The all-time NCAA leading rusher (7,962yds), Danny Woodhead, finally got his wish.  The ex-Chadron State running back is playing for Bill Callahan.  Sure, it's not at Nebraska, but they are on the same team, the New York Jets. 

Nebraska native, Woodhead,  was over-looked again and again by former Nebraska head coach Bill Callahan.  The only team Woodhead wanted to play for was Nebraska, just like all the other kids who play high school football in the state.  Woodhead is 5'7" and from Nebraska .  These were two facts that Callahan couldn't get past. 

Bill Callahan was hired by the Jets after getting fired by Dr. Tom Osborne in November '07.  Danny Woodhead signed a free-agent deal with the Jets.  I wonder what Woodhead thinks of Callahan for not giving him a chance and at the same time ruining his favorite team in Nebraska?  Is there any doubt that a running back with 4.38 speed, a vertical of 38.5", and 20 reps of 225lbs will have an impact on a team?  The Jets and the rest of the AFC East will find out soon.

Cornfused?  Let me help.

The most important week of college football for the Big XII is this week 11/17/07. 

The results of this week's match-ups will truly decide if the Big XII is in the National Championship Game.

(9-1)Oklahoma @ (7-4) Texas Tech

                                       VS.

(3-8) Iowa State @ (10-0) Kansas

                                     VS.

(9-1) Missouri @ (5-5) Kansas State

                             VS.

The fate of the Big XII in the National Championship game hinges on the outcomes of this weeks' games.  If *Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri win this week against their respective opponents, then the Big 12 is assured a representative in the National Championship Game. 

*Oklahoma has to beat Oklahoma State on 11/24 in order for Oklahoma to be considered for the NC game.

What happens to other colleges in the state when the premier school looks out of state for talent?  Just look at Nebraska for the answer. 

Over the last few years, the state of Nebraska has blossomed in the sport of football.  The Division 1 team, the Cornhuskers, may not have fared very well, but the rest of the state is doing just fine. 

Here is a list of the records of some of the other schools in the state.

Chadron State - Chadron, NE

2007 – 11-0 

2006 – 12-1

2005 – 4-6

2004 – 7-3

  University of Nebraska - Omaha, NE

2007 -- 10-0

2006 -- 8-3

2005 -- 8-3

2004 -- 8-3

 Nebraska Wesleyan – Lincoln, NE 

 2007 – 7-3

2006 – 7-3

2005 – 6-4

2004 – 5-5

Contrary to popular belief, there are football players in Nebraska.  California, Texas, and Florida have enough to justify the talent export of their states, but there are players in Nebraska if you look.  

http://www.cornnation.com/story/2006/12/13/22
3034/52

My case in point is a young kid by the name of Danny Woodhead.  This fantastic young man wanted nothing more than to play football at the college level.  Coming from North Platte, NE, of course he wanted to play for the Cornhuskers.  He ends up at Chadron State.  He also ends up with more than 7,555 yards rushing for his career.  Yes, that is a record.  That is the record for all divisions in the NCAA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Woodheada> 

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1200&u_
sid=10184578 

Over the bye-week that Nebraska is currently in, the Coaching staff is going to focus efforts in-state.  I wonder if this is Bill “as good as canned” Callahan’s idea or Tom Osborne’s?

Question:  What do you say about your quarterback after he throws for 510 yards and 7 touchdowns? 

A.  This kid is great and he played his heart out on Saturday.

B.  He has emerged as a team leader and proved it on Saturday.

C.  We couldn’t be happier with his outstanding performance.

D.  All of the above.

E.  The reason our quarterback did so well was because of the system I have set in place.  Anyone would have done as well because my system is the best.                                           
                

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1200&u_sid
=10183463  

 lhttp://www.theindependent.com/stories/11
132007/hus_huskcallahan13.shtm  

 http://journalstar.com/articles/2007/11/12/h
uskerextra/football/doc4738af2512ed3297191768.txt

 I have refrained from piling on the soon to be ex-head coach of Nebraska, but I guess I’m in a fightin’ mood.  After reading the articles above, I don’t think anyone would blame me.

I was one of his staunchest supporters for most of the year.  The 41-6 loss to Mizzou was enough for me to start to criticize, but I was not calling for his head.  I was calling for him to get the ship back on the right course.

Deplorable is the best word I can come up with to describe the behavior of this egomaniac that is the worst excuse of a coach I have ever seen.

