the ball. It’s our job to defend it. I’ve never, ever complained about that, not one time.”
Big points
The 31 combined points in the first quarter were the most points in a quarter in a Colorado game this year. That number only held up until the fourth quarter, when the teams combined for 37 points.
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