Revisiting Callahan, Wannstedt

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I got some very interesting responses to my column last week on Nebraska coach Bill Callahan and Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt. Thanks to everyone for writing in. Some of the points raised were very insightful. Abe Meysenburg, of Tacoma, Wash., says that he felt Notre Dame's transition to Charlie Weis' offense has been easier than what Callahan is experiencing with the Cornhuskers because: 1) The Irish were running a West Coast offense already; 2) Weis inherited a lot more talent than did Callahan; and 3) Callahan has never had an experienced quarterback.

Good points all, and I agree, but ...

As far as the talent goes, it was quite obvious watching the Nebraska-Pitt game that Abe is right: there are no playmakers on the Nebraska offense. On the other hand, I don't think Notre Dame has had that much luck recruiting recently either. Still, the Irish are getting great production out of the players they have. All the guys making big plays in South Bend this season -- where were they last year?

I think the Cornhuskers have some talent, but it's all geared towards running the football. Against Pitt, I-back Cory Ross had 32 carries for 153 yards. And that, I think, is one of Callahan's big problems in finding talent for the passing game. Kids never went to Nebraska to do anything but run the ball.

Historically, of all the option offenses in the country, the Cornhuskers depended on the run the most. One reason is that the weather in Lincoln isn't ideal for wide-open football. Players who went to Nebraska have always been, for the most part, big kids from the Midwest -- especially Nebraska -- who wanted to be offensive linemen and lived to beat the crap out of guys. Running is a way of life out there. Callahan has a big hill to climb.

Still, he's just doing what he was hired to do. What was the athletic department thinking when it put a premium on opening up the game? Perhaps the program was losing out on top talent, because kids who want to play in the NFL all wanted to play in pro-style passing systems, but the Cornhuskers had won two national titles (1994 and '95) with their option offense.

In search of a kicker

An interesting factoid from the Official NCAA Football Records Book: The last time a conventional (straight-ahead) place-kick was attempted in Division I-A was in 1994. There was only one straight-ahead specialist practicing his art that year, and he made 17 of 21 field goal attempts. After several lackluster tries, I've been unable to identify the brave iconoclast. Anybody out there remember?