- The best coaching situation in America? You be the judge. What's his motivation to get back to the communist NFL?
- The USC Song Girls
- Sam Keller is back playing USC, this time in a different uniform. I'll take the 347 yards and 2 TD's, just hold back on those 5 int's.
And just get used to it, there's going to be more stories written about his game in Tempe, Ariz in 2005. Where he staked ASU to a 21-3 halftime lead over #1 and invincible USC, threw for 258 yards and a TD, took bows, fist pumped, and made a scene to the student section going into the locker room at halftime. Only to throw for only 100 more yards and 1 TD, with 4 INT's in the 2nd half, while watching Arizona State lose that lead and the game, 38-28.
By the way, I love all of the arrogance and confidence. If he did that Saturday, I wouldn't mind one bit.
The LA Times chimes in.
Square peg Keller comes full circle
Quarterback found he didn't fit in at Arizona State, where he was a rising star before a USC comeback and an injury derailed him. Now at Nebraska, he's about to get another shot at No. 1 Trojans.
By Chris Dufresne, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 11, 2007
LINCOLN, Neb. -- "Destiny is not a matter of chance," the quotation reads above the entrance to the Osborne Athletic Complex. "It is a matter of choice."
The phrase is credited to Nebraska politician and statesman William Jennings Bryan, but the words might as well be inscribed on a chain around the neck of Nebraska senior quarterback Sam Keller.
Two years ago, while starring at Arizona State, Keller disappeared into halftime at Sun Devil Stadium with a 21-3 lead over No. 1 USC.
Keller raised his arms to a jubilant student section on his way to the locker room. The upset victory was going to make Arizona State a national title contender and possibly make an All-American out of Keller.
A reporter for the Arizona Republic proclaimed "game over" in the press box and a reporter from Los Angeles scribbled the premature proclamation on his notepad.
Less than a year later, Keller woke up here, running Nebraska's scout team.
Bad dream?
"Probably the luckiest thing that's ever happened to me," Keller said.
Keller played that second half against USC in 2005 and had four passes intercepted, the last hitting star receiver Derek Hagan in the hands before the ball trickled somewhat miraculously into the arms of USC's Kevin Ellison, who made the game-cinching pick while flat on his back.
USC rallied to win, 38-28, and it was Keller's turn to go belly-up.
He suffered torn thumb ligaments the following week at Oregon, relinquished the job to Rudy Carpenter, then earned his starting spot back before the 2006 season, only to lose it the next day when Sun Devils coach Dirk Koetter, reportedly under pressure from players, gave the job back to Carpenter.
And that was Keller's cactus career.
He transferred to Nebraska, sat out last year, and will be in the huddle here Saturday night when No. 1 USC plays the Cornhuskers.
Nebraska is ranked No. 14 in this week's Associated Press poll.
Arizona State was No. 14 when it played host to top-ranked USC on Oct. 1, 2005.
"Kind of weird how it ends up," Keller said in a recent interview on campus. "You get another crack at a team that was, in actuality, your last point of success as a starter. . . . I never would have foreseen this."
Keller foresaw beating USC two years ago and leading Arizona State to the Pacific 10 Conference championship, if not the national title.
After stepping in for injured Andrew Walter to win most-valuable-player honors in the 2004 Sun Bowl -- he threw for 370 yards in a victory over Purdue -- Keller opened the 2005 season by passing for a school-record 669 yards in his first two games.
Forty touchdowns and 4,000 yards seemed possible. Keller might even have turned pro.
"That could have happened if I didn't get hurt, or that could have happened if I had beaten USC," he said.
Plans changed. Arizona State went one way and Keller went another.
Nebraska was running low on quarterbacks after touted prospect Harrison Beck transferred to North Carolina State.
"When he raised his hand to come, I said, 'Absolutely,' " Nebraska Coach Bill Callahan said of Keller.
What happened at Arizona State remains somewhat a mystery.
This is Keller's don't-want-to-talk-about-it version:
"It was a business decision they made, players and coaches alike," he said. "Me, I made my own decision . . . and that was not to stay there."