 Let us put aside the “X’s” and O’s” for a minute.  I want to talk about Bill Callahan as a role model, as a father figure, as a nurturing head coach.  Maybe I am too touchy-feely, but part of the job of the head coach is to protect his kids.  A good head coach will take the bullets being fired from the media.  A good head coach will praise his players for outstanding performances.

Bill Callahan has a lot of growing up to do.  I pity the team he goes to after he gets $h!t-canned by a living legend.  Sorry about the language, but I am fired up and I want to make sure this comes across as true to my emotions as it can.  

The most anticipated game for the Big 12 North will be played 11/24 in Arrowhead Stadium against the Missouri Tigers and the Kansas Jayhawks.  If both teams can refrain from losing a game until then, then the ramifications of that game could be enormous. 

    Let us travel for a bit to the land of what ifs.  What if a 11-0 KU team beats a 10-1 Mizzou.  Does KU finally jump in front of the rest of the one-loss teams?  I say no.  What if KU pulls out a victory against Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game?  Will that be enough to catapult KU past any one-loss teams in front of the Jayhawks?  I would certainly hope so.  KU would have 2 top ten victories in as many weeks.  Do I think this will happen?  No.  I have my doubts that KU will make it past Oklahoma State much less Missouri and Oklahoma.   

What if Mizzou beats the Jayhawks and Oklahoma?  With one loss, will that be enough to propel the Tigers to the front of the one-loss line?  If the rankings stay as they are now, I would certainly hope that 2 wins against 2 top ten teams would count for something.  I would give more credit to this "what if" prediction because Missouri is playing well on both sides of the ball.  We know they have one of the best QBs in Chase Daniel, but they are now playing good defense to boot.

I think Oklahoma needs help in order to get to the National Championship Game.  They would only have one win over a top 10 team.  That would put them in the same boat as LSU, Oregon, Boston College, Arizona St, and West Virginia.  That is big pack of one-loss teams.  OU would stand out a bit because of the extra game for the Big 12 Championship.  LSU would not be playing a team as highly ranked as KU or Mizzou in the SEC Championship.  LSU should be rooting for Georgia right about now, but that is another blog for another person to write.

Who is the biggest fan of KU right now?  I would say Mizzou is pulling for the Jayhawks to win this week against Oklahoma State and Iowa State next week.  If Mizzou beats an undefeated KU and comes through on another shot at Oklahoma, then they have to be a lock for the National Championship Game.  Right?

Friends Forever (or at least until 11/24) 

 I have given my opinion on the current state of affairs in the Big 12 North.  For the record, I would like to say that the North has surpassed any expectations I had before the start of the season, but it does not seem to be deserving of two top ten teams. 

It is official.  The "End Times" are upon us.  Two of the Four Horsemen are wearing the school colors of Kansas and Missouri.  Quick!!  Hide the women and children!   Slaughter and store the pets for food.  There is something horribly bad going on and I don't think the Space-Time Continuum of our universe can contain the magnitude of the absurdity of it all!!! 

I don’t know how many of you remember, but I wrote a blog about how I thought the Big 12 North was the best division in college football.  My post was supposed to be a homeristic view of how ridiculous some of the conference cheerleaders sound after just a few games in the book.  A mild satire, if you will, with a bit of seriousness.  It was not supposed to be taken 100% serious.  Someone should have informed Kansas and Mizzou that I did not really mean for anyone to take my post to heart. 

The Big 12 North is the best division in college football.  At this late stage in the season, all teams have been road tested and tested at home.  There have been times where the outlook o####ame was in question and a team had to dig deep to find a way to win.  Missouri has only lost one game, much like LSU, Oregon, West Virginia, and Arizona State.  Missouri’s loss was to a team that has been in the top-10 all year.  All Kansas has done is put up gaudy numbers and won every single game.  I don’t care how bad Texas A&M is, College Station is a tough place to pull out a victory for a visiting team.   

FACT:  As of right now and for at least until the weeks end, the supposedly weak Big 12 Conference has three (3) top 10 teams in the BCS.  (Kansas – #4, Oklahoma – #5, Missouri – #6) Hmm.  That is interesting.  Two (2) of these teams are in the Big 12 North.  I remember seeing polls comparing conferences to one another and the Big 12 was 4th behind the SEC, PAC-10, and Big 10.  How did this anomaly come about?  How could the powers at be allow this kind of travesty? 

