Week 1 Preview

Week #1 Preview:

After what appears to be the longest off-season in the history of sports...the greatest 5 month spectacle on earth is about ot kickoff tomorrow night. (Go Chips) Before we get into the mighty Huskers and however they spin an upcoming win over La Tech on Saturday, let's look at some of the other notable games around the country, and around the Big 12...as I see it.

Remember kids...this is for entertainment purposes only...no gambling. (unless I get a cut)


TCU (+7 1/2) @ Baylor
I hear Baylor has picked up an actual decent recruiting class or two and have looked pretty good in the off-season. With that being said, they're still Baylor, and TCU is pretty damn good. I think the winner of this game should get entrance into the Big 12...and if you've been to Ft. Worth or Waco...you would know too which school should win that contest. (Baylor is a dry campus by the way) Baylor may be improved...but not enough to beat TCU
Huskerh8er Pick - TCU 31 Baylor 13

Montana State @ Colorado (NL)
The Hawkins era has a nice fat appetizer to start the season off with. It's strange to see the Buffs playing an actual dog on opening day. That doesn't last long though as a killer three game stretch awaits. No brainier here.
Huskerh8er Pick - Montana State 10 Colorado 51

Murray State @ Missouri (NL)
I've been a Missouri fan my whole life, and one thing that life has taught me is NEVER EVER expect anything out of Missouri. This line of thinking poisons the soul and affects every single Mizzou fan from here to Cape Girardeau. There's no reason Mizzou can't be a damn good team..and this year is no different. Look for Mizzou to struggle early but pull away..headed into tailgate 2006.
Huskerh8er Pick - Murray State 7 Missouri 41

Louisiana Tech @ Nebraska (+21 1/2)
How can Nebraska be a "National Title Contender" and only be favored over La Tech by 21? No offense to my La Tech friends, but if the Huskers are as good as they say they are...they should be favored by much more than 21...especially in Lincoln on opening day..where they never lose. Again, look for Tech to scare the piss out of the Hicks early..and then something stupid happen like a fumbled punt or something like that. Hicks will pull away late...but not till they scare the hell out of every farmer in the house.
Huskerh8er Pick - Louisiana Tech 13 Nebraska 24

North Texas @ Texas (+41)
The defending National Champs take on a pretty underrated team in the Mean Green. Actually...they suck, but they're not AS bad as people think. With that being said, no way in hell should this be close. Despite the loss of Vince Young et al...they're still loaded.
Huskerh8er Pick - North Texas 0 Texas 63

Toledo @ Iowa State (+8)
This should actually be a great game. Toledo is one of the most underrated programs in the country, and has had a pretty long line of successful seasons over the past decade or so. Iowa State is loaded on offense, and on paper (to me at least) has the best starting 11 in the North. With that being said...something...not sure what....says Iowa State may lose this game. Perhaps it's gas.
Huskerh8er Pick - Toledo 31 Iowa State 33

UAB @ Oklahoma (+21 1/2)
Who would have thought a few weeks ago that OU would only be a 21 point favorite over UAB? UAB...much like Toledo has had some success in recent years...but has no business hanging with OU. The Paul Thompson era begins for the Sooners...no word yet on what his salary starts off as.
Huskerh8er Pick - UAB 14 Oklahoma 41

SMU @ Texas Tech (+26 1/2)
Lubbock. Night Game. SMU. Next pick please...
Huskerh8er Pick - SMU 16 Texas Tech 49

Citadel @ Texas A&M (NL)
The Citadel has a football team? Since when?
Huskerh8er Pick - Citadel 0 Texas A&M 56

Southwest MO State (I refuse to call them Missouri State) @ Oklahoma State (NL)
Okie State is bad and Gundy has made no indication that he can coach a lick...but losing to the 6th best team in Missouri (Behind Mizzou, Northwest, Central Mo, Truman State, the SLU intramural champs) is unacceptable. Pokes better roll.
Huskerh8er Pick - SMS 7 Okie State 31

Illinois State @ Kansas State (NL)
There are some...several people I know in fact..who are thinking Ill State and their 9 D1 transfers are going to hang with K-State. Although I think there is certainly opportunity to scare the bujesus out of KSU, there is still enough talent there at least to beat Illinois State at home. If not..this is going to be a long long long off-season for the Cat nation.
Huskerh8er Pick - Illinois State 17 Kansas State 35

Northwestern State @ Kansas (NL)
Kansas sucks. Northwestern State sucks more.
Huskerh8er Pick - Northwestern State 6 Kansas 35

Other picks because I feel like it:

Cal 21 - Tennessee 27
Notre Dame 31 - Ga Tech 17
USC 38 - Arkansas 10
Florida State 33 - Miami 21
Vandy 13 - Michigan 24
Utah 31 - UCLA 21
Wisconsin 23 - Bowling Green 24
Kentucky 17 - Louisville 48

Special shout out to my new La Tech friends

Seems the good folks at one of the La Tech message boards found their way here.

Welcome. Give them hell and knock their frick'n teeth in. (And don't fall for that fake "clap when they beat you" bullshit either.)

Go Dogs

PS - No offense on the earlier dig at your school. It's all relative here in the Big 12 where everybody sees themselves as top of the ladder. (even if they struggle with Maine)

Calm Before the Storm - Random musings

After listening to 1620 the Zone's Kevin Kuglar (who I actually think is a pretty good broadcaster, despite his "aw shucks" hokey attitude and his manlove infatuation with the Cubs) today, I told myself that when I got home, I was going to unleash a Husker rant something good.

Having a Husker rant build up inside is kinda like that feeling you get the day after drinking 12 Natty Lights. You know you're going to be OK..but there's something awful you just gotta get out of you. Sometimes it's at your command...sometimes, it does it on it's own.

Anyhow, I was trying to come up with whatever angle to rant on today: Callahan's 11-10 record vs. Division 1 teams....The Lincoln Journal Star casting a fictional "Husker Movie"...or any one of five-hundred various Jim-Bobs who cross my path at work every day who ask me what I think about the upcoming season.

It basically hit me that I'm completely tapped out...at least for now. I've told you how overrated they are. I've told you how their defense is a farce. I've told you how it's ridiculous to anoint Zac Taylor the second coming of Joe Montana when the guy wasn't even in the top 1/2 of starting QB's in the big 12 last year statistically. I"ve told you how USC is going to colon-pound the Huskers like Andy Dick at an after-hours Emmy party. I've told you how the rest of the conference is going to stack up this year.

The only thing left to do is wait. Wait for the longest 3-4 days of the year, when all the pre-season hype is over, and there's nothing left to do but play ball. It all starts with the Mighty Chips of Central Michigan on Thursday night (Wife's an alum) and it just rolls on from there. Am I expecting a Husker loss on Saturday? Not really. Teams like La Tech, who regularly play in front of 3 dozen people in a swamp usually don't fare well when they look up and see 80,000 gomers wearing the same sweatshirt. But do I expect the Husker starters to be in the game well into the 4th quarter? You bet.

