BIG RED HEAD ZONE

Baylor Game: October 15, 2005

By Jim Meier

THE CRUX:

I was at a wedding reception. Missed the game. No end zone seat. No Pay-For-View easy chair. No radio headset wire dangling from my ear. Just 6-7 score updates from good ‘ole Jim Green (friend, Husker FAN and father of world class Husker pole-vaulter, Ginny Green.) This to say, I wasn’t tuned into this game like the first five…BUT not to worry…I’ve done my post-game homework. Here’s the heart of the matter.

Game formula: WACO 1=WACO 2
WACO 1…Working A Controlled Offense
equals
WACO 2…Winning Away brings Cornhusker Optimism

THE QUOTE:

“Will the Blackshirts play as fiercely as they did their first five games?”

Dirk Chantelain, Omaha World-Herald

Answer, yes and no and that is a good thing!!!

“Being bowl eligible, that’s not one of our goals. That’s suppose to be a given. We’re striving to be down there in Houston (for the big 12 title game). That’s a real goal.”

Cortney Grixby, Husker cornerback

Note on Grixby’s quote: AMEN!

Mental Muscle:

We got this win with straightforward controlled football! Neck-up and neck-down controlled football.

1) The neck-up:

The Huskers played emotionally under control.

I’m sure there was fierceness in the blackshirts. You don’t succeed without some degree of heart, fire and fervor. (Baylor) bear with me here?. Rather than become the beast by getting all lathered up, foaming at the mouth and hand wrestling with the carnivorous creature for three hours on Texas tundra there was instead a methodical game plan. Game six was drawn up a gridiron veterinarian. Knowing there was a menacing bear to tranquilize he went about doing so. From the neck up our animal doctor Huskers banished the hype and subdued the beast. At 6 P.M. yesterday these Bears came loaded onto Floyd Casey Field. Romping freely and quite hungry for Huskerland berries, nuts, grubs and one big corn dog victory they were sent to hibernate three hours later. Nicely tamed.

Big Red did indeed remain resilient after the Texas Tech loss. (See my writing of last week). How about that! No cave in. Instead, this Baylor Bear family got backed in its cave. They are not dead. We’ll see you foraging again in 2008 on Tom Osborn field and I sincerely hope their resurgent ways continue.

Note: I think the coaches (must have) done a good job of helping the players lock-out all the lip about this “mind’ menacing game in Waco.

And yes, a loss here would have been devastating!

2) The neck down:

X’s and O’s, X’s and O’s, X’s and O’s. Planning and execution of basic X’s and O’s football won this game too!
The stats add up. See the balance! See the control!:
a) 10 first downs by rushing…10 from passing
b) 350 total yards…182 rushing, 168 passing
c) plus 2 in turnovers…1 corn dog coughed up, three from the grizzlies in green and gold
d) 47% 3rd and 4th down conversion ratio (6-16 on 3rd and 3-3 on 4th)
e) 62% ball possession
f) only 5 and 25 yards in penalties (that is solid focus)

WEEKLY MENTAL GAME TIP:

There is a lot of negative out there. It swirls around from the dark, dank, dreary minds and mouths of doubters:
in the press corps (or is that press corpse), snips from those draining the glass…they seem to prefer it half full rather than replenish it when depleted, kings-of-the-critics and those horrendously loose headed haranguers that just rant, rage and rattle on because…I guess…they seem to like too.
So what? Get on in spite of them or if need be from time to time take them on and “spite” their words.
Jim says:
“CHOOSE BELIEF IN YOURSELF, CAST AWAY DOUBT!”
Yes, know and acknowledge that you are not perfect. Yes, know you have work to do. Yes, know you have errored and probably will error again but always, alWAYS, ALWAYS believe in yourself!

I don’t know anyone who will set out on a journey to accomplish something if they think it is not doable. If they think they cannot make it happen.

IT STARTS WITH BELIEF

P.S.
I do believe the Nebraska Cornhuskers ARE on the right path to again dance on the stage of national football prominence.