One story: Keller's teammates didn't trust him with the quarterback keys, so they revolted at a team meeting. Keller had a reputation as a partyer. There were posted pictures of him in the company of booze and girls.
The Omaha World-Herald, in a recent article, quoted an anonymous former Arizona State player saying a couple of seniors complained about Keller's off-field behavior and essentially "threw him under the bus."
There was another plausible theory that, if a choice had to be made between quarterbacks, Keller was more expendable. He had only one year of eligibility left compared with three for Carpenter, who might have transferred had Koetter stuck with Keller.
Keller, who turns 23 on Sept. 28, has never denied that he likes to socialize. He is of legal drinking age. When frequenting bars now, Keller is careful not to have a drink in his hand when someone snaps a picture.
He also says Internet stories regarding him were overblown.
Rather than beat the stories down, Keller said, he ignored them.
"You can't let it bother you or it will tear you up," he said. "Half the reason people say some of the things is they want a reaction out of you. They want to see you go in the tank, they want to see things get worse and worse. And the reason is, you were once way up there. And once you're on top they want to knock you off."
Keller knew there would be trust issues when he transferred into town. "You come to a place and you're new, and your picture is on the front page of the paper before you even get here," Keller said. "It's like, 'Who is this guy?' "
He couldn't just walk in here with his gunslinger reputation, so he made a calculated decision. "The minute I got here I went to work," he said. "I became a grinder."
Callahan knew about the rumors that trailed Keller from Arizona State.
"None of that factored in," he said. "People asked me the same thing you're talking about. I don't know what went on, I don't really care what went on. All I'm happy about is that he's here and playing for us."
Nebraska players said they would have been suspicious had Keller walked into town with an attitude.
"If he would have come in with a big head, he obviously would have shunned some guys," senior safety Bryan Wilson said. "Sam's not that guy. . . . He came in humble. He ran the scout team last year."
Wilson even did his own research on Keller.
"I knew a couple of guys who went to ASU," Wilson said. "Everybody said the same thing. He's a good guy. He wasn't arrogant; he was just a fun-loving guy who loves football."
Go to school, go to practice -- "books and ball," as Callahan says.
Isn't that how a new player earns respect?
"You just show them," Keller said. "Talk is cheap. Everything that circulated [in Arizona] was all talk, know what I mean? I just had to come here and be myself. The whole process made me realize how much I love football, and how blessed I was to have this second opportunity. Because it was taken and yanked away, and I've had to crawl my way back."
Keller has not been spectacular in victories against Nevada and Wake Forest. He is averaging 225.5 yards passing per game, with two touchdowns and three interceptions.
Part of Keller's problem in the past was that he sometimes took too many chances on the field -- that's the gunslinger in him. He has had to accept a more mature approach in Callahan's West Coast offense. But even Callahan says: "I don't want to kill his spirit. I told him, 'All I'm trying to do is get you to maintain your poise, keep you thinking ahead, keep you thinking through the job.' "
Unlike with the Arizona State team he led in 2005, Keller has a marquee tailback to lean on at Nebraska in Marlon Lucky, who is third in the nation with 323 yards rushing.
As far as destiny goes, well, Keller made his choice and it wasn't by chance.
And now top-ranked USC is coming back to town -- a different town.
Two years after Keller thought he'd flushed it all away that day in Tempe, the gunslinger gets one more shot here in Lincoln.
Don't expect any first-half fist pumps this time.
- From the Lincoln paper.
Keller gets second chance against USC
By BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star
Tuesday, Sep 11, 2007 - 09:11:20 am CDT
Held back by a fence and guys in security shirts, the boys found their best option to be shouting.
“Sam! Sam! Sam!”
Sam Keller emerged from the locker room and into the southern heat with a middling stat line: 24-for-41, 258 yards, one touchdown, one fumble, two interceptions.
And maybe those numbers weren’t good enough for some grown-ups back home, those people already unloading their Husker concerns onto blogs, message boards, radio shows, whatever. But it was sure as heck good enough for two red-shirted boys lining a fence in Winston-Salem, N.C.