Official predictions coming Thursday.

- Am I the only person who doesn't watch entourage on HBO?

- The official Huskerh8er tailgate will be taking place on Saturday, September 9th at the Missouri football game vs. Mississippi. Just as last year, expect in-depth drunken analysis, audioblogs and tailgate play-by-play from some of the dumbest fans on earth, as they leave for Columbia at 1am, guzzling beers and tequila all the way down. It will be hard to top members of our tailgate party wetting themselves and throwing up..all before 9am...but we'll do what we can to top it. This year's theme: Fajita Fiesta.

- Why do I get the feeling that the Kansas City Chiefs won't have another winning season until the 2020's? The NFL is extremely cyclical, and I just get this feeling that bitter, evil Chiefs fan is in for a very harsh season. Don't ask me why...just do.

- Finally, since when did 12 year olds at the Little League World Series throw in the mid 70's? I was a senior in high school, pitching for the #1 team in the state of Nebraska, and I could barely touch 73. Meanwhile, some 110lb 5th grader from New Hampshire is chucking the ball from 40 feet away at Mach 3. Have they ever thought about testing these kids for roids? Seriously..I remember playing ball at age 12, and we had some pretty good athletes in our little league...but I'd have a skid mark the size of Florida in my pants if I had to face some lefty who is 6 foot tall, throwing in the mid 70's from 40 feet away. Don't seem right to me.

And is it some sort of rule, that every little-league world series parent has to be a complete buffoon in front of the cameras? I'm all for supporting your kids...and if my son makes it to the LLWS, I'll be right there going apeshit as well. But do you really need to wear matching clown wigs and hold up signs? Don't you think the kid is going to be scared for life playing in front of 8.8 million people on TV anyway before most kids have even kissed a girl? Why put the extra pressure on them?

Oh well, I do enjoy the LLWS, if anything...because it shows redneck College World Series fan, that no matter how much they drool on themselves during the 3rd week of June, there is always some festival celebrating pre-teens in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania there to top them.

Hurry up Weekend...I'm fucking dying here.

AJ

One week to go

We've had some problems with blogger...as I'm sure it was the #1 story on the nightly news today. Therefore, I had a whole witty piece ready to go and....

Ahhhhh screw it.

One week to go, not much more to add on the Husker front. We shall get into a bit more detail on Monday regarding the big matchup with La Tech, as well as other critical, yet extremely boring Big 12 games.

Oh..and remind me to bitch about the Little League World Series Too.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

AJ

An In-depth Conversation with Husker Fan

As the college football season is set to kick-off next week, the Associated Press sent a reporter to the plains of Nebraska, to gauge the passion and support of the self-proclaimed "Greatest fans in college football." With turmoil the name of the game over the past five years, Husker fans have settled back into their old role as college football's greatest ambassador.

We caught up with Joe Husker fan after a recent Husker practice. His comments, on a variety of topics, may shock you:

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Associated Press (AP) - Hi, thanks for sitting down to talk with me.

Joe Husker Fan (JHF) - No problem. Call me T.O. I had it legally changed.

AP - Ummmm, OK. The last few years have been pretty rough for you haven't they?

JHF - Not really. It was just a little speed bump to let other fans enjoy college football for a year or two. Coach Cal has got us going in the right direction after only a couple of years. Order has been restored.

AP - Are you referring to the end of the 2005 season?

JHF - Absolutely. We were the best team in the nation last year, and have almost everybody back. We're sick of hearing about how great everybody else is. Our offense is loaded. Our defense is stacked. We're back baby....WE'RE BACK!!!!!!! WOOOOO!

AP - Ummmmm, OK. Why do you think Nebraska fans have such a bond with their football team?

JHF - Simple really...they play for US. They represent US. NO other football team in the country can say that. None.

AP - You mean have a state sponsored football team?

JHF - Yes

AP - You realize 97% of all major accredited universities offer football as a varsity sport.

JHF - Who told you that? Powercat Illustrated? Tigerboard? Pfffffttt. You idiot.

AP - No seriously, here's a list.

JHF - You think what you want to think. You media people are always against us.

AP - Ok. Let's talk about your head coach, Bill Cala.....

JHF - WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! YEAH!!! CALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!

AP - I take it you approve of the job Callahan is doing?

JHF - Coach Cal is AMAZING. He's recruited NFL caliber players and brought them to Lincoln. He's bringing in guys from California....CALIFORNIA!!!!

AP - So I assume you have bought into Bill Callahan's West Coast Offense?

JHF - It's "CORN" Coast Offense here sir. Get it wrong again, and this interview is over.

AP - Sorry. I should have realized that with that large piece of yellow foam rubber on your head. I assume you like the new offense?

JHF - Oh, it's not new. It's won every Super Bowl.

AP - I don't think that's correct.

JHF - Idiot. (expletive) media people...always trying to bring us down again. Where did you go to school? Texas?

AP - I did live in Dallas for a few months after college while working on my masters.

JHF - Texas fans...you guys all suck.

AP - What do you have to say in defense for some of the things that have happened lately with Husker football? Gesture gate? Kellen Houston, Darren Delone? etc?

JHF - That snot nosed Mizzou fan deserved it. You don't go running on the field like that. Had to be his fault, because you'd never see ANY Husker player punching anybody except when he has to defend himself.

AP - Like Kate McCewen?

JHF - That girl was strong. She was built like Grant Wistrom.

AP - Tell me about former Coach Frank Solich. What do you think of him?

JHF - (expletive) moron. He hated Nebraska. He's always hated Nebraska. He wanted us to fail.

AP - Didn't he play for you for several years?

JHF - He hated us then too. We don't take in-state players anymore. We're better than that.

AP - So you think it was a conspiracy? Are you saying Frank Solich threw games on purpose in hopes to lose?

JHF - Absolutely. How could you NOT think that? We lost to Kansas State. We lost to Missouri. There's NO WAY the University of NEBRASKA loses to those two teams.

AP - Do you miss the option running attack that won you so many games in the past?

JHF - Hell no. That was stupid to run the ball so much. Statistics show that the more you pass the ball, the more you win. Coach Cal had us throw FIFTY FOUR passes in a game once....FIFTY FOUR!!!!

AP - Well, passing doesn't always equal success. Texas Tech, Utah, Bowling Green, Nevada all employ passing into their offenses, with mixed success.

JHF - Idiot

AP - It's true

JHF - Pfffft, what the hell do you know? The Media always gets it wrong with us

AP - Well, I've covered NCAA football for 18 years, I'm on the big 12 competition committee and I've written 3 books on big 12 football.

JHF - Dumbass

AP - Where do you see Husker football in five years?

JHF - Well, after winning back-to-back-to-back-to-back titles, it's going to be very difficult to keep coach Cal around. But who wouldn't want to coach for us? We've out recruited everybody in the nation. It's going to put us right back where we belong, restoring the order the way it should be. He has no reason to leave us.

