huskers1217
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The coach says he's done talking about the Texas A&M game. But this inquiring mind had one last request.
I'd been on a late, tight deadline that wild and crazy Saturday night when Pelini cemented his image as a raging volcano. There were 16 penalties against Nebraska. I ripped Pelini rather than the officials. I thought that he brought the chaos on himself. But I had heard plenty of stories since. I needed to ask a question I wished I'd had the opportunity to ask after that game.
"Did any of those officials tell you during the game you were going to get jobbed?'' I asked.
"Yes,'' Pelini said.
What did they tell you?
"I won't say,'' he said. "But it was highway robbery. An absolute joke. I've moved on.''
So while you were yelling all night, were you sticking up for your players?
"No doubt,'' Pelini said. "I have their back. I always will. But if I had to do it over again, I would have done it different.''
And now seems a good time to ask about those fans, the ones who want more of a piece of him, the ones who want him to shape up on the sideline.
"When have I ever not wanted to be around the fans?" Pelini said. "I probably make myself available to the fans more than anybody. What I've learned is, no matter what you do, you can't please everybody. I could have fan day 10 hours on a Saturday, and half the people aren't going to be happy.''
I blamed it on Tom Osborne. The legend set the standard on and off the field. He did a lot of interviews and public appearances that he disdained, but he did them for the good of the program. He carried himself with class on the sideline, though he could bend an official's ear when necessary.
What Pelini said to that may be misinterpreted by some. But the reality is, there's only one Tom Osborne.
"I don't want to be like (Osborne),'' Pelini said. "I'm not going to be like him. We're different people. If that's what they want, then they need to go get him.
"I ain't changing. I can't change who I am. That doesn't mean I can't fix, or make a better decision. But I can't change who I am. I don't want to change. That's why I've had success.''
That's Pelini. He said he would have done some things differently at A&M. But then he also told me that if Taylor Martinez uses a cellphone again at halftime, he'll get the same earful of Pelini again