Player Profile: Lydon Murtha Nebraka Offensive Tackle

Pros: Murtha had a great Combine. He ran the 40 in 4.89, at 6’7’’, 309 pounds. He is a very impressive physical specimen with rare athleticism, which allows him to get into position quickly. He has above-average mobility.

Cons: Murtha plays too high and is often overpowered by the bull rush. He could add some weight and definitely needs to add strength before he is ready to play against NFL defenders. Some of his harsher critics describe him as being a bit soft. The former Cornhusker will not win many one-on-one battles or physically dominate his opponent. Not overly productive as a collegian, Murtha is likely limited to playing right tackle at the next level. Durability is a major concern for the Nebraska product who used a medical red-shirt as a true freshman and missed four games in each of the past two seasons due to a foot injury.

Scout’s Take: He is a decent prospect that shows a lot of upside. If he can hit the weights and become more of a physical force, he could be a pleasant second-day pick for an NFL team. However, if he is not able to become stronger, he will not last long in the NFL.

Photo Credit: College Press Box (Nebraska)

Big 12 Tackles Say, We'll Be Back

According to reports, a pair of Big 12 defensive tackles with first round potential have decided to return to school for the 2009 campaign. Oklahoma’s Gerald McCoy, a red-shirt sophomore, would have likely been rated as the top defensive in the 2009 Draft had he decided to forgo his final two seasons as a Sooner. McCoy, a 6’4/295 defensive demon, registered 30 tackles, including 11 tackles for a loss and 6.5 sacks, which were second on the team. McCoy recorded a sack and an interception of Tim Tebow in the BCS National Championship Game.

Also coming back to the Big 12 is Nebraska Cornhusker Ndamukong Suh. The junior led the Big 12 North school in tackles (76), tackles for a loss (19) and sacks (7.5), while picking off two passes and blocking a pair of kicks this season. Like McCoy, Suh had a brilliant bowl game (Gator Bowl win over Clemson) with a team-high eight tackles and two sacks. Suh was voted to the All-Big 12 Second Team, McCoy was a First Team selection.

Photo Credit: OU Athletics Department

Gator Bowl: Clemson vs. Nebraska

By JOSH BUCHANAN
January 1, 2009 * 1:00 PM * CBS

Clemson and Nebraska enter the Gator Bowl in an unexpected match-up as most felt Clemson would be in a BCS bowl before the season started. Clemson finished 7-5 overall and 4-4 in league play while Nebraska comes in 8-4 overall and 5-3 in the Big 12. After rollercoaster regular seasons, both schools need strong finishes to boost their programs heading into next season. Clemson enters this game unranked in both polls but is 19th in the Sagarin Rankings, while Nebraska is unranked and ranked 29th in the Sagarin.

When the Cornhuskers Have the Ball

The Cornhusker offense has been solid, led by senior QB Joe Ganz (3,332 yards, 23-10 ratio) and HM All-Big 12 RB Roy Helu (804 yards, seven touchdowns). While the offense has been fairly well-balanced, they are still a run first team anchored by 2nd team All-Big 12 RG Matt Slauson (6-5, 320) and HM All-Big 12 C Jacob Hickman (6-4, 290). Perhaps the biggest playmaker is senior WR Nate Swift (909 yards, nine touchdowns) who led the team in receiving. Senior WR Todd Peterson (690 yards, three touchdowns) was the #2 receiver and gave Ganz another solid target. Don’t be surprised to see Ganz, Slauson, Swift, Peterson, and backup RB Marlon Lucky (550 yards, seven touchdowns) in NFL training camps next fall. The Tiger defense has been a strong point giving up just 16.6 points, and less than 295 total yards per game. With two safeties likely to get drafted and two junior corners who have inquired about their draft status, it is no wonder that they have given up just 167.2 ypg passing this season. 1st team All-ACC SS Michael Hamlin (91 tackles, 6 INT, 7 PBU) brings great leadership and ball skills to the secondary. He is joined by FS Chris Clemons (2 INT, 3 PBU) and a pair of shutdown junior cover corners in Chris Chancellor (32 tackles, 4 INT, 3 PBU) and Crezdon Butler (40 tackles, 3 INT, 3 PBU). The defensive front has been a disappointment due to injuries to DE Ricky Sapp (25 tackles, 9.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks) who is out for the bowl game, DT Rashaad Jackson (8 tackles, 4 TFL, 2 sacks), and Jamie Cumbie. Their linebackers are young but could have a couple of potential stars in junior WLB Kavell Conner (91 tackles, 5.5 TFL) and freshman MLB Brandon Maye (66 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 2 sacks). Conner led the team in tackles and Maye has been mentioned as one of the top freshmen in the nation.