AP - You do realize that you don't even have the most national titles in your own conference?

JHF - You're so uninformed. It's amusing how little you know about football.

AP - Just a few more questions...

JHF - Good, because because me and my Huskerpedia friends are all meeting the team after practice to clap for them and yell "Husker Power" as they walk back to their dorms. It's gonna be great.

AP - Ummmm, OK. What do you have to say to critics who believe that your last two wins were a fluke, and you're not going to live up to such high expectations.

JHF - We'll show them. They're just jealous. Jealous of who we are. Jealous of our success.

AP - Jealous of your....(heh) sanctimonious intellect?

JHF - (puzzled look) Huh?

AP - Last question regarding the recent addition of ASU transfer Sam Keller...

JHF - (high pitch squeal)

AP - I take it you approve of the move to get him?

JHF - It's simple really. He understands greatness. Even when he wasn't publicly thinking about transferring...way back four days ago...he was thinking about how great it would be to play in Memorial Stadium in front of the best fans in college football.

AP - You really believe that

JHF - You'll be sorry when he wins the Heisman

AP - Do you really believe that?

JHF - Pfffffft. Why wouldn't he? He has Coach Cal, Jay (Norvell) and our coaching staff. The guy beat USC last year!!!

AP - No he didn't. USC beat Arizona State last year.

JHF - Idiot

AP - Thanks for sitting down with me today.

JHF - GOOOOOOOOOO BIIIIGGGGGGGG REEEEDDDDDD!

AP - Uhhhhh, yeah.


(No Associated Press (c)reporter was harmed during the filming of this fictional account)
("Joe Husker Fan" is a registered trademark of Hick Incorporated, all rights reserved)

Here they come....

You know "Order has been restored" when the freaks find their way back here. It's like coming home again. :)

Let's get a couple of things out in the open:

1) I was laughing AT you..not WITH you when you all jumped the gun this morning. Of course, you missed the point anyway. Is this how far you've fallen? I used to get trash talk and death threats after Nebraska won National Titles...or beat my team 65-0. Now, I get "Take that ya douche" whenever you pick up some hothead player who a) isn't going to play for you for at LEAST a year and b) was second string for a mid-level pac-10 team no less than a few days ago.

2) The guy has great numbers...there is no denying that. And yes..if I were you, and I had the kid from Life Goes On as my most experienced QB next year...I'd be a bit happy I didn't have to start a guy named Joey Ganz. So yes...you dodged a HUGE bullet. Kudos to you. I will give you partial credit....after your last CAN NOT MISS QB, it's a nice get for you, especially compared to the alternative.

3) How many times...over and over and over again have we heard the hype about how great one of your future players is going to be...only to watch them flame out and have you proclaim, "they sucked anyway" or "we never really wanted him?" It's happened time and time and time again. This guy was a cancer at ASU, and completely quit on his teammates when he didn't get this way. (Something you all mocked Harrison Beck for by the way) And you're going to let Callahan loose on him for a full year? You do realize what kind of track record Callahan has with keeping teams full of questionable characters together don't you? Perhaps you missed Callahan's last NFL team where several players reportedly had to be held back at practice from trying to kill him.

Here's what you have fallen from.

You used to run smack over National Titles...24 year winning streaks, leading the nation in rushing, endless All-Americans, year after year of going to bowls etc etc etc.

What do you have now?

A win over a Colorado team that scored 6 points in 3 games.
A win over Michigan that was a complete fluke
A 2nd string Pac-10 QB who was blackballed for being a cancer to his team
No running back who averaged over 3.4 yards per carry last year
Wide Receivers who look like John Stockton
And nothing more....

Are you getting what I'm saying?

Of course you don't. You don't because you don't see the big picture. You've gone from having the ultimate scoreboard, to relying on nothing but hope, potential and a bunch of faded "Back to Back" t-shirts. Before you have even won a game this year, you have already given yourself already the North title in 2006, but now you're going to win the National title in 2007.

This is a very very very dangerous game you're playing.

So go ahead...gather at 72nd and Dodge and let the party get started. (That is unless the kid changes his mind...which by judging from his character so far...isn't out of the realm of possibility) While you're out on the streets celebrating, please give me one reason why I should give you one ounce of credit. (Aside from the fact that you only had some Juco flunky to start next year) Until this Keller kid is raising the Big 12 title trophy over his head in December of 2007, let's pretty much consider this a work in progress...especially considering that without Arizona State's Receivers, offensive line and running backs...the guy has about as much chance of matching his old numbers at NU as Tom Osborne has getting the lead role in Naughty Nurses 4.

When you have nothing else...and all your memories are fading in the distance...I guess it's understandable that you'd be bouncing off the walls right now.

And STOP fucking blaming Frank Solich.

Sheesh...douche bags.

PS - JP...welcome back

Not so fast my friend!!! - Keller Defeats Truman

Well well well....

Looks like somebody..(or 2.1 million Somebody's) jumped the gun on this whole Sam Keller situation. I'd love to tell you I'm shocked. I'd love to tell you that I surprised that the jock-sniffing Nebraska media couldn't IMAGINE a talented (yet 2nd string) quarterback going ANYWHERE but Nebraska...but I can't.

Seems that according to published reports, not only has Keller not 100% decided on Nebraska...but he hasn't even ruled out returning to Arizona State. Hmmmmm...sounds a bit different than what I heard on Husker talk radio yesterday on my drive home, where fans were dialing up, proclaiming how great it was that a great former NFL coach (chuckle) like Callahan could not only recruit high school kids, but QB's from other major teams.

Sure he's just some college kid, but let this be a lesson to some of you: Please feel free to get your facts right before proclaiming victory. It doesn't matter if it was thanks to some internet report, or an actual ESPN.com exclusive....you REALLY need to let these things play out before telling the world how great it is to reel in such a catch.

Already this morning, many members of my office had noted (now that they find out he probably isn't coming) that he was nothing but a cancer to his team..and wasn't really that good anyway. Hmmmm...is that what was echoing down the hall this time 24 hours ago?

Nope.

Moral to the story....Despite the white-hot manlove you people have for yourselves...just because a QB is free to go anywhere he wants, doesn't mean he's going to come spend his winters in the warm sunny utopia that is Lincoln, Nebraska.

Can't wait to see who will...uhhh...I mean....might come here next....

Stop the countdown - Huskers pick up (maybe) new QB

I'm putting a pause on the opponent preview for two reasons:

First, after NU loses to USC by 70...they may be so distraught, they may not win another game and throw the whole thing off. Second, I'm missing real Husker stories prior to the season that need to be addressed. And no, not in the same propaganda method most Husker fans are used to seeing....where Steve Sipple or Sean Callahan spew whatever they want to hear into a microphone, and the soybean nation eats it up.

Take this for example....

