Big Red Roundtable: 2006 Season Review

The Big Red Roundtable is a new feature that you'll be seeing more of in the coming months. A group of Husker bloggers, including Double Extra Point, Corn Nation and Husker Mike, will regularly gather at a circular table (pictured here) to discuss and debate all things Husker football.

With the 2006 season behind us, the roundtable convened its first meeting to discuss the Huskers' performance and name our 2006 team MVPs.

As a Nebraska fan you no doubt had a well-conceived set of expectations for the year. How did the 2006 Nebraska season jive with your preseason prospects?

Steve: The consensus was the Nebraska should win the North and they did. In that sense, the expectations were achieved, but only barely. Most Husker fans would have hoped for fewer than five losses, but it's not often the 22nd ranked team gets matched up with a top ten squad in a bowl.

Darren: They were exactly in line with my preseason prospects. On April 4th, I said in a post - "So, where to I come down on expectations for the '06/'07 version of NU football? I say, win the North. Then, win it again, and again, and again."

I believed then that this was the year to be "good". And our team's results confirmed that. We didn't beat the teams needed to get to great. That being said, this was the first time since '99 (that's last century!) that NU won the North and - perhaps more importantly - beat all of the other North schools. That matters, even if BCS-dreaming fans wanted more. It was the year to establish a foundation.

It's the second part of my expectations ("win it again, and again, and again") that I really want to see. That title-game situation is fluky. If you want to win the title and get to the BCS, you need to be on that field 5 out of 6 years. Then, you are almost assured of a break through. I mean, what if NU makes 2 plays that allow them to beat OU? I'd say fans would be ecstatic right now. Instead, we're 9-5. That's the trouble with title games. All I want is to dominate the division. After that, we'll have to take our chances with the football gods and the law of averages.

Given the long-standing success of Husker football how does losing five games influence your overall evaluation of the 2006 season? In other words, do the losses keep you up at night? Are you comfortable rationalizing them in some way? Or do you take the optimistic perspective of focusing on the left hand of the W/L column rather than the right hand?

Darren: Five losses sounds like a lot in the abstract, and can be hard for many to swallow...until you consider the number of games played and the caliber of the opponents. This isn't a 10-game sample, and it isn't the old Big 8. We played 14 games! And, the 4 of the losses were to teams (at the time) ranked in the top 10. That's some tough sledding. The loss that bothers me was the one to OSU (though, hey, the did win their bowl). What bugs me, and yes kept me up nights, was our inability to make the plays to win one or two of those close losses to top-tier teams. Those games were there for the taking and we didn't get it done. Missed opportunities bother me if it is 5 losses or 2 losses.

Steve: I see it as a journey. This year the Huskers took one step forward from a 7-4 regular season to 8-3 (in a season that included USC out of conference). That was definitely progress, even if it's not yet where we'd like to see Nebraska.

Now that the season has come to a close we know that Coach Callahan will go over all areas of the team with an IRS auditor's attention to detail. Help him out by offering a brief assessment of the 2006 offense, defense and special teams.

Steve: Obviously, the defensive secondary was a problem and with five players from the front seven departing that area has got to improve substantially. They've addressed it with recruiting but they also need to be confident that the players in the secondary are on the same page and will execute. I'd also like to see the Huskers get a lot more out of the kicking game. Both more field goals and better kickoffs and kickoff/punt returns. Again, it's addressed with recruiting but they need to look at how they're going about it. Offensively, the receivers seemed to regress as the season went along. Is that a coaching issue? Where's the confidence? Purify hasn't been the same since the start of the OU game and Nunn didn't respond all that well to his mistake versus Texas either. The offensive line could be better. Again, the recruits will help but what can they do to give their QB more time?

Darren: The offense exceeded everyone's expectations, particularly because of our ability to run the ball. Returning so many players on that side of the ball and the potential of a talent like Keller at QB makes me think BC and company could really throw gas on that fire and be one of the very best offensive teams in the country. It's time to be
great. They must embrace that expecation and be an offensive juggernaugt.

On defense, I'm hopeful, but they must address personnel issues. In the secondary, we might see near wholesale changes. Up front, the must replace 4 starters. I'm hopeful because there are players capable of filling the gaps. This will require serious coaching. Hope Cos, Elmo and Buddy are up to it. The good news is that NU has a very nice corps of LBs coming back. I want to see this group go from steady to spectacular. They need to make plays to win games. Really, the loss of two playmakers - Bowman and Octavien - for most of the season changed NU's back 7 considerably. With those two, results could have been different. I'm sure of it.

Special teams - wow, there will be some competition at kicker. One of the 4 we have on campus now needs to replace Congdon's accuracy. And, we must must must find somebody who can kick the ball out on kick offs. The return game had both flashes and disasters this year. They need to find consistent threats on both kickoffs and punts. NU has enough overall talent on the roster to find the right guy. Returns must become a priority.

No post-season assessment would be complete without handing out some hardware. Who are your 2006 Nebraska offensive and defensive MVPs and why?

Darren: On offense, it is Zach Taylor. What a smart and gutsy kid. I'm happy he got to be the offensive POY. And, regardless of whether he gets *any* shot at the next level, he has a huge Husker legacy.

On defense, it's hard to argue with Carriker. He was the player every team we played had to game plan for.

Steve: Zac Taylor on offense. I won't let the OU and Auburn games erase how good he was for the first 12 games. Defensively, it had to be Carriker. He usually owned the man across from him.

For something completely different. If you had to name a coach of the year from the Nebraska staff whom would you select? This can be based on any number of things, including performance of a particular unit or the improvement of a particular aspect/unit over previous seasons.

Steve: I'll say Wagner because the line really improved year over year. The Huskers had no running game in 2005 and a very respectable one in 2006.

Darren: It hurts me to say this because he is leaving, but I'm going with John Blake. The defensive line carried our defense to respectability, and at times they were simply the most dominant unit on the field.

And finally, bust out your mental scrapbook. What is your favorite/most impressionable or defining memory of the 2006 Husker season? This can be a play, a game, a thought/image, or in CBS March Madness terms - "One shining moment".

Darren: While most will go with the A&M catch for good reason, I'm taking NU's win over KSU for personal and historical reasons. If you want a singular image, I'd say it was NU's defensive line swarming in on their quarterback and running backs. I valued that game because it is emblematic of NU's accomplishing most fan expectations - win the North.

Personally, it was gratifying for our family, since my wife had only been to games in Manhattan post-'98. This exercised some demons.

Steve: For me it has to be the drive to beat Texas A&M. The catch by Purify to win the Big 12 North is one I won't soon forget.

Related: Read responses from other roundtable members: Double Extra Point, Husker Mike, Corn Nation

You don't have to be a blogger to join the roundtable. Share your thoughts in the comments!