When Clemson Has the Ball

Clemson’s rushing attack is led by thunder and lightning. Second team All-ACC running back C.J. Spiller finished with 612 yards rushing and seven touchdowns in 11 games and James Davis (725 yards, 11 touchdowns) enters the postseason with a solid, but somewhat disappointing season compared to pre-season projections. Quarterback Cullen Harper has been bothered by injuries all season and finished with just 2,395 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. His top target, 2nd team All-ACC wide out Aaron Kelly (61 catches, 648 yards, three touchdowns), didn’t quite live up to his preseason billing, but still had a solid season for the Tigers. Speedy slot wideout Jacoby Ford (50 catches, 598 yards, three scores) provides Harper with a secondary threat as he is able to take it to the house at any time. The offensive line is anchored by 2nd team All-ACC center Thomas Austin who, like Ford and Spiller, has sent his name to the NFL Advisory Board to inquire about his draft prospects. For the Nebraska defense, the strength is on the line where the Huskers boast three All-Big 12 performers in NT Ndamukong Suh (68 tackles, 15 TFL, 5.5 sacks), DE Zach Potter (43 tackles, 14 TFL, 5.5 sacks, 6 hurries), and DT Ty Steinkuhler (6 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 3 hurries). One of the underrated performers is sophomore DE Pierre Allen (50 tackles, 9 TFL, 4 sacks), who played just 10 games. The linebackers are considered the weak link on paper and must step up in order to help keep Spiller and Davis in check. Honorable Mention All-Big 12 SS Larry Asante (64 tackles, 1 INT, 4 PBU) headlines a secondary that finished #2 in the Big 12 (235.7) in pass defense in a year where the Cornhuskers finished in the middle of the pack in almost every other category.

Final Analysis

Something has to give in this game as Nebraska enters averaging 36.2 ppg while Clemson leads the ACC in scoring defense (16.6). Nebraska also boasts a solid run defense (125.8) and while you would think Clemson would expose it on paper, the Tigers only put up 120.5 ypg this year. Since the firing of Tommy Bowden, Dabo Swinney has led the Tigers to a 4-2 record, including three straight wins and a romping of rival South Carolina. Nebraska won their last three games after a loss to Oklahoma on November 1st. With two hot teams, this is an intriguing Gator Bowl that you just shouldn’t miss.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (8-4, 5-3)
Pass: Joe Ganz – 3,332 yards, 23 TDs
Run: Roy Helu Jr. – 804 yards, 7 TDs
Catch: Nate Swift – 909 yards, 9 TDs

Clemson Tigers (7-5, 4-4)
Pass: Cullen Harper – 2,395 yards, 11 TDs
Run: James Davis – 725 yards, 11 TDs
Catch: Aaron Kelly – 648 yards, 3 TDs

Photo Credit: Collegiate Images

This Date in College Football History

Nov. 14, 1992: After losing 14 consecutive games in the series, Iowa State stuns No. 7 Nebraska with a 19-10 upset in Ames. Cyclone coach Jim Walden allows third-string quarterback Marv Seiler to start in the senior's last home game. Seiler, coming into the game with only 31 yards rushing, dashes 78 yards setting up fullback Chris Ulrich for a two-yard touchdown run. Kicker Ty Stewart adds four field goals.

