76 to 39, Seventy-six to thirty-nine, 76 points in a Big 12 North football game; 76 is now a number that will be ingrained into Husker football fans for a long time. It will be a fitting remembrance of the Bill Callahan/Kevin Cosgrove era for decades, just as Osborne's 255 wins in 25 years is a number to remember, but for different reasons. I thing that 76 should stand for, is that it is/was the final reason for AD Tom Osborne to make sure that the 2007 season is the last one in Lincoln for Bill Callahan and company, for that, there is no doubt. The game started with a glimmer of hope as new quarterback Joe Gantz led the huskers down the field for the games first touchdown, capping the drive with a 3-yard run. Gantz, a 4-year junior from Palos Heights, Ill then came right back and gave the Huskers their second lead 14-7 mid-way through the first quarter, then the bottom dropped out and Kansas scored on 10 straight possessions and Gantz's 400 plus passing day and the Huskers 39 points on the road, which in many a situation would have been more than enough to earn a victory, was mere window dressing as the Husker defense once again showed they had more holes in it than a sieve as they gave up 572 yards to go along with the 76 points. In fact the Kansas defense had only given up a total of 33 points at home this season in their previous 5 match-ups. Kansas sophomore Todd Reesing also connected with a bevy of receivers on the afternoon, orchestrating a fine-tuned Kansas onslaught by completing 30-of-41 passes for 354 yards and six touchdown passes. Looks to me that Reesing should be a lock to be the 5th straight Big 12 offensive player of the week after playing Cosgrove's defense. You know the tough part is going to be selecting the Big 12 offensive player of the year after the season is over won't it? Besides the 76 points being a record, the 48 at half time is also a record. Too be sure the Huskers were beaten badly in the past, for example in 2003 we lost to Texas 31-7, to Kansas State 38-9, but those games now look like "nail-biters" compared to 76-39. For more than 90 plays the Jayhawks had only 1 penalty, no sacks allowed and no turnovers. I tell you that when I first saw the score running on the ESPNEWS ticker, I thought it might be a basketball score that would be possible between these two schools, but not in football. Every week I speculate if our defense had finally reached the bottom, for they say in order to make progress, you have to first hit rock bottom. Well I sure hope to GOD that 76 is rock-bottom, it has to be. KU's defense, which looked baffled early by some unexpected passing formations, made enough adjustments to come up with four straight turnovers and put the game out of reach. Now there's a concept for Callahan and Cosgrove in particular, make adjustments during the game in order to stop the other team. Hmmm think that might be what is called "coaching"? 76-39 do they have these sort of scores in conference such as the Big 10, SEC, ACC, or Pac-10; this was not Arena Football. If Osborne had not made up his mind about the coaching staff, this game had to do it for him. Many of us Husker faithful have now come to expect this type of game, that we have sunk to the level of Baylor that beating such as these have become the norm, that the other big 12 schools don't even consider it to be an accomplishment by beating the Huskers anymore. Someday Husker football will return, but that day seems a long way after seeing 76 this Saturday. November 24, 2007 is 3 weeks away that will be the day after the final game of the season against Colorado. That is now the date that all Big Red Fans have circled on their calendar. As this should be the final day in Lincoln for Mr. Bill and company. GBR!
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