Morning Walk-thru - Sea of Red is Roiling

Mizzou ain't USC...Steve Hanway of BigRedNetwork.com had an interesting article yesterday ranking each game of the 2007 Nebraska football schedule in order of importance. His argument is that Big 12 North games trump Big 12 South games which trump non-conference games. I assume this is because that's the path of least resistance to the Big 12 Championship game and the automatic BCS berth.

I disagree and that's not a critique of the piece because the logical part of me--three digits on my left hand, if you're interested--tells me that he's probably right. The competitive part of me--everything minus those three digits--says screw that.

Nebraska has a chance to make a significant splash right off the bat with their non-conference schedule, playing pesky Nevada, resurgent Wake Forest on the road and damn USC. In the grand bowl/Big 12 scheme of things, USC doesn't mean much. The Cornhuskers won't be favored so should they lose, no biggie.

But it is big. Beat USC and Nebraska is a factor in the national title race in week three, which means nothing when it comes to actually playing in the game, but it means everything in terms of fan faith. Even if it only lasted a week, Nebraska would be THE story. Return to glory. Hail to the chief. All that jazz. And even if you lose that game and all the fancy headlines it would bring, Texas still looms and it could be even more important in terms of recruiting Big 12 country and future success.

Is winning the North an achievement? Sort of, considering 2004 and the WCO overhaul, but I'm not that patient. I expect Nebraska to be a national factor next year because, well, that's what Nebraska used to be year in and year out and beating USC and/or Texas can put us there at least temporarily, something going 5-0 in the North won't do.

Does that mean I'm willing to wager the Big 12 North for a win against the Trojans or Texas? No, but I don't have to. I can settle for winning the division after we've already played our entire non-conference schedule plus the Longhorns. I just want to "concede the conference to Texas" before it's even started. Missouri will be there later.

So here's how I rank the 2007 slate of games right now:

1. USC - Just like last year, we shouldn't win this game. We're not ready, but it's a Super Mario warp zone that could take us straight to level 8-1. That's a big leap.
2. Texas - You want to really recruit Texas? Knock off the Longhorns.
3. Missouri - As big as it should get in the North.
4. Nevada - Home opener, first look at the new QB. (More on that later.)
5. Kansas St. - Need to keep the Cats in there place.
6. Texas A&M - Aggies are on their way back, but Nebraska has owned them thus far.
7. Wake Forest - Tough road game for a QB in his second start. Good test before the Trojans.
8. Oklahoma State - The Cornhuskers won't get much out of beating OSU at home...except revenge for taking a major gouge out of the 06 season.
9. Colorado - Trips to Folsom Prison are always so much fun. Expect Hawkins to have the Buffs running by then.
10. Iowa State - Want to flip them and Kansas? Go ahead.
11. Kansas - See above.
12. Ball State - Only significant if we lose and I refuse to consider that possibility.

Is that the smart approach? Not at all, but it's a hell of a lot more fun and, as you'll see in the next segment, I'm not that smart anyway.

The Curious Case of Sam Keller...Tim Griffin of the San Antonio Express-News had a good piece detailing Nebraska's tumultuous off-season and the battle for the starting quarterback job on ESPN.com yesterday.

If you've been following the story, you know that Joe Ganz and, to a lesser extent, Beau Davis, have been pushing the perceived favorite, Keller, in spring practice. Whether or not this is actually true or not is debatable because Bill Callahan has never said anything meaningful regarding the current or future state of the team in public, but it really doesn't matter whether coach is playing it close the vest or simply bluffing.

The choice is Keller.

It has to be. Let's recap how Keller got here: in 2006 he gets the starting job at Arizona State, loses it a day later, decides to transfer and has three days to select a school. He chooses Nebraska because of its vibrant academic community, unbeatable climate, and beautiful campus. (Maybe the fact that Zac Taylor was a senior also had something to do with it.)

The point is, he came here to play. That's his expectation and everyone else's, including his marginally crazy father. Would it be a shame to give the job to a kid because he's a noted hot-head or if he was less deserving after weeks of evaluation or simply to avoid the exact same situation that happened at ASU last year? Yes, it would be a shame, but it might not be wrong.

I think it would be more damaging to the team and the 07 season to have Keller start the season on the bench with egg on his face. This is a national story, and the primary reason most pundits think Nebraska can be better than last year under a new QB is because that new QB put up some pretty sparkly stats in a pretty good football conference.

So let him prove everyone wrong. Let him play his way out of favor in action that the finicky fans can actually see. If Ganz is the right guy, we will know that before Ball State rolls into town and there's still time to right the ship.

Bending to the fragile ego of a 20-something man-child and purposely punishing a kid, Ganz, who's done everything that's been asked of him is wholly ridiculous. I hate myself for even posing the question, but it seems preferable to having a sulking Sam on the sidelines and a QB controversy to start the season.

How many games did the Sun Devils win last year?

Caribbean Stud superior to Pai Gow Poker...In Dice-K's big Fenway debut, it was Felix Hernandez who stole the show, taking a no-hitter into the 8th and getting a one-hit shut out.

It's not like Dice-K was bad, just a little off. He only walked one, and allowed three runs through seven complete. Of course, this will seem like the end of the world in Boston.

Dillon wins State!...No shock there, but a bit of a surprise because Friday Night Lights was granted a temporary reprieve from the executioner's chair as NBC picked up the show for an additional six episodes.

That's good because the show left us with the big Coach Taylor cliffhanger, but perhaps more interesting is the fact that half of the major players in the show were seniors. Where do they go from here?