“Sam! Sam! Sam!”
The Husker quarterback didn’t hear them. There were media types already converging on him to ask about the next game, that one against Southern California. Never mind it was only minutes after an exhausting 20-17 win against Wake Forest.
Keller said he’d like to enjoy the win for the night, but eventually he started answering questions about the No. 1 Trojans anyway.
The senior had played them, after all. And for one half at least, he had those Trojans scared.
This was back in 2005, before Keller transferred to Nebraska, back when he was at Arizona State.
He completed 26 of 45 passes for 347 yards and two touchdowns against the Trojans. He also threw five interceptions, four of them in a second half that saw USC rally to a 38-28 win.
Keller remembers plenty of it. You don’t forget the ones against teams like USC.
“We took what they gave us. We were patient. They want to keep the game in front of them, just like Wake Forest did,” Keller said. “And, at the same time, when you get down against them, there’s windows. You can hit those windows, but they close really fast.
“What happened against SC the last time I played them was I tried to hit windows and when their linebackers get a hand in the air ... those guys are so fast they’ll just jump up and take it (the ball).”
Keller had Sun Devil Stadium rocking that night, helping Arizona State to a 21-3 halftime lead against a USC team that featured Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush.
Then came the second-half interceptions. He told you about those windows. They close quick.
Despite his interceptions, then-ASU coach Dirk Koetter said after the game that Keller made some “beautiful plays.”
“I wouldn’t trade Sam for too many guys out there,” Koetter said that night. “I love the way that guy plays and he’s going to have plenty of great plays and plenty of big games over the next year-and-a-half.”
From Keller’s perspective, the Sun Devils gave it away.
“Yeah, that was a really talented defense and we had them. They couldn’t really stop us. If we just didn’t beat ourselves,” Keller said after that game. “But they were somehow always in position, in all of those plays.”
Arizona State was ranked No. 14 that night, the same ranking Nebraska holds today — four days before USC rides its white horse into Lincoln.
Husker coach Bill Callahan watched tape of that Arizona State game last year while scouting the Trojans, but not since.
He said Monday that the viewing was long enough ago he couldn’t offer you a proper evaluation of Keller’s play from the game, and he probably won’t watch tape of it again this week.
Why would he? Nebraska has a different offense than Arizona State. USC has different players.
Callahan also said there will be no special messages delivered from him to Keller this week just because it’s USC.
“Just the same message as we do week in and out. It’s no different,” he said. “This is a big game because it’s our next game. We’ve been real consistent in that regard. That’s our approach. That’s how we’ve always approached each week’s contest.”
Despite the miscues against Wake Forest, Keller said he played better in that game than his Husker debut against Nevada.
Husker offensive coordinator Shawn Watson agreed.
“He did a nice job of kicking himself around the pocket, making some nice throws,” Watson said. “He, like myself, knows that he needs to continue to improve and continue to get better, but he is. That’s the upside of it. He’s getting better every time he comes out.”
Until 10 days ago, Keller had gone close to two years without playing a game that counted. That didn’t stop expectations of Husker fans from soaring.
It was not beyond the hope of some that he might emerge as an equal to last year’s quarterback, Zac Taylor. Maybe he’d even be better. No small challenge, considering Taylor was the 2006 Big 12 offensive player of the year.
Of course, people forget how it began for Taylor. In his first two games as a Husker, his numbers were 29-for-69, one touchdown, three interceptions.
Keller’s first two games: 38-for-66, two TDs, three interceptions.
Good, not great. This week the numbers must be great.
When talking about the challenge, Keller called it a “big, big, big game.” Three bigs.
He said he loves big games.
Watson senses that, too. On Saturday, he was asked if he wished this game were played later, giving Keller more time to ready himself.
“Not really,” Watson said. “It falls when it falls. It’s time to go, man. It’s time to play it.”
- Nebraska injury report/practice notes
Red Report: Callahan tight-lipped on injuries
Monday, Sep 10, 2007 - 07:34:03 pm CDT
Husker coach Bill Callahan on Monday continued with his trend of not revealing much about Husker injuries.
