Nebraska’s new defensive coordinator, Bob Diaco, was on Sports Nightly yesterday. In his sports. The full interview/segment is here on Soundcloud, with Diaco’s interview coming in around at the 18:30 mark.

I don’t know if Diaco said anything stunning, and by stunning, I mean anything other than a good politician\celebrity\media personality would say when sucking up to their constituency.

Still, here’s a breakdown of some nice, gooey things from Diaco:

Why He Came To Nebraska:

Two things. Blackshirt defense, man. And Coach (Mike) Riley. You can’t find a person in our profession that has anything disparaging to say about Coach Riley. Find a person in our profession that doesn’t rave about Coach Riley. And then, if you love college football, and you live in the continental United States, then you know Nebraska football. And if you’re a defensive coach or player, you know the Blackshirt defense.

The term “Blackshirt Defense” doesn’t carry as much weight as it used to, and it’ll be Diaco’s job to recover that lost luster. Whether you like it or not or see this as blasphemy, those are the facts.

Nice opening statement from Bob, but no word from him on when he’ll be handing out Blackshirts.

About being back in the Big Ten:

It’s the best conference in the country. Having played in it (Diaco played at Iowa), and worked in it. And even at my other jobs (Notre Dame) we had a lot of crossover with Big Ten teams. So we play Michigan every year, play Michigan State every year. So I’ve got a real understanding of the football, even recently.

Style of Play in Big Ten (Greg Sharpe mentioned the Big Ten along with “Three Yards And A Cloud of Dust” And The Wide Variety of Offenses Now And how that isn’t true so much any more):

No, no, no it’s not. I think some teams are getting back to that a little bit, but most teams force the defense to defend the field, the width of the field. Most teams force your hand to make sure you have some kind of aptitude with tempo and moving fast, and all those little rules changes that have created this new offensive model.

Mindset - What He’ll Be Doing - Before Signing Day, which is February 1st:

Help. Serve. Whatever the team needs from me, I’m all in. If it’s being here getting organized and holding down the fort, if it’s on the road and visiting prospects and commits talking about our system and how we’re going to operate, whatever Coach Riley needs.

Again, nice sucking up to your boss, and your fellow coaches and the fan base.

About The Focus After National Signing Day and Preparation for Spring Ball

That’s so exciting. That’s why you do what you do. Because you want to start to teach. And the first group you teach the system to is the coaches, the defensive coaches. To be with them and forge lifelong relationships, I can’t wait to do that. I can’t wait to talk defensive football in that room day and night. And then, get every opportunity we can to teach the players. It’s super exciting.

A good point that EVERYONE gets to learn a new defensive system, everyone being the coaches, the players, their families, and their girlfriends, wives, and significant others.

There will be plenty of learning going on, hopefully, so that by fall everyone is ready and knows what to do so we don’t have to fire this round of coaches and start all over again.

Impression of Nebraska’s Facilities:

Second to none. If you can’t, as a player, gain the resume to win your individual match up, you’re just not paying attention. And as a coach, to acquire the talent and the guys necessary to do the work and play in the games and to be able to teach and grow these young men into men, there’s not a thing that’s missing here from my perspective.

Nice job of not mentioning that one dirty bathroom because you’d have gotten someone fired on your first few days on the job. Yes, everything is nice.... except why is that shitty Starbucks coffee near the Keurig? Where’s the Caribou?

NEWS

Study refutes how fruit flies developed alcohol tolerance | Nebraska Today | University of Nebraska–Lincoln

The common fruit fly, the tiny insect drawn to your beer or wine, has evolved to have an impressive tolerance for alcohol.

Researchers ID target of immune system’s assault on heart | Nebraska Today | University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Jay Reddy and colleagues have reported new findings that reveal more about the stealthy but potent ways that autoimmune responses can target the heart.

Hypnotist to present two shows Jan. 20 | Nebraska Today | University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Hypnotist Jim Wand will present shows at 7 and 9 p.m. Jan. 20 in the East Union Great Plains Room.

