Old School

One good video, featuring a couple of old bastards that have more fire than 99 percent of today's football players who hug at the 50-yard line after every game.

Speaking of the NFL, PYB is giddy with anticipation as we await today's Clash of the Titans as Matt Leinart and Blaine Gabbert go head-to-head. God only knows if yards per attempt will eclipse the 3.5-yard mark today.

If this matchup isn't enough for you today, you're also blessed with and undercard of Rex Grossman v. Tarvaris Jackson, Christian Ponder v. Matt Ryan, Cam Newton v. Curtis Painter, Caleb Hanie v. Carson Palmer, Mark Sanchez v. Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Josh Freeman v. Matt Hasselbeck. Looks like a good day to start and finish your Christmas shopping or to wrap up any other annoying family commitments.

Recapping and Christmas Rapping

--Solid 76-64 win for Nebraska basketball over South Dakota State, who had given Georgia and Minnesota trouble so far this season. Bo Spencer racked up 18 points, but more importantly had eight assists and just one turnover. Christopher Niemann played three minutes -- so much for the 15 that Doc Sadler guaranteed he'd play the day prior.

Onward to a Wednesday matchup against Wake Forest, who was most recently seen getting blasted by an average Arizona State team in an Old Spice Classic consolation game.

--Nice to see Roy Williams has started getting outcoached already this season. The Orleans Arena has always been known as a snakepit...white trash blackjack players and $3.99 steaks that resemble the sole of an old cowboy boot.

--Nice to see the Nebraska volleyball team has started its annual choke. Usually, they wait until the NCAA Tournament to melt down. This year the gals decided the first round of the conference tournament would suffice. So...under Title IX.....if NU blew its number-one seed and between two to four home games in the NCAA tournament, do the women have to pay back the lost revenue? Just wondering.

--PYB chimes in with a quick recap of the boring Iowa football game, an epic 20-7 battle that gave NU its first win of the contrived Heroes series. A game where the Hawkeyes barely tried to score. At least Penn State had an excuse with its horrible offense. Iowa didn't even try and certainly forgot the tried-and-true formula. Throw random deep balls over and over against any DB besides Alfonzo Dennard and get at least 14 points a game from it.

Nebraska won because of its three good players -- Rex Burkhead (overused), LaVonte David, and Dennard. Other than that, it was four quarters of completely unremarkable football. The only watchable part of the game was the Dennard v. Marvin McNutt matchup, which was a first-round TKO. Welcome to the Big 10.

In another side note, LaVonte David has racked up 274 tackles with one game to go in his all-too-short NU career. To put it in perspective, if he had two more seasons he would beat Barrett Ruud's career tackles mark by at least 100. PYB would give anything to see Ruud's name wiped from the record book, as he was one of the most overrated NU players ever. Considering how many times he saved the Blackskirts this season and that he made game-saving plays against Ohio State and Penn State, David may be one of the most underrated.

The game, however, did leave us with a clear big picture of the future. Next year will be rough, with an already porous defense losing its only two good players. The offense will be the same. Same shitty QB. Same menagerie of RBs seeking playing time. Same inconsistent line. Decent, but underused, receiving options.

All we know is that this program is not getting any better without a new quarterback. Three to four losses will be the norm. Taylorina Martinez can't pass downfield consistently. He can't complete a screen play. He can't run the option. He can't scramble. He can't run the zone read. He can't lead others. He can't put together a sentence of more than four words. What, exactly, does he bring to the table? This is a 100 percent serious question, and if anyone has an answer, we're all ears....

Any other point we could cover today would be something we've driven into the ground 15 times this year. Change must happen, and if it doesn't, we'll see you again next year at 9-3. All we have now is a horrible 11 a.m. bowl game in Florida, against an SEC also-ran that isn't that good but has way too much speed for a team with a bad line, slow defense and a QB who turtles at the first sign of adversity.

All we want for Christmas is a point spread under seven....For now, we're saving our breath.

Happy Holidays...PYB

Folks They're Not Booing....They're Slauson-ing....

If a face painter doesn't like you, should it hurt your feelings? Former Nebraska stiff and Jets hanger-on Matt Slauson took this opportunity to kick Ndamukong Suh while the Detroit DT is down. Curious timing, considering Slauson's had almost two full seasons to say something before now.

PYB says the source of his dislike is more the fact that Suh tossed him around like Haloti Ngata did last season than because he "wasn't a good teammate."

Keep in mind this is the same Slauson that was featured for fighting during training camp during the last season of HBO's 'Hard Knocks'. Looks like another attention grab for a player who couldn't block anyone while at NU and spent more time applying warpaint than pancaking opponents. We say he should just shut up and enjoy the sympathy starting spot that Bill Callahan gave him.

Hopefully, Detroit and NYJ can square off -- soon. We'll see the DT with the talent, strength and fire standing over the tattooed and painted pretender. Can't wait.

Duck Duck Lose

PYB received a bevy of texts and tweets and Blackberry messages from disappointed friends and fans last night, as the Nebraska basketball team was in the process of taking the fist up the ass during its 83-76 loss to the corn nuts from Oregon.

Comments included:

--JB Diaz is a pussy and lost the game. His 21 points on 8/11 shooting, six rebounds and three blocks say otherwise.

--NU still can't make free throws. NU went 21/25 for 84%. Unfortunately, the four they did miss were all front ends of one-and-ones. However, the last missed FT came with 5:45 remaining and the Huskers trailing 73-64.

--Terrible possessions. NU only had 14 turnovers (three coming on bullshit illegal screen calls. We thought Dick Bavetta had this fall off from work?) and PYB didn't see an inordinate amount of wasted possessions.

For some reason, PYB came away from this loss with a more positive outlook than negative. We're pinning this loss squarely on the officials and their untimely, horrendous calls. The illegal pick on Brandon Ubel with 1:07 remaining and NU with the ball and a chance to take the lead was one of the most atrocious calls we've seen in 25 years. Given the history of officiating in the Big 8/Big 12, that's saying a HELL of a lot. We've watched it four more times on DVR this morning, and it gets worse every time. The reach-in call on Brandon Richardson was nearly as bad.

Those calls and a couple other factors led to NU's first loss of the young season. Most importantly, outside of the ref job, was the fact that Oregon made shots in the second half while NU's wouldn't fall. The Quacks shot 45 percent from field and 44 percent from three-point range. Doc's crew had some tough misses and in & outs and shot 40 and 20 percent, respectively. Not an excuse, obviously, but some games the shots won't fall. This was one of them.

Our biggest concern is NU's lack of a good power forward. Despite bringing some assets to the team, Ubel will never compete with athletic big men on the boards and will never change opponents' shots. Toney McCray played just eight minutes and is just too up and down to ever be a reliable contributor. This team seems to be just one 6-foot-9, athletic shotblocker/rebounder/dunker away from being a true threat.