Seems that rumors are flying that (now former) ASU quarterback Sam Keller is nearly signed, sealed and delivered as Nebraska's new starting quarterback for the 2007 season. According to sources (ie random internet message boards, where guys with "handles" like "HuskerSackAttack" and "BigRedFan582" ), Keller has narrowed his college search down to Oklahoma and Nebraska. (Apparently the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots are now out of the running)

Keller, who has Joe Montana's smarts, Warren Moon's arm and Joe Namath's flair is destined to be a future hall-of-famer once he steps foot on the NU practice field this fall. Then again, should he sign with Oklahoma, he will have never been that good anyway, a complete failure, and will be mocked as just another reason to hate that damn cheating Oklahoma.

I have a couple of takes on this.

First, who cares? Yes he put up some decent numbers in the Maginot Line-esque Pac-10. But HOW many times has Husker fans soiled their overalls, bragging about what is GOING to happen? I remember waiting for years for DeAngelo Evans to win the first of his 3 Heismans...never happened. I remember David Horne being touted as the second coming of Barry Sanders...that is before Husker fan realized he wasn't that good, and started bashing him for being a quitter. I waited and waited for the excellence of such QB's as Curt Dukes, Odell James and Jamal Lord to be recognized on their way to Canton as the quintessential Top QB's that Husker fan claimed that they were.

And....maybe not.

NOBODY on earth is more guilty of buying hype than Husker fan. If I had a dime for every single "can't miss" recruit, transfer or sasquatch who was supposed to turn college football on it's ear...yet failed to pan out...I'd be loaded. Can't you people just wait and see what happens? I understand you're excited, because you have the 7th best QB in the Big 12 returning this year...and his backup stiffed you...but CONTROL yourselves a little bit.

Don't you have a little bit of concern that you "might" be getting a guy who up and left a beautiful campus and successful program in Tempe...just because their head coach gave the starting job to somebody else? Isn't that what you were just bitching about a few weeks ago when Beck did the same thing? Does it bother you that you're squealing like little girls because you might pick up ASU's 2nd string table scraps? Doesn't that make you hypocrites?

Of course you don't realize this, because you're blinded by false history and myopia. You have absolutely no concept of reality, and the fact that sometimes kids pan out..sometimes they don't. Who the hell knows how Callahan can piss this kid off between now and September of 2007. And this is even if you DO end up getting him. SO many things can happen, it's not even funny. Yet, here you are anyway...already giving yourself the North crown the year after this one, because some second string, injury prone backup QB from last year's Insight.com champs is giving you a second look.

Kudos to you on wrapping up the conference for 2007, 17 months in advance.

God you're good.

2006 Opponent Preview: USC

September 16th
Los Angeles Coliseum
USC Trojans



Last Bowl Game: 2005 Rose Bowl (Natl Championship game)
Returning starters offense: 4
Returning starters defense: 6

Official Huskerh8er odds of a Husker loss: 100% (Richard Simmons has a better chance at judging a Miss Hawiian Tropic Bikini contest than the Huskers do of winning this game.)



Lucky for some of you, we've already talked about this game in great detail. So therefore, I will spare you any of the 10,532,922 reasons why Nebraska gets their ass kicked in this game. And no, just because your new scoreboard is done, doesn't mean I think you will win now.

One thing we didn't touch on before was the tune-up games before this match-up. Nebraska will have two games under their belt opposed to USC's one. However, La Tech and the juggernaut known as Nicholls State aren't quite the same as USC taking on Arkansas on the road. One thing Colorado has shown us over the years, is that tough road games...even losing tough road games can do nothing but help you in the long run. Nebraska will win two easy games at home, like they always do, and then watlz into a hostile environment and get bashed upside the skull with a giant lead pipe.

I've said it once..I'll say it again. There is ABSOLUTELY, no fucking way on God's green earth that NU wins this game. None. Zero. And no you fucking tools, I'm not going to make some bet with you where if I win you have to give up your Harry Potter books for a summer. And no, if Nebraska wins (that looked funny even typing that), I won't go run and hide. I'm sure that if somehow the stars aligned right and you WERE to win that game (which you won't) there will be something else to bash you about. So just save the endless streams of e-mails that I'm bound to get. It's best for both of us.

----------------------------------

In a related note, I thought I would pass this along:

Do you really thing I'm going overboard when I say that many Husker fans have a homo-erotic fascination with their players? You may think I"m joking...but how else can you explain this? Seriously....WHAT THE FUCK? The only reason somebody would take this photo, would be if people want to see it. (Caution - this photo may be disturbing to some readers, and yes..this was as disturbing for me to print as it is for you to look at it. Just trying to make a point here.)

Sorry...change in direction

I'll get back to the preview in a bit. Plans have changed for the moment. Thanks for stopping by.

2006 opponent Preview - Nicholls State

September 9th
Memorial Stadium - Lincoln, NE
Nicholls State Colonels


2005 Record: Who Cares, they're 1AA
Last Bowl Game: Tecmo Bowl in grade school
Returning starters offense: Who cares
Returning starters defense: Who cares


Official Huskerh8er odds of a Husker loss: 5%



So help me God, if you people blow this game like you almost blew it against Maine last year, I'll quit my job and start doing this full time. With enough ammo to last 100 lifetimes, you better hope that doesn't happen. My brain cannot comprehend what that would mean, so let's not even talk about it here.

Just don't fuck it up for your sake.



Tomorrow: The crack pipe - USC Trojans

2006 Opponent preview - Louisiana Tech

September 2nd
Memorial Stadium - Lincoln, NE
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

2005 Record: 7-4 2nd Place WAC
Last Bowl Game: 2001 Humanitarian Bowl
Returning Starters Offense: 7
Returning Starters Defense: 2


Official Huskerh8er Odds of a Husker loss: 22%



Gotta hand it to the Husker athletic department for at least scheduling a D-1 team to start off the year this season. (Not that mighty Maine was a pushover in last season's opener when they trailed the Huskers by one score with 9 minutes left in the game.) Sure, Louisiana Tech is no Nichols State, but playing a mid-level team from a shitty conference to start the season is a bit bold for Steve-O and company. So kudos in that department.

Looking over the specifics of this game, you can kinda see the whole thing breaking down like any other first game of the year in the post Osborne era. Perhaps I'm wrong...perhaps I'm a bit cynical, but here's what's going to happen:

- Both teams struggle on offense early
- La Tech offense will light up for a bit
- NU will be up by < 2 TD's at the half.
- La Tech will commit a big turnover midway through the second half.
- Huskers will pile on a late score or two.
- Husker nation will brag for a week what a monumental win it was, while trying to shrug off the off-season cobwebs. (Never mind the fact that the OTHER team is playing their first game as well.) However, pretty stupid to think a bunch of swamp rats in baby blue are going to walk into Lincoln and be in anything but awe that 80,000 people with white hair can all wear the same color and yet make so little noise.