Credit: The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame

Senior Spotlight: Big 12 Conference

WR JUAQUIN IGLESIAS, OU

While Malcolm Kelly (Redskins) garnered most of the national attention among the Oklahoma receivers in 2007, it was Juaquin Iglesias who led the Big 12 Champions in receptions and receiving yards. The Texas native runs sound routes and has arguably the most reliable hands in the conference, if not the country. His quick acceleration makes him a threat after the catch and a dangerous weapon in the slot. Iglesias understands how to work the sidelines and the middle of the field on third down situations, often coming through in big spots. This Sooner is also a fabulous return man. Undersized both in terms of height and bulk, Iglesias’ understanding of the game, quickness and sound technique make him one of the top senior wide outs. He currently leads the Sooners in receptions and receiving yards and is on his way to a 1,000-yard season. His next touchdown catch will set a new career high and in four conference games, the senior is averaging 119.5 yards per game.

2008: 44 Receptions, 746 Yards, Five Touchdowns
Career: 172 Receptions, 2,457 Yards, 14 Touchdowns

RB MARLON LUCKY, NU

At 6’0 and 215 pounds, Lucky has good size but is not the special back many projected coming out of high school—he simply lacks the explosiveness of a marquee runner. However, he has been a very solid contributor to the Cornhuskers’ offensive attack for the last two-plus seasons. What the California native does well is run hard and catch the ball out of the backfield—his 75 receptions in 2007 were the most of any running back. In addition to possessing a dependable set of hands, Lucky is also productive after the catch, averaging 10 yards per reception over his career. While he is not as productive as a receiver this season (20 receptions), he is averaging a career high 13.6 yards per reception. A bright young man, Lucky is known for his good character. After a slow start, Lucky has averaged over 4.0 yards per carry in each of his last three games. He has crossed the goal line in his last two contests, both Nebraska wins. Last week against Baylor, he bettered 80 yards both as a runner and a receiver.

2008: 455 Yards, 4.4 per Carry, Seven Touchdowns
Career: 2,331 Yards, 4.7 per Carry, 22 Touchdowns

QB GRAHAM HARRELL, TEXAS TECH

Harrell’s numbers have been off the charts, but that is nothing new for Mike Leach’s quarterbacks since the coach arrived in Lubbock. Even so, it is difficult not to be impressed by Harrell’s 16 games of 400-plus passing yards in his last 22 contests dating back to Tech’s bowl win his sophomore season. Harrell is a cool costumer, who in back-to-back seasons has led the Red Raiders to improbable comeback wins in bowl games, earning MVP honors both times. He is bright and makes good decisions with the football and also earned Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors for his work in the classroom. He continuously has to prove to doubters that he is not a “system quarterback”. Harrell makes quick decisions and is an accurate passer, but does not have prototypical size or arm strength. Last week, Harrell led the Red Raiders to five touchdowns in five first half possessions in Lawrence, as Texas Tech remained undefeated and cracked the top five. In four Big 12 games, the senior signal caller has thrown 16 touchdowns and only two interceptions.

Photo Credit: OU Athletics Department

This Date in College Football History

October 28, 1939: Kansas State's homecoming contest against Nebraska becomes the second college football game ever televised, following the Fordham-Waynesburg contest in New York earlier that fall. The Cornhuskers spoil homecoming with a 25-9 triumph in Manhattan, Kan., before a limited Nebraska ETV audience in the surrounding area.

Credit: The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame

This Date in College Football History

Sept. 9, 1972: Unranked UCLA stuns No. 1 Nebraska, ending the Huskers' 23-game winning streak. With the game tied 17-17, Bruins quarterback Mark Harmon (1973 NFF National Scholar-Athlete) leads a 57-yard drive, setting up 30-yard field goal by kicker Efren Herrera with 22 seconds left for a 20-17 win in Los Angeles.