The two injuries of interest right now are those of defensive tackle Ty Steinkuhler and safety Tierre Green.
The junior Steinkuhler, who injured a knee less than five minutes into the opener, made the trip to Wake Forest on Saturday. He even warmed up, but did not play a snap.
The senior Green, meanwhile, suffered a shoulder stinger in the third quarter of Saturday’s game and did not return.
Callahan revealed little more other than both players are “day-to-day.”
Getting the snaps in Green’s place was senior Ben Eisenhart, Culbertson native.
Eisenhart appeared to have a game-clinching interception Saturday, only to have it taken away after officials looked at a replay and said he trapped the ball.
“He’s a smart guy. He’s a tough guy,” Callahan said of Eisenhart. “And, of course, being from in-state, he’s a guy who just bleeds Husker red. He’s going to give everything he’s got.”
BY THE NUMBERS — 14: Nebraska’s ranking in both the Associated Press and USA Today Top 25 polls. It is the Huskers’ highest ranking since reaching No. 12 in the AP poll midway through the 2003 season.
SCOUTING REPORT -- CB Zack Bowman: Husker senior cornerback Zack Bowman is showing no ill effects of the major knee injury that put him on the shelf for almost five months this offseason.
The co-captain was second behind safety Larry Asante on the team in tackles Saturday, with seven.
Of course, the big play was his interception in the end zone with 6:05 left that helped preserve Nebraska’s 20-17 lead.
Wake Forest quarterback Brett Hodges lofted a pass to the corner of the end zone that went right to Bowman.
It was, as Callahan said, “the lift we needed to close them out.”
What happened on that play?
Nebraska was playing a zone coverage, dropping seven guys back.
“He was playing what we call a ‘sevens coverage,’ where basically it’s like a picket fence (in the secondary),” Callahan said. “I thought it was just a great play, understanding the nature of their route distribution, and making the play on the ball.”
OPPONENT WATCH -- Colorado: According to the Boulder Daily Camera, Colorado redshirt freshman Cody Hawkins suffered his first loss as a quarterback in 60 games on Saturday against Arizona State, dating back to his days of Pop Warner football.
The son of Colorado coach Dan Hawkins completed only 15-of-42 passes in the game for 155 yards. The Buffs only had 39 rushing yards and blew a two-touchdown lead in the 33-14 defeat.
“We had their wallet,” CU corner Terrence Wheatley told the Daily Camera. “We took their money and we gave it back to them with interest.”
- The Daily Oklahoman says Nebraska has a chance to put the final piece of the Big 12 credibility puzzle together by beating USC, after Texas and Oklahoma took care of their business last weekend. I'd say Nebraska's challenge is a tad stiffer.
Cornhuskers have final shot at putting Big 12 over the top
By John Helsley
The Oklahoman
Oklahoma's attention-getting rout of Miami delivered a much-needed blow in favor of the Big 12's reputation.
Texas did its part Saturday, too, halting the league's 17-game losing streak against ranked non-conference foes by rallying to knock off TCU in Austin.
Still, the Big 12's rep isn't all that. And just one final shot at some national pop remains — until at least December — for swaying perceptions of being overrated.
And it's a loooong shot: Nebraska's tangle with No. 1 Southern Cal on Saturday night.
Agree or disagree with those who say the Big 12 has been found lacking. But critics can back up their position with data.
Yes, seven Big 12 teams are ranked or receiving votes in at least one of the two major polls, with the Sooners and Longhorns each occupying spots in the top 10. But memories of that 17-game slump against ranked outsiders — stretching to the first three games of this season — and a 3-5 record last bowl season haven't dissipated on the strength of one decent weekend.
That will take more than OU walloping an unranked has-been or Texas taking down some BCS wannabe.
It'll take a statement game. So good luck, Huskers, it's up to you.
"I think it's a great competitive challenge for our football team,” Nebraska coach Bill Callahan said Monday, downplaying the matchup. "We've been in big games. We've played the Michigans and the Auburns and the Oklahomas and the Texases.
"And this is the next big game on our schedule.”
Oh, it's big all right.