No way am I going to call the Husker upset here, but there is a reason the Harmon forecast only predicted a 27-10 win for mighty NU. La Tech has a pretty decent offense that specializes in throwing the ball around. However, pretty easy to see their inexperienced line backers being able to stop the run. Look for Tim Ratay to test the Husker early and for Troy Edwards to have a huge game.

Oh wait a second...that was the 1998 game preview when the Huskers had come off of a National title.

Bulldogs may win by 30 over this piece of shit group Callahan is trotting on the field this season.

Heh

Jokes aside, La Tech is kind of a mystery in the WAC. They had a huge win over Fresno last season, but failed to propel themselves to a bowl game. Teams like this normally trot into Lincoln and buy into the whole history and hype of it all. I really don't see a team with 8 road games on the schedule to make much noise, but it wouldn't shock me if it took quite a while for the low octane Husker moped offense to get into gear.

Tomorrow: Excellence Personified - Nichols State.

The Tradition Continues

So much as happened over the past month or so in the Husker hating world, it's hard to keep it under control. One e-mail I did get recently was recently was in regards to new Husker Major Culbert and his recent brush with the law.

As part of my New Year's resolution, I am continuing my policy not to personally attack individual Husker players. However, that's not to say I can't applaud Bill Callahan's effort to put the Thug back in Huskers.

Unfortunately, Husker fans are correct in their standard canned response/excuse that football coaches absolutely cannot watch over all 105 of their players 24/7. Recent problems in Norman, Oklahoma have shown that even in the most storied of programs, boosters, alumni and the like will always try to persuade kids into making choices that will harm both them and their program. Don't lose sight of the fact also that in college football, we're dealing with 18-22 year old kids. I'm sure not a single soul who is reading this blog hasn't done something butt-ass stupid during their time in that age bracket. (Except for you Husker geeks who run college fantasy leagues, and have obviously spent that time and extended years after, huddling around your old Husker tapes deep in the bowels of your mom's basement. But I digress)

What should really frighten Husker fan...aside from the lofty expectations that no team this side of the 1992 U.S. Olympic basketball team could accomplish...is the fact that Bill Callahan has already shown that he's all about "keeping football in their lives" as Tom Osborne was ten years ago. Enter Major Culbert, a kid from LA who was charged with playing ass-slapsy with a girl who didn't exactly want him around. After taking some lumps in the media, coach Callahan immediately reinstated Culbert, and welcomed him back to the flock.

Does it frighten any of you that this guy has ZERO college coaching experience running a program? Does it frighten you that he used to work for Al Davis? Does it frighten you that your current AD is more worried about winning with his own legacy than watching his own program. George Achola can only protect your players so long...sooner or later, it's going to catch up with you.

We saw with the defection of the Huskers top QB and RB from the class of 2005, that Bill Callahan has already started making promises that he had no intention of keeping. This should be an alarming note for those of you who just a few years ago, prided yourself as the end-all authority on everything that is good and pure with college football.

Trust me, you're just as dirty as anybody else..and sooner or later, it will catch up with you.

I for one, applaud coach Callahan for picking up where Tom Osborne left off in recruiting thugs and criminals into his program. Sure that fucking Frank Solich cleaned things up for a bit, but that fucking guy is sweeping streets in rural Ohio right now. YOU have the head coach of the Raiders. And if there ever was a poster child for squeaky clean images..it's the Raiders.

But then again, the Raiders did fire his ass for sucking and killing a Super Bowl team within a year.

Good luck with that.

PS - Don't think bad things can happen to you? Go ask Mark Mangino if he's feeling swell these days after the NCAA let his boss know that the hammer is coming.

19 days to go

"Hope, is the last bastion of the damned" - Mark Twain

Minor ramblings as we steamroll toward opening day.


So Stewart Mandell picked the Huskers as one of their "16 National Title contenders" in a recent Sports Illustrated piece. I didn't get a chance to read the article, but I felt it needed to be discussed. As you have seen during the past few weeks and months...the case against the Huskers being worldbeaters this year is staggering. Again DO NOT take that as some sort of insane babble for the sake of typing out words on a screen. There is no reason..on paper mind you, that the Huskers shouldn't at least contend for the North title. Again, I may be crazy, but I'm not fucking stupid.

The problem is, everybody is SO quick to jump back on the bandwagon on POTENTIAL. As I've stated before...as a Missouri fan, do not ever bitch to me about "potential". I heard all about "potential" when Quin Snyder pulled in a top 5 recruiting class, and those same seniors finished their carrers by getting pummelled by Michigan in the NIT.

Here are some examples of what I'm talking about.

- "Matt Herrian is back and that instantly improves the passing game."
Can you name me one player in the history of football who has come back from a devastating injury such as his and been JUST AS GOOD when he returned? It's too bad the kid got injured, because he was a fine tight end. However, banking your success on these sort of things has it's pitfalls.

- " The Huskers return THREE defensive players that missed all of last year. They're bound to be better."
Wasn't it the 2004 Huskers that finished 5-6 and gave up SEVENTY points to Texas Tech? I mean, if you lost Dick Butkis for a season and redshirted Jack Lambert...OK. But three guys who anchored the worst Husker team in 40 years? And THIS is supposed to be the shot in the arm the team needs? What in the fuck are you people smoking?

Still more...

- "Zac Taylor has all-American potential as a senior"
Again, based on.....???? A win over a Colorado team that scored fewer points than Prairie View A&M their last 3 games? A team that had obviously given up on Gary Barnett? Or a HUGE win over Michigan? Correct me if I"m wrong, but if not for a few key turnovers by Michigan, we'd be talking about a 7-5 Husker season, and a nice nucleus of players. Instead, we're talking about a team that lost to KU by 25 last year challenging for the National title 9 months later.

Do you have ANY idea what the fuck I'm talking about here?

The myopia and hype surrounding the program is reaching a level not seen since 2001. At least in 2001 however you had some outstanding running backs, a long-standing coaching staff and a future Heisman winner. Not a bunch of guys returning from injury, and a couple of late-season wins that weren't 1/10th as impressive as you paint them out to be. What this boils down to is the desire...no the absolute NEED to be recognized for being great. Frankly, (pun, get it?) you guys were WAY less annoying back in the day when you ran your boring offense, and beat people 60-10 every year on your way to yet another mid-level bowl loss.

But alas, because of a couple of flukes late last season, we have to put up with blind faith and the expectation that because you have plain red uniforms and a big ass ugly 'N' on your helmet that was cool back in the Andrew Jackson administration, that automatically good things will come to you. I personally cannot be more pleased with the out of control expectations and blind faith the Husker nation has put fourth this off-season. Perhaps when they're tearing down goalposts at Iowa State this year you'll get what I'm talking about? Perhaps it will be when you're only one score up on Maine with 9 minutes to play. (Oops, that was last year.)

In order for pain and suffering to be achieved in the manner you deserve, you need the heights to be dizzying. If expectations get any higher, you'll need one of those masks that F-16 pilots wear.

