This Just-In...

Blackshirts chase orange kittens out of cornfield;
declaw Tigers after halftime. Huskers rally 26-21

Player(s) of the game: Quentin Castille 18 carries, 125 yds
Ndamukong Suh 8 tackles, 2 sacks, Blk FG

Turnovers, the gift that keeps on giving….
The holiday season teaches us many things. One lesson that is taught from an early age and that was relentlessly pounded into my head is that it is always better to give, than to receive. Maybe that was the message that the team got over the month of December. The unfortunate thing about that message is that it doesn’t translate well to the football field. Three turnovers and twenty one points off of those gift wrapped freebies. Should we expect the Husker D to not give up the long pass play? I don’t know, but in any football game, a big play is going to happen. Turnovers have been a problem this year, yet our resilient Huskers have been able to overcome most of them, but to get back to an elite team, we need to win the turnover battle on a consistent basis. Maybe next year the secondary can ask Santa to bring them some interceptions.

TY-ger SUH-fari....
Deep in the heart of the jungle lives a ferocious beast. It spends most of its day hunting its prey, few will ever challenge it. Occasionally, brave men with a couple thousand dollars to spare, will get on a plane, fly to Africa, put on Khaki shorts and stupid hats and go off in search of the elusive tiger. Most will come back empty handed, but a few will come back with a catch that they will turn into any number of articles of clothing, or perhaps a nice rug with scary teeth. This hunt however, didn’t feature any ferocious beasts, nor did it feature middle aged men with too much money trying to overcome some other shortcoming in their life. This hunt showcased two men dressed in Red and White, searching for a rare, peculiar, and oddly colored orange and purple tiger native to South Carolina. Suh and Steinkuehler were the ferocious beasts on this day, slicing holes in the Clemson offensive line as if they had a machete. If there was a play to be made, one of them was there to make it. Early in the game when Clemson decided it would be a good idea to double up on Suh, Steinkuehler made them pay to try. A combined 14 tackles and three sacks would make any veteran sufarian (is that even a word?) jealous. And the best thing about it is that they didn’t even need a passport.

Senior Discount? We don’t think so….
For the last forty years or so our seniors have had the luxury of closing out their Husker careers in style with a trip to a mid to upper level bowl game. It was a given, a birthright, something that Nebraska football just did. Win nine games, go to a bowl game, breathe. Over the last five years, Big Red Nation went through many changes, mostly not so positive ones. This group of players has seen the worst, only to be slightly resurrected with the hiring of Bo Pelini. This year was one of sweat, determination, hard work and a never give up attitude. For the most part, it worked out well. The seniors gave their all this year and we should applaud their efforts and hold them in our memories in the same regard as past Husker champions. It is easy to play win you win by fifty. It is by far much harder to not quit when you are getting beat by fifty. We need to remember these seniors for what they gave to the program. Zach Potter, all six foot seven of him, batting down passes, blocking field goals *(by the way you were my wife’s favorite player). Ty Steinkuehler chasing down the quarterback, making his father proud and setting an example for his younger brother. Marlon Lucky, making a tough catch and weaving sixty yards on a screen pass, throwing for TD’ s, carrying a floundering 2007 squad. Matt Slauson, increasing eye black sales in Lincoln by 50%, relentlessly pounding the opposing defensive line. Lydon Murtha, held watch over our QB for the last two years. Nate Swift, acrobatic catches the mover of chains, the all time leading receiver in Nebraska history. Todd Peterson, saving the day against Texas A&M, the definition of a hard working Nebraska born player. Joe Ganz, rolling out of the pocket, buying extra time, hitting that crucial third down pass, almost single handedly pulled this program out of the doldrums; we couldn’t have done it without ya Mr. Ganz. There are many others that are not mentioned in this paragraph. Many who played crucial roles, Glenn, O’Hanlon, Teafatiller, Titchener, Murillo, Davis, Barfield, Sievers, and O’Leary. For this, we are grateful. Hang your heads high fellow Huskers, many of you have played your last game and we are proud you chose to represent our program. You will always be family.

In Conclusion.....
9-4. A few expected blowouts (on both sides), a few tough, hard fought wins, a heartbreaker, a disappointment, an all-timer, all wrapped up with an exciting, error prone comeback Gator Bowl victory. This team overachieved in large part due to the infusion of passion by this coaching staff. The stage has been set, the foundation is starting to dry. This program is taking the steps necessary to become a National Contender once again. What will not be lost in this rebuilding process is the essence of Nebraska Football. Teaching, learning, pride, passion and the blue collar mentality that is woven into the very fabric of the state of Nebraska. We can thank Tom Osborne for finding someone to carry on the legacy, even with the occasional temper tantrum. Now it’s on to recruiting season. Will this staff be able to land a top notch class? Which prized recruit will be the first to de-commit? Time will tell but we can be sure that Coach Pelini will do what is right for this program even if it means dodging questions about spread offenses.

*My wife made me put this in….sigh

Justin Prestidge is a new contributor to HuskerPedia™. Originally born and raised in Scottsbluff, Justin is currently holding a low profile deep in the heart of Texas. A die hard Husker fan, Justin has been following Big Red Football for over 20 years, and has been a member of the North Texas Nebraskans for the last 10. You can e-mail him here.