Bo Spencer had just 11 points, but Oregon made a point of shutting him down. Still, he had five assists and is clearly a team leader. His game-tying, double clutch layup into contact made the score 75-75 and was impressive. The fact that he's garnering so much attention opens opportunities for his teammates.

In the end, NU just couldn't get over the hump Wednesday. A fact made clear when Doc Sadler drew up a perfect play with NU down two points with 27 seconds remaining. Ubel swung it to the win to a wide-open Dylan Talley and the three barely missed. Two Duck FTs and missed Spencer three later, the game was over.

The referees had to be happy, as they had their fingerprints on another college basketball game. So did Dana Altman and the Ducks. Doc and his crew had to be disappointed, but if they're like PYB today, they have a lot of reasons to look forward to the rest of 2011-12. Maybe we're just searching for a team to believe in, with another lost football season on our hands. We loved the Thanksgiving Eve game. It should happen every year.

The game was by no means perfect, but at least it was an entertaining brand of basketball. At least the team didn't quit when it was down 15 points in the second half. At least 10,881 fans showed up and made a little noise. Perhaps they realize that the hoops team may be the only team on campus playing with heart and intensity this fall. Let's hope they don't quit coming to the games.

We'll have plenty of chances to see if this squad will develop into something, as tests against Wake Forest, Creighton and TCU remain in the non-conference schedule. (Side note: the BlueGays win over Iowa doesn't look as impressive this morning, as the Hawkeyes got destroyed by the Camels of Campbell last nite)

Onward and upward. Happy Turkey Day.

Ducks for Turkey Day

--Alonzo Whaley gets to share time as a starter with one of the worst Nebraska LBs in 20 years, because he got a good grade report. Holy shit.....we don't know where to start.....

--We're also glad to see the Blackskirts are so unorganized, that they can't get defensive calls in consistently....by game 10.

--Dear Tom Shatel: Please let this stupid obsession with a meaningless, hokey trophy die.

--The Nebraska basketball team tries to run its record to 4-0 tonight against Oregon. PYB is interested to see if the Huskers can keep up shooting, dribbling and scoring like a real D-I team.

--Apparently the PYB source, a PSU alumni, who told us Paul Posluszny got suspended five games for making prank calls was exaggerating.

PYB leaves the heavy lifting to someone else for the day. We love this OWH comment post from Joey.

Joey says:
November 22, 2011 at 5:47 am
I’m tired of people making escuses for Bo. 48-17, 45-17 losses, and LOSING to an UNRANKED TEAM WITH A LOSING RECORD, ON YOUR OWN HOME FIELD Is just INEXCUSABLE!!!! We could get BLOWN OUT the next game, and in our bowl game. T-Mart could throw 3 INT’s in each game, and coming next season T-Mart would STILL be our QB!!!!! All Bo will do is cover for him, and say he just had some bad games, it could happen to anyone. Something tells me T-Mart’s daddy is pulling out ALOT of Benjimans to keep T- Tragic in as a starting QB!!!!! I mean COME ON, ESPN has even commented on how ridiculous he plays!!!! It just feels like Bo is here to pick up his check and head home!!!! Bo talks as if Crick was healthy, it would be different!!!…lol.. Really?.. OK.. The games he was in, how many sacks did NU have??? 1 or 2 a game??? NU was getting blasted, NU still has T-Mart still in??? Now wouldn’t a GREAT coach put in the back ups to give them experience??? NOT BO!!! Is he AFFRAID Carnes, or Turner will do what NU fans ALREADY KNOWS what they’ll do???? Which is make Martinez look RIDICULOUS!!! Bo says were a GOOD team..hmmm. Did you fans pay hundreds of $$$$$$ for HOME GAMES to see a GOOD TEAM… HELL NO!!! YOU PAID TO SEE A GREAT TEAM!!!!!!!! Even more DEPRESSING, he said ” This college is about CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!” Really?… Where are they??? Oh I’m sorry Bo, I didn’t know you were referring to the Banana Bowls we won, in replacement of a Division Titles, and National Titles!!!! That’s a GREAT accomplishment to do what you’ve done… If you’re NMSU ( New Mexico State ). That’s like SEC fans should be grateful if they ONLY play in the Banana Bowls rather than a National Title..lol ( not that I wouldn’t enjoy every second of it!!!). I’m sure they would loooooove that idea… NOT!!!

Just Another Manning Monday

--Nice win for Doc Sadler's NU basketball team yesterday, as they crushed Rhode Island. Sure, we've seen them hammer teams like this in non-conference play before, but this squad looks different. They look, run, jump and shoot like real basketball players. Guys like Toney McCray don't have to try to handle the ball and look like fish out of water.

Bo Spencer provides a nice scoring punch. Dylan Talley looks like a legitimate player too. Caleb Walker is as athletic as any player NU has had in 20 years. If these guys can keep performing, and McCray and Brandon Richardson can focus on the things they do well (defense/rebounding/hustle), this team could have potential.

The Cornhuskers dominated the 83-63 win from the outset. They can actually shot over 30% from three-point range. We shall see, as the first Big Ten season will be a bitch. But at least they look like a real basketball team.

We know this, the team will play with heart and will never quit playing defense. That will buy at least a couple wins in the B10. Hopefully, our preseason prediction of 14-16 is way off.

--Speaking of quitters, the Omaha World Herald's Sam McKewon provided a nice recap on how the Michigan coaching staff toyed with its Cornhusker counterparts before crushing them in the second half.

--Actually, the strategy that Jon Nyatawa mentions here is not 'throw deep on NU', it is throw the ball anywhere on any Nebraska player without #15 on his jersey. The same strategy we covered yesterday.

--The OWH's Lee Barfknecht is on point today. He confirms what we all knew--that B10 football still sucks AND that NU's coordinators are setting a ridiculous example by skipping press conferences when they are outcoached yet again.

--In case you wondered, Eli Manning still sucks. It was great watching the Philadelphia defense plant him into the turf after another one of his patented INTs Sunday night. Lil' Elly couldn't do what even the Arizona Cardinals did this year, and beat the Eagles -- without Michael Vick and Jeremy Maclin. And he lost PYB money for at least the 25th time in his career.

On the bright side, former NU CB Prince Amukamara did get his first interception in his first NFL game. If you're counting, that's one more than he had all of last year during his senior season. That is, of course, because teams 'wouldn't throw his way.' Luckily, Vince Young underthrew DeSean Jackson by 10 yards, because Jackson had run right by Amukamara.