No one, and I mean no one, saw Kansas starting the season 9-0.  I will admit that even after they were 6-0 I had my doubts about their legitimacy.  The schedule the Jayhawks played left much to be desired for true competition.  Although, the manner in which they dominated these lesser teams made people start saying “maybe.”  Maybe they are good this year.  How good is this year’s batch of Jayhawks?  Good enough to be a legitimate top 10.  Good enough to make Oklahoma work for this year’s Big 12 title.  Good enough to put up 76 on a division 1-A team.  (Ok that maybe stretching it a bit; Nebraska’s defense is playing more like a preseason NBA team’s defense.) 

Where are the chinks in the mighty KU armor?  There are not any.  Some may look at this Nebraska game as a poor defensive showing.  Don’t believe that for a second.  Nebraska had it’s best showing on offense in years.  On the offensive side of the ball, Nebraska rallied around the new starting quarterback Joe Ganz.   I won’t even get started.  That would be an entirely different blog.  KU has 2 very good running backs, a quarterback that doesn’t make mistakes, a receiver corp. that would improve all but just a handful of offenses, and a rock solid defense. 

Missouri has been on the verge of having a breakout season for more than just a few years.  They have always been held back by the same thing, themselves.  Coach Pinkel has seemed to finally clear out all of the sel####oubt and insecurities of his team and he has them playing lights out at the right time.  This Missouri team should scare anyone who is on the field with them.  Chase Daniel is the real deal.  We have all known that for a number of weeks.  That is old news.  Hot off the press!!!!  Extra!! Extra!!  Missouri’s defense is ready to play football now. 

Mizzou’s defense was the subject to many a criticism.  “Was” is the important word here.  When the Tigers traveled down to Lubbock to face the high flying offense of the Texas Tech Red Raiders I was expecting an over/under of at least a 100.  Missouri held that juggernaut of offense to 10 points.  10 points!!  I was sold on the effectiveness of the Tiger defense ever since. 

Now, what does the future hold for the mighty Big 12 North?  Kansas and Mizzou play at Arrowhead on November 24th.  Before either one of these teams can begin to think about that match-up of Big 12 North titans, they each have 2 more games. 

Kansas has to play an improving Oklahoma State team that lost a heartbreaker against Texas last week.  This Cowboy team will certainly test the Kansas defense with a high powered, balanced offensive attack.  This talented OSU team seems to have the same problem Mizzou has had over the last few years.  They seem to beat themselves.  Unlike past Mizzou teams, OSU seems to start off weak and get stronger as the year goes on. Kansas will have another chance to show the country that they belong in the top-5.  This game is in Stillwater.  The next week, Kansas hosts the flailing Iowa State Cyclones.  This game would have “trap game” written all over it except Iowa State is the only team worse than Nebraska in the North.  (That hurt to say)

Mizzou has a little tougher road to follow.  The Tigers host aTm and travel to Manhattan to play Kansas State.  Mizzou will be the heavy favorite in each game.  In order to have a realistic shot at taking the Big 12 North crown, they have to win both of these games. 

Is Callahan getting a raw deal?  He has stated that he is not going to step down.  The new AD has said that he will not fire Callahan before the end of the season.  Ok.  So my feeble, little mind can at least put 1 and 1 together.  Callahan is, and will be, the head coach for Nebraska until the end of this season.

Is there a snowball’s chance in hell he can save his job? 

What if the impossible happens?  Nebraska runs the table.  Will that save Callahan’s job?  Is Osborne waiting until the end of the season so that Callahan can show improvement?  Is Osborne going to conduct interviews and read resumes until the day after Thanksgiving?

After a short 4 years at the helm, Callahan has managed to divide the Husker Nation like no one else before him.  Yes, even Lawrence Phillips did not fracture the fans and boosters as badly as Coach Callahan.  The once mighty Cornhuskers are a paper Mache shell of themselves.

It hasn’t been all bad.  The Huskers did win the Big 12 North during a down year for the division.  There is a wealth of “talent” coming into Lincoln.  According to Rivals.com, Nebraska has had much better recruiting classes since the Callahan regime.

Frank Solich had a very bad year by Husker standards (7-7).  He was seemingly given another shot to improve.  Solich cleaned his house so to speak.  Craig Bohl was the defensive coordinator and the biggest causality of the Solich regime.  Bohl was replaced by everyone’s favorite pasta dish, the Bo Pelini Alfredo.  That same 7-7 team went 9-3 the next year.  Solich was canned.  It would have seemed to come to light that the decision to fire Solich was made before the first snap of the ball of that 9-3 season.

Does Callahan deserve a chance to save his job?  Has it been predetermined that Osborne will hand Callahan a pink slip?