Somebody Woke up on the Wrong Side of the Bed

Am I the only person that has noticed a considerable crabbiness falling over the Husker Nation this week? Don't get me wrong...it's bound to happen when you are seconds away from a "program turning" victory over a top 10 team, only to piss it away like calling the prom queen the wrong name. If that were me, I'd probably be a bit agitated as well.

But thank God I'm not. What we do have creeping into the psyche of Husker fan is a slow, steady diet of reality. Let's go back to this summer when radio call in shows, newscasters, fans and "experts" alike were all saying the same thing about Bill Callahan's bunch. Let's go back to those horribly long days in July, where everybody and their mom was going through the schedule of every Big 12 team. Let's go back to the comments on Big 12 media day in Kansas City back in August. Do you remember that?

"Anything less than the North title is a failure for this team."

Well, where are we now? We are now 2/3 of the way done with the season, and the mighty Huskers are in a dogfight for the north. Granted, nobody (except for a few crack smoking idiots) thought NU would beat USC. For the most part, nobody thought they'd beat Texas as well. But for the most part, many people would believe that late October would be just about the time Herbie Husker separated himself from the rest of the pack. Hasn't quite worked out that way? Not only have the Huskers run into a Missouri team that won't go away...they now are looking at a pretty rough stretch to end the season. Meanwhile, their biggest threat to the North title still has pathetic Iowa State and Kansas on the schedule, as well as a home game with an Adrian Peterson-less Oklahoma Sooner team.

Why the pessimism? Because suddenly, a trip to Stillwater doesn't quite look like the slam dunk it once was. After the Missouri clash on the 4th, the Huskers waltz into one of the toughest environments in sports against a 7-1 Texas A&M team that promises to be a trap letdown game if there ever was such a thing. Even the Colorado Buffaloes, who started the year with six straight losses, look to be vastly improved by the time they walk into then giant red nursing home on 10th street the Friday after Thanksgiving.

So why is Husker fan suddenly so pissed off? How come off-hand little comments to me have turned more and more aggressive? How come Husker fan is so nervous? Oh don't get me wrong...many, MANY Husker fans have already made their plans to head for Kansas City on December 2nd. And now that Texas had their struggles in Lincoln last week, many are even now throwing around the "B" word...as in "BCS" should they get their much anticipated rematch at Arrowhead with the Horns.

Despite four tough weeks that lie ahead, Husker fan is pissed off because he is staring down the barrel of a completely pissed away season and a trip down mediocrity lane. The best part is...it may not even be of their own doing. Even if they do beat Missouri on 11/4 (which they very well will be favored by 7 or more points), they still have two extremely difficult road games that didn't look so tough back in August. If Missouri were to beat Oklahoma this weekend, even a loss in Lincoln wouldn't be enough to destroy the Tigers' hopes of a North division title, because of their games against North cellar dwellers to end the season. Therefore, the key to the Hicks' season may not lie against the Tigers in early November. It may be decided a week later on the plains of southeast Texas, as 85,000 screaming and swaying Aggie fans scream down the world's most unimaginative offense. Needless to say, Husker fan is in a bit of a pickle.

So will Steve Pederson's vision of another Corn dynasty come true? Will Husker fan spend the first weekend in December frolicking on the plaza, taking in the lights? Will the Huskers have that rematch that Mack Brown guaranteed this past weekend?

Perhaps. Perhaps Husker fan isn't scared of all at a "mediocre" Okie State team and an "overrated" A&M team that "hasn't beaten anyone." Perhaps Husker fan is just pissed off because the world still hasn't recognize his greatness? Perhaps they didn't see Nebraska fans CHEERING...yes CHEERING their own team after a 2 point choke to Texas? Isn't that worth a few AP votes right there!?!?! But despite all of that, the road to restoring the mythical order is a bit rougher than many Husker fans predicted just a few months ago. How else would you explain their panties in a proverbial bunch this week? How else would you explain the unusual venom that Husker fan is throwing around over the last couple of days? Should the Huskers slip this weekend in Stillwater, look for Joe Husker to be more uncomfortable than Richard Simmons judging a Hawaiian Tropic bikini contest. And isn't that what we all want to see anyway?

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