Into the Den of Sin...

...And out with a win! Thank you Buffs fans for making Friday's shocking domination by the Huskers (biggest upset against the spread in NU history) that much sweeter with your embarrassing performance on national television. Folsom Prison resembled the old Cleveland Stadium dog pound as CU's student section lobbed anything that wasn't tied down onto the field, resulting in numerous stoppages of play and an entire section of fans being cleared out, something I've never seen before.

The Big Red faithful who made the trip to Boulder couldn't have been happier crusing back on I-76 to The Good Life with the first big win of the Billy C. era in their back pockets. And it wasn't just an upset, it was domination. I almost forgot what it felt like.

The Blackshirts kept the black-shirts off-balance all game, pitching a shutout after giving up a field goal on the opening drive of the game. The West Coast Offense showed what it was capable of, dinking and dunking all over the field, throwing more 8-yard outs than I thought possible. Taylor may not be the most mobile QB, but he can scramble when he needs to (a' la Elway) and fire that freakin' pigskin. Now, I'm not comparing Taylor to Elway, just the way he runs with that same broken-gait, like a horse with only one horseshoe, but he still, somehow, grabs seven yards.

Enough gushing, I'm trying not to get too high after one win. I've been vocal in my disdain for Coach Callahan, and while this game certainly gives me hope, we have to keep things in perspective. I wasn't sold on Callahan from the start, but now I'm open to the possibility.

Call that what you want, the Husker radio shows and message boards have been ablaze with grousing from some fans who viewed the Big Red dissenters as bandwagon jumpers. But I find it hard to believe questioning the direction of the program to be a case of getting out when the going ain't good. I've never stopped wearing my Husker gear, I hurt after every loss and watch with as much earnest hope for a win as I always have. I, and the Billy C. detractors, were never off the bandwagon, just doing a bit of backseat driving.

But now, maybe we're on the right path, so forgive me if I'm excited. This is what we all wanted. In the heat of the moment, maybe some people wanted Callahan to fail, but I think the majority simply wanted to see some improvement, wanted to see the Bugeaters back where they used to be.

It's foolish to think that they're there, but at the same time you can't undermine the importance of this game. It was on national television, up against nothing except the second half of LSU-Arkansas. The Buffs rowdies made Nebraska look at least 25% better than they already did with their antics. It bumped Nebraska up a few notches on the bowl game totem pole, and, while we had already secured a bowl bid and the valuable extra month of practice the week before, this win ensured that there would be excitement heading in to December, both within the state and the program itself.

It's tough to explain the inconsistency in Nebraska's season. They floundered early against the cream-puffs, then had a big win over Iowa State. (Sorry, Iowa, we did what we could! What a weird two days for the Great Plains states. Iowegians rooting for Nebraskans. Coloradans pulling for Kansans, and the two teams with the least at stake, getting the wins!) The Rattlesnake Boys arguably played their two best games agains the best teams on the schedule, Tech and OU, both losses. But then they were embarrassed at Mizzou and KU, who, while traditional Big 8 fodder for the Big Red, are both bowl eligible this season. K-State was ugly and then there was Colorado.

Nobody, including myself, expected to see what we saw on Friday. And guess what happened? For the first time the state of Nebraska shared something with Bill Callahan. We saw post-game tears from Bill and finally it felt like he cared about Nebraska football as much as we do. This may have always been the case, but for whatever reason, Billy C. chose not to show it. He played the part of cool, calculating outsider to a T.

Why? I don't know. I said all along that if Callahan would simply show some feeling, acknowledge that we're struggling on the road back together rather than take the sometimes indignant, sometimes combative approach, that that would buy him more time with the citizens of Husker Nation than any win.

We achieved both those things at CU. Nebraska got the win and we got to know our coach a little bit. There's still work to do, a bowl game and the recruiting that follows will be instrumental in any future success. But for the first time in a long time, I won't dread going to work.

P.S. When I was thinking about this post, it was remarkable how much this season has resembled every Cubs season of the past three years. One day I'm totally confident, the next totally desolate. It's a terrific/horrific existence, but that's sports. God knows Hollywood can't give you such emotional swings.