2 Average Guys

It’s that time of year again.  That hope and belief that the brutal dog days of summer will ease up and give us an early autumn, the leaves will start falling from the trees, harvest time will begin and Nebraska football will be undefeated, in the thick of the playoff hunt.  That’s a hope, and although it is a wonderful thing, it can break our hearts when reality hits us hard, especially when it relates to our beloved Cornhusker football team.  An entire generation has never known Nebraska as a national powerhouse the way many of us lived our entire lives until the firing of Frank Solich.  Every season has been a desperate attempt to cling to our pride, with the exception of the past decade.  It’s been the longest rebuilding process in history and it has taken its toll on all of us.  This offseason had a different feel and being a lifelong Husker fan that has lived in the beautiful Missouri Ozarks most of my life, I’d be remiss if I didn’t cling to the state motto of “Show Me.”  The coaches and players seem to have gotten the message from the fan base that we are done with hype videos and talk, we want results.  It’s been quieter this time around and that’s never a bad thing.  Results matter more than winning the interview and Matt Rhule, for the most part, has stuck to the basics of running a football program, not that there’s anything basic about today’s college football landscape.  I am a firm believer that we need to give him the time he needs to get this right and that may take a few more years.  We already know what happens when you fire a coach that makes the necessary adjustments by hiring good assistants, before they’ve had time to shine, thank you Steve Pederson.  

Now, let’s be honest about three things, most of us are focused on the offensive and defensive lines because you can’t win without that.  But the big one that has our attention is Anthony Collandrea, the kid’s electric and even though Big Ten is a Beast, he was the Mountain West Player of the Year last season.  He can stretch a play, make accurate and big passes, and the most intriguing, he isn’t afraid to tuck the ball and run, a trait we’ve not seen since T-Magic.  I know, I know, you all are saying what about Adrian Martinez, and yes he could run, but you always felt that he was restricted with how the coaching staff went about things.  They didn’t build his confidence, they damaged it.  

Other than T-Magic we haven’t had a qb just play, regardless of the outcome.  We’ve seen restrained play, and cautious confidence (an oxymoron, I know) that never got us anything.  At least Dylan Raiola was confident.  He made young qb mistakes but he also didn’t have a great offensive line or good feet.  Collandrea checks the box with confidence and that means he does come with interceptions, which if he can limit at least a little bit, he’ll be remembered by Husker Nation for a long time.  As a former coach and a current Athletic Director I always told my kids that if you’re going to make a mistake in a game, I’d rather you make it big once and learn from it than to make the same little mistakes over and over.  AC does know the game and how to run it, he just likes to take some chances.   It will bring us heartbreak at times, but it will also bring us Hope. 

• Joel