PELINI BROTHER'S MELTDOWN OVERSHADOWS BRILLIANT HUSKER EFFORT
The effort the Nebraska defense put forth Saturday night in the Big-12 Championship game was amazing. The Pelini brothers, Bo & Carl, crafted a superior gameplan & their players carried it out to near perfection. Unfortunately, the meltdown that occurred in the proverbial "heat of the moment", was shameful. I understand they feel like they got screwed, anyone who loves a particular team has probably experienced this heartache. The officials decision to put one second back on the clock at the end of the game, allowing the Longhorns to kick a 46-yard field goal to win the Big-12 title & earn a trip to the BCS Championship game against Alabama. I told Linda at the time Colt McCoy threw the ball out of bounds, there should be one second on the clock. After reviewing the game video, the replay officials as well as the game referee agreed & one second was put on the clock. Big-12 Commissioner Dan Beebe & director of officials, Walt Anderson both said the decision was correct. No one I heard over the weekend thought the decision was incorrect.
I hadn't heard the Pelini's outburst until this morning & I have to tell you, they need to apologize to the Texas players. After the game was over, Bo & Carl started up the tunnel, Carl stopped & went back to the tunnel entrance & screamed "you should be ashamed to accept that Trophy." According to Dirk Chatelain of The Omaha World-Herald, Pelini shouted this insult 3 times & then engaged a Texas fan in a confrontation. Carl Pelini began screaming at the assistant A.D. "get coach Osborne down here, get Walt Anderson in here right (expletive) now!" Before entering his locker room, Bo shouted "this is the BCS, that's why they made that call!" This is where being angry morphs into being idiotic. If this decision was made for BCS consideration, the Big-12 would want 2 teams in, not just one. The Big-12 shares all bowl game revenues equally, having Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl(where they would have gone, had they won) & Texas playing Florida in the Sugar Bowl in an unofficial 'runner-up bowl', would mean an additional $3 million for the conference. So that idea just doesn't hold water & it make Pelini look like a hot headed maniac.
Bo, your team played their asses off, they certainly deserved to win the game, but the officials didn't kick the ball out of bounds, giving the 'Horns their start at the 40-yardline. The officials didn't commit the horse collar foul that was clearly the correct call. If they hadn't committed those mistakes, they probably would have won the game. But they did make those mistakes in Texas' last possession & it cost the Cornhuskers the game. It was that simple. I know the pain, I felt it when Colorado was mistakenly given 5 downs inside the 1-yardline. I felt it when Nebraska got a kicked ball caught for a touchdown that tied the game when, if the official made the right call, Nebraska loses the game. I know the pain, but I'd never take it out on the Nebraska players, I've said here before, I can be a really annoying winner, but I'm not a sore loser. Reading some of the comment boards used by Nebraska fans would lead a person to believe what happened Saturday night was a conspiracy. They remind me of Afghan War protesters & their signs that read "No Blood for Oil". The only oil in Afghanistan is of the canned variety bought in a gas station, there's not a drop of it in the ground. But that's another argument.
The Big Red were the 'bully on the block' for so many years, their fans grew to expect it & now that they're closing in on those days again, I have 3 suggestions for the Nebraska faithful. One, find some offensive skill players & find them quickly. Two, find a few more Ndamakong Suh's, or at least a couple that are 80% the player he is. Three, calm down, be patient & get the Pelini brothers a chill pill, if they continue down the road they've been on, blowing up all the time, they'll never last.
I hadn't heard the Pelini's outburst until this morning & I have to tell you, they need to apologize to the Texas players. After the game was over, Bo & Carl started up the tunnel, Carl stopped & went back to the tunnel entrance & screamed "you should be ashamed to accept that Trophy." According to Dirk Chatelain of The Omaha World-Herald, Pelini shouted this insult 3 times & then engaged a Texas fan in a confrontation. Carl Pelini began screaming at the assistant A.D. "get coach Osborne down here, get Walt Anderson in here right (expletive) now!" Before entering his locker room, Bo shouted "this is the BCS, that's why they made that call!" This is where being angry morphs into being idiotic. If this decision was made for BCS consideration, the Big-12 would want 2 teams in, not just one. The Big-12 shares all bowl game revenues equally, having Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl(where they would have gone, had they won) & Texas playing Florida in the Sugar Bowl in an unofficial 'runner-up bowl', would mean an additional $3 million for the conference. So that idea just doesn't hold water & it make Pelini look like a hot headed maniac.
Bo, your team played their asses off, they certainly deserved to win the game, but the officials didn't kick the ball out of bounds, giving the 'Horns their start at the 40-yardline. The officials didn't commit the horse collar foul that was clearly the correct call. If they hadn't committed those mistakes, they probably would have won the game. But they did make those mistakes in Texas' last possession & it cost the Cornhuskers the game. It was that simple. I know the pain, I felt it when Colorado was mistakenly given 5 downs inside the 1-yardline. I felt it when Nebraska got a kicked ball caught for a touchdown that tied the game when, if the official made the right call, Nebraska loses the game. I know the pain, but I'd never take it out on the Nebraska players, I've said here before, I can be a really annoying winner, but I'm not a sore loser. Reading some of the comment boards used by Nebraska fans would lead a person to believe what happened Saturday night was a conspiracy. They remind me of Afghan War protesters & their signs that read "No Blood for Oil". The only oil in Afghanistan is of the canned variety bought in a gas station, there's not a drop of it in the ground. But that's another argument.
The Big Red were the 'bully on the block' for so many years, their fans grew to expect it & now that they're closing in on those days again, I have 3 suggestions for the Nebraska faithful. One, find some offensive skill players & find them quickly. Two, find a few more Ndamakong Suh's, or at least a couple that are 80% the player he is. Three, calm down, be patient & get the Pelini brothers a chill pill, if they continue down the road they've been on, blowing up all the time, they'll never last.
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