--We make fun, but we'd pay money to have Prince back at NU along with Dejon Gomes, who was second on the Washington Redskins yesterday with eight tackles. Sorry for the weak link, but the Washington Post's online coverage lacks in the organization department.

Solich 3.0

Nebraska got bottle blasted by Michigan 45-17 Saturday in Ann Arbor. Michigan isn't very good. Nebraska is awful, and the Cornhuskers are stuck on a treadmill that keeps them jogging in the same dreadful abyss that Rat Solich led them to eight years ago. While watching a game NU could have won, but instead lost by 28 points, we wished that we were the ones who had been slipped some GHB. The rape was inevitable, so we may have well been able to enjoy it.

Let's run down the list, in no particular order. After watching the game tape again, and concluding that the highlight of the day came five minutes before kickoff when Lee Corso said "fuck" on national television, we came up with a lengthy list of observations that would take several hours to organize. Without a free day to spend at the library writing an outline, here goes:

--The uncalled offensive pass interference that led to Michigan's first touchdown was an outrageous miss that was just the beginning of a home-cooked ref job of Big 12 proportions. Even though this was not the reason for the loss, we knew the day was already fucked at this point.

--NU came out with its big-game face on, and shot itself in the nuts with eight penalties for 73 yards. More damaging than the 73 yards was the timing of the fouls, which led to horrible field position and to Michigan TDs. It's what Bo Pelini teams do on the big stage. Turn on the bright lights.

--Mike Caputo kept his marginal play going, whiffing at the most inopportune times to help NU turn 1st & 10 into 2nd & 14.

--Cameron Meredith was as bad as always. Handfighting with offensive tackles for four quarters, getting pushed four yards off the line of scrimmage, getting juked by any Michigan skill player within five yards, waddling after Denard Robinson once in a while and making one assisted tackle every third quarter. But hey, he has a ponytail, so he must be good. ESPN's announcers even made fun of him on one of his pathetic tackle attempts on Robinson, saying that Camyoufeelit must have thought he was playing flag football. Sadly, he's too fat and slow to be good at flag football.

--Most shocking this day was Nebraska's lack of talented personnel. This team has three good players. LaVonte David, Alfonzo Dennard and Rex Burkhead. The rest of the team is a menagerie of overwhelmed, home-grown walkons and overrated recruits from the other 49 states.

NU's three good players are from Florida, Georgia and Texas....so PYB is happy that Nebraska moved to the Big 10 where it can concentrate on racking up more slow players from the Rust and Corn Belts. What does NU plan to do next season when it loses its two best players from a defense that gives up 45 points to any team with an above-average offense? Scary thoughts, indeed.

Bo Pinelli keeps running hacks like Lance Thorell (he's so bad we almost feel bad for him but our rage at Pinelli for playing him overrides that emotion) and Austin Cassidy out on the field, to be eaten by the wolves. Are players like PJ Smith and Courtney Osborne so stupid they really can't learn the offense? Or are they recruiting misses by the staff? Or is the defense too hard to learn? Or is the development so bad that they can't beat out the stiffs like Thorell and Cassidy?

--The in-game coaching was terrible, across the board. Brady Hoke toyed with Pinelli and his Youngstown brain trust. Offensively, there was no focus. No rhythm. No identity. Gone was the Wildcat formation with Burkhead at QB, which won the Penn State game. The Diamond formation? One play for a long TD pass, then scrapped.

The only offensive consistency was the inconsistency. Taylorina Martinez's uncanny knack of turning 1st & 10 into 2nd & 15 was still present as ever, as was his complete lack of presence in the pocket. Nebraska will never win, especially with a mediocre offensive line, if it tries to play 'hide Martinez like the Ravens hid Trent Dilfer years ago.' It's necessary to have a good defense to play that game successfully.

--In all seriousness, what does Martinez bring to the table? Can't run the option. Can't pass. Can't scramble from the pocket. Can't read the zone read. Can't secure the ball. Can't lead. As we've said hundreds of times, Nebraska will never be good with him under center. May as well cut bait with him now. Otherwise, it's 26 more starts with him and hello, 8-4 twice more. Anyone who thinks this is sour grapes, please contact us with ONE thing Taylorina adds to the team's bottom line.

--Defensively, it was another sad effort. The defensive line is banged up, and not very good to start. Will Compton is one of the few bright spots outside of David and Dennard, but can't do much when his DL is pushed back into his face 60 percent of the time.

The defensive backs continue to disappoint--actually it can't be called disappointment when it has become expected. Too many times, Andrew Green and Ciante Evans are around the ball and drop easy interceptions or misplay the receiver and give up long receptions. Daimion Stafford looked good on run support some times, but was lost on pass coverage. He's shown flashes, but it's hard to learn when the veterans around you are making the same errors just as regularly.

Austin Cassidy was horrible, as always. We'll devote a full paragraph to his embarrassing play, as we've done ten times before. If it's inevitable, we may as well sit back, laugh and enjoy it. His whiff/faceplant on Michigan's final TD run provided an embarrassed chuckle and evoked memories of one Philip Bland. Most sadly, he's become some type of media mouthpiece for the defense. If you're stealing a scholarship from the state of Nebraska, and are that bad, just shut your mouth and ride out the last two games and thank daddy's former position at NU for the free ride.

--On an unrelated note, PYB likes listening to Urban Meyer on ESPN. His knowledge of the option game adds a great layer of information to Nebraska telecasts. We'd like to know what he's thinking about NU's underachievement. It's also interesting to hear him say that the Huskers have "no chance to win" once they start with the incessant, dink-and-dunk, forced passing game. Apparently, NU fans do know a little bit about football if they agree with a coach with multiple national title rings.

--PYB also contends that Burkhead is the best QB that Nebraska has played this year. Inexplicably, he got zero snaps under center after living there the week prior against Penn State. He commandeered the second good offensive play of the day, a handoff from Martinez which he then pitched to Ameer Abdullah (perfectly, we'd like to note) for an easy TD.

--Speaking of Abdullah, who's still on his way to become the next Santino Panico at the coaches' behest, he looked pretty nice running the ball. Hopefully, he isn't worn out after getting two carries. If he is tired, though, Aaron Green should be fresh enough to spell him. He got one carry. His redshirt, however, is still burned. As is Jamal Turner's, who sat most the game only to get his ass ripped for being the 12th man in the huddle late in the game.

--Regardless of all the aforementioned atrocities, NU had cut Bitchigan's lead to 31-17 at the end of the third quarter. The Blackskirts had stopped the Wolverines on their own 16 yard line and were set to get the ball back at midfield, at the worst, following another fair catch by Abdullah. However, Pinelli's charges decided to come after a punt (despite not blocking one since Barron Miles wore red) with another Walk-on 5.0. The result was obvious to anyone not from Youngstown. Too slow to make the block. Not enough hops to lay out and get the ball. Just slow enough to hit the punter's plant foot. Personal foul. Game over.