Time will tell I guess.

Top 10 Husker losses of all time - #1 (drum roll)

Top 10 Husker losses of all time - #1





January 1st, 1984


Nebraska 0 14 3 13 30
Miami Fl 17 0 14 0 31
@ Miami, FL
A - 72,549


"It's a deep, bad feeling right now," said Smith. "I'm disappointed. We were looking forward to winning." - Husker receiver Jeff Smith after pissing away a slam-dunk National Title.


If you think it's easy to choose just one loss to devastate a fan base, you're wrong. As we've seen over the past 10 days, losses come in a variety of shapes and sizes and draw out a wide range of emotions. When trying to find the one loss that captures it all, you have to look at several factors. First, how bad did it rip the guts out of Husker fans? Two, what were the expectations? Three, what were the stakes of the loss? How did Husker fan react? And finally, what were the ramifications of the loss?

I almost bumped this loss down a notch for one reason: It made Tom Osborne a folk hero for going for the win. There may be some validity to that, although I'd have to think that after playing a tight game like that, even the most hardened coach would want to settle it one way or the other and NOT go for the tie. (Osborne would have been crucified had he kicked it. Don't kid yourself) I'm not quite sure what sort of "guts" it took, especially knowing that had Osborne kicked the extra point, he would have been vilified as a pussy. And if we've learned anything over the past 25 years...Tom Osborne LOVES to know you LOVE him. If he goes for two, he's a hero if he misses it and he's a national champion if he makes it. No loss for him.

What makes this loss sting like no other...according to many Husker fans I polled for this series, was the fact that people forget just how good the 83 Huskers were. Sports Illustrated called them the most dominant amateur team ever assembled. As we saw from our #2 loss all time, they were good even the year before, without losing much of any momentum in 83. Mike Rozier, between hits of his crack pipe, was as tough of a running back as there ever was (winning the Heisman to boot), and Irving Fryer (between taking hits on Rozier's crack pipe) was a freak of nature that played 45 years in the NFL. The offensive line (although sporting more roids than a Barry Bonds Bowflex infomercial) was amazing. The defense was solid. They AVERAGED 547 yards per game, 402 rushing. Everything was in place for the school's first National Title in 13 years. Just look at the numbers that offense rolled up. They scored over 50 points SEVEN times. They were #1 from beginning of the season to the morning of January 1st.

Miami on the other hand was new to all this. Ranked #5 and 11 point underdogs, the 10-1 Hurricanes had last second 17-16 win over Florida to set up the Orange Bowl birth. Shabby by no means, the Canes had finished 5-6 just 3 years before Howard Schnellenberger hit South Beach. The 83 Orange bowl would be the school's first major bowl game since 1951.

What makes this loss so devastating is the fact that the mighty Huskers nearly saved their season and their legacy. Down 31 to 17 with less than 7 minutes to go, the Hicks from the plains hit overdrive. A 1 yard (yawwnn) Jeff Smith dive pulled the Husker to within 7. After a tough defensive stand, Buffalo University's head coach moved the team downfield the way a team that averages 547 yards a game should have. On 4th and 8 from the 24 with their legacy on the line Smith took the option and rumbled 24 yards into the end zone, sending the toothless nation into a state of berserk rarely seen. At that moment, thinking of how to stop America's youth from looking at porn, soon-to-be Congressman Osborne decided to go for two, and solidify NU's place in the record books. SURELY a team that averaged 402 yards rushing PER GAME could pick up 3 measly yards?

Uhhhh....no.

Why Osborne called a rollout pass is beyond me. (Especially one where the Miami defense was sitting in a tight zone.) Smith had been brilliant since taking over for Rozier, why not send him off-tackle behind the best offensive line college football had ever seen? Because Osborne got greedy, that's why. (Don't forget, 7 of NU's points came on the now famous, "Fumbleroosky". Hell, if you can't steamroll your opponents, you may as well run a bullshit trick play?)

Hindsight is 20/20, and Husker fan was left with the longest lasting, the most painful, and most devastating "what if?", knee to the groin in history. Instead of being known as the greatest college football team of all time (An adjective they didn't deserve after the 95 season either), the 83 Huskers will forever go down in history as the greatest college football team ever to piss away a National Title, setting the stage of nearly 12 years of post-season failure and further misery.

The pain was extreme. The stakes couldn't have been higher. The forgotten legacy of a great team was tarnished forever, despite whatever T.O. spin the NU fans like to call it. The Huskers couldn't have pissed it away better. All the makings of the #1 loss in Husker history.

Thanks for checking out the blog and our recap of the top 10 losses in NU history.

See ya Monday when we breakdown NU's 2006 opponents.

AJ

------------------------------------------------------------

Recap

10 - 1996 Texas 37 - NU 27
9 - 2004 Colorado 26 - NU 20
8 - 1992 Iowa State 19 - NU 10
7 - 1997 Missouri 38 - NU 31
6 - 2002 Miami 37 - NU 14
5 - 2003 Kansas State 38 - NU 9
4 - 2001 Colorado 62 - NU 36
3 - 2004 Texas Tech 70 - NU 10
2 - 1982 Penn State 27 - NU 24
1 - 1984 Miami 31 - NU 30

Honorable Mention:
1996 - Arizona State 19 - NU 0
1994 - Florida State 18 - NU 16
2003 - Missouri 41 - NU 24
2005 - Kansas 40 - NU 15
1978 - Missouri 35 - NU 31
1968 - Kansas State 12 - NU 0
1975 - Oklahoma 35 - NU 10
1979 - Oklahoma 17 - NU 14
1989 - Colorado 27 - NU 21

Top 10 Husker losses of all time - #2

All Time Husker losses of all time - #2






September 25th, 1982


Nebraska 0 7 7 10 - 24
Penn State 7 7 7 6 - 27
@ State College, PA
A - 85,304


"The play out of bounds wasn't the fault of Penn State or the quarterback or the coach. But it was one of the all-time lowlights of officiating. It affected the outcome of the game, and we lost only one game that year." - Husker secondary coach and noted whiney crybaby George Darlington to the Omaha World Herald



When you're surrounded by Husker fanatics as I am every day, you tend to get a certain vibe about things. You realize the hypocrisy in their relationship with their players when one day they refer to Lawrence Phillips as, "LP" and the day after he is kicked off the team he is suddenly "That jackoff who sucked anyway and wanted to destroy our program." Remember, these are the same people who cry like a 4-year old girl hit by a bus when Harrison Beck leaves them, only to appoint themselves recruiting geniuses when they land players such as Chris Brooks who screw over other teams on their way to Lincoln.

