'It Is Finished'

This weeks' plethora of activities surrounding Thanksgiving did not allow time for my usual Husker football commentary and prediction before gameday. My thoughts on the game would have been way off anyway, as I felt as though Nebraska had found something to build on after throttling Kansas State a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday's final in Boulder was an excruciating 65-51 in favor of Colorado, leaving the Huskers with a mark of 5-7, unqualified for a bowl game, and a second losing season in just four years under Bill Callahan. It has been an awkward, painful ride under Callahan's guidance over the past four years, and especially this season. It took me quite a long time to figure out that Callahan was never quite the right fit for NU. Funny how winning, or even the anticipation of, will cloud the vision of even the most tenured and knowledgeable fan, but looking back over the past four years, I can now clearly see, even in Callahan's successes, how he was just not quite right for Nebraska.

The 2007 Nebraska Football campaign came to an end as the final second ticked off the clock in Boulder yesterday, and Athletic Director Tom Osborn wasted no time in meeting with the coaching staff this morning, then announcing the end of the Callahan and Company era at NU. The national search for a new coach has begun, and with all of the college football resignations and firings across the nation, I'm not even going to begin to speculate as to who might be our next coach. I have my hopes, and a couple of ideas in mind, but I'm just going to sit back and watch it unfold. I admit my exhaustion and numbness after what has transpired this season, which probably means I put way too much into Nebraska football. What can I say? I love the sport itself, and I love the Huskers even more. It's just who I am. I will anxiously follow the search for a new head coach, and will anxiously await a decision, but I'm not interested in slicing and dicing the possibilities and scenarios. I'm tired, and ready to move on from this torturous and disappointing season.

I will say this in farewell to Callahan: he's a fighter to the bitter end. I think he's handling all of this with as much class as a person in his position can, as it is not an easy task to be a head football coach at Nebraska. Callahan never blamed his players or his staff for the downward spiral of the program, and rarely looked for an excuse. He coached right to the very end, which was evident in yesterday's game. With 30 seconds to go in a game that had been decided several minutes before, Callahan's head was buried in his playsheet in an effort to find one more score. He was successful, as QB Joe Ganz hit senior wide-receiver Maurice Purify for a touchdown. To most of the college football world, that last score meant nothing, and may have even been laughable. But to Callahan and his players, it was a tiny ray of light in what has been an abysmal season at dear ol' Nebraska U. It was a fight to the bitter end. God-speed, Coach Callahan, and I sincerely wish you luck in whatever the future holds for you.

And so begins the off-season, and the opportunity to watch, wait, and anticipate. The program will go in a different direction, no doubt. Which direction and under whose guidance remains to be seen, but I can already feel a sense of fresh air. New coach, new system, same expectations. Hang on folks, the new ride begins here and now.

GO BIG RED!