Meyer knew it and said it as soon as he saw the flag. Michigan ball at the 31-yard line. First play following that.....14 yard run. Again and again, UM gashed the worn-out defensive line...and then the Blackskirts did what they do in times of adversity--they quit. It was like watching the Wisconsin mauling in Madison again, except this time NU was being bludgeoned by a decidedly average team.

Nebraska did get UM pinned to a 3rd and 9 on the drive, but then Robinson dialed up a play that Penn State was not smart enough to last week and just threw it up for grabs on any NU DB not named Alfonzo. Stafford did his best Cassidy impression, quit running and fell 10 yards behind the play. Green did his best Ciante Evans and was beaten by three yards. 38-17.

Next drive, T-Vag can't find a WR on 3rd & 3. Too dumb and indecisive to find a scrambling lane....sacked from behind from a Michigan DT that runs a 5.5 40, fumble. Two plays later, missed tackle following Cassidy faceplant. 45-17. We've seen it all before. Solich made it too common, almost acceptable. Bill Callahan made it a habit.

As time wound down, Martinez found ways not to get the ball to receivers. He did, however, remember that he had an All-America caliber receiving TE and hit Kyler Reed for a meaningless pass completion.

PYB fielded calls, tweets and texts from pissed off friends and readers, wondering how to handle another massacre at the hands of a bad team. Just sit back and enjoy it. Enjoy another lost season. Enjoy another ruined Saturday. Enjoy another terrible bowl game. Enjoy the fact that the program hasn't gone anywhere since 1998 and isn't going anywhere soon--not with the program tied to a duo of blockheads. Bo and T-Vagic, sitting in a tree, R-O-T-T-I-N-G.

Nebraska shells out nearly $3 million a year to Pinelli, apparently for the honor of sitting on the periphery of the Top 25. For the consistent result of being outcoached by the likes of Pat Fitzgerald, Steve Sarkisian, Pat Hill and Brady Hoke. For the regular meltdowns on ABC and ESPN, when NU sits center stage. For members of the coaching staff ducking press conferences after another bad game. Thankfully, NU did move to the B10 this year--or it might have five conference losses by now.

Turn out the bright lights. Have mercy on us. End this season now, and not in Houston in the Meineke Car Car Bowl. End the T-Vagic era. Find a QB who can beat good teams. A QB that leads, not hides, in big games. And find a coach, whether it's a Pelini we've yet to see or a new, long-term solution. A coach who has an identity, and sticks to it.

NU fans can handle losing to better teams. They can handle a couple 9-3 seasons if the overall direction of the program is upward. They can't handle the treadmill to nowhere, a program held together with duct tape and seasons showered with needless blowouts filled with penalties, personal fouls, poor decision making and mind-boggling personnel and clock management.

Fourteen seasons and counting. Back....to the Future.

PS--Bitchigan ought to be embarrassed for having its defense fake injuries, multiple times, to slow down NU's no-huddle offense while holding a 21-point lead.

PSS--Choke-la-Homa should be embarrassed by giving up 45 points to Baylor and pissing away YET another chance at a title game bid.

Choke-la-Homa

--Mark it up as two Oklahoma teams that have pissed easy wins away this season once PYB hit "Off" on the television remote and went to dreamland. We threw in the towel last night once Brandon Weeden's TD pass gave Oklahoma State a 24-7 lead over Iowa State early in the third quarter. So, surprised were we, to wake up this morning at 4:30 and see that the Cowboys had taken a page out of the Sooners' book, relinquished the lead to the Cyclowns, and lost 37-31 in 2OT.

Apparently, OSU wouldn't have been a match for LSU's speed-laced defense after all. Any national championship contender must run through a gauntlet that includes treacherous road tests like the one they faced last night in Ames in front of 38,000 fans. A team that can survive that snakepit unscathed shows true championship grit. It was not meant to be.

Alas, OSU was who we thought they were, and they let ESPN off the hook. The puppeteers at the World Wide Leader are surely stroking their cocks at a rapid pace this morning, as they think of just how to shoehorn Oregon, its sweatshop money and its hired-whore "cheerleaders" into the BCS title game. The folks in Bristol surely have to hate faking sympathy for the OSU women's basketball coaches killed yesterday, before giving their recap of one-loss contenders now back in the championship hunt.

--By the way, did anyone know that Weeden played professional baseball before going to Oklahoma State to try his hand at football?

--Remember when beating a top-five team in college football meant something? Now, teams are in the top five by default--because the overrated teams in front of them just lost the week before. Dethroning a top team is now a weekly occurrence, gets a flicker of press on Saturday evening, then is gone and doesn't mean shit to anybody by kickoff of the NFL games on Sunday.

--Is it really possible that NINE of the TEN teams in the Big TWELVE could qualify for bowl games?

--PYB was glad to see that Tiger Woods decided to show up for the President's Cup in Australia and win a point for the team Saturday. Fred Couples decided to celebrate that victory by benching Phil Mickelson, undefeated in 11 straight President's Cup contests, for the next round of matches.

--Reader question: Why are the greens at Royal Melbourne black? No clue, but you can read more here.

--While we're talking golf, we'll post a favorite video of ours, courtesy of the Diggler.

--We'll ask the question one final time: Did Gary Pinkel call timeout to try to ice the police office administering his sobriety test?

--Does Joe Paterno really have cancer, or is this a distraction to make everyone forget that he helped cover up the fact that innocent kids got butt-raped on his watch?

--Two weeks ago, the Omaha World Herald wrote flowery pieces on Tim Beck and the offensive line. Hours later, NU both had horrible games in a home loss to Northwestern. Well, Tom Shatel has chimed in just in time with a Taylor Martinez column.

--Let's get on with our picks/pigs for Saturday, a day filled with unstellar matchups:

Nebraska at Michigan: If Iowa can contain Denard Robinson, can NU's cement-footed D-linemen? No clue what happens here, but we like the over at 50. We just hope Fatshi Hardrick stops tweeting and begging followers for game pictures long enough to fucking block someone.

Kansas +31 at Texas aTm: No logic here, other than aTm has mailed this season in.

Oregon -14.5 vs. USC: Difference in speed shows up big here. For some reason, national media cretins are trying to pump Matt Barkley up into an NFL can't-miss QB. Decent draft prospect, yes. The next Ryan Fitzpatrick? Not so fast.

Oklahoma -15 at Baylor: This is our favorite pick of the day. Baylor made its bowl game already. Baylor isn't that good. The Sooners will be interviewing for ESPN today, trying to make us all forget they lost to Texas Tech. Hammer time.

