Nebraska coach Bill Callahan said Monday that starting quarterback Sam Keller will miss the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury.

Keller suffered the injury during last Saturday's 28-25 loss at Texas. The senior transfer from Arizona State was 23-of-35 passing for 298 yards and two touchdowns before suffering the injury with three minutes to play.

Callahan declined to go into detail about Keller's injury, saying only that it was his shoulder and that he is out for the season. Callahan said Joe Ganz will be the starting quarterback for Saturday's 11:30 a.m. game at unbeaten Kansas and that Patrick Witt and Beau Davis would likely compete for the No. 2 quarterback spot this week.

Keller finishes the season 205-of-325 passing (63.1 percent) with 2,422 yards, 14 touchdown and 10 interceptions. His yardage total ranks third on the Nebraska single-season passing list, despite playing in just nine games for NU.

The Cornhuskers will also be without the services of senior linebacker Lance Brandenburgh for the remainder of the season. Callahan said Brandenburgh, who is Nebraska's fourth-leading tackler with 51 stops also suffered a shoulder injury.

Subscribe to
Posts [Atom]

AUSTIN, Texas -- How bad has it gotten? ESPN talking heads Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso gave Nebraska a "zero percent change" and a "one percent chance," respectively, in today's 2:30 p.m. game against Texas.

What's worse is that even the most ardent Big Red rooter is likely to agree. The Cornhuskers are 21-point underdogs who are riding a three-game losing streak. Don't be surprised to see coach Bill Callahan pull out a few additional stops in what might have to serve as Nebraska's bowl game this season.

Even then, will it be enough to keep things interesting in the fourth quarter?

The picks:
--Terry Douglass, sports editor: Texas, 37-17
--Dale Miller, sports writer: Texas, 34-14

Subscribe to
Posts [Atom]

LINCOLN -- The Big 12 Conference and Fox Sports Net have announced that Nebraska's Nov. 3 contest at Kansas will be televised by the network. Game time from KU's Memorial Stadium is set for 11:30 a.m.

The NU-Kansas game will mark the first time in 2007 that a Husker game will be part of FSN's regular Big 12 television package. The Huskers have had games against Ball State and Oklahoma State televised by FSN on a pay-per-view basis.

This will mark the second consecutive year the Husker-Jayhawk game has been televised by FSN. A year ago, Nebraska defeated Kansas 39-32 in overtime in Lincoln.

Nebraska's matchup with Texas this Saturday in Austin will be televised regionally by ABC, with a 2:30 p.m. kickoff. A game time and television information for the Huskers' Nov. 10 home finale against Kansas State will be announced six to 12 days in advance, while NU's Nov. 23 regular-season finale at Colorado will be televised nationally by ABC beginning at 11 a.m.

Subscribe to
Posts [Atom]

LINCOLN -- The sun is shining here again at Memorial Stadium. The weather seems to match the disposition of Cornhusker fans -- at least for now -- there's still a football game to play against Texas A&M, after all.

Yes, Tom Osborne's return to the athletic program has brightened the situation in Husker Nation. T.O. just got a standing 'O' as he left the field about 25 minutes before game time. However, even the Hall of Fame coach might not be able to save this Husker team from its current slide. We'll see.

The picks:
Terry Douglass, sports editor: Texas A&M, 35-20
Bob Hamar, assistant sports editor: Nebraska, 22-21
Kevin Schuster, sports writer: Texas A&M, 17-13
Brian Ayers, sports writer: Texas A&M, 28-27
Bob Gonderinger, sports writer: Texas A&M 35-1

Subscribe to
Posts [Atom]

The press release:

LINCOLN -- In a new development in leadership changes in the athletic department at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Chancellor Harvey Perlman announced today that Tom Osborne has agreed to serve as director of intercollegiate athletics on an interim basis.

Osborne left his head coaching post at Nebraska in 1997 after 30 years coaching football, including leading the Nebraska Cornhuskers to three national championships, 12 Big Eight titles and one Big 12 title. Osborne's teams finished in the top 10 17 times.

The Hastings native ended his head-coaching career with a record of 255-49-3.
Since Osborne left his post as 3rd district U.S. representative following a gubernatorial bid in 2006. He has been a senior lecturer in the UNL College of Business Administration, teaching leadership and business ethics.

Osborne met with Perlman this morning to discuss the interim post and Osborne agreed to serve, on an open-ended arrangement, until Perlman finds a permanent athletics director. On Monday, Perlman fired Steve Pederson, who had held the AD post since 2002.

