Nebraska's 35-17 victory over Iowa State Saturday in Lincoln may not have been dominating as some would have liked, but it was certainly interesting. It's not often you see a team hold the ball for over 39 minutes, run 102 offensive plays, get more yards its opponent and still lose the game but that's exactly what Iowa State did.

The Huskers again did some nice things offensively, although turnovers helped keep the game closer than it should have been. The NU defense wasn't dominating, but you did see some emotion from the Blackshirts who were on the field much of the day. They will need more than just emotion when Nebraska plays at Missouri Saturday night.

It's been an interesting week in Husker land what with the Blackshirts giving up 610 yards and 40 points to Ball State. Some fans have reacted negatively to Corey McKeon's comments during a 27-minute press conference on Tuesday. I thought it was great for once to hear a Husker player speaking from the heart. We don't get a lot of that down in Lincoln. McKeon is hurting, as I am sure all the the Blackshirts are hurting. We'll see if they can turn that hurt around on Iowa State.

It appears that Kelly Murphy, everybody's top prep volleyball player this year, has apparently dropped Nebraska from her list. The Huskers will host talented California prospect Tarah Murrey this weekend in an official visit.

No doubt John Cook is disappointed about Murphy's decision. Of course nothing is official yet so she could still possibly change her mind. For now Murrey may will by the Huskers' No. 1 target.

Lee Corso loves Nebraska fans. He said more than once Saturday while in Lincoln for GameDay that Nebraska has the best fans in the country. Those fans showed that class when ESPN ran a feature on USC kicker Mario Danelo who was killed a few days after USC's win over Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Nebraska fans were quiet throughout the feature, and gave a nice round of applause when it was over. I hope T.J. Simers was around to see it.

I also witnessed some telling of that famed Nebraska hospitality with fans, many who appeared to be students, telling USC fans good luck. I saw two students who appeared to ambush a USC fan and pretend to shoot him with foam Husker fingers. Then one of the young men said "Thanks for coming and good luck tonight" before taking off in search of his next victim.

There has been a lot of talk from Husker fans who were unhappy with the play of their team Saturday in a 20-17 victory at Wake Forest. It's past time to let go of the past. Nebraska isn't going to beat everybody 56-10 like back in the mid 1990s. This was the ultimate trap game - playing smaller school with a good team on the road the week before a big game.

The Huskers survived. No, they weren't perfect and were lucky Wake Forest's No. 1 QB was out with an injury, but it was still a big win for Bill Callahan and his team.

Now it's on to USC. It's just another game, right?

So the Huskers locked up coach Bill Callahan through the 2012 season. It does seem like the right move to make. The Huskers appear improved, although we'll learn a lot more Sept. 15 when Southern Cal comes to Lincoln. It looked like Wake Forest would be a big challenge, but the Demon Deacons no longer look that strong after losing to Boston College and losing their No. 1 quarterback to a shoulder injury.

Now Callahan is here for at least five more years, as long as he wants to stay. We all know what happens to these contracts when a coach doesn't want to stay. A five-year deal also should help make the NU recruiting just that much better, and it has looked pretty good of late.

Nebraska's volleyball team looked like the No. 1 team in the country Sunday in sweeping a very good Penn State team 30-20, 30-21, 30-27. The Nittany Lions are every bit as tall and physical as the Huskers at the net, but they didn't dig nearly as well and coach Russ Rose wasn't at all pleased with the decision making of his setter. That's a problem similar to a football coach not liking decisions made by his quarterback.

Now NU coach John Cook has to keep his team motivated and improving. That may not be easy to do, because there aren't a lot of potential losses staring the Huskers in the face. Cook is probably going to have to make up challenges for them along the way to keep his players focused.