Shatel: Team and trophy aren't pretty, but progress unmistakable

Lincoln — Anybody seen the bedpan?

The old Big 12 North trophy looks like one, and it was nowhere to be found Saturday night. The sky above Memorial Stadium was clear of fireworks. Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe was somewhere in the house, but not on the field and certainly not front and center of any trumped-up ceremony on stilts.

In short, this wasn't exactly the National League Wild Card, where the winner of the prestigious title breaks out the bubbly and acts like it just won the World Series.

This was Big 12 North champions, Tom Osborne style and Bo Pelini style. Act like you've been there, even if it's been a few years.

Which is the way it oughta be.

There was more emotion from the fans and the players after NU beat Oklahoma two weeks ago. When the Huskers ran out the clock on a 17-3 victory over Kansas State, they acted like they had just beaten Arkansas State.

It will be interesting to see how this division title is embraced around Nebraska.

The last time NU won the North, in 2006, there were many who mocked the accomplishment because the North looked like the cast from a Mel Brooks movie. Mostly, there was a backlash against coach Bill Callahan and athletic director Steve Pederson. They gave the impression that this was the endgame. There were fireworks and speeches.

Will those same critics mock the North this time? Doubtful. Osborne and Pelini command more respect. And a big part of that is the impression that they are about conference and national championships, that the North is just a step toward a bigger picture.

Pelini's reaction after Nebraska's victory over Kansas State fell right in line with that.

“Good win,'' Pelini said. “But this team hasn't played its best football yet. We will enjoy this tonight and move on to Colorado.''

Speaking of CU, riddle me this: how big a game is that now? We had this debate in the press box, and the consensus seemed to be that a nine-win season is as important as winning the North — that losing to the lowly Buffs would put a stain on this season.

That's all good and well, but let's not get too carried away.

You can get a little carried away, Nebraska.

This North title is a big deal.

Oh sure, the North is the nation's whipping boy. It was supposedly on the rise a couple of years ago, but it keeps finding new ways to reinvent its incompetence. Now Kansas is imploding. K-State had two choices: win the North or miss out on a bowl.

Coaches who win the Big 12 South make $3 million a year and play for the national championships. Coaches who win the North leave it off their résumé.

And yet here's why this Nebraska North title should not be dismissed: it's an important step in Pelini's plan, a major brick in the wall.

Never mind how ugly this division is or how Nebraska looked along the way. Big Red football in 2009 isn't about style points. You want style points, go buy a tape from 1983 or 1995.

Nebraska football, in year two of Pelini, is about trying to win anything and everything you can.

This is about habits. Pelini is trying to instill winning habits, game by game, brick by brick. You can't play for the national championship (well, most years) without winning the Big 12 championship, and you can't play for the Big 12 title unless you win the North Division.

And it's hard to win the North without dominating the rummies, er, teams in your own division. NU can still win four out of five from the North this year. That's what Friday is all about.

Look at the bedpan this way: it's a trophy for perseverance and toughness.

A month ago, Nebraska slumped off this field after an unthinkable loss to Iowa State. The season looked bleak. But a lot of people, starting with the offensive coordinator and quarterback, took the hits, went to their corner and came out swinging.

Now they are playing their best football in November, on all three sides of the triangle. Pelini is trying to get them in the habit of that, too.

So say what you will about the bedpan, but don't use it as a doorstop or, well, for what it looks like you would use it for. Give it a nice display. Use it as an example of how far this program has come under Pelini, even if the road is littered with stooges.

Go ahead, pop some bubbly. Just don't pour it over your head.

Contact the writer:

444-1025, tom.shatel@owh.com

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