Tramel's ScissorTales: Can Nebraska avoid repeat of Week Zero disaster against Northwestern?
Nebraska changed quarterbacks and kept its head coach.
The Cornhuskers have had so much trouble on the U.S. Mainland, they’re taking their show across the ocean.
Nebraska derailed in Week Zero 2021, but give the Huskers credit. They’re back for more Week Zero spotlight.
Which is where Nebraska sits as college football 2022 arrives.
That’s right. College football is here. College football is here!
Some day, maybe college football will kick off with something grander than Week Zero, a small mishmash of games in which some teams get an exemption to play a week earlier than the designated start date.
But at least this year, we’ve got 11 games, stretching from Dublin, Ireland, to Honolulu.
We’ve got a Big Ten matchup. We’ve got two other Power Five teams on the schedule. We’ve got some Oklahoma-connected games worth following.
And the best thing about Week Zero is that it’s only five days from Week 1.
Let’s get to the predictions.
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Nebraska vs. Northwestern in Dublin, Ireland, 11:30 a.m., Fox: Cornhuskers 28-23. Nebraska went 3-9 last season and easily could make the case of being the best 3-9 team of all time. Eight of the Husker losses were by eight points or less; the ninth defeat was 26-17 to Ohio State. Coach Scott Frost kept his job, but quarterback Adrian Martinez transferred to Kansas State. Nebraska responded by grabbing Texas transfer Casey Thompson. That’s a net loss for the Huskers. Martinez is the better QB. Northwestern had a miserable 2021 itself, going 3-9 itself and losing 56-7 to, yes, Nebraska. But the Huskers played Illinois in Week Zero a year ago and lost 30-22 on national television. Nebraska is capable of such a dud performance again, but I’m betting the Huskers’ record will be much improved.
Wyoming at Illinois, 3 p.m., Big Ten Network: Illini 27-10. Sudden thought. Wouldn’t Illini coach Bret Bielema make a great coach at Nebraska?
Vanderbilt at Hawaii, 9:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network: Rainbow Warriors 24-20. Vandy coach Clark Lea famously said the Commodores will one day be the nation’s best program. The greatest story ever told does not start on the Islands.
North Texas at Texas-El Paso, 8 p.m., Stadium stream: Eagles 31-28. UTEP had a breakout season, 7-6, in 2021 under fourth-year coach Dana Dimel, and the Miners are the guests for OU’s Sept. 3 opener. But Seth Littrell’s Mean Green has more firepower.
Nevada at New Mexico State, 9 p.m., ESPN2: Wolf Pack 20-17. New Nevada coach Ken Wilson has yet to name a starting quarterback, so we don’t know the status of OSU transfer Shane Illingworth.
Charlotte at Florida Atlantic, 6 p.m., CBS Sports Network: Owls 29-20. We’ll go with the home team in a game that features programs that recently employed familiar defensive coordinators Glenn Spencer (OSU to Charlotte) and Mike Stoops (OU to FAU). But both have moved on. Both are coaching linebackers; Spencer at Wake Forest, Stoops at Kentucky.
Connecticut at Utah State, 3 p.m., Fox Sports1: Aggies 35-15. Still hard to believe that just 12 seasons ago, UConn was in the Fiesta Bowl against OU. Since then, the Huskies have lost their conference and their way. Can new Jim Mora save the Huskies?
Duquesne at Florida State, 4 p.m., ACC Network: Seminoles 59-7. Duquesne played Texas Christian a year ago, which was the first time I discovered Duquesne had a football program.
Florida A&M at North Carolina, 7:15 p.m., ACC Network: Tar Heels 62-13. Mack Brown’s Tar Heels went bust last season despite massive expectations. Maybe this year, UNC will soar with lesser hopes.
Austin Peay at Western Kentucky, 11 a.m., CBS Sports Network: Hilltoppers 41-14. WKU was one of the biggest losers of conference realignment. No league seemed to want the Hilltoppers; they remain in a watered-down Conference USA.
Idaho State at Nevada-Las Vegas, 2:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network: Rebels 38-10. UNLV is an underfunded program, which is why all the talk about the Rebels as a Power Five expansion target is quite silly.