One thing is also crystal clear however....NO GAME in the modern history of Husker football has pissed these people off more than the 1982 game with Penn State. To THIS DAY, if you even mention Penn State football out loud, some guy with a plaid shirt and a Roundup Herbecide hat within 15 feet of you will lurch to his feat and yell, "That fucker was out of bounds!" Sure, there have been other losses, as we've seen throughout this week and after each one Husker fan has shown a variety of emotions. Husker fan has been sad, Husker fan been down, Husker fan has been encouraged, he's been depressed and even ambivalent...but never has a loss so sent Husker fan into a state of anger, rage and denial such as this one.

Flash back 24 years to a Nationally televised game in the hills of Western Pennsylvania. #2 Nebraska is taking on #13 Penn State in one of the nation's best early season non-conference matchups. The Huskers are led by a plethora of all-American's to be, including junior Turner Gill and convicted drug offender Mike Rozier. Penn State's high powered offense featured the best 1-2 punch in the nation in Curt Warner and Todd Blackledge.

With the Lions up 21-17 in the 4th, a 1 yard plunge by Gill put the Huskers ahead with 1:18 to play, sending thousands of goofy looking fans wearing overalls into a delirium. Not to be forgotten, the previous few years of Husker football started a tradition that would last throughout the 80's and into the early 90's....a decent regular season followed by losing late when it counted. But on this night, it appeared that the talented Huskers would pull off the huge victory on the road in front of the largest crowd ever to watch a Nebraska football game.

Ahhh...but Penn State wasn't done. Blackledge guided the Nittany Lions down the field to the Nebraska 17 with about 15 seconds left to play. What happened next would start Husker fans down the road to perdition. To this day, Husker fans who were as young as 2 years old at the time, will fly into a blind rage that would make Russel Crowe proud at the very mention of the follwing play.

With the clock winding down under 5 seconds, Blackledge hit wide receiver Mike McCloskey sliding out of play at the 2 yard line. Husker players were completely enraged that McCloskey had caught the ball out of bounds. Even Husker head coach Tom Osborne, known as the poster child for calm under pressure, reacted to the play violently, protesting to the line judge, "Hey sir...he was out of bounds. I think you missed that call."

Penn State quickly stepped to the line in the commotion, as Blackledge dropped back. The senior hit tight end Kirk Bowman in the back of the end zone as time expired...again to the outrage of the Husker players and staff, who insisted the ball hit the ground. According to the Omaha World Herald (9/9/02), the classiest team in the nation's running back coach Gene Huey smashed a chair against the Beaver Stadium press box window as various other coaches punched walls and threw notebooks. Even former secondary coach George Darlington told reporters 20 years later that never in his 203 years of coaching football had he seen such a shitty call.

Penn State went on to beat Georgia for the National Title in the Sugar Bowl that year, as one of Nebraska's greatest teams ever had to settle for yet another bridesmaid dress. (One they would wear for the next 12 years).

Much like Saddam Hussein's Iraq who are taught from an early age that Zionists in the west were keeping them in shackles, children in Nebraska are taught at an early age that Mike McCloskey royally bent them over a sofa and fucked them out of a national championship. Walk into any pre-school from Bellevue to Cozad, and the first thing the young child will tell you was that that asshole Bowman trapped the ball, McCluskey was out of bounds and the Huskers should have won title #3 that day. You think I'm kidding? Do it. Even when I asked some Husker friends about this game for this post, they immediately went into a tirade about how shitty the officiating was, and how there was no way in hell either one of those plays should have counted. It just goes to show how one bad call and affect the lives of so many who have so little else.

For taking a soft-spoken and upstanding fan base and turning them into rage-filled crybabies...for giving us a new definition for the word "hypocrisy" (i.e. bitching about a call 24 years later..after winning the 97 national title on a kicked ball) and for showing us that nice fans should always finish last...Joe Pa's 1982 Penn State Nittany Lions have the distinction of delivering the 2nd greatest Husker loss in history.

Tomorrow - "The Granddaddy of them all"

PLUS - Honorable Mentions

Top 10 Husker losses of all time - #3

Top 10 Husker losses of all time - #3





October 9th, 2004

Nebraska 0 3 7 0 - 10
Texas Tech 7 14 21 28 - 70
@ Lubbock, TX
A- 52,954

"It's obviously very embarrassing," Huskers linebacker Barrett Ruud said. "It was an embarrassment to everybody involved in it. This is the worst loss I've ever been involved in." - Omaha World Herald 10/10/04




How in the hell am I supposed to sum this up? I mean seriously, wouldn't it be easier for me to just say..."Here's the #3 all-time Husker loss....Texas Tech 70 - Nebraska 10. Thanks. Goodnight." Is there REALLY anything I can do or say to spice up a 60 point pounding on National TV? Hell, even my own favorite team...who has sucked for YEARS only lost by that much maybe twice in my lifetime. 70 to 10???? 70? to 10???

When you think about it, a loss is a loss. Whether it is on a blocked PAT in overtime, or a 70-10 bowel spilling to a team with 5 bowl wins in the past 30+ years. Sure unranked Texas Tech is always tough in Lubbock (especially at night), but would it shock you to learn that Texas Tech has NEVER won an outright conference championship. (Since 1955 when they won the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Title. No word if New Mexico Catholic Women's University every contended in the conference.)

Good Lord, where do I begin?

The game started innocent enough. Everybody and their mom knew NU was in for a tough game, especially entering year #2 of the great failed Raiders Coach experiment. Nebraska entered the game sporting a top 10 defense after four games. Needless to say, stats early in the season can be...shall we say...a bit deceiving. Tech got on top early, in the middle of the first with a 22 yard TD pass from Sonny Cumbie to Jarrett Hicks. Five minutes into the 2nd, the Huskers were in a bit more trouble after a 3 yard plunge, putting them down 14-0. The mighty Corn however fought back valiantly, with David Dyches blasting an NFL-esque 46 yard field goal into the teeth of the frenzied Tech crowd.

And then....the wheels fell off.

Tech launched a boot to the crotch with an 80 yard Cumbie TD pass with 1:14 remaining. The Huskers, (I'm sure led by words of wisdom and encouragement from the former NFL wizard Callahan at halftime) struck back quickly in the second half on a 74 yard Mark LeFlore pass from Joe "Montana" Dailey. The Huskers were still in it 21 to 10.

And then...the wheels fell off again.

What happened in the final 29 minutes and 43 seconds can only be described in so many terms. Did you ever see American History X? Dude gets his ass beat trying to steal a car. Then, just as he scared and beaten, crazed redneck pushes him down with his mouth to the curb...and then promptly kicks the back of his skull in. Yeah....kinda like that. It became so bad, that EVEN I started to feel sorry for them. After the score reached 42-10 after a Johnnie Mack touchdown run late in the 3rd, you kind of had the feeling this was going to be a tough tough night for the Hick Nation.

And then...the wheels fell off again.

SEVEN NU turnovers later, NU found itself down 70-10 with 7:14 to go in the game. It was one of the first times in 30+ years of watching football that I actually thought they might call a game due to mercy rule. It was relentless. It was ugly and it was embarrassing. Tech finished the year's biggest blowout with 523 yards of total offense, which is pretty impressive if you consider THREE of Tech's last scores were on drives of 12 yards or less. How many times does that happen?