Credit: The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame

This Date in College Football History

Aug. 29, 1998: At Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb. a crowd of 76,021 watches the Eddie Robinson Classic. Nebraska beats Louisiana Tech 56-27 in the debut of new Huskers head coach Frank Solich. Bulldogs' Troy Edwards sets an NCAA game record by catching 21 passes for 405 yards and three touchdowns.

Credit: The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame

Colorado outscores Nebraska 65-51

By EDDIE PELLS
AP National Writer

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - He was trying to make a good final impression. Instead, Bill Callahan gave his athletic director and all those die-hard Nebraska fans one last glimpse of what a proud program looks like when it's disintegrating.

The once-mighty Cornhuskers gave up 34 straight points in the second half Friday en route to another loss by a videogame score - 65-51 to Colorado, which now has a shot at a bowl bid that could have gone to Nebraska.

Instead, the Huskers will go home with only their second losing record since 1962 - both have come during Callahan's four seasons in Lincoln.

Cody Hawkins threw for 241 yards and Hugh Charles ran for 169 yards and three scores to lift the Buffs (6-6, 4-4 Big 12) to the break-even mark in an up-and-down season that includes a victory over Oklahoma and a loss to Iowa State.

As always, a blowout over Nebraska (5-7, 2-6), in the highest-scoring game in the history of the 66-game series, will be a highlight for Colorado. But as everybody knows by now, this year's Huskers are nothing like the old Big Red.

Next up at Nebraska - that long-awaited meeting, scheduled for Saturday, between Callahan and interim athletic director Tom Osborne, the one-time coach who never would have let a debacle like this unfold at Folsom Field.

For a while, it didn't seem destined to end this way.

Nebraska rolled through the first half. The Cornhuskers scored 73 points in their last game, a win over Kansas State, and led 35-24 at halftime of this one after piling up 393 yards against a Buffs defense that has had plenty of its own problems this year.

In the third quarter, some poor sideline management turned the game into another Big Red embarrassment.

Leading by 11 and facing third-and-2 from its own 19, Nebraska got nailed with consecutive 5-yard penalties - once for illegal substitution and once for delay of game. That made it third-and-12, and on that play, Huskers quarterback Joe Ganz threw the ball straight to Colorado cornerback Jimmy Smith, who returned it 31 yards for a touchdown.

On Nebraska's next offensive play, Ganz underthrew Nate Swift, who batted the ball in the air to be intercepted by Lionel Harris. Four plays later, Charles ran 7 yards to put Colorado ahead 44-35.

Nebraska's next drive ended in a blocked punt, which led to another CU touchdown, and suddenly a 10-point Nebraska lead had become a 16-point deficit.

Ganz threw another pick late in the fourth quarter - this one batted up by receiver Maurice Purify, which led to a 51-yard interception return by Cha'pelle Brown and Charles' third score for a 58-35 lead.

That was 34 straight points, five straight touchdowns, and when the Buffs answered a garbage Nebraska touchdown with one of their own, they because the second team to hang 60 on the Huskers this month. Kansas beat Nebraska 76-39 three weeks ago.

For Colorado, this win will look good alongside that 62-36 blowout over Nebraska in 2001 that led to CU's last Big 12 title. This was the first time CU has cracked 60 since then.

Ganz finished with 484 yards passing for the Huskers and holds plenty of promise for whoever coaches him next year. Purify had 11 catches for 136 yards and three scores, but also had his share of drops and bobbles that cost the Huskers.

Of course, offense hasn't been Nebraska's problem this year.

The defense surrendered 518 yards, which was 45 yards above its average.

Source: ncaafootball.com; Photo Credit: CU Sports Information Office

Fixing Nebraska a duty -- and labor of love -- for Osborne

By NANCY ARMOUR
AP National Writer
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- The last thing Tom Osborne wanted was to be a distraction.

He left Nebraska as a dynasty, with three national titles in his last four years, and a perennial place in the top 10. The Cornhuskers were one of those handful of football programs that everybody envied and everybody wanted to emulate.