ESPN and its College GameDay crew will be there, building up all day to the prime-time 7 p.m. kickoff. The rich traditions of both programs will be saluted. Lee Corso might even go completely wacky and waddle around inside the Herbie Husker suit.
And before the nation's eye, in some ways the Big 12 will be on the spot.
"I'm for the Big 12,” said OSU coach Mike Gundy.
Same at Missouri, even if the Tigers figure to fight it out with the No. 14 Huskers for North Division superiority.
"I want the Big 12 to win every game there is, I'll keep it at that,” Tigers coach Gary Pinkel said with a laugh.
Big 12 status is no laughing matter.
Oklahoma and Texas find themselves in the national title picture. One — the survivor of the Red River Shootout — figures to remain there.
Yet if come early December it becomes crowded at the top and unbeatens from the Pac 10, Big Ten, SEC or, say, a perfect West Virginia are involved, conference strength could become a factor in deciding the BCS championship game matchup.
And Nebraska-USC could swing the Big 12's fate — one way or the other.
- From the Tulsa paper.
Big 12 is hoping for fall of USC
BILL CALLAHAN did not endear himself to Oklahomans in 2004 when, after a loss to OU, he referred to Sooner fans as "hillbillies."
But OU fans -- and Big 12 coaches -- will be in a mood to give Callahan hugs and kisses Saturday night if the Nebraska coach can find a way to ambush top-ranked USC.
OU would like to see the Trojan horse toppled for obvious reasons. The Sooners have BCS title game ambitions and the path has fewer obstacles if USC, one of four teams ranked ahead of Oklahoma in the coaches' poll, absorbs a defeat.
The Big 12 would relish a Nebraska victory because the league needs luster restoration. Big 12 teams went 0-13 in nonleague games against ranked opponents last season.
The league helped itself last week, when Texas beat a ranked TCU squad and Oklahoma routed once-proud Miami, Fla., and Nebraska won a road game against defending ACC champ Wake Forest. Those cap feathers upped the Big 12's record to 18-6 this year against nonleague foes.
But nothing would re-establish the Big 12 as the real deal like a Nebraska victory over the alleged best team in the land.
Asked if he has a rooting interest in the USC-Nebraska game, Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said, "Not really, other than I am for the Big 12. I didn't know they played them this week. (P.S. Coaches are notorious for tunnel vision that requires 24-hour focus on their teams.) But we always, myself, I always want the Big 12 teams to win."
Callahan trotted out some coach-speak Monday. "This is a big game because it's our next game," he said.
But it's big for reasons other than that.
The nation is watching. ESPN's College GameDay crew is coming to Lincoln for the first time in six years.
Games like this don't occur very often in Corn Nation. This will mark the fourth time a top-ranked team will play the Cornhuskers on their turf and, for the first time, the opponent won't be OU. No. 1-ranked Sooner squads visited Lincoln in 1955, 1974 and 1978.
Callahan, whose record at NU is 24-15, needs a glorious conquest to secure approval from Husker fans who still miss classy champ Tom Osborne.
Callahan was granted a contract extension last week that runs through 2012. Said athletic director Steve Pederson, "In terms of what he's done for the program, he has certainly met or exceeded my expectations at this juncture."
But Husker fans would like to see Callahan do more. He is 3-6 vs. ranked teams and 0-5 vs. top 10 teams.
Is Nebraska capable of beating mighty USC? The Cornhuskers may have to get lucky -- make that Marlon Lucky -- to do it. The Trojans beat the Huskers 28-10 last season, holding Callahan's team to 211 total yards, including 68 rushing yards on 36 attempts.
Lucky, a junior I-back from North Hollywood, Calif., carried 10 times for 27 yards against USC last season. Now he ranks first in the Big 12 and fifth nationally in rushing yards (161.5 yards per game).
If Lucky can be a factor Saturday, perhaps the Huskers can hang with a team that Callahan says has no weaknesses.
"Our guys will compete," Callahan said. "That's all I'm interested in is to see is how hard we compete and, if we do that, I'll be satisfied."