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The List: Big 12/Big Eight coaching wins
Mike Gundy’s declaration Thursday that he plans to coach past age 65 (Gundy is 55) means Gundy could soar up the list of coaching victories in Big 12/Big Eight history. Here are the 10 coaches from the Big 12/Big Eight era with at least 90 victories:
1. Tom Osborne, Nebraska 255-49-3: Osborne coached from 1973-97; the Cornhuskers’ fall since Osborne’s retirement 25 years ago(!) is further evidence of his greatness.
2. Bill Snyder, Kansas State, 215-117-1: The best coach in college football history had two stints in Manhattan, 1989-2005 and 2009-18. Both were successful.
3. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma, 191-48: Stoops’ stock has only risen since his retirement in June 2017 after 18 seasons. Stoops did get an extra victory last December, leading OU to an Alamo Bowl victory in the wake of Lincoln Riley’s exodus to Southern Cal.
4. Mack Brown, Texas, 158-48: How’s Mack looking now in Austin, after being run off after 16 seasons (1998-2013)? The Longhorns have struggled, and Brown has staged a cool renaissance at North Carolina.
5. Barry Switzer, Oklahoma, 157-29-4: That loss column remains the stunning number on Switzer’s ledger – 29, in 16 seasons (1973-88).
6. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State, 149-69: Since going 4-7 in his first season, 2005, Gundy is 83 games above .500. Pat Jones, second on OSU’s all-time wins list, had just 62 victories total.
7. Bob Devaney, Nebraska, 101-20-2: Oft-forgotten, except in the Corn Kingdom, Devaney was an all-time great, coaching the Huskers from 1962-72.
8. Don Faurot, Missouri, 100-80-10: In between coaching the Tigers from 1935-42 and 1946-56, Faurot coached military football during World War II, when he introduced Jim Tatum and Bud Wilkinson to the split-T, no small development in OU history.
9. Bill McCartney, Colorado, 93-55-5: Yes, the Buffaloes once were in the Big 12. Yes, the Buffaloes once were terrors in college football. And McCartney was the architect, from 1982-94.
10. Dan Devine, Missouri, 92-38-7: You know, Mizzou has had some excellent coaches. Faurot, Gary Pinkel, Devine, the latter from 1958-70.
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The story behind Lisfranc injury
Chet Holmgren’s foot injury was terrible news for the Thunder. The 7-foot-1 rookie suffered a ruptured tendon, not a fracture, in his foot. An injury called Lisfranc by the medical community. Lisfranc is when one or more of the metatarsal bones are displaced from the tarsus.
I’m already lost. But it’s a mid-foot injury. Sam Presti called it an “acute injury … the result of him basically being pressed down, getting ready to jump at the exact time that he was getting force on his foot. A millisecond earlier where he's up in the air already or a millisecond later where his foot is flat, then you're not dealing with something like this.”
Well, there you go. Milliseconds waging war on the Thunder.
It’s getting old learning all this medical information. Kevin Durant’s Jones fracture. Russell Westbrook’s meniscus. Now the Lisfranc.
I guess it could be worse. The early Lisfranc victims suffered much more dire consequences than missing a TNT showdown against Orlando.
The injury gets its name from Jacques Lisfranc de St. Martin, a French surgeon and gynecologist in the 1800s, back when doctors apparently were much less specialized.
Lisfranc detected a variety of such foot injuries among French cavalry men after the War of the Sixth Coalition, which drove Napoleon into exile. Austria, Prussia, Russia, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, Spain and a variety of German states combined to defeat France. Sounds like an unfair fight.
Anyway, French medical journals report that Dr. Lisfranc treated a soldier who developed vascular problems and secondary gangrene of the foot, after a fall from a horse. Lisfranc eventually performed an amputation at the tarsometatarsal joints, an area now commonly called the Lisfranc joint. Lisfranc has come to mean a dislocation or fracture/dislocation injury at the tarsometatarsal joints.
Nothing like a little war and medical history to snap us all back to reality.
This is basketball, not the Napoleonic Wars. Presti says Holmgren’s long-term prognosis is “obviously” very positive, though I don’t know what’s so obvious about it. Foot injuries with big men are always a concern.
Yao Ming. Joel Embiid. Rik Smits. Bill Walton. Brook Lopez. Yikes.
