The N-Sider?s Five Favorite Bo Pelini Quotes

Randy York’s N-Sider

Welcome to the most pivotal week of Nebraska's football season.  It’s such a rush, I’ve decided to feature the top four of my Five Favorite Bo Pelini Quotes on the offensive side of the ball.  Why?  Because that’s the biggest storyline for Nebraska’s visit to East Lansing to play No. 10-ranked Michigan State Saturday night.  The Huskers, averaging 354.8 yards rushing per game, will try to test and stretch the field with the Big Ten Conference’s No. 1 running offense, which also ranks second nationally. 

The Huskers have rushed for 498 yards against Florida Atlantic, 458 against Illinois and 343 against Miami.  They also have averaged 228.3 yards rushing in three games against the Spartans as Big Ten opponents.  Senior I-back Ameer Abdullah twice has produced 100-yard rushing games against Michigan State.  Ameer and Ohio State’s Braxton Miller are the only players with two career 100-yard rushing games against MSU.  In fact, our media relations team points out that besides Abdullah and Miller, all of the other current Big Ten running backs have a combined total of only two 100-yard rushing games against the Spartans.  With that as a backdrop, we stay on the offensive in reverse order, and please, read every word that relates to all five quotes.  If you do, you’ll discover certain impending historic achievements that could startle you. 

5) On Bo’s thoughts about October 1 being the checkpoint for team growth and development: “When you have four or five games under your belt, you start to hit your stride ... I’ve seen a lot of positives. But you can’t beat yourself.”  Unfortunately, that’s what happened last year in Lincoln when Nebraska turned the ball over five times, including three times inside its own 20-yard line.  Bo was searching his soul answering this question. He even shared something he gleaned last week from John Wooden, arguably the greatest coach of all time.  The late Wizard of Westwood believes countless games aren’t necessarily won, but lost on one side or the other. In reviewing previous seasons, Bo came to a conclusion: “If somebody makes a play on you, they make a play,” he said.  “You’ve got to make them earn it. That’s what you’ve got to constantly fight against – being your own worst enemy.”  Interestingly, I’ve had the privilege to interview John Wooden twice, and one of his most fabled quotes will surprise you.  “If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything,” Wooden said before adding:  “I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.”  This week, The N-Sider hones in on a Husker offense that has flourished and should keep Saturday night’s showdown interesting, if not compelling.  

4) On what senior wide receiver Kenny Bell has meant to the offense and the program in general: “He’s a total package. He’s a team guy. If Kenny played in one of these spread offenses, he’d probably catch maybe a hundred balls. He’s a great receiver and somebody who’s a weapon.”  Five of my six grandsons have No. 80 Kenny Bell jerseys.  The only one who doesn’t is just nine months old. This year, Bell could become the first player in Nebraska football history to lead the team in receptions for four consecutive seasons. When he reaches that milestone, I will buy another jersey for our infant grandson to grow into.  Bell only needs 14 more receptions to overtake Nate Swift’s career high 166 catches from 2005-08.  With 190 additional receiving yards, Bell’s total of 2,480 yards would supplant Johnny Rodgers in Husker career receiving.  Those are glorious goals, but Pelini said Monday Bell understands that's not Nebraska's emphasis on offense. “That isn’t how we play, and Kenny doesn’t get caught up in all that,” Bo said.  “He’s mature enough to understand that statistics don’t tell the whole tale. You’ve got to keep that in perspective. He’s a team guy. He wants to win football games. He understands what his role is and how the offense works, and I think he does it extremely well.”

 

3) On what Bo thought of the offensive line after reviewing the film:  “I thought it was very good. I thought it was outstanding actually.”  Watching the blocking down the field was reminiscent of yesteryear … fast, physical, and more pancakes than IHOP. And if you’re looking for an incisive thought to connect what we’re seeing on the field to a historic benchmark, stop and ponder this incredible fact: Nebraska’s combined rushing output in the first five games of the season is the Huskers’ best total through five games since Nebraska watched Tom Osborne win his third and last national championship in 1997.  Looking for even more positive proof?  Nebraska’s 572.6 yards of total offense through five games is the Huskers’ best offensive start to a season since averaging 656.2 yards per game through five games in Osborne’s first national championship as a head coach in 1995.  “We’ve gotten better over the last few weeks of blocking movement,” Pelini said, adding that “hats on hats” give Husker backs “room to run”. Even though everyone wants to forget about Nebraska’s close call with McNeese State, that game became an instructional asset.  The Huskers’ reaction to McNeese’s movement was disappointing, but it became an ointment to soothe a flaw.  “That game made us better up front,” Pelini said.

2) On what Bo thinks of the numbers that Ameer Abdullah (above during Unity Walk) has put up so far this season: “My reaction is that I hope we’re saying the same thing in weeks 10, 11 and 12. I don’t know how it’s going to go, but I can tell you one thing. Right now he's playing at an extremely high level.”  Every Big Red fan should know this historic pursuit: Ameer is attempting to become the first player in Husker history to achieve three 1,000-yard rushing seasons.  “He feels fresh and feels good,” Pelini said.  “That’s a positive for us. If we keep blocking well for him up front, he’s a hard guy to deal with. He can’t do it by himself. He’s a great player … not good, but a great player … but we have to play great around him to give him an opportunity.”

1) On whether Ameer has ever talked to his head coach about his goals for this season:  “He wants to win. That’s all Ameer has on his mind. I mean Ameer has high standards for himself, but at the end of the day he wants to win football games. That’s why he came back. That’s who he is.”  With the great ones, that’s how simple life really is – winning supersedes any and every personal goal. “If Ameer ran for 20 yards and we won a football game, he wouldn’t blink an eye,” Pelini said.   “Obviously, he might be mad at himself if he didn’t play well. He’s a team guy. That’s what makes him who he is.” I end this N-Sider with another appropriate quote from John Wooden, who was, after all, an All-America basketball player at Purdue.  “The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team,” he said, taking a parallel perspective to Pelini’s perception.

Makes sense to me.  Both are Big Ten grads.

And proud of it.

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