Just Another Game? Callahan, Huskers Say So

Nebraska takes odd, low-key approach to biggest home game in 30 years

Sam Keller has discovered the wonders of pop psychology.

With his typical polish, NU's senior quarterback waxed philosophical on the importance of Saturday's contest against Southern California, echoing Head Coach Bill Callahan's "just another game" homily.

He called his Arizona State performance against USC in 2005 "such a distant, foregone memory that it doesn't come up in my head anymore."

As for the game itself: "With all respect to how big this game is for us, and for the fans, and for everybody in Nebraska, we have to do a good job of putting 'us' first."

Is Keller running for Sen. Chuck Hagel's soon-to-be-vacated seat? Ah, too young. Campaign manager, maybe?

He went on to explain, at length and with eloquent banality, that NU's prime directive is to put in a terrific week of practice before it dares to think about the glitz, the moment, and the biggest football game that most of his teammates will ever play.

"The focus isn't on SC this week, it's on us," Keller said. "How can we get better? How can we put our best product on the field and our best effort on the field to give us the best chance to win?

"…What you're gonna get is what you're gonna get from this game. It has all the things surrounding it to make it a huge game, as far as all the hype and different things, but as a team it's very, very important for us as players, and as coaches to take what we did wrong in that Wake Forest game and fix it."

That's exactly where Callahan wants Keller and the rest of his team: "On message" about this USC game. This isn't merely about atoning for all the sins of the Wake game; the Huskers, and Keller, played best when it mattered most. 

This is about making no bold proclamations this year. This is about a solid week of Tony Robbins, masking whatever motivational strategy Callahan has up his sleeve.

Callahan laid the groundwork in Monday's Big 12 Coaches Teleconference, and built on it Tuesday.

"The opponent is the opponent," he said. "We have great respect for whoever comes in here. But the main focus is trying to concentrate and improve your football team."

His final answer of the press conference included this rhetorical cherry:

"We don't even talk to the kids about wins and losses," he said. "We talk to them about doing their best."

Admirable, really. That's what coaches ought to teach.

But what a gutsy thing to say on the eve of the biggest home game in almost 30 years.

Skeptical reporters tried to push Callahan's buttons, especially after he said he hoped Nebraska's Memorial Stadium crowd would make a "huge, huge" difference in the game.

"So you don't want the fans to treat it like any other game?" a TV reporter joked.

"I don't think they're treating it like any other game," Callahan joked back.

No, they're not. On Friday night, and for 24 hours on Saturday, Lincoln will be, in the words of Danny Nee, "an electric zoo." This town craves this victory. This state does. It's been awhile. Memorial Stadium will be wild, tipsy, and ready to shake.

But Callahan and his crew will, effectively, to "run silent." When somebody asked Offensive Coordinator Shawn Watson whether USC was a big game, he answered somewhat reflexively "of course."

Why?

"It's obvious, right?" Watson said. "But really, honestly, for us, we have a lot of things to work on. We try every week to keep it focused on us..."

Watson went on like that.

Even Defensive Coordinator Kevin Cosgrove, a man who doesn't waste words, found time for the company line.

"Our concern right now is about us," he said. "How well we'll play and how we improve on last week."

Clearly, Callahan doesn't "want to be a salesman for USC."

Good. The Trojans get too much adulation anyway.

But the symmetry in answers isn't by accident, and it's not just to throw some cold water on reporters, because Callahan, by all accounts, is pretty generous with the media. It's part of the gameplan.

So if it flies, kudos to the coach. 

If it fails, it could be an interesting post-game press conference. 

Dining Guide

• Lincoln
• Omaha
• Greater NE

Calendar

• Lincoln
• Omaha
• Greater NE