Osborne said he looks forward to the challenge.

"I've spent the majority of my life working with the Athletic Department at the university and I want to do what I can at this point to continue in the pursuit of excellence that has been previously established," he said.

Osborne said he anticipated taking over duties right away and would also finish the semester teaching his two classes, which he enjoys.

Chancellor Perlman said he is pleased that Osborne agreed to provide leadership and that the university will benefit from Osborne's vast experience.

"I am very pleased that Tom Osborne has agreed to help bring some leadership and direction to our athletic program. Tom is committed to making the entire program successful. He brings the right experience, an understanding of Nebraska, and our aspirations. I look forward to working with him."

Subscribe to
Posts [Atom]

LINCOLN -- Word is that a press conference has been scheduled for 5:15 p.m. today here in Lincoln. The assumption here is that Nebraska chancellor Harvey Perlman will announce that former Cornhuskers' coaching legend Tom Osborne will be named as the program's interim athletics director. Stay tuned.

Subscribe to
Posts [Atom]

The Big 12 Conference and ABC Sports have announced that Nebraska's Oct. 27 game at Texas will be carried on the network. ABC will televise the game on a regional basis with kickoff set for 2:30 p.m.

The Huskers' appearance on the network will be their third ABC contest of the season, after home contests on the network against Nevada and USC. It will be the Huskers’ fifth appearance of the season on ABC or ESPN, as NU's road games at Wake Forest and Missouri were carried on ESPN.

This marks the third straight meeting between Nebraska and Texas that has been carried by ABC. Next Saturday's meeting will be the eighth between the schools since the formation of the Big 12, with seven of those games televised by ABC.

Nebraska will also be shown on ABC for its Nov. 23 regular-season finale against Colorado in Boulder. Game times and television information for the Huskers’ Nov. 3 game at Kansas and Nov. 10 home game against Kansas State will be announced six to 12 days in advance.

The other Big 12 games selected for Oct. 27 telecast were: Colorado at Texas Tech (11 a.m., ABC) and Kansas at Texas A&M (6 p.m. ESPN2).

Nebraska's game this Saturday against Texas A&M will not be televised. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.

Subscribe to
Posts [Atom]

LINCOLN -- If the rumors are true, it might have been a bad omen this week that Nebraska nose tackle Ndamukong Suh punched Victory in the nose -- Victory Haines that is. Heaven knows, the Cornhuskers need a 'W' badly this week to keep their critics at bay for at least another week.

Whether or not Suh plays today, both offenses are expected to dominate. Then again, wasn't that supposed to be the case last Saturday night at Mizzou? Also consider: This is a must-win game for Oklahoma State, too.

The 1997 national championship team will be honored prior to today's game. Question is, will that be an inspiration, or a reminder of how far the program has fallen in 10 years?

The predictions:
Dale Miller, sports writer: Nebraska 24, Oklahoma State 20
Brian Ayers, sports writer: Oklahoma State 34, Nebraska 24
Terry Douglass, sports editor: Nebraska 35, Oklahoma State 24

Subscribe to
Posts [Atom]

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Word is in the pressbox that the start time for tonight's Nebraska-Missouri game has been pushed back to 8:26 p.m.

Once things finally get started here at Faurot Field, most folks are expecting to see a lot of footballs flying through the air. Then again, Nebraska coach Bill Callahan sometimes seems to thrive on going against the grain.

Missouri has tabbed this game as the "Gold Rush" and Tiger fans have stepped up. There was definitely some good pregame "buzz" building for this one in tailgate alley.

The picks:

Terry Douglass, sports editor: Missouri 36-30
Dale Miller, sports writer: Missouri 41-24
Brian Ayers, sports writer: Nebraska 38-35

Subscribe to
Posts [Atom]

The hype and praise showered on Harrison Beck before coming to (and later transferring from) Nebraska is beginning to pale in comparison to the publicity that Cornhusker recruit Blaine Gabbert has been receiving since he first announced his verbal commitment to NU.

This week, SI.com features the future Cornhusker, assuming that he does follow through on his pledge to come to Lincoln.

Certainly, Nebraska fans should be excited if Gabbert lives up to his billing, but here's quessing that many supporters will look at Gabbert with a cautious eye until they actually see him excel on the field. Heavens knows the Huskers have had their share of bad luck recently with high-profile quarterback recruits as Beck wound up transferring to N.C. State and Josh Freeman had a late change of heart and went to Kansas State. Is Gabbert finally the guy? We'll just have to wait and see.

Subscribe to
Posts [Atom]