The thing about picking Nebraska games right now is you're apt to have as much success going with a spinning bottle as using your noggin.
Posted: Friday, October 12, 2007 7:00 pm
I’d pay a few bucks to receive a newsletter from Bill Callahan that provided secretive, insider information — but with one requirement.
Each week, he’d have to give his prediction, score included, on the Nebraska game. I know it sounds like a crazy idea, but can you think of someone more qualified?
Of course, there’d be a perk to this serious business. If Callahan came within a touchdown of the actual score, he’d get a bonus from his employer for at least having a good handle on things.
Should the Huskers have a sub-par performance, get blown out and leave their coach completely baffled as to what had happened, he’d have the full support of athletic director Steve Pederson — again as long as the predicted score was within a reasonable range of the final outcome.
Don’t think he’ll go for that? Perhaps we ought to try for Texas’ Mack Brown instead?
“Anybody who thinks they can predict what’s going to happen for the next six weeks should be honest about their predictions from the first six,” Brown said earlier this week. “And if anybody has been right, I’d like to see them.”
Can’t say any of us on the Journal Star “slim pickings” lineup got the Kansas State-Texas game right a couple weeks ago, coach.
Oh, that expletive-inducing predict-o-rama. My boss is a big fan, thinks you readers love to see how some of us see certain college games coming out. Says he doesn’t stand in front of the firing line each week because nobody cares about his vast knowledge of college football.
The thing about picking Nebraska games right now is you’re apt to have as much success going with a spinning bottle as using your noggin.
Seriously, give me one surefire reason to go with either the Huskers or Oklahoma State today. And don’t throw Nebraska’s 20-game home winning streak against the Cowboys into the mix. That shouldn’t matter. Right?
Anyway, the bottom line is both of these teams are too spastic to put much faith in.
Oklahoma State is better on defense than just one team in the Big 12 Conference. And you can probably guess who that is.
If you’re pinning your hopes on the Cowboys today, I suppose it could be considered a good sign that after their 24-23 loss at Texas A&M last Saturday, Mike Gundy said he’d never seen a more disappointed group of players in his three season as coach.
“The way I look at it is, I felt a lot better once I got finished puking and crying than when I came home from (a 41-23 loss to) Troy,” Gundy told reporters in Oklahoma earlier this week. “I felt a lot better about our football team.”
Doesn’t a good puking make everybody feel better, at least temporarily?
Well, at least Oklahoma State had a chance last week. And it’s also worthy to note that from the start of the second half of their game against Texas Tech three weeks ago to the end of the first half last Saturday, the Cowboys allowed just 13 points.
But after building a 17-0 halftime lead, they also allowed the Aggies to score on four of five possessions. See what I mean about spastic?
Mind you, that might be the only endorsement there is for Nebraska. I mean, it’s impossible to think any good came out of the wreck at Missouri.
Plain and simple, the Huskers aren’t very good right now. Just like Stanford wasn’t very good going into its game at Southern Cal last week.
Funny, even with their monumental upset that was sparked by a backup quarterback, people still don’t have much trust in the Cardinal. They’re an underdog at home today against TCU.
For all I know, Nebraska should be, too. Word is starting defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh may be suspended today. You think that would sway Callahan’s prediction?
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.