“We've consulted with three of the top foot specialists in the country,” Presti said. “Everybody is in agreement that this is kind of like a wrong place, wrong time situation and he's going to make a full recovery.”
Holmgren also is going to require surgery, and while he’ll be operated on under conditions somewhat better than 1815 France, you never know.
Presti warned us against playing internet doctor, but I couldn’t resist. How else was I going to find out about Jacques Lisfranc de St. Martin, the surgeon/gynecologist from 200 years ago?
“I know everybody has probably played Web M.D. and Googled a million different things,” Presti said. “I always caution against that for your own safety, not just for your professional safety.
“But it's an injury that's very, very common in football players … there's actually four or five of them already (this) season. It's not one that's really common to basketball players, like I said, because of just the uniqueness of where the force has to be and the way that people have to have contact. It's a contact injury, is the way it was described to me.”
That’s a silver lining. Everyone is susceptible to contact. The non-contact stuff is more worrisome.
So there’s no cause for alarm just yet. Worrying gets you nowhere. And remember, it could always be worse.
Tramel's ScissorTales:Thunder's progress take a hit with Chet Holmgren foot injury
Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley reunited for now
On Dec. 29, 1967, “The Trouble With Tribbles” aired as the 15th episode of the second season of “Star Trek.”
“Tribbles” became the most iconic episode of the landmark science-fiction franchise. It was Star Trek’s only foray into comedy. The Starship Enterprise visits a space station, in which peddler Cyrano Jones (the great Stanley Adams, of “Lillies of the Field”) is selling little furry creatures. The rapidly-producing tribbles soon overwhelm the space station and eventually the Enterprise.
The episode ends with Chief Engineer Scott beaming all the tribbles aboard the enemy Klingon vessel.
The Utah Jazz has beamed the tribbles aboard the Klingon vessel. The Jazz traded Patrick Beverley to the Los Angeles Lakers, and now Russell Westbrook is a teammate to his arch-enemy, Beverley.
Beverley is an enemy to most NBA players. He’s a pest, he’s obnoxious, he’s physical, he’s the ultimate pain in the butt. Unless he’s on your team, of course. Then you’re glad to have him.
But Beverley and Westbrook have a particular history, with Beverley infamously derailing the Thunder’s 2012-13 playoff run. OKC was the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference that postseason, but in Game 2 of their first-round series, Beverley crashed into Westbrook as Westbrook pulled up to call timeout.
Westbrook was immediately angered, apparently hobbled, but kept playing. However, the next day, the news arrived. Torn meniscus. Westbrook was finished for the season.
The Thunder managed to eliminate Beverley’s Rockets, but Memphis beat OKC in five games of the West semifinals.
Beverley remains in the inner circle of Oklahomans’ most-hated foes, and Westbrook, not one to get along with most opponents, has a special fury for Beverley.
But now they’re teammates, and maybe that’s good for Westbrook, who has been trying to get out of Los Angeles.
Westbrook’s agent, Thad Foucher, famously parted ways with Westbrook in July, even went public over their spat. Foucher claimed Westbrook continued to push for a trade, while Foucher claimed working with the Lakers to fit into the team was the better path for Westbrook’s career.
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Westbrook proved to be a disastrous fit with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but the Lakers can’t find much in the way of trade partners, since Westbrook’s impact has eroded (he turns 34 in November) and he has a year left on his contract at $47.1 million.
And now Beverley is LA-bound and could be taking Westbrook’s ultimate lunch money, playing time. Beverley is a better fit for these Lakers; he’s not much of a creator, but on a team with LeBron, creation is not a major need. Shooting is.
Westbrook’s shooting remains somewhere south of terrible (29.8 percent from 3-point range last season; 30.5 percent for his career). Meanwhile, Beverley has fashioned a career out of excellent defense and solid outside shooting (37.8 percent for his career from deep).
Lots of NBA feuds fade when players are placed together on teams. But it’s hard to see the Westbrook/Beverley blood going from bad to good. Even if Westbrook was able to let bygones be gonebys, the threat of Beverley taking Westbrook’s playing time would rekindle the flame.
The Lakers know that. The franchise has a general lack of self-awareness of chemistry and the like, but even the Lakers realize how combustible that combination could be.
The Lakers gave up Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson to get Beverley. Horton-Tucker, from Iowa State, was a promising prospect a year ago but had a mediocre season at age 21, so the Lakers soured on him.
