Nebraska...not feeling Frosty anymore

[Rocky Bleier]

Nebraska will beat Michigan 28 -10. Michigan just wants the season to end.

[drok]

Hack - people quickly were able to pinpoint the tie to 1995 due to the Eagles logo if I'm not mistaken.

The scary thing is that his approval rating actually went up after the police announced that they had the tape.

[WingsFan]

Yea, that tie has the Houston Oilers on it and the original Tampa Bay Buccaneers, among other old NFL logos.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Really? Deleting my posts that congratulate the Huskers? Sad

[lineygoblue]

You caught me at the wrong time, sir.

Perhaps I've spent too much time in Bellevue Ohio this week

[Dr. Strangelove]

Bellevue...lol...Stop by the Rutherford B Hayes Presidential Library on your way through Fremont

[lineygoblue]

I take the by-pass around Fremont.

One of my stops is at Windsor Moldings in Bellvue.

The Wendy's in Clyde delighted my heart this week with a cup of chili. I try not to spend money in OlieO, but that was $3.00 well spent ..

[Dr. Strangelove]

Where else along Route 20 do you go?

Back in the old, old days, when the turnpike's speed limit was only 55, all the trucks used to be on route 20 because you could go the same speed without the tolls.

[lineygoblue]

Bellevue is my only stop along Route 20. I also go a bit further south into Crestline to some window factory I forgot the name of. I can drive there, but I don't know the name of the place. Seems like it was Pittsburgh something ...

I like the drive along Route 20 for the reasons you mentioned. Its a good alternative to the turnpike. I think that's why my company insists that I use it, because its free ...

[hack]

Route 20's a good road, yes. If you're heading east though, better to pay your way through Ohio quickly and get off the interstates in PA, where things are much more interesting. Though if you are commercial traffic that's another story.

LOL @ the tie thing. Shudder. Screw the suburbanites and their pennywise-pound foolish ways. If they don't want to pay the cost of living in the big city, and there enjoy the economic and cultural opportunities that come with that, they have every other Canadian city, Vancouver excepted, to choose from.

[entropy]

8 hours ago ? By STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star




ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Let's be clear about something right away.

Nobody is comparing Bo Pelini to Bob Devaney. No way, no how.

Pelini, the sixth-year Nebraska head coach, hasn't won so much as a conference title.

That said, a bit of Nebraska football history comes to mind in the wake of NU's 17-13 comeback triumph against Michigan on Saturday at Michigan Stadium.

Longtime Husker fans might remember The Big House as the place where it all started for the legendary Devaney. On Sept. 29, 1962, in Devaney's second game at NU, the Huskers upset the Wolverines 25-13.

Long story short, Nebraska had endured six straight losing seasons before Devaney arrived from Wyoming. The win against a storied Michigan program raised the eyebrows of beaten-down Husker fans, who had endured essentially two decades of frustration. Folks thought, "Maybe this Devaney guy has what it takes."

Maybe, just maybe, we can say the same about this Pelini guy.

Oh, plenty of folks already have formed an opinion regarding Pelini. Nothing -- perhaps not even a Big Ten title -- will change their minds. Pelini's detractors will thumb their nose at a victory against a three-loss Michigan squad that is jellyroll soft in the middle of its offensive line and shows sporadic mental toughness overall.

This Nebraska win, however, was no small feat.

This Husker triumph, before a crowd of 112,204, ended Michigan's 19-game home winning streak.

This triumph occurred despite what's become an almost mind-boggling spate of injuries on offense. When senior tackle Jeremiah Sirles went to the sideline in the second quarter with an apparent sprained MCL, Nebraska was left with only two of its O-line starters that began the season. Meanwhile, the receiving corps continues to be depleted.

The Husker victory was orchestrated by leather-tough redshirt freshman quarterback Tommy Armstrong. Ameer Abdullah took Armstrong's forward pitch on an option play into the end zone with 2:03 left in the game, accounting for the day's final points.

It capped a gutsy 14-play, 75-yard march.

"We're not afraid to put the ball in (Armstrong's) hands to win a football game," said Pelini, who apparently likes what he sees in the 6-foot-1, 220-pound Texan.

"The future's bright," Pelini said.

Perhaps the future is indeed bright for a Nebraska program that last won a conference championship in 1999. The Huskers typically use a dozen freshmen and sophomores on a defense that clearly is coming of age. Michigan has a so-so offense, mind you. But the Wolverines (6-3, 2-3 Big Ten) were averaging a salty 37.9 points per game.

They managed only 175 yards Saturday, including minus-21 on the ground.

"We've shown the past seven quarters, we have a great defense," said Nebraska redshirt freshman middle linebacker Michael Rose, who had a team-high eight tackles, referring to last week's rugged performance against Northwestern.

So, Nebraska wins at The Big House using a freshman quarterback on both offense and defense (Rose).

Think about that.

Think about Nebraska prevailing with a seldom-used tackle, sophomore Zach Sterup of Hastings, playing the entire second half, and holding his own. And with senior Andrew Rodriguez of Aurora playing guard for the first time all season. He was nervous all week, offensive line coach John Garrison said.

Think about Nebraska (7-2, 4-1) putting itself in position to capture the Legends Division title without consensus All-Big Ten offensive guard Spencer Long and senior quarterback Taylor Martinez, the coaches' All-Big Ten choice in 2012. Those are only the most high-profile of the injuries. I don't have time to get into all the others.

Yeah, perhaps Pelini and his staff can coach a little.

Maybe they deserve a reprieve from what they perceive as a week-to-week battle to retain their jobs. Yes, that's the staff's perception. Based on what I'm hearing from my sources, it's probably an accurate perception. At least that was the case going into Saturday's game.

Perhaps this victory will inject the Nebraska fans with needed energy. All things considered, that should be the case.

Consider how strange Nebraska might look to the "outside world," with Pelini being on the proverbial "hot seat" despite NU recording its 10th victory in its last 11 Big Ten regular-season games.

Ah, but you can't ignore Pelini's debilitating losses, including this season's collapse against UCLA and dispiriting pounding at the hands of Minnesota.

But now this. Nebraska, behind Abdullah's 105 rushing yards and that suddenly sterling defense, closes the deal against the team most folks picked to win the Legends Division.

Granted, the Wolverines are scuffling. They also were a scuffling program in 1962, unranked when Devaney won at The Big House after the Huskers had gone 3-6-1 in 1961. If nothing else, Devaney's second victory at NU raised the eyebrows of its fans. Gave them a reason to believe, a reason they didn't see coming.

If nothing else, Nebraska's victory Saturday did the same. And few saw it coming.

Maybe, just maybe, Bo picked up a few believers.

"We're short-handed, we're beat up," Pelini said. "But the character on that football team showed. We fought to the end."

There's no debating that.

Reach Steven M. Sipple at 402-473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.

[WM Wolverine]

It's asking a lot for you guys but please beat the shit out of Sparty.

[entropy]

They are a bad matchup for us... Our D is playing better

[Wild Hoss]

We just won a knock-down, dragout fight with the crippled, wheelchair-bound kid up the street Sipple. Shut. The. Fuck. Up.

[Wild Hoss]

There's no dodging the bullet this week. Sparty is far and away physically superior, and they are well-rested. The last two meetings came when they had played Michigan and Wisconsin the two weeks prior...this time its off a bye week.

They also know that this game is for the division title, and possibly a springboard to bigger goals.