Bo Is Old School (And I Like It!)

You don't see the words "pugnacious" and "scrappy" used in sports articles very much anymore. They're kind of old-school--they worked for awhile, but their tone isn't very flashy. They actually hearken back to a time when in order to survive you had to be "pugnacious" --or "scrappy"--or both. Because these two terms were part of the lexicon of the Depression era--when a whole lot of folks had to fight both poverty and Nature to hang on. We don't like to recall those times very much except maybe in American History class.


Well, I'm old school--after all, I am the Old Husker Fan--but you know what? Coach Bo Pelini strikes me as someone who you could write those two terms about--pugnacious and scrappy--all day long. I like that!

All you have to do is look at how his LSU team handled things after being stung with a long TD run by the Ohio State running back in last January's national championship game.

Let's review: Bo's hiring was done after the Huskers had had the worst defensive meltdown EVER. LSU had Glenn Dorsey, everybody's All-American, Outland Trophy winner, etc etc. Bo's status as defensive coordinator had him practically getting as much face time as LSU head coach Les Miles. And--of course--there was a fair amount of pub over Bo's decision to coach in the title game rather than lock himself in his new office in Lincoln and either look at video of recruits or brood about his new job.

Then, the game began. And Ohio State's RB promptly laid a 67-yarder on the mighty LSU defense.

Right then, I thought--"Oooohhh---kkkaayyy. Let's see how we handle things now."

You know the rest. LSU shut down Ohio State. The D got 3 or 4 turnovers, Bo called some blitzes that fooled the Buckeyes, and LSU won handily.

That, sports fans, is being "pugnacious" and "scrappy". When you get punched, you don't cover up. You hit back.

We've been missing that element for a few years. It's nice to see that it's coming back.