That's all we got so far....Enjoy your Saturday. PYB

Road Warriors

PYB makes a quick Wednesday appearance, as we laud the Baltimore Orioles for bringing back one of the best logos in sports history. The days before everything was black & silver and selling team gear was more important than creativity.

--Any road win is a good one in college basketball, especially if you're Nebraska. The Cornhuskers nabbed a victory from USC Monday night in the disgusting City of Angels. In true Big 10 style, the final score was 64-61 in 2OT. Bo Spencer racked up 22 points, seven rebounds, three assists and four turnovers. Perhaps he will be the scorer NU has needed the last few years. JB Diaz chipped in 10 and 8, along with three blocks. We'll see what he does against good teams with stronger players.

We were definitely too tired and too cheap to stay up for the 930pm tip time and pay the extra money to DirecTV for one game. We'll offer our first game analysis after Sunday's contest against Rhode Island. The Rams lost last night to Texas in Austin, 100-90. That said, it was nice to see NU shoot a Division-I-worthy 45% (9/20) from three-point land.

--Kansas was outclassed and outcoached, once again, last night at MSG in NYC.

--The Mayor loses to Drake. Hopefully, NU beat the CyClowns in their pre-season scrimmage.

--Middle Tennessee State goes 10/11 from downtown and blasts UCLA 86-66 in Los Angeles.

Cart Before the Horse

--So now we're penciling NU into a BCS bowl if they don't make the B10 title game? This is the same team that lost to Northwestern, at home, nine days ago. Have we not learned the lesson that as soon as you think this squad is in prime position, the famed Pinelli meltdown rears its head. Think Texas Tech, Iowa State, Texas...all in Lincoln.

Anyone banking on 10-2 as a given is like the hopeful boyfriend that keeps taking his slut girlfriend back after her latest foray into another guy's bedroom...only to be disappointed when she lays down for the next hunk she finds at last call. Just remember, wear a condom....and don't forget Penn State has one of the worst 10 offenses in college football. We are thinking the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Ariz. is a lock, since PYB recently left AZ after watching NU blow chances to play a bowl in the Copper State for four straight seasons.

--Enjoy Lee Barfknecth's latest Big 10 ratings, with NU only one slot behind a team it dominated two weeks ago.

--Speaking of Trojans, Doctor Sadler and his bunch try to push their season record to 2-0 tonight in the war zone that is Los Angeles. They also try to make it three consecutive wins in three years over USC. PYB is debating whether we make the call to DirecTV to add Prime Ticket to our package for this one game.....especially considering the 9:30pm CST tip. We did our best to track down the South Dakota game on btn.com, but the streaming service wasn't working.

Sadly, The Bouncer Andre Almeida didn't make the trip out west.....apparently his fatness has caught up to him and this season will be filled with nagging injuries.

--Joe Flacco still sucks.

--Vince Young still sucks.

--Arizona State has lost three of four, as expected, to help us lock down our season unders bet. The latest was a second-half meltdown at Pullman against Washington State, as the soft Sun Devils couldn't handle the cold--once again.

--Herb Sendek's ASU basketball team, though, is a 10-point favorite at home against the Arizona Mildcats tonight. Some things do change. Meanwhile, Tucson doesn't have one sports team to be proud about.

Enjoy your week....PYB

We Are....Co-Conspirators

PYB chimes in after NU racked up a good win over Penn State in University Park/State College/Happy Valley, especially considering the week's events after the nation learned about Jerry Sandusky's going the 'Second Mile' to speak San Franciscan.

The win was good, because it was a conference road win over a team with a good defense. We'll conveniently forget, for now, that the Nittany Lions had the worst offense that Nebraska faced all year and that the Cornhuskers still almost blew the game with its requisite number of stupid and untimely errors.

The win was good, because it keeps NU's slim Big 10-title hopes alive. The win was good, because they didn't lose to one of the supposed superpowers in its new conference. Two more to go. Can the weak-minded Huskers bring their B-minus game two more weeks in a row? That remains to be seen. Let's run through a quick recap of points we want to cover, as we dissect what needs to improve or keep going successfully if NU is to finish 10-2:

--The dropped balls have to stop. With Bo Pinelli ill-advisedly hitching his wagon to Taylor Martinez's arm, converting third downs is critical. Catching the ball helps in those situations. NU had five drops, all costly....Kinnie x 2, Kenny Bell, Quincy Enunwa, Khiry Cooper. The Ghost of Niles Paul lives....

--We all know that no PYB column would be complete without bitching about Martinez for a couple paragraphs. His presence as NU QB still limits the team. His option running is sporadic at best, but his passing has been much better. What is inexplicable is why he is such an awful scrambler. If he could prolong two or three drives per game by bolting the pocket for 10-15 yards, it would be priceless to this offense. Again, his lack of vision and feel for the game hurts the Huskers. Oh well. 28 more starts to go.

--Why do we feel more comfortable with Rex Burkhead under center than Martinez? Is it because he throws like a man? Is it because he's sure-handed (except when Yoshi Hardrick whiffs on his assignment)? Is it because he runs the option like it should be run, makes decisive cuts and positive yards? Is it because we have faith that he will not force the ball into triple coverage. Well...all of the above.

--Instead of hammering Twitter two hours before kickoff, maybe Hardrick should watch extra film and quit missing assignments. He did, however recover the Burkhead fumble that was caused by the missed block. The Big 10 referees, though, did their best impersonation of a Big 12 crew and awarded PSU the ball without seeing who recovered the ball or having any idea where it was. Then, conveniently, the play was deemed unreviewable. The rig was on.

--PYB was impressed that the NU offensive line started opening up holes on the strong PSU front. Most frustrating is the fact that blown assignments are still too frequent and put the team in second and third-and-long situations. Obviously, not optimal for a team with a mediocre QB and butterfingered receivers.

We were urged by a reader to watch the play of Mike Caputo this week. Said reader said Caputo had to be the worst center in college football. We won't go quite that far, but in watching the film, we counted six times where he whiffed on his assignment entirely. Obviously not acceptable, especially considering half the time he is just helping one of the guards double a DT.

--It was nice to see Kyler Reed reappear as a weapon on the offense. Funny how utilizing an All-America caliber TE can open things up for the rest of the offense.

--As Reed re-emerged, Ameer Abdullah has vanished as a threat in the kick return game. He did rack up a whopping two yards on two carries, but after a couple misplays on punts in prior weeks, it seems the coaches have turned the freshman into the next Santino Panico--the human fair catch.

--Will NU ever convert a 4th and 1 this year? We would be fine with continually not converting, as long as Tim Beck would dial up a different play just once...