-USC Notes
- A starting CB for USC is out for Saturday's game. And other USC notes from the LA Daily News.
USC cornerback Pinkard is sidelined
BY SCOTT WOLF, Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 09/10/2007 11:05:20 PM PDT
USC's secondary was dealt a potentially critical blow Monday when cornerback Josh Pinkard was believed to have torn ligaments in his knee, according to sources.
Officially, USC coach Pete Carroll said Pinkard was out for the Nebraska game and would need more examination by team doctors.
"There's more in there than what we thought," Carroll said.
But sources said Pinkard tore ligaments in his left knee, the opposite knee he tore ligaments in last season. Pinkard redshirted last year, so this injury would be costly because he would have just one year of eligibility remaining.
He was considered so impressive in training camp at cornerback that he switched from safety and was named the starter ahead of Cary Harris, who started 11games last season.
"Josh is an incredible athlete and he seems to be a more dominant athlete on our practice field at corner," Carroll said.
What noise? Traveling to Nebraska is considered one of the toughest road experiences in college football, but Carroll sounded unfazed by the challenge.
"We've dealt with this for years," he said, referring to recent trips to Arkansas, Notre Dame, Kansas State and perhaps the loudest crowd, a game against Virginia Tech at FedEx Field in Landover, Md.
USC is expected to pipe in crowd noise at practice this week to help prepare for Nebraska, which is a Carroll standard whenever the Trojans play a tough road game.
As if a trip to Nebraska is not enough, ESPN will bring its College GameDay show to Lincoln. USC is the first team ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll to visit Nebraska since 1978, when top-ranked Oklahoma was upset by the fourth-ranked Huskers.
Tailback rotation: C.J. Gable will start again against Nebraska with Stafon Johnson as the backup. Chauncey Washington, who missed the Idaho game with a sprained shoulder, will try to get cleared by doctors today but is expected to play sparingly.
Freshman Joe McKnight should also see more time because his sprained knee feels better.
"We're hoping to use him," Carroll said. "He's looking better out there."
Green hopeful: Tailback Broderick Green, who suffered a stress fracture in his foot, said he hopes to play this season even though he will be out at least another month.
"No, I'm not going to redshirt," Green said. "I'll have the boot off my foot in a couple weeks so I think I'll be playing."
Quick comeback? Center Matt Spanos, who tore a triceps muscle before the Idaho game, will try to practice this week but is not expected to play.
Back to grass: USC practiced on FieldTurf on Monday even though Carroll disdains it.
"I can't get used to liking it but the players don't seem to mind," he said.
The Trojans return to Howard Jones Field today and Wednesday.
- Good piece on a Nebraskan in Iraq.
Big Red is golden for those serving red, white and blue
Matthew O'Brien grew up in Oshkosh, Neb., population 762, and the self-proclaimed, "Goose Hunting Capital of Nebraska." The local hospital has exactly 10 beds. The newspaper publishes once a week. The nearest major airport is 220 miles away in Denver.
"The middle of nowhere," says O'Brien, 22.
Maybe that's why O'Brien enlisted in the Army in 2004 and became a paratrooper -- 82nd Airborne, 2nd Battalion of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Delta Company. He did a tour of duty in Iraq three years ago and was deployed to Afghanistan in February. Afghanistan is where he lost the vision in his right eye and suffered partial sight loss in his left eye.
"I don't think they can fix it," he says. "I've been to doctors in Germany, San Antonio, Washington, D.C. They're trying to do the best they can. It kind of sucks because I was right-eye dominant."
Kind of sucks? But this is Spc. Matthew O'Brien for you. Never met a day he didn't like. Glass-entirely-full type of guy. E-mail address begins, "OB1hotstuff. "
"I just serve my country," he says. "Some people do different jobs and I chose this one."
Through it all -- in tiny Oshkosh … in Iraq … in Afghanistan … and now at the Womack Army Medical Center in Fort Bragg, N.C. -- there has been one red-and-white constant in O'Brien's life: Nebraska football.
