Huskers Adjusting Chutes for Final Landing

Randy York’s N-Sider

Before Saturday’s first Nebraska kickoff against Purdue in 94 years, every fan in Memorial Stadium marveled at what the United States Army Golden Knights Parachute Team does for a living – jump out of airplanes and hope for the best landing possible. With all due respect to football, parachuting is one sport where you can never afford to have a bad day.  The Huskers beat the Boilermakers, 35-14, thanks to another productive Blackshirt performance, but make no mistake. Bo Pelini knows his young leaders need to adjust their chutes if they’re going to land in the right place at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison two weekends from now and Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, plus take care of their Senior Day home finale against Minnesota.  Pelini used the word sloppy in his postgame remarks – a word that needs to be systematically deleted.

Parachutes were indeed appropriate metaphors for Saturday’s Veterans and Military Day Salute Day.  Why? Because people have been using parachutes for hundreds of years.  Around 1495, in fact, Leonardo DaVinci designed a wooden framed parachute to complement his sketches of machines resembling modern-day helicopters. During World War I, parachutes were introduced as rescue devices and the first emergency bailout from an airplane occurred in 1922, two years after Nebraska's last game against Purdue at the Polo Grounds in New York. The Huskers were also looking for a bailout Saturday, and who could blame them? Against Rutgers the week before, Ameer Abdullah and Kenny Bell combined to produce 404 yards of offense between them. Against Purdue, that number dwindled to 6 yards, as in six – five for Bell and 1, as in one, for Abdullah.

Where’s Leonardo DaVinci when you need him? Pelini was remarkably calm in his postgame presser, probably because of two reasons: 1) A head coach can’t experience a more dramatic variance in production from one week to the next and still record two decisive conference wins; and 2) Coach Pelini believes that Ameer has a mild sprain and a small bruise where he was hit. “We’re very optimistic there,” he said. Considering the colder, tougher, industrial strength-like November weekends staring Nebraska in the face, parachutes can remain a valid metaphor. I’ve always believed that a parachute should come as standard gear on all commercial air transportation. But in football, as in life, there is no such luxury, so we stop where we are, hit the pause button for another bye week, and prepare to jump all over any team that thinks Nebraska still has not arrived. That’s why parachutes are the focus and were chosen to set the stage for my Top Ten photos from Saturday’s eighth Husker win in nine games:

Flags always set the tone for Nebraska's annual Veterans and Military Salute Day.

The widow, three daughters and two sons of a United States Army Medal of Honor recipient graced Tom Osborne Field with an oversized picture of their late husband and father.  Donald K. Schwab, a native of Hooper, Neb., was posthumously honored nine years after his death and seven decades after his heroic acts in World War II.

Nebraska's nationally prominent women's basketball team was honored Saturday for an unprecedented 2014 accomplishment.  The Huskers, coached by Connie Yori, won the Big Ten Conference Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis, the first-ever postseason women's tournament championship in school history.

ABC reporter Jeannine Edwards interviewed Andy Hoffman and his son, Jack, during the second quarter of Saturday's game. Andy was able to elevate pediatric brain cancer awareness and Jack came up with an honest quip for a national telecast. Asked about Ameer Abdullah's injury, Jack said simply: "It sucks."

Jack, 8, is a role model for Husker fans, including four Henderson brothers from Overland Park, Kan.: from left: Brody, 4; Payton, 9; Grant, 12; and Carter, 9.

Miles Ukaoma was in a league of his own at Nebraska in 2013-14. The senior sprinter from Maize, Kansas, won the 400-meter hurdles in the NCAA National Championships in Eugene, Oregon. On Saturday, he was recognized for that honor and told me an interesting story after walking off Tom Osborne Field where he was introduced to a  Memorial Stadium sellout crowd. Miles finally knows what it feels like when 90,000 fans show their singular appreciation. "I made the right choice choosing track over football," Ukaoma said, acknowledging that he politely declined football scholarships from Missouri, Kansas State and Kansas. The four-time Husker All-American said he "loved" his Nebraska experience with teammates and coaches. The Advertising major expects to graduate in December and is  competing for home country Nigeria. His goal – qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Nate Gerry's end zone interception gets my vote for both Play and Photo of the Game. Standing in the shadow was a senior Nebraska Cheer Squad member, who said that Gerry has made their Sioux Falls, S.D., hometown famous once again.

Maywood, Ill., native Corey Cooper (6) celebrates one of Corona, Calif., native Josh Mitchell's (5) two sacks Saturday against Purdue. Both are senior captains.

For a second straight week, Zaire Anderson led the Blackshirts with a game-high 11 tackles. The senior linebacker from Philadelphia by way of Riverside, Calif., Community College is infinitely more interested in tackles than game balls.

Senior captain and Heisman Trophy candidate Ameer Abdullah (8) is the catalyst for Nebraska's quest to win its first conference football championship since 1999.

Ameer Still 'May Be the Best Player in College Football'

After the game, Coach Pelini once again said that in his opinion, Abdullah still "may be the best player in college football, so you're going to miss him a little bit ... Ameer's a great player, but he's not Superman ... (his absence) should make them (teammates) want to rise up and play that much harder and rally around each other when a great player goes out." A young team didn't do what their hearts were thinking, and a bye week should help solve that issue. An MRI is encouraging evidence towards a possible Ameer return, but there are no guarantees. I'm thinking whatever parachutes the Huskers wear in the collective recesses of their minds at Wisconsin will feel a lot saver than Saturday's ride through some rough winds. In my opinion, the Huskers will handle the situation with greater confidence next time. 

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