1. What’s the point of running a fake punt reverse so early in the game?

Bill Callahan took a major risk in a 7-7 game, but obviously felt the reward was worth it. Neither he nor fullback Dane Todd, who took the direct snap before trying to deliver the ball to Andrew Shanle, would try and argue that.

“They are very confident in their return game and they go safe block,” Todd said of the Tigers, “You start getting toward midfield and they start going safe, especially with our record of running trick plays, so we knew we had to do it somewhere deep in our own end. It’s a gamble and we ended up losing on that deal.”

The call to try the play, which resulted in a 15-yard loss and left Auburn at the NU 14-yard line, was Callahan’s.

“It was still early enough that if it didn’t work we were still in a good position to come back,” he said. “Things got discombobulated there.”

2. Why do we struggle so much getting receivers open?

This wasn’t a matter of Nebraska being discombobulated. It was the manner in which Auburn’s secondary players utilized a physical bump-and-run coverage. More times than not, the protection Zac Taylor got was solid. NU’s quarterback, though, rarely saw somebody running free, especially on deeper routes.

“They didn’t blitz as much as they usually do, sat back in coverage and played a lot of Cover-2 with their safeties,” Taylor said. “That kind of takes away your shots downfield. That’s frustrating for me, because you kind of want to keep them on their heels and take some shots, but they played well and we just tried to take what they gave us.”

In other words, Auburn’s defense dictated that Nebraska’s best opportunities would come by running the ball.

3. If Callahan doesn’t win 10 games next year, does he deserve to be fired?

Callahan is in a cutthroat profession where the bottom line is all about winning, and it’s clear he understands that pressure. Perhaps that explains some of the terse replies he had to questions following Monday’s game.

It is fair to expect a program of Nebraska’s stature to return to national championship contention in year four of a coaching regime, but given the Huskers’ daunting schedule, which includes USC, at Wake Forest, Nevada, at Texas and at Missouri, a 10-win season should be considered a step forward. But forget about the number for a second. As long as Steve Pederson thinks NU is closing ground on the top 10, Callahan needn’t worry about his job security in 2007.

4. Why are we wasting a scholarship on a kicker when it is painfully obvious that Callahan doesn’t have any confidence in him?

The Huskers have a kicker coming in with the next recruiting class, so Jordan Congdon has to know his starting job is in jeopardy. Jay Norvell said they weren’t comfortable with the sophomore kicking from more than 45 yards Monday, and that’s a problem.