Their depth remains a problem, and that’s not likely to be solved with a Westbrook trade. The Lakers know they’ll have to send out assets – probably draft picks – to entice a team to take on Westbrook. LA has been reluctant to do that in recent months, but trading for Beverley could be a sign that the Lakers are resigned to that fate.
Who knows where Westbrook could go?
Only a few teams could figure out the payroll cap space to take on Westbrook’s contract. The Jazz was one of those teams, and if Westbrook wasn’t going to be in the Beverley trade, it seems unlikely he would be Utah-bound.
The Pacers, Spurs and Knickerbockers have been mentioned. Any team would want the Lakers’ 2027 and 2029 first-round draft picks – the best LA can offer right now – to take on Westbrook’s contract.
The Lakers have been loath to do that. But trading for Patrick Beverley is a sign that could change. The tribbles have been beamed aboard the Klingon vessel.
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Mailbag: Jeff Lebby & Baylor
Despite all the excitement over Brent Venables’ hiring of Jeff Lebby as offensive coordinator, a cloud remains over Lebby’s time coaching at Baylor. The Baylor scandal — sexual assault coverup — cost Art Briles, Lebby’s father-in-law, his job. Most of the Baylor staff was sent reeling from Waco, and Lebby rebuilt his career by first going to Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida, then on to stops at Central Florida and Ole Miss.
Some OU fans still have concerns.
Patricia: “Has the OU administration, coach Venables and/or coach Lebby had any in-depth conversations with you (or select journalists) about Jeff Lebby and the Baylor scandal? It’s still a bit concerning, and I’m worried that they think winning will make it go away.
“I’ve been very impressed by coach Venables. And Joe C. has certainly earned everyone’s trust and faith over the years, but I’m still more than a bit ambivalent about the Jeff Lebby hire. I really hope coach Lebby and the OU offense is successful, and I trust that coach Venables, Joe C. and President (Joe) Harroz addressed the Baylor issue appropriately prior to the hire. However, we have only blind faith – which is troublesome for a data-driven scientist.
“I would think that with coach Venables’ background, he would be especially sensitive to this. But I haven’t heard it addressed substantively by anyone. Only the OU press release and a couple of very brief answers by coach Venables (who otherwise can talk about dry paint for 10 minutes). Coach Venables talks about ‘winning the right way’ and ‘right is what you do when no one is looking.’
“That certainly didn’t happen at Baylor. Art Briles has never (to my knowledge) articulated any remorse, and coach Lebby’s actions in the aftermath didn’t suggest any remorse either. I understand that coach Lebby’s upward coaching arc was interrupted after the Baylor scandal was exposed, that he had to go down and build his career back up. This is certainly a type of penance. But I’ve not seen any of the prior steps to reconciliation (i.e. acknowledgement and contrition).
“I understand that coach Lebby is married to Art Briles’ daughter, which makes any public statements of remorse or introspection very complicated. But surely (hopefully), I’m not the only OU alum who is still a bit queasy about this. Everyone makes mistakes, and hopefully learns and grows from them. I’d just like to hear from him what he’s learned and how he’s grown.
“Or (if it’s impossible to maintain family harmony and speak publicly) – actions speak louder than words. Coach Lebby could do something like working with Brenda Tracy and/or the SOUL mission to implement a program at OU to educate/prevent sexual assault.
“I’m hoping for a great start to the Venables era and a great football season. I just don’t want to feel ambivalent and/or queasy every time that I see coach Lebby on the sidelines.”
Tramel: It’s a legitimate question. And Patricia is right. Any inquiries into the Baylor scandal have resulted in short, terse, toothless comments.
OU clearly is tiptoeing around the issue. Private interviews have been approved only on the condition of certain subjects. Clearly, the Sooner brass knows it’s a delicate subject.
Lebby’s involvement at Baylor is unknown, but there are no reports that he was involved on the front end. In the aftermath, there were reports that he and fellow coaches made things difficult for investigators. But nothing is clear.
Maybe nothing ever will be clear. Hopefully, Lebby did learn from the Waco mess. It would be good for the OU fanbase to hear about it.
Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: College football Week Zero predictions: Can Nebraska beat Northwestern
