H U S K E R D A N
December 2, 2010LAST AND
FIRST
It was an end of an era Friday in
Lincoln. It was the Huskers' last regular season game, the last
Husker home game of the season and, more importantly, it was the last Big 12
Conference game to be played at Memorial Stadium. Beginning next year, the
Huskers will be members of the venerable Big 10 Conference. And the
Buffaloes will also be jumping from the Big 12 Conference to the Pac 10
(12?) Conference.
NU and CU have played every year since
1948. In fact, the Husker-Buffalo series dates back to 1898 with the
Huskers winning 23-10 in Boulder. But despite the long series history, few
Husker fans (and maybe a few Buff fans as well) are not going to get too
teary-eyed over the end. This "rivalry" was never embraced by Husker
fans. In 1996, the Big 12 Conference switched to a divisional format, thus
ending the annual NU-OU Thanksgiving weekend shoot-out. In its place, was
a two year on and two year off format with the Sooners that left most
Husker fans feeling betrayed. The conference's solution was to
substitute Colorado for Oklahoma. Bad idea. As much as the
Buffies tried to jump start the series to a rivalry status, most
Huskers fans never embraced the idea.
BUCKET
LIST
High on my Bucket List was to someday take my
grandson Will, who is four, to his first Husker football game at Memorial
Stadium. And someday was last Friday. Will's dad, Mark, also
joined us for his first Husker Game Day Experience.
Technically, this was Will's second HGDE (he
was still in his momma's tummy while my daughter and I attended
the Huskers' 23-20 OT win at home over Iowa State back in
2005). As I always say, it's never too early to begin teaching kids
about Husker football.
BEAMING
Know this, even at the tender age of four, Will is
a very passionate Husker fan. He yells, screams and high-fives at all the
appropriate times. He knows the names and numbers of many of the Husker
players. Friday, he sat on grandpa's lap most of the game, and needless to
say, grandpa was beaming. I hope this is the first of many Husker games
that Will, his dad and I can enjoy together.
A WIN, WIN, WIN, WIN
SITUATION
And what a day it was for young Will. The
Huskers won the game, were assured a 10 win season, clinched the Big 12 North
title and will be meeting Oklahoma for the last Big 12 Conference
championship this Saturday in Dallas. Will also got his picture
taken with former Husker great and Outland Trophy winner Larry Jacobson and
posed for pictures with the Husker Elvises (who consist of the Brew brothers
Jerry, Ron and Larry).
Prior to that, David Fiala, who is a former Husker
running back, a great Husker fan and a strong supporter of our military,
was inducted into The Husker Elvises Society. (On a side
note, later that afternoon, the Elvises sang with Larry The Cable
Guy in his skybox.)
NEBRASKA BOOKSTORE DISCOUNT
FOR VETERANS
Nebraska Bookstore manager Amanda Tangeman told me yesterday that
the NB was offering a special 50% discount to all members of the military this
weekend on all regularly priced items. See the attachment for
details.
HUSKER DAN'S ARMY
T-SHIRTS AND SALUTE COINS
To help raise money for "Husker Fans' Salute To The
Troops" and Husker Dan's Army, we are selling the
brand new Husker Dan's Army "Salute The Troops" T-shirts and Salute coins.
Shown modeling the T-shirts are former Husker greats Joel Makovicka and Matt
Hoskinson who, during the football season, co-host the "Husker Radio
Hour" from 6-7 p.m. Thursday nights. Gerry Gray, owner of Great
Plains Marketing (http://www.greatplainsmktg.com/RadioShows.php ) produces
HRH as well as "Husker Beat Radio Show" hosted each Friday from 6-7 p.m. by
Mike'l Severe and Steve Sipple of the Lincoln Journal. Both shows can be
heard on 1620 The Zone in Omaha.
T-shirts are $15 ea. plus $5.00 shipping and
handling. The Husker coins are $10.00 each plus $5.00 shipping and
handling. Send your checks to:
Gary
McGirr
3610 SW Woodvalley
Terrace
Topeka, KS
66614
Be sure to specify L, XL or 2XL on the
T-shirts.
All the money we raise goes directly to honoring
our men and women of the US armed forces who continue to put their
lives on the line for our country. They are the true American
heroes. They don't ask for much. You can help say thanks this
Christmas by donating (www.huskersalute.org) and/or buying the
T-shirts and coins.
BIG RED FAN'S
DEN
I was coming back to Omaha from a trip to western
Nebraska in October and stopped at Morgan's Cowpoke Haven Store in the
middle of the Sandhills in Ellsworth, Nebraska. The place was featured
several years ago in an issue of Nebraska Life Magazine. The owner, Wade
Morgan didn't know me from a load of oats, but he started talking about the
Nebraska-Missouri game that was to going to be played the next day in
Lincoln.
Morgan's Cowpoke Haven is a genuine
western apparel store that also sells guns and ammo. Inside the store is
Wade's Big Red den where he proudly features his collection of Husker
memorabilia. Thanks for the tour, Wade!
NOTHING
BETTER
As for the win Friday, it puts Nebraska where it
has wanted to be since last year's heartbreaking loss to the Texas
Longhorns. Throw in Oklahoma into the equation, and there is no better way
to exit the conference than with a showdown with the Sooners.
Both teams come into the title game with
identical 6-2 conference and 10-2 overall records. Both teams lost at
Texas A&M while Nebraska beat Missouri at home and the Sooners lost to
the Tigers in Columbia. But while the Sooners beat Texas by 8,
Nebraska lost at home the Longhorns by 7 points.
I'm not sure what those comparative scores
mean. Probably very little. OU is fresh off a 47-41 win last week at
Oklahoma State and a 53-24 win at Baylor the week
before. Meanwhile, the Huskers are coming off a 45-17
dismantling of a struggling Colorado Buffalo team last Friday and the week prior
to that, the Huskers lost at A&M 9-6.
PASSING
FANCY
OU makes its living throwing the ball. They
also run a ton of plays with their hurry-up offense that sometimes can pose
alignment problems for defenses. Sooner QB Landry Jones can throw the deep
ball to his go-to receiver, Ryan Broyles. The Sooners also like to
throw screen passes and use their passing offense much like a running
game. There is some question about how healthy their star running back,
DeMarco Murray, will be for the game.
BANGED
UP
Nebraska comes into the game a bit gimpy at
quarterback. Taylor Martinez has been nursing a sore ankle and a turf
toe. If he can't go, Cody Green will likely get the start. He played
well last Friday against Colorado, but the Sooners defense is much better than
the Buffaloes'. Zac Lee is also dinged up but might be able to play if
needed.
HURRY
UP
It's going to be a match-up of the Sooners'
hurry-up offense versus probably the best secondary in college football.
Bo's defense was made for an offense like Oklahoma's. If the Husker can
play close to error free football and play solid defense, the Huskers should
prevail.
ON FIRE
Make no mistake, this is a huge game for the Husker
football program. And I like Bo Pelini in big games. Look for the
Huskers to play with their hair on fire. Look for a very focused
Husker team. And look for a Husker win.
NEBRASKA
24
OU
17
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