--Defensively, the Blackshirts were as good as they can be. They're fine against one-dimensional offenses. It's when they play good teams that they struggle. The line fought well, considering it's injury problems. Two of the team's three linebackers played great games. LaVonte David, as usual, was excellent. Will Compton continued his development as a solid contributor, and had 13 tackles. Sean Fisher was a day late and three steps slow, as usual. In all seriousness, how can NU not have more than three viable linebackers in its whole rotation?

--The defensive-back play has improved from early on this season, which isn't saying a damn thing considering how bad it was to start. Most disturbing is the fact that all but one of the DBs looks cluless when it comes to making a play on the ball. Penn State's first TD was the result of Andrew Green losing sight of the ball, losing his man and then flailing around helplessly as the receiver pulled in the reception. Too many times, NU's DBs were close enough to get to the ball but weren't looking for it and gave up the catch. Shades of 1988.

--PYB poses a question: What is the role of the DE in Nebraska's defense? They get slower each year. Don't contain plays. Don't make sacks. To us, it looks like they are there to handfight with their blockers for 10 seconds before waddling after the QB as he easily escapes to run for a few yards or complete a pass downfield. Annoying.

--Also annoying is the fact that Austin Cassidy SUCKS but keeps playing. In watching the entire game film, we counted seven major errors and then three more shitty plays that anyone with D-II talent would have made. Three of his errors came on the reverse throwback to PSU QB Matt McGloin. To start, Cassidy overpursued on the reverse action. Then, after finally recognizing it was a trick play, he ran back the other way, only to get burned by McGloin because he looked at the WR with the ball instead of playing McGloin. Finally, as the lob ball arrived to McGloin, Cassidy got spun around and misplayed the ball and allowed a big gain. Just brutal.

--Thankfully, NU escaped with the 17-14 decision despite stepping on its own dick numerous times. Thankfully, McGloin has to be one of the worst white throwing QBs of all time. Thankfully, Penn State's playcalling was overly conservative. Thankfully, Penn State took a page for Michigan State's playbook by continually throwing at Alfonzo Dennard, the only capable NU cornerback. A high school QB could throw jump balls against any of the other three DBs and complete 50% of his passes.

--On a side note, PYB sources said the PSU fans were annoyingly and overly nice. We spotted more mustaches on men under 40 than we have seen since 1983. We also feel compelled to let PSU know that having its band play the White Stripes while the student section hums/sings along for 30 straight minutes isn't cool....especially considering the band itself is terrible. We'd settle for Taking Care of Business instead...possibly....well, probably not....

Anyway, there it is. An unspirited column for a run-of-the-mill win. But at least it's a column. Two more wins needed to make this year mildly successful and to secure a decent bowl. Two more wins, and maybe we'll be happy. But probably not. Well, we're out. NFL action awaits, as does another 11am kickoff next week in Ann Arbor.

Live from the Black House

Guess who's back, back again, with some pigs, tell a friend...PYB has hovered around .500 with our college football prognostications the last few weeks, but our personal portfolio has taken a hit with some ill-advised late Saturday night bets and with the NFL being the NFL. That said, here we go:

Kansas State +5.5 vs. Texas aTm: So is the Faggies' signature win so far this year their win over Baylor or a road win at Texas Tech? Not sure, but they've lost to every good team they've played. Meanwhile, KSU has lost two in a row to top-five caliber teams and is everything aTm is not. Hard-working, overachieving, well-coached. And somehow they're getting 5.5 points at home. Roll with the Mildcats. The money line at +180 is nice too.

Penn State +3.5 vs. Nebraska: Emotions will fuel a mediocre Nittany lion team. Their defense is strong. Nebraska's offense sucks against good teams. The fact that Tim Beck has gone to Andy Reid's dink and dunk passing offense in order to prevent T-Ragedies limits it even further. Actually, we're convinced Bo & Co. has done this just to pump up his QB's completion percentage and deflate media scrutiny surrounding his lack of game.

NU's defense sucks against all teams. Its defensive line is banged up. The players are mentally weak. Not a good cocktail for this shitstorm. Take PSU at +145, and if NU wins, you're still happy (if you're a Cornhusker fan). Throw it in a parlay with Kansas State's Mildkittens.....it's paying just over 5:1.

Oregon +3 at Stanford: We love Stanford, but we think they aren't used to the limelight and games with as much pressure as this. The evil of Nike money prevails, as the Ducks beat the Cardinal and fuck our season unders bet on Oregon.

Wisconsin -27.5 at Minnesota: The Badgers destroy bad teams. That's what they do in order to try to fill that hollow spot in their heart that comes from not being able to win a big game----ever. Hammer time.

Maryland +20.5 vs. Notre Dame: Too many points here. The Irish join Nebraska and aTm as one of the most overrated teams in the eyes of Vegas.

All for now....as we wonder.....were protests in the 1970s as embarrassing as the ones now? Was it just the nerds who protested, like it is now? Enjoy your Saturday....PYB...

Bono Plays Volleyball?

Friday Foray

--While watching VT vs. GT last night, PYB posed the question: Would it be an NCAA violation of NU sent T-Vagic to next summer's Georgia Tech Quarterback Camp to teach him how to run the option?

--Putting this link together with the game film, the 'safety who peeked too long' was none other than Austin Cassidy. How many games does he get to tank before riding the pine? Playing D-III talent in D-I games doesn't work.

--Way to go Huskers! Awesome job getting that 3.0 team GPA! More proof Cassidy & Sean Fisher should be walking to class amongst the rest of the student body--not losing games at Memorial Stadium. If they are so smart, why are they constantly out of position? Keep speed on the field, the team GPA at 2.2 and trophies stocked in the case. The rest of the student body is on campus to actually study and can make up for 30 classroom dunces who can run a 4.4 40.

--While watching the Raiders and Chargers last night, it's nice that Norv Turner and Philip Rivers saved San Diego fans the heartache this year by sucking in November instead of January and missing the playoffs altogether.

--Tom Osborne says NU fans in "Happy Valley" shouldn't wear red. Are NU fans part of the story somehow? We thought the scandal was about Joe Paterno allowing kids to get rammed in the ass on his watch without reporting it? We didn't think it was about a bunch of Husker nerds who always think the world is watching them. PYB was hoping for a forfeit by PSU--we're dead certain that a team that can't tackle the Northwestern Mildcats at home won't be able to gangster up in this situation.

--The quick and preferred solution to the Jerry Sandusky case is two bullets to the back of the head. Jesus, look at the guy's teeth....if that doesn't say "I like young boys" we don't know what does....

--Speaking of sexual deviants, Tiger Woods flew to Australia early (President's Cup later this month) to try to get a win against watered-down competition. If he does win, at least he can say he deserves the trophy....unlike like his spot on the Cup team--despite what team puppeteer Fred Couples and his lackey USA teammates are saying publicly.