'Cinderella' coming to Lied Center Jan. 27-29 | Nebraska Today | University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella," the 2013 Tony-winning Broadway musical from the creators of "The King and I" and "The Sound of Music," will play the Lied Center for Performing Arts as part of the Glenn Korff Broadway Series.

Seminar series focuses on efficient water use | Nebraska Today | University of Nebraska–Lincoln

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's spring semester water and natural resources seminar will delve into aspects of "the right water for the right use at the right time."

Planetarium to feature sing-along, pop, rock shows | Nebraska Today | University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Mueller Planetarium at the University of Nebraska State Museum in Morrill Hall, 645 N. 14th St., will offer a variety of laser shows for families and adults Jan. 20-22.

Amongst the shows.....

"Laser Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon" (50 minutes; not suitable for children) 8 p.m. Jan. 20; 3 and 8 p.m. Jan. 21: The band's classic 1973 album – including such tracks as "Money," "Time" and "The Great Gig in the Sky" – is brought to life with dazzling laser light.

OMG, I would so go to this in a heartbeat, if for no other reason than to watch the other people react to it who are on drugs.

University leaders to meet with public during 11-city Nebraska tour | Nebraska Today | University of Nebraska–Lincoln

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's top leaders will travel to 11 communities across the state Jan. 23-25 to engage with Nebraskans to inform the role and goals of the state's flagship land-grant university.

This is good. Do other universities do this type of thing? I don’t know. I think most of them make people come to them, kneel at their feet, and give them money. At least Nebraska’s administrators are going out into the barren wasteland of western Nebraska to ask for it.

Many opportunities slip away from Huskers - Huskers.com - Nebraska Athletics Official Web Site

The switching went fine. But Watson lost his footing and was on his hand and knees, unable to get in front of Loving, who scored his uncontested, game-winning layup with .6 seconds remaining, stunning a crowd of 13,842 at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

“I don’t care what you run, if you fall down, you’re going to give up a layup, and that’s what happened,” Nebraska coach Tim Miles said. “When we lost our feet, well, we’re dead.”

What a crappy, awful way to lose a game.

Nebraska Football: 2016 Season in Review - Off Tackle Empire

We pay our final respects to the Huskers’ not-so-shocking 9-win 2016 season.

Inside College Football: 'General managers' now more prevalent at major programs - CBSSports.com

Coaches still run the show, but off-field staffers are growing more important and powerful by the year.

BIG TEN

Is Big Ten basketball historically bad this season? - The Crimson Quarry

This conference is having a down year, with no teams ranked above 17th. How bad is it?

Indiana 78, Penn State 75: Lions Comeback Effort Falls Just Short - Black Shoe Diaries

Fresh off a second-half comeback win over the Gophers, Penn State tried to do it again against the Hoosiers

Elsewhere

Florida’s High Schools Will Jump and Throw, as Well as Run, in Meters

Yet within American track and field there are conflicting views about how pervasive the metric system should become. One side calls the imperial system antiquated and says it should be abandoned in favor of international uniformity. The other side says familiarity is needed to preserve history and maintain relevance for a sport that is robust in participation but struggles for spectator interest outside of the Olympics.

Florida seems an odd place to try this experiment, does it not?

If you took a good look at this, you’d realize that you should get your children involved in ice hockey more than any other sport, especially if your child is female. Basketball... HAHAHAHAHAHA.

Then There’s This

Our Big Red Cobcast guys, Ryan and Pat (and Joe and Mike, etc) have been around for a while now. They’re actually decently popular with that fame comes a price, and that price is the difficulty of dealing with more hosting costs while trying to become even more popular than you were before.

You need to help them. You do. I’m not going to, because I’m a selfish bastard. But, $1 a month can be the difference between Tweedy being sad and happy. I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but if you’d like, I can post a photo here of Tweedy weeping if that will help his cause.

Please, give.