5:40 p.m.: Leftovers from the Lunch Chat:

1. A lot of people are buzzing about the Big 10 expansion/Big 12 possibilities. I love it. I'll talk about that all day. It's all speculation at this point, but it's fun to talk about. So, by all means, send me your questions and feel free to chat it up all you want. That's what we're here for.

My take on Nebraska/Missouri in the Big 10:

It's a possibility, obviously, but until we know what the Big 10's priorities are -- academic standing, TV ratings, new recruiting area -- it's hard to know what to think. Missouri would have the edge on NU in terms of appeal because of it's TV markets, St. Louis recruiting area (KC is okay, but it's not a big factor in this case by any means) and competitive football AND basketball programs. Where I think Nebraska would be attractive would be as a boost to the Big 10 TV network; even though the state of Nebraska offers minimal TV sets, the Huskers are a big draw nationally and would pull in viewers. But the Big 10 doesn't recruit in Nebraska and you'd be pulling the Huskers into your area; you would think that would at least need to be a push for the Big 10, that they would only bring a school into their recruiting areas if that school could offer the Big 10 a new place to recruit.

I would be very curious how Iowa would vote on Nebraska or Missouri. Don't assume the Hawkeyes are anxious for a border rival. They may be very leery of inviting a neighbor into Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Chicago, to recruit. I'm not saying Iowa would reject Nebraska. But, again, for Iowa, what's the upside? Then again, Iowa may want to swoop into St. Louis and recruit. Remember, a few years ago Iowa had a home-and-home with Missouri and the Tigers canceled the series.

I think as long as Tom Osborne is the athletic director, and my hunch is another five years, NU would not be interested. I think more of that would be an Osborne loyalty to the old Big Eight schools, which I believe is genuine, then not wanting to join the Big 10. If we ever get to this point, a big factor will be Bo Pelini's recruiting philosophy -- do you want to recruit Chicago kids or Dallas kids? Sure, there's speed in Chicago and Detroit and Ohio, but Texas is different speed, as is Louisiana (John Papuchis territory). Imagine Bo going back to his home Ohio to recruit? There's an intriguing thought. It might be easier to get Chicago and Detroit type kids to come to Lincoln to play in the cold, too.

I know Nebraska and Missouri have a little chip on their shoulder toward the Big 12 and Texas and how the folks down south call the shots and get all the breaks. But consider this: If you go into the Big 10, do you think that will get better? Do you not think the Big 10 -- which is a tight, old-school fraternity -- will make it tough on the "new guy?'' Do you think they'll be anxious to make sure Nebraska or Missouri has all the advantages it needs? No. I don't. Be careful what you wish for, especially you Missouri Tigers.

I think Nebraska should float the idea that it would listen to the Big 10. I think if this option is available, Nebraska needs to be open to it. Mostly, the Huskers need to keep an eye on the Big 12 landscape. These things don't happen every year, but when they do, the dominoes fall quickly around the country. And the Big 10 is a big domino. For instance, would Texas go independent, a la Notre Dame? Laugh if you want, but that's a rumor out there. And would anyone be surprised if it ever happened? (And why isn't anyone talking about Texas going to the Big 10? The hunch here is the Big 10 isn't doing this to get Rutgers or Syracuse or Missouri. For the Big 10 to suddenly be embracing expansion, something else, something bigger, is going on here.)

Also, the Pac 10 tends to follow along with the Big 10. Those two leagues are very much in tune with each other, their visions, how they think, etc. I could see the Pac 10 expanding to 12 and adding the conference title game, etc. If that happens, I could also see Colorado and Utah being high on the Pac 10 list. Boulder Camera columnist Neil Woelk told me last month at the CU-NU game that Colorado had the chance to go to the Pac 10 in 1994 but it lost by two regents votes. Woelk said if the opportunity came again, he thought CU would go.

Who would the Big 12 go after? TCU? Solid choice, but the Horned Frogs don't bring big TV or revenue appeal. Arkansas? I can give you $17 million reasons why the Hogs would say no to the Big 12 -- or the guaranteed check that Arkansas gets from the SEC every year. So what kind of Big 12 is there going to be when the dust settles? If you're Nebraska, you have to ask that question and keep an eye on this thing. I guarantee you Texas and Oklahoma are. Nebraska doesn't want to end up in an eastern version of the Mountain West, with Wyoming and Iowa State and Kansas State.

2. I watched the ESPN documentary entitled "The U'' last night and absolutely loved it. I recommend it highly to all Husker and college football fans out there. Find it on the schedule and DVR it. It's a two-hour look at the Miami Hurricanes dynasty, from 1983-91. Yes, there are some painful memories in there. But it's very well done and it will bring back some fond memories, too, of the 80's and the game we followed 20 years ago. Also, there are some terrific shots of the old Orange Bowl. I'm biased because I love that old stadium. There is a sequence toward the very end of the movie where they show the Orange Bowl being torn down. It was very emotional for me. We've all seen a lot of games there, good and bad. Anyway, director Billy Corben did a fantastic job with this. Corben grew up in Miami in the 80's and he showed how the city and the team defined that decade in so many ways. Whenever a director does a movie where he's an expert or has a particular passion in the story, you know it's going to be good.

One quick story from the movie: Michael Irvin talked about how he and Jerome Brown or Melvin Bratton used to go to the clubs on south Beach and get treated like big shots. He said one night they got into an argument with some bad dudes. Irvin wanted to fight. One of his teammates said, "No, Michael, Stay away from them. They're killers. I mean, not fake killers. They're REAL killers.''

3. I'm off for a week so we'll get back at this next week, after a Creighton trip to New Mexico and a big game for NU women's hoops against LSU. I'll also be compiling my Christmas wish column, so be nice or naughty. Just don't be anonymous.


--Filed by Tom Shatel

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