But it was his choice to leave in 1997, his choice to turn his beloved Cornhuskers over to somebody else. To linger would cast a suffocating shadow across his successors, and self-aggrandizement is not the Tom Osborne way.

So he taught classes here and there, and tried his hand in politics. His name was on the posh new athletic center, but Nebraska was no longer his domain.

"I thought there would never be another connection with the athletic department of any significance," he said. The Huskers are in trouble, though, and when they came calling Osborne could not say no. He could no more turn his back on the program he
shaped than he could on a member of his own family.

"I thought the athletic department, the football program was very important to this state. Whatever I could do to help, I should do it," he said. "It would have been hard to walk away from it and say, `Well, it's not my problem.'

"It is ingrained in our family and my life. So it would be very hard to say, `Well, I won't try to help if they think I can help.' I just couldn't do that."

Once again, Nebraska's fate is in Osborne's hands. The 70-year-old won't be on the sidelines, or teaching the triple option, or traveling the country trying to entice high schoolers to come to Nebraska. But he will decide who will.

As the interim athletic director, Osborne will decide after the season whether coach Bill Callahan stays or goes. The course he sets will determine whether the Huskers return to the ranks of college football's elite or slide into irrelevance, a shell of the program it once was.

"He cares so much about that program, he wants to see it back to where it was when he got out of coaching," said Scott Frost, quarterback of Osborne's last team, the 1997 squad that went undefeated and won a share of the national title.

"Tom Osborne is such a good man," added Frost, now an assistant at Northern Iowa. "His team is important to him, doing everything he can for other people is important to him, and the success of his program and the well-being of the state of Nebraska are what matters to him."

These are, suffice it to say, tough days at Nebraska. The Huskers take a five-game losing streak into Saturday's home finale against Kansas State, their worst stretch since 1958. After going 43 years without a losing season, they're in danger of their second in four years. The 76 points they gave up to Kansas last weekend were the most in school history, and they've been playing football for 118 years at Nebraska.

Worse, the Huskers have lost their identity. The home of the triple option gave way to yet another version of the West Coast offense. The defense, a bedrock of Nebraska's dominance, is ranked 112th out of 119 teams, giving up almost 478 yards a game. Only the University of Alabama at Birmingham gives up more yards on the ground.

"It doesn't necessarily hurt me to see Nebraska lose -- I don't like it, but what really hurts me is if I see them not being competitive," Osborne said. "If we go out and it appears as though we don't have much chance to win in a given game, that's difficult to watch."

Even as the Huskers stagger to the end of the season, there is excitement and optimism among fans again, simply because Osborne is back. At Husker Headquarters, a sporting goods store a few blocks off campus, the "got tom!" and "Order ResTOred" T-shirts sold out within days of his return.

"The fact Osborne is back has given people hope," said Shawn Wright, a part-owner of Woody's Pub and Grill in downtown Lincoln, where a Nebraska flag flies proudly outside the door. "He's pretty much a hero around here."

Little wonder.

Nebraska football is much more than a sport to this unassuming, hardworking state. With no professional teams and little exposure beyond I-80, the Cornhuskers are Nebraska's identity. They're the one thing that unites everyone from Omaha to Ogallala.

"They invest in it -- and I don't mean dollars," said Dan Cook, a longtime benefactor whose family's name is on the Huskers indoor practice facility. "From the time you are able to roll over in the crib, you have a red pair of diapers on."

And like Bobby Bowden at Florida State or Joe Paterno at Penn State, Osborne is as much a part of the Nebraska fabric as that "N" on the helmet.

After serving as offensive coordinator to Bob Devaney, who first molded the Huskers into a Big Eight power that rivaled Oklahoma and Missouri, Osborne took over in 1973. In 25 years, he had 17 top-10 teams, and never won fewer than nine games. He had three undefeated seasons, and went 60-3 over his last 63 games.

By the time he retired, it was hard to tell where he left off and the Cornhuskers began.

"It's a special place," said Trev Alberts, the former All-American linebacker who is now an analyst for CSTV. "The reason all those people have those feelings and the pull to that place is because of how coach Osborne made a place that was family, that was comfortable, that treated us right.