Even though Oshkosh is closer to the Wyoming and Colorado state lines than it is to the Nebraska campus in Lincoln, O'Brien is a child of the corn. He knows more about Cornhuskers football than its coach, Bill Callahan. Maybe even more than the great Tom Osborne himself.
Eric Crouch this. Scott Frost that. Is there a detail of any Nebraska game that O'Brien doesn't know?
It didn't matter if he was in the Middle East or the middle of nowhere, O'Brien never forgot about the team he loved. And as it turns out, Nebraskans never forgot about him, either.
This is where Art Ladenburg, NU Class of '60, comes in. Ladenburg lives in Fairfax, Va., and spent 30 years in the CIA. He knows a little something about special ops.
Ladenburg is nuts about the Cornhuskers. He knew Nebraska was playing at Wake Forest on Sept. 8, knew that Groves Stadium seats less than 30,000 fans, and knew tickets would be at a premium (for ACC games, Wake is required to provide the opposing school with 4,300 tickets; for the Nebraska game, just 3,000 tickets for 15,000 requests). So he bought a Wake Forest season ticket. And he wasn't the only NU fan to pay anywhere from $99-$190 for the Demon Deacons' six-game home package.
"We're a little crazy here in Huskerland," Ladenburg says.
But in a good way. Nebraska fans give a standing O to the opposing team, win or lose, at the end of every game. They're not college football's most patient fans, but they're the most polite. Even most of their hate mail is nice.
"The greatest fans in all of college athletics," says Randy York, Nebraska's associate athletic director. "Nebraskans are good-hearted people who do good-hearted things."
Ladenburg is one of those people. He noticed that the Sept. 15 Wake Forest opponent was none other than Army. Bing. "There must be a military hospital nearby," he said to himself.
There was: the Womack Army Medical Center, home of the Warrior Transition Battalion. The WTB includes 345 soldiers, some of whom underwent single-limb amputations, or suffer from mild traumatic brain injury (TBI), or, in O'Brien's case, have experienced acute loss of vision.
Ladenburg decided to donate the Army ticket from his Wake Forest season-ticket package to the wounded soldiers at Fort Bragg. Then he posted his idea on a Nebraska football fan Web site. Before long, dozens, then hundreds of Huskers fans were pledging their Army tickets to the WTB.
"Fans have actually gone out and bought more [Wake Forest] tickets," Ladenburg says. "What group deserves it more than those guys?"
At last count, Nebraska fans have donated about 200 tickets. They'll spring for more as soon as they hear there's 345 Warriors.
"The amount of participation for this is extraordinary," says Lt. William Bishop, who coordinates operations for the battalion. "It's one of the largest contributions we've had."
On Wednesday at Fort Bragg, a first sergeant asked members of the Warrior Battalion, "Anybody here from Nebraska?"
"Yes, sir," O'Brien said. "I'm from Nebraska."
"Well, there's some people who want to talk to you. They have some tickets for a Nebraska game. You want to go?"
Are you kidding? Does a Husker wear red and love lard? Of course, O'Brien wanted to go.
O'Brien can't drive a car because of his eyesight, so a friend from the base shuttled him 2½ hours from Fort Bragg to Winston-Salem. Nebraska fans invited him to a party Friday night, and on Saturday he watched (sort of -- his eyesight made it difficult to even read the scoreboard) the Huskers beat Wake, 20-17. It was the first Nebraska game he had ever attended in person.
"This is a dream," he says.
Now he has a ticket for the Army game.
"And I got lucky on that one too," he says. "The guy who had the tickets didn't know I was already going to the Nebraska game. When I told him -- and offered to give him back the Army tickets -- he said, 'No, no, you look like you love football more than I do.'"
He does, which is why he'll happily take whatever seat they give him Saturday afternoon at Wake. And if the traffic isn't too bad, he might make it back to Fort Bragg in time for the second half of the USC-Nebraska game.
Whatever happens, O'Brien says he owes Nebraska fans a handshake.
"Cornhusker fans, you can't beat them," he says. "I hope I get a chance to thank everybody."
Actually, Matt, it's the other way around.
- Picks O'the Day
Yesterday - 4-2
YTD - 144-131
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