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Updated 5:31 AM on Monday, October 22, 2007

Aggies have chance to write a happy ending

By ROBERT CESSNA
Eagle Columnist

Tom Osborne was all smiles before the game Saturday, but it was Bill Byrne who was beaming afterward.

The legendary Osborne coached Nebraska to three national championships, strengthening the legacy that Bob Devaney started. Now the 70-year-old Osborne has accepted the responsibility to return the football program to excellence. He became the school's interim athletic director Tuesday, and by kickoff Saturday against Texas A&M the school's 288th consecutive sellout crowd had mentally put the rocky regime of fired athletic director Steve Pederson behind it.

The buzz inside Memorial Stadium because of Osborne's return seemed to permeate throughout the sea of red. Thousands of red and white balloons were released when Quentin Castille scored to give Nebraska a 7-6 lead.

The Huskers' radio play-by-play man said it was reminiscent of the glory years.

That enthusiasm subsided as the Aggies pounded out a 36-14 victory, methodically dominating the line of scrimmage the way the Huskers used to.

You never sensed that A&M wouldn't win this game, even with just a 16-14 halftime lead.

Nebraska showed why it's the fifth-best team in the Big 12 North, which the Huskers ruled under Osborne when the league was formed.

Osborne has lots of work to do, work that probably will include firing head coach Bill Callahan, who was hired by Pederson. That move will be applauded by Husker fans when it happens, but who Osborne hires to lead the program forward will be the key.

That's where Osborne would do well to get some input from Byrne, who was Nebraska's athletic director for 10 years before coming to A&M.

Osborne dictated his replacement by retiring so the job would go to long-time assistant Frank Solich, who was canned by Pederson before Callahan took over.

It's interesting to conjecture what Byrne would have done had he stayed at Nebraska, but I'd bet the Husker football program would be much better off.

Byrne has improved A&M's overall athletic department, pulling the Aggies even with rival Texas. His greatest accomplishment has been building a pair of Top 25 basketball programs from the ashes.

He hasn't been able to add a season-ending Top 25 football team to his Aggie resume, but his handling of head coach Dennis Franchione's secret e-mailed newsletter was astute.

He quickly called for an internal investigation, announcing the findings when available. He was highly critical of Franchione's actions but immediately said Franchione was the school's football coach, staying firm with his policy of evaluating all coaches at season's end.

Any other action would have been counterproductive. It was important to get the focus back on the team. Saturday the players put the VIP Connection on the back burner.

They'll get a chance to keep it there as A&M finishes with the toughest closing schedule in school history. All four foes - Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas - are ranked in the Top 25. A&M has never played four straight Top 25 teams to end the regular season.

Two are Top 10 teams - Oklahoma is a consensus choice, while Kansas is No. 9 in the BCS and No. 10 in the USA Today poll.

Kyle Field will be rocking Saturday night with the North Division-leading Jayhawks facing the Aggies, who are in a three-way tie for the South lead.

It's the start of a stretch that will determine this season's fate, and maybe what happens to Franchione.

It's almost November, yet the Aggies haven't played a ranked opponent, nor do we know how good this team is.

I said in August that an 8-4 record would be a good season. That's still the case. That might not be enough for Franchione to keep his job, but now shouldn't be the time to talk about that.

Rumors last week had Franchione and A&M waiting until an appropriate time to announce a buyout, and A&M representatives already had been talking to Auburn head coach Tom Tuberville. If the Aggies couldn't land him, Cal's Jeff Tedford, South Carolina's Steve Spurrier, South Florida's Jim Leavitt or Houston Texans assistant head coach Mike Sherman were other possibilities.

All those coaches lost last week, while Franchione led the Aggies to their first victory at Nebraska since 1955. Sure it's only one week, but the way this season has unfolded, why would you look ahead or behind?

Who knows what happens if A&M beats Kansas. That's a big if, but at least Franchione and this team will get a chance to prove their worth on the field.

Byrne made sure they will have that opportunity.