My 2 Cents
10/6/08
Missouri Game

Commentary by David Max

To say watching the game on TV was painful is an understatement to say the least. It was more painful than watching the game at Missouri last year. What effect it has on the team remains to be seen. It won't be any easier in Lubbock this Saturday. The "I told you so's" are flying around the BBS and coaches and players are getting thrown under the bus left and right. So much for the patience that Tom Osborne told us we were going to need when he spoke at the CAL4NE Founder's Day dinner last January. I remember he said it's going to take "at least of couple of years" to get back to where we were. The big question is whether the Nebraska fan base which is so thirsty for a return to relevance that they will give the staff and the players that time to develop.

To complicate things, Chase Daniel decides to throw the entire team under the bus with his claim that a player spit on him prior to the start of the game. It seems a little odd that in this You Tube world there is no documentation to back up his statement. Coach Pelini addressed it head on and after one day it has been investigated by both coaches and according to Coach Pinkel it's a "dead issue." Coach Pelini made the following statement: "We investigated it and addressed the allegations," he said today. "It's a moot issue. It's a lot of he said, he said." Full article here at the OWH web site.

Regardless of whether it is a dead issue or not, Chase Daniel has managed to damage the Nebraska reputation as the story was carried by all the national media outlets and the perception will remain that Nebraska is a team of "dirty players" now matter what the two head coaches say. Right after the game I had a lot of respect for him after what he has done to Nebraska the last two years. Now, not so much.

Let's hope the team and coaching staff puts this all behind them and moves on. There is another game next week against a quality opponent on their home field and we all know what happened there four years ago. I was going to quote some comments from the BBS but I just settled on this one: "I hope none of the team reads this drivel."

Just my 2 cents. What about yours?

GO BIG RED!!!