By RICHARD CROOME
Eagle Columnist

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Who says Dennis Franchione can't win a bowl game?

Billed as the "Buyout Bowl" by outsiders, it was an important one for the insiders, namely Texas A&M's Franchione and Nebraska's Bill Callahan. And considering fans felt the need to name it -- in the process naming their displeasure with the direction of both programs -- the "Buyout Bowl" felt a lot like a "Dire Straits Bowl" with both teams squaring off in a losers' bracket contest to save their seasons.

One more loss and the season might as well be over.

The Cornhuskers helped give the game its feel by pulling the trigger on a historical switcheroo this week, firing athletic director Steve Pederson and bringing back Hall of Fame coach Tom Osborne as the interim A.D.

Now it could be Callahan's turn to get the heave-ho. Osborne has said he's staying put in Lincoln, Neb., until the football situation is remedied, and he couldn't have liked what he saw Saturday. The Aggies took a page out of the Cornhuskers' own proud history book by dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides and running an attack predicated on options for a decisive 36-14 victory.

The Aggies' offensive attack probably brought back memories of days gone past for the old-timers at Memorial Stadium.

The last time Husker fans watched a No. 7 run the option with such proficiency, it was their own beloved Eric Crouch rushing his way to the Heisman.

Never had they seen a No. 7 run so often, however, as A&M quarterback Stephen McGee carried 35 times. He surpassed the Husker record for carries by a quarterback by five. He was only two shy of the most rushes by any Husker in a game.

By running so well so often, McGee, Jorvorskie Lane and the Aggie offensive line put the game back in the hands of the players for at least an afternoon. When this one was over, it ceased to feel like the "Buyout Bowl" on the winner's side, for there was no talk of outside distractions or the status of the head coach.

Bowl talk, however, was on the agenda.

Winning the "Buyout Bowl" made A&M bowl eligible, which didn't escape the team members. Getting to 6-2 for the season was an obvious relief for the Aggies, because this could have been the "Loser Doesn't Go to a Bowl Bowl."

And the convincing way in which the Aggies won allowed the players to gaze momentarily down the road at a brighter possible future. Instead of defending themselves or explaining what went wrong after a loss, they were given the luxury of thinking on a larger scale -- a finale closer to the beginning of 2008 than to Christmas.

Only time and the ability to navigate through a murderous rest of the schedule will tell.

But for now, let the Aggies bask. They're still tied for first in the South (lest anyone forget), and all that off-the-field talk could begin again soon enough.

Just not as soon as it will for the once-proud-but-now-riled Cornhuskers, whose fans, at the urging of Osborne, kept a stiff upper lip for most of the game despite the inevitable.

It's been said that if Osborne asked the 80-some-thousand Huskers to wear pink hats to the game, they'd do it. Last week, many fans left at halftime of Nebraska's 45-14 debacle against Oklahoma State. This week, the Cornhusker players earned cheers at halftime despite being down 16-14. They also heard chants of "de-fense!" when the game was close, and Nebraska fans, for the most part, were still in their seats at least until the 6-minute mark of the fourth quarter.

But Nebraska has proven one thing with the hiring of Osborne and its subsequent loss to A&M, something the Aggies may want to take note of: There are no quick fixes in college football.

Osborne won 255 games and three national champions as head coach of the Cornhuskers.

Since returning to Lincoln after a 10-year sabbatical as a politician, he's 0-1 as an A.D. And if you count his pregame speech last week before Homecoming, make it 0-2.

• Richard Croome's e-mail address is richard.croome@theeagle.com.

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