--Nebraska's basketball team starts its season Friday against South Dakota. And NO, Bo Pinelli will not be delivering the pre-game speech. We are predicting a 14-16 finish in the inaugural B10 season. Brutal schedule, new PG (regardless of how many props he's gotten, marginal athleticism. Hope we are wrong. We are, however, very impressed with the non-conference slate: URI, Oregon, Wake, Creighton and TCU. We'd rather see 14-16 against a brutal schedule than a falsely inflated 19-9 against 300+ RPI teams.

--According to the cutline on this link, NU lost 25-28 to Northwestern last Saturday? Is this fucking volleyball?? By the way, NU fans should always 'brace for the worst' at Penn State. Loudmouth, belligerent, East Coast drunks are never easy to deal with....especially when there are 100,000 of them and when they all hearken back to when the program was good---1986. If PYB had one wish, it's that we could smack the dirty Pennsylvania/Maryland accent out of all their mouths.

--Finally, PYB recommends the ESPN Films documentary, "Unguarded", about basketball-star-turned-junkie Chris Herren. Unlike most of this ESPN series, which is overdone and overly dramatic, this one is great. A fun look back at Herren's talent and an intense recap of his 14+ years as a drug addict, as he speaks to different groups along the way. If you watched Catching Hell about Steve Bartman, this one is the exact opposite. ESPN may have just covered this because Herren played for the Celtics, but either way, a must-watch in our book.

We hope to return with our wager selections before kickoff....enjoy your Friday...PYB

Brains Over Blockheads

As PYB looked back on what can generously be called the debacle against Northwestern last Saturday, not one play stood out in our mind as being mildly remarkable. The only thing close was the backbreaking 81-yard Mildcat TD pass after Ciante Evans was burned for the umpteenth time this season. But by that point, we'd been numbed so badly by Nebraska's lackluster play that nothing came as a surprise.

Not the missed tackles. Not the countless blown coverages. Not the missed blocks, untimely fumbles, or the dropped passes. And certainly not the lack of desire shown by the Cornhuskers in another game as a heavy favorite. Chalk this one up with mystifying no-shows against South Dakota State, Kansas, and Texas. Chalk it up as the fifth straight season with a home loss to an unranked team.

After returning from travel and watching the Bo Pinelli Show, a few more plays stood out....even though most the ones of NU getting dominated by a team with a losing record had been deleted by the puppets at HuskerVision. Let's go down our checklist, in a feeble attempt to keep this rant focused:

1. What struck us as most embarrassing after the loss was Carl Pinelli not being man enough to speak to the media after taking an ass-kicking from the team that Barney Cotton surely now calls "the real NU". First of all, the Mildcats beat Nebraska fair and square. The least an outmatched defensive coordinator can do is answer the tough questions and give credit to his opponent.

Worse yet, what kind of example does it set for his players? When the going gets tough, and you're used to being a bully to get your way, just quit and shirk your responsibilities as a coach and a "leader". Or, maybe it wasn't a bad attitude and Carl was just late for a hot date with a booster's wife.

2. The annoying trend of last-minute injuries cropping up and claiming a starter continued, as Chase Rome didn't play. Stanley Jean-Baptiste fell victim to the pre-game injury bug the week prior. Why can't the Pinellis just release injury info in a timely fashion during the week like everyone else in the world except Bill Belichik? It didn't seem to give opponents an unfair advantage when NU used to rack up titles....but now this all must be shrouded in secrecy so NU can preserve its best shot at an 8-4 record? Please.

3. Taylorina Martinez threw for nearly 300 yards on 28-for-37 passing. However, he rarely threw downfield. Even when Martinez is hot, if you're relying on him to string together 15-play drives with his arm, you're cooking a recipe for disaster. More importantly, the fact that he is a god-awful option runner and misses read after read and open chunks of yardage is a killer. It limits the offense severely. His knack for taking a five-yard loss when it should be a no gain, is lethal to scoring drives. So, once again, Bo's insistence on hitching the Husker wagon to Martinez is paying negative returns for NU. Only 29 more starts to go.....

4. Speaking of disasters, let's get to Tim Beck's play calling. To the uneducated fan (which is everyone not from Youngstown, Ohio), it looked as if Beck thought that NU started the Northwestern game with the same 24-3 lead it held at the end of the Michigan State game. We wish someone had told him that to play keep away and ball control successfully, that your team must have the lead.

Beck's plan included ZERO aggressiveness, didn't even attempt to stretch the field and put little emphasis on actually scoring until late in the third quarter. In short, he didn't respect his opponent and relied on them to roll over and play dead just because the Spartans came to Lincoln the week before and pissed it down their legs in another big game. Surely, Northwestern would fear the MIGHTY FUCKING HUSKERS and their 280 rushing yards a game. Not so.

5. While we're covering disasters, let's talk about an abortion--Bo Pinelli's clock management. As Pat Fitzgerald's team sapped the life out of NU with its final, 13-play scoring drive, Bo did not deem it necessary to use his timeouts to give the Huskers more time to stage a comeback after the Wildcats' inevitable TD. In doing so, he let at least a minute of game clock expire. If that wasn't enough of a kick to the nuts, he did call one timeout after letting 35 SECONDS surpass after the play. Amateur stuff. Embarrassing.

Sure--a comeback was unlikely...but $3 million coaches are paid that much to give their teams the best chance to win at all times. Efficient clock management should be a given--perhaps Pinelli could start playing EA College Football online and learn this lesson from eighth-graders across America. Nebraska did end up scoring, and had it gotten the onside kick, having 58 seconds instead of 18 seconds just may have been helpful.

6. After watching the film, it was surprising that NU got two early turnovers from the Wildcats and was moving the ball decently. However, they didn't close drives with TDs and gave the ball back twice. The perfect recipe for an upset...just ask Paul Rhoads.

7. Kenny Bell and Brandon Kinnie dropped passes. Par for the course. Quincy Enunwa had a costly fumble. All fine examples of NU players NOT making plays and costing the team dearly. A new Husker steps up each week.

8. During his show, Pelini seemed miffed with his defense as he lamented all the blown assignments and bad tackles. Evans, Daimion Stafford, and Sean Fisher stood out this week. Injuries to the D-Line have piled up, and can't help any, but the continued missteps in zone coverages turn eight-yard gains into 80-yards game losers. Are players not listening to Bo's message any longer, or are they just too stupid and untalented to apply the theories?

