Another big weekend

News and notes as we kick off another big weekend in the North. Sorry about the delay this week...especially with so much turmoil in Huskerland.


* I was late off the blocks, but my good friends Matt and Husker Mike touched on this this week. It seems that the excuses are piling up like bon bons in Oprah's fridge down in Osborneland this week. So what is Kevin Cosgrove and company's excuse for getting blowtorched by the 2nd string QB from KU? Playing conditions? Offensive schemes? Fatigue? Nope...

It was too loud.

WHAT!?!?! I will give Jay Moore and company credit for being creative. TOO loud? Are you serious? I understand kids will say stupid stuff when a microphone is shoved in their face, and granted they are still just kids. but the scary thing is if you're Husker fan is that I'm sure it wasn't just them using this excuse for their shitty play. Enter Kevin Cosgrove, who apparently thought his team could stop Brad Smith last year by using the force or something. It's no secret that QB's in the past have torched Cosgrove's defenses in the past. However, the scary thing is that it's usually a guy who is mobile that does to torching. This time of course it was Adam Barmann, who will most likely never be confused with Michael Vick or Vince Young. Nonetheless, whatever he was trying to do sure as hell didn't work, nor was he able to match wits and make adjustments against the fat man in the second half.

* Although not in full-blown panic mode yet, it's amazing what one half of a home football game against Kansas will do to Husker fans. Even after the beatdown to USC, most Husker fans were feeling pretty good about their chances to win the north. Throw in a beatdown against 1-4 Troy (hell, even I thought Troy would be better than that), and Husker fan was actually feeling real good about his chances. But yet this week against a toothless defensive squad in Iowa State, most Husker fans are still rather confident. Not the overwhelmingly arrogant mob they were this time last week, but confident nonetheless.

My take on the weekend? It seems to me that ISU has a bad habit of playing to the level of their competition. There's no way you can pin your hopes on a team that needed a missed FG against Northern Iowa the previous week. But with that being said, the game is on TV at night...which in most cases is a good thing for the home team. (Unless of course it's "too loud" for the home defense to hear). The Huskers still have enough big play ability I think to catch ISU off guard, but ISU offensive coordinator Barney Cotton has had some success over the years with younger teams than this. With that being said, the Huskers will need big plays early and consistent play out of their bevy of mediocre running backs to win the game. Personally, I don't think that will happen, and the road to Big Red Perdition for Bill Callahan will continue with a 7 point loss to the Clones.

In other play, I actually like OU against Texas. I'm still not sold on Colt McCoy, although I have been wrong quite a bit this year. I like what Paul Thompson has done and figure it's about time for Mack Brown to revert to his choking ways in the Cotton Bowl. With that being said, KU beats A*M, Colorado smashes Baylor and Tech beats Mizzou by 10 in a high scoring game in Lubbock.

* The website redesign is going well and hopefully will be implemented in the next few weeks. Thanks in advance for your patience if suddenly things like kinda whack around here for a bit.

* Props to the HotHusker guy for trolling on my blog and setting me straight. I still don't understand how you can possibly tout yourself as the Anti-Husker. You're Ned Flanders compared to this site, but I think that's a given. Oh well...if anything we can all agree that the market for anti Husker propaganda is indeed strong, no matter how neutral or unbiased you may appear to be.

* Finally, what the hell is going on in Manhattan? I realize I'm a fan of an enemy team and I don't particularly have a lot of love for the Wildcats (even though we're brothers in hatred for all things Husker). But if anything, I've had great respect for what Bill Snyder built over there. Every year that goes by, it becomes more and more evident that what he did over there was in fact a miracle. How else can you explain building a power in a rural place like Manhattan, where you are battling with a basketball power for a fan base. Anyhow, 5 games isn't a whole long time to judge a new coach or a new system, but from the sounds of it, people are freaking out nonetheless. Unfortunately, KSU fan may have to deal with the same sort of thing that Husker fan is going through right now, and that is other teams taking years of frustration out on you for years of previous ass kickings. Most KSU fans that I've seen post here and about me on KSU message board threads seem to understand how this concept works. So for that, I for one wish them good luck, and even if you're going to be down for a while...don't forget who your enemy is (NU). And when you finally get back on your feet, be sure to take names. Hold grudges. It's the only way to live. Trust me. (That goes for you too Buff fan)

* The always favorite college hockey rant coming up tomorrow. (What's that you say?) Yes, college hockey.