H U S K E R D A N
WASCALLY JACKWABBITS FALL TO THE HUSKERS 17-3
A funny thing happened on the way to a Husker blow
out Saturday night. The Jackrabbits from South Dakota State University,
the Huskers' opponent that night, refused to participate. Instead,
they fought like Rocky going the distance with Apollo Creed.
They were the Hickory Huskers winning the Indiana state boys basketball
championship. They were the Cleveland Indians beating the Yankees in
"Major League." They were David facing the Top Ten ranked Goliath
Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium in front of 85,000 screaming Husker
fans.
But the Jackwabbits didn't bwink. Nope.
They were hopping mad... (groan)
CREDIT DUE
Give a lot of credit to the Jackrabbits' head
coach, John Stiegelmeier, his staff and the State players who refused to
buy into the pre-game notion that the Jackbunnies were going to be the
next sacrificial lamb at Memorial Stadium.
This is why the game of college football is so
great. "On any given Saturday..." anything can happen. And Saturday
night, the Bunnies almost did make it happen. South Dakota
State lost to the vaunted Huskers by 14 points, but the Wabbits had two
touchdowns called back because of penalties.
It was that close.
THE PERFECT STORM
Husker fans are wondering what the heck happened
Saturday night. How could a team that manhandled the Washington Huskies
just a week before on national television, struggle the next week against a
bottom feeding 0-2 Division 1-AA opponent?
The Huskers were coming off a 56-21 blowout of a
reasonably good Washington football team on the road. Next up for the
Huskers was a team everyone knew Nebraska could beat in their
sleep.
AMERICAN IDLE?
And that's just about what Nebraska did.
Maybe the players got the dates mixed up. Maybe they thought the idle
date was last Saturday instead of this Saturday.
Whatever.
Last year, the Huskers seemingly took the day off
losing 9-7 to a 4-3 Iowa State team in which Nebraska had more turnovers
than points. And in 2008, in a complete meltdown, the Huskers lost at home
52-17 to the Missouri Tigers.
But unlike the past two years, this year's mental
meltdown still produced a win for the Cornhuskers. Nebraska
finished the month of September 4-0 for the first time since 2001. (Bill
Callahan's '05 team was undefeated in September, but there were only three games
that month.)
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
So what does Saturday night's performance mean
going into the rest of the season? Not much. I wouldn't read too
much into either of the last two games. The Huskers probably aren't as
good as they were at Washington and aren't as bad as their performance at home
against the Jackwabbits.
VENGEANCE
Know this, Kansas State head coach, Bill Snyder
would have preferred a Husker blow-out win last Saturday night in Lincoln.
The Huskers will be champing at the bit to prove to their coaches and fans that
last week's performance was an aberration. Look for the Huskers to
bounce back with a vengeance Thursday night, October 7th, when the Huskers
travel to Manhattan to open Big 12 play with the Kansas State
Wildcats.
CHRISTIAN BERKSHIRE YOU TUBE
Larry Brew (a.k.a. Lesley Presley) of The Husker
Elvises sent me this You Tube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkNkMsHiBhs showing
young Christian Berkshire being sworn in to The Husker Elvises Society at our
Husker Football Watch Party, Saturday September 18th in Lincoln, Nebraska.
The Watch Party was part of the "Husker Fans' Salute To The Troops" weekend
celebration. Thanks go to David Max, creator of HuskerMax and
Huskerpedia for the video.
Christian is a very brave, seven year old boy who
is battling a rare form of cancer that has left him legally blind. Please
keep Christian in your prayers each day. Pray for a miracle.
And if you'd like to contribute to next year's
"Salute" event, go to www.huskersalute.org.
HUSKER DAN'S ARMY
If you know of any one who is deployed in the
Middle East as a member of the United States armed forces, send me the contact
information. Those who register with Husker Dan's Army, will be sent a
Husker Care Package that contains Husker items such as T-shirts, caps, flags,
media guides, coins, sweatshirts etc. All we need is the trooper's
name, email address, APO address, branch of service and length of
deployment.
GAME DAY DVDs
Also, through the generosity of HuskerVision
at UNL, we send Husker game day DVDs to any trooper who registers with
Husker Dan's Army. To register, email me at [email protected].
A SUH-VENIER
We are also auctioning on Ebay a beautiful custom
framed and matted photo of former Husker great, Ndamukong Suh. The picture
was taken by Dean Jacobs http://www.travel4life.org/, who is an
author, world traveler and photographer. Dean took the picture
just before Suh's final Husker home game last year when Nebraska
clinched the Big 12 North title by defeating the Kansas State Wildcats
17-3 in Lincoln. Take a look at Suh's face as he
prepares for the game. Note that he's the only one not wearing a
helmet. The photo is 18"h x 21"w and is signed by the
artist.
Your tax deductible donation for this photo will go toward helping our men and women in the military who have put their lives on the line for our country. Click here to bid on this item. Thanks for your help.
Send your comments to [email protected]. For past Husker Dan columns, click here.