Bo Says It's His Words Only

As Mitch Sherman points out today, there were over 50 members of the media including 6 writers from JUST the World Herald alone who were left holding their pencils after Nebraska got white washed by Oklahoma 62-28 in Norman last night. Bo's reason for not allowing his team to talk to the media? He is the one who will be speaking for the Huskers - it's his team after all so it's his words only.

While I completely understand why Bo Pelini would not want anyone talking about the embarrassment of the loss, there is not much you can say except that Oklahoma is 10 times the team as Nebraska, but you have to wonder why Bo decided to do this now? Coaches often believe that speaking to the media is a privilege for younger players. Having your name in print is cool and getting to be on TV is great for being BMOC but this is a gamble by Bo that might come up craps. You don't want to end the honeymoon with the media this quickly in my opinion. You've had nothing but love from the Husker media and you give them the middle finger treatment with only contentious press conference quotes to use? "If you don't like it, tough," Bo said. "Ask me the questions you'd ask the players" Ok Coach - that's big of you.

Earlier this year Bo Pelini apologized to the state of Nebraska following the awful performance against Missouri and promised that it will never happen again. Well, it happen just 4 weeks later - this time with a lot of ex Husker greats present. Bo has had a ton of positive press since getting the job earlier this year but if you prevent the news media from doing their job - you are running the risk of changing the tone in which the Huskers will be covered. Bo has a job to do - so does the media. Preventing even coaches from talking is not going to make many friends and it makes Pelini look like a control freak.

It is now time to start questioning the demeanor of the 1st year Husker Head Coach. What is he trying to accomplish by screaming his head off on national TV as his team is getting blasted to the tune of 35-0 after 1 quarter? Wouldn't a timeout to talk to his team be a better use of his voice? What about his behavior towards the refs? Does anyone not believe that Bo's actions on the sidelines are leading to his team having personal fouls in nearly every game including a player getting ejecting last night? His team has 17! on the year. These were my concerns when Bo was hired. I don't believe you can learn to be a Head Coach at a place like Nebraska. The spotlight is too bright if you've never stood on center stage before. So far, I'm right.

As I've stated a number of times before - I'm not saying that Bo's is the wrong guy for Nebraska. He was the perfect hire for the NU family - the ex players, boosters and fans who were alienated by Steve Pederson. But I am saying that I am undecided as to if he's the right guy for the football team. First, Virginia Tech and a flag that hurt his team. Then a pathetic effort vs. Missouri and a public apology afterwards. Then talk that the coaches weren't on the same page for the better part of the year. Now a blow out loss to OU and muzzling of his team. This year is shaping up as a foundation to how Pelini will handle adversity and right now - he's not projecting confidence to anyone following Nebraska football.

(BTW - Did you see ESPN.com's bowl projections:

Insight(Big 12 vs. Big Ten)
Nebraska vs. Iowa <--- !!!! )