"Some of the greatest experiences we had in our life were those few years we were cared for unlike any other time."

Osborne was only 60 when he retired after the 1997 season. Though he had a history of heart problems -- he had bypass surgery in 1985 -- that wasn't why he left. He'd promised someone in 1992 -- he's never said who -- that he would only stay for another five years.

When those five years came and went, he still wanted to coach, but he had given his word, and where Osborne comes from, you honor your word.

"I look at it with mixed feelings," he said. "To leave with a winning season, an outstanding season, was something not many people get to do. And it forced me to broaden my horizons.

"I probably would never have run for Congress. I really value that experience. It wasn't always easy, and it wasn't maybe my cup of tea because of the partisanship. But it caused me to stretch a little bit, and that was probably a good thing."

After three terms in the House of Representatives, Osborne decided he could better serve Nebraska as governor. But he lost in the Republican primary in the spring of 2006.

Retired once again, he and his wife, Nancy, traveled. They spent time at their house in the western part of Nebraska, and Osborne was able to indulge in two of his favorite passions, hunting and fishing.

He also returned to the classroom, teaching two hour-and-15-minute classes on leadership on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Nebraska's business school.

"It's something I really enjoy. It's something I like to do," said Osborne, who has a doctorate in educational psychology and is often called "Dr. Tom."

Then came that call from Nebraska chancellor Harvey Perlman. "I didn't see it coming," Osborne said. "I talked to Nancy, my wife, because it would mean that she would be sacrificing some things again because we'd had more flexibility. We were able to travel when we wanted to, do what we wanted. Now this is taking some time. (But) she thought it was important, too."

On Oct. 16, a day after athletic director Steve Pederson was fired, Osborne was back in charge.

"It is a little bit unique," he said. "Most athletic directors today are people who have MBAs and come out of the business world. Some of them have very little athletic background. I think we lost something in the process. I'm not saying those people can't be good athletic directors. But it really helps to have experienced losing your No. 1 quarterback the day before a big game, or to have a loss that's really devastating or to have people on your back. I think I bring an understanding of what coaches and athletes go through on a regular basis to the table.

"It doesn't mean that I can't learn some of the things that I need to learn about the business aspects. But I think it's really important that we maintain that human side of the athletic department."

Though Osborne's title is interim athletic director, he isn't going anywhere anytime soon. His spacious office at the Osborne Athletic Complex looks as if he's been there for months. After looking drawn and worn out when he left politics, he appears rejuvenated. There's a sparkle in his blue eyes, and it's as if 10 years have fallen away.

Nebraska's won-loss record may be the most immediate problem, but Osborne said there was more to the change than that. There was growing discontent among fans and donors, and even some former players had begun to feel alienated from the place they always thought they could consider home.

But Osborne is the great unifier, the one thing all Nebraskans can agree on. Even now, Alberts said he makes two phone calls when something big happens in his life: one to his parents, one to Osborne.

"It's character, the quality of the human being," Cook said. "Tom is not Mr. Excitement. He's not glib. Humor comes somewhat difficult for him, although he can tell some awfully cute stories. But he's as solid a human being as I know."

There is, of course, the danger that Osborne's return could ultimately hold the program back. That, regardless of his title, his presence will loom so large that no matter who is Nebraska's coach -- Callahan or someone else -- he will be found wanting.

Those who know Osborne best, though, say he would never let that happen. He is not one for the spotlight and never has been. He cares more about the process than grand pronouncements, and he truly does have the best interests of Nebraska -- the players, the program, the school and the state -- at heart.

"What he thinks is right and wrong, he'll never compromise that. It's not like him to run a puppet regime or get involved where he doesn't belong," Frost said. "One of the quotes that he told us a lot was ...`The only life worth living is a life spent in service of other people.'

"Tom doesn't just talk that, he lives that."

Source: AP Wire; Photo Credit: Collegiate Images