9. Rex Burkhead looked tired. He fumbled. He played hard as always, but Beck did him no favors by giving him 35 carries against MSU considering the game was in hand early and NU has a stable of young backs who could have ligthened the load. Especially considering the stretch of tough games head. So, because the freshmen backs all fumbled a couple times earlier in the season, they get no more reps in key moments even though Taylorina can fumble 23 times with impunity?

10. The pass rush still stucks. It is apparent (to all of us not from Youngstown) that it ain't getting better any time this year. Would it be too hard to blitz a DB once in a while...preferably a black guy who has a chance of getting to the QB.....and preferably we would like to see the blitzer start closer than 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage. This gives him a better chance of getting to the QB before he passes the ball.

Well...that's all we got. Sorry for the long layoff...rugged travel and work schedule. We PROMISE to be back for Saturday, to offer a preview of the epic game against the Penn State Packers. Nebraska took it up the ass on Saturday, countless helpless boys took it up the ass in Happy Valley the last 20 years...PYB thinks it's time to return the favor to JoePa as he makes his shameful departure from the college football landscape. The best he can hope for is to leave the field Saturday with an empty diaper.

"Be careful of these things, that you use....because you could get arrested, for sex abuse...."

All for now...PYB

Tell Me How My Ass Tastes

As PYB flies off to AZ for the weekend, we offer some notes on various topics:

--A nice collection of college football information, courtesy of Yahoo! and the eighth grader who designed the page.

--A few prognostications:

Texas Tech +14 at Texas: Tech might make you regret this pick within two minutes of kickoff, like they did last week at home against Iowa State. But this is a hunch game -- TT ready to bounce back and Texas isn't very good.

Nebraska -17.5 vs. Northwestern: If the defense proves last week wasn't a fluke, the offense should be able to fall into enough points to cover this.

Oklahoma -14 vs. Texas aTm: We see this being another bottle blasting, like the one the Sooners handed out in Manhattan last week. aTm can't stop anybody, and OU's speed on defense should neutralize the Aggies enough to make 14 an easy number.

Stanford -20.5 at Oregon State: This is a 50/50 pick that we'll decide on after the early games. The Cardinal spent a lot of energy last week vs. USC, but Oregon State sucks.

Arizona -3.5 vs. Utah: Utah has proven they will never be contenders in a major conference. Arizona has a good offense and has shown signs of life after completing a brutal early-season stretch that culminated in Mike Stoops' firing. We like this one a lot. That said, Arizona 20, Utah 17.

Wake Forest +14 vs. Notre Dame: Vegas is giving ND too much credit considering what its done this season and Wake's home performances so far.

Missouri -2.5 at Baylor: Baylor is finished. We'd promote this one more highly if Gary Pinkel wasn't Mizzou's coach.

Oregon -16.5 at Washington: This line seems low, and after enough beers, it should be fun to bet on regardless of the result. PYB will just have to decide whether it will lift its betting ban on the Ducks, after they screwed us twice by a half point by going for two points after a TD -- for no reason...in the first half.....F U.

--An interesting link here, showing us all again that ">Shaq O'Neal is a drama queen, Kobe Bryant is a douche, and Derek Fisher was always a hard-working warrior who knew how to earn respect through actions and not words & media hype. Interesting how the NBA 'code' includes covering for teammates who cheat on their wives and rape locals at health spas.

--Speaking of drama queens, Erin Andrews always in the middle of something. This one takes the cake, however. Just get it over with and lay down for Playboy before you lose what's left of your hotness. PYB has never shared the nation's over-amazement with Andrews and once we saw the peeping tom video, it was confirmed her body was average at best. That, coupled with the fact that her voice drops an octave each year while she spews facts nobody cares about, makes her days at the top limited.

--Finally, in case you were wondering, Tony Barnhart is still a short-sighted, SEC-blinded idiot. He was irrelevant 15 years ago when he claimed any team from his beloved SEC would destroy Nebraska, even after the Cornhuskers put consistently major bottle blastings on the likes of Tennessee (twice) and Florida. How is he still employed? It's not like CBS still counts on the college football map, given that its coverage each week lasts about 15 minutes and that the clueless Tim Brando anchors its studio show.

All for now...enjoy the weekend....PYB

November Notes

PYB is back after our unexcused absence with some quick hitters this fine morning:

--The win over Michigan State was a nice one. The defense played its best game all season. The offense did what teams need to do to grind out wins consistently in conference play. Hell, even Bill Callahan had that formula down -- for one season, anyway.

But we get the feeling that the win over the Spartans is like that yearly win over Missouri. Sure, they're ranked. Sure, they present a mild challenge. But, in all honesty, it was Missouri. A team with some nice talent but many flaws and a history of meltdowns when the bright lights are on. A win like that is expected.

This year's NU squad will make its bacon in the upcoming weeks, as we all know, with trips to Penn State and Bitchigan. The fact that the offense has been more consistent and that the defense woke up is encouraging. Taylor Martinez will have to keep holding on to the ball and will have to break a few big plays to get wins in both those contests. We shall see.

--Speaking of Martinez, PYB never thought he could become a bigger pussy than he already was. Then he started wearing two gloves. Unless you're Kurt Warner and throw for 400 yards at will, or Dirty Doug Flutie in -22 temps in Buffalo/Canada...there is no excuse.

--Speaking of Martinez, it is sad to see that Ameer Abdullah has recently attended the QB's seminar on ball security. The last two games, Abdullah has had a few bobbles, fumbles and muffs. Not good stuff for your biggest special-teams playmaker at the time where he'll be needed the most to flip the field and win games on the road.

--Barney Cotton. What has happened to his status as annual PYB whipping boy? Well, it's gone away due to the offensive line's encouraging improvement. And let's not call it anything more than that. It's still far from dominating.

But our question is...is it any coincedence the OL can finally open some holes once Cotton outsourced the coaching to John Garrison and Brenden Stai? We say not. Cotton's units have always sucked. And in year one with some real tutelage available, the line can actually block. You do the math.

--Twenty Blackshirts were given out this week by the Pinelli brothers. Jason Peter isn't a fan. We can see his point, when stiffs like Austin Cassidy are wearing the same jersey he wore -- when it actually meant something. No word on whether Peter wore his black jersey while banging crack whores in New York City while he was strung out. We'll work on that story.

--Switching gears...why does Carson Palmer need more receivers for his new team in Oakland? He does just fine throwing balls to the other team and losing games that way.

--Suh going corporate. Ouch.

--Funny that Georgia's administrative process worked at JUST the right speed to suspend its players AFTER the Florida game last Saturday.

--PYB hopes to be back for analysis before the Northwestern game Saturday. However, our travel schedule may prevent that. What do we know about this year's Mildcat team? They're 0-2 in covering for us.

All for now....we can line you up with a sweet Blackshirt jersey like you see here for just $59.95 if you're interested....