On the flip side, Husker quarterbacks were a stellar 15-42 for 199 yards and five (yes five) interceptions. I'm not sure if it was trying to learn the offense or whatever excuse Husker fans came up with after the game. Whatever it was, it was a Husker meltdown of near biblical proportions. At any second during the 4th quarter, you almost expected to see the skies turn red and watch the four horsemen of the apocalypse come galloping down the sidelines. But alas, it wasn't the 4 horsemen...just the lone Tech mascot celebrating yet another Tech touchdown.....again...and again...and again...and again. In a related note, animal rights activists were livid following the game, as the poor stallion lay crumpled near it's trailer, after spending nearly 2 solid hours running up and down the sidelines. "This isn't Churchill Downs" an unidentified handler said after the game as he treated the ailing horse. "She's not used to running this much."

Although it doesn't qualify in the top 2 Husker losses of all time, it certainly will go down as the most embarrassing. Hell, even Eastern Michigan would be embarrassed with a performance like that, let alone a team that actually went undefeated a few times. For beating a toothless Husker team within an inch of their life, for humiliating Husker fan like no other team has, for bashing Nebraska's ego against the curb face down, the Texas Tech Red Raiders earn our #3 ranking of the greatest Husker losses of all time.

For an excellent example of what I'm talking about, I invite you to view the following. (A personal favorite of mine. Props to whomever put this together.)














http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0RabAa9sl8


Tomorrow, "Holding a grudge"

**SPECIAL REPORT** Harrison, we hardly knew ya

(Edit note, for loss #4 in the countdown, see below this special report)

We interrupt this top 10 list to bring you a special bulletin.

Harrison Beck has left the Nebraska Cornhuskers. I Repeat, PLEASE STAY CALM! Harrison Beck has left the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

All day, I've been getting messages like, "Hey asshole, why don't you kick us while we're down and comment on Beck leaving" (Once they leave, they're no longer "Harrison", as if all 2.1 million fans were on a 1st name basis with them.)

My answer....Sucks for you. This is the problem you get when you are faced with a situation Callahan was in a few years ago. You people were not going to tolerate 5-6 seasons, so he had to make a big splash recruiting wise to let people know he was serious. So what does he do? He promises playing time to big-time recruits that he isn't prepared to give. Harrison Beck saw through the bullshit, and figured he'd already wasted one year on the Callahan Express, why waste another.

What really rolls my eyes is the COUNTLESS parade of Husker fans on the radio this afternoon, bashing the kid (and his mom) up and down the dial, including Omaha World Herald columnist Tom Shatel, who basically called her an unfit parent. (or at the very least, responsible for Harrison's "immaturity") Look, you people got a great recruiting class overnight. Do you HONESTLY think that Blake, Callahan and company didn't stretch a few truths to get these kids here? And to think...you people consider yoursevles the smartest fans in all of sports. Do you honestly think you're above all that? Your coach was the leader of the fucking RAIDERS for God's sake. Think about it.

Good luck to him wherever he ends up, and shame on all of you hypocrites who claim to be so high and mighty, yet turn on your own in 2 seconds when they don't pan out. (Thunder Collins anyone?)

As for the other loss of the weekend, tough break for the Bowman kid who got hurt and blew out his knee. Look, I may be a prick and bash on the Huskers, but I would never wish an injury on anyone. I was actually impressed by his improvement last year, and wouldn't wish a horrible injury like that on my worst enemy. I hope he can come back full strength in a year. (And no, you'll never EVER see me cheer an injury. Ever)

I may be an ass, but I"m not a monster.

Back to the countdown tomorrow.

HH

(Edited note - #4 on the list is listed below. Unfortunately, I had saved it before the Beck post, so it's actually below this. Sorry bout that)

Top 10 Husker losses of all time - #4

Top 10 Husker losses of all time - #4





November 23rd, 2001

Nebraska 3 20 7 6 - 36
Colorado 28 14 0 20 - 62
@ Boulder, CO
A-53,790


"The holes were huge ," Brown said. "It wasn't even a matter of where you were going to go. ...We weren't getting touched until we got 10 yards down the field." - CU Running Back Chris Brown to the Boulder Daily Camera after the game

For the previous month, the Nebraska Cornhuskers were riding high during the 2001 season. Eventual Heisman Trophy Winner Eric Crouch (I still can't believe I typed that), had led his team to a perfect record, coming to a head in a huge victory over #2 Oklahoma in Lincoln in late October. Frank Solich's team had crushed just about everybody else in their path that season, including big wins over #17 Notre Dame and a big win two weeks earlier against Bill Snyder's Wildcats..who had owned the Huskers in previous years. Yes, everything was set up simply perfect for the Huskers in 2001. Except for one thing....#14 Colorado, who finished the year 3-8 the season before and a team Nebraska had beaten 10 straight times.

As with most big-time Husker losses, perspective is everything. One may not understand the magnitude of this loss over time, due to the fact that Nebraska did go on to the Rose Bowl and the National Championship thanks to the biggest farce in BCS history.

What made this loss so great, was the sheer size of the cliff the program lunged off of just minutes into the game. What made this loss so great was the size of the holes that the CU running backs ran through during the 1st half. What made this loss so great was this photograph taken by ABC cameras after coming back from a commercial.









What also made this loss so great is something that very few people figured out. Do you think this might have been some sort of wake up call that you can't pile up easy home games, play only 3 conference road games at Columbia, Lawrence and Waco and then expect to walk into a hornet's nest in Boulder and waltz your way home with the North title? I mentioned it earlier this week, but who in the hell didn't t see this coming? Who in the hell didn't see the OU win as sloppy win over a slow team with the help of a fluke play and 78,000 hicks willing them on?

Chris Brown ran for 863 yards in the first quarter, rushing for 23 touchdowns. Ok, maybe not..but it sure as hell seemed that way. Actually it was only 6. When you look at the stats, Nebraska racked up rather large numbers against the Colorado prevent that lasted an college football record 3 and 1/2 quarters. Actually, most of Nebraska's yardage was racked up while Eric Crouch was running for his life, while the CU defenders sat back 30 yards and stared in awe at the scoreboard, and wondered to each other how in the hell this was the #1 team in the BCS. Then again, isn't it hard to keep your focus defensively when your team is up 35-3 in the 1st half?

Even better was the fact that Colorado ran up the ridiculous amount of points using second string quarterback Bobby Pesavento. (When you think destroying the vaunted Blackshirt defense..who DOESN'T immediately think of football legends like Bobby Pesavento). Regardless, Colorado's 64 point ass pounding of the BCS's top ranked school (insert snicker) was the most points allowed by a Nebraska team since the mid 1800's, when a group of native Americans ran up and down on a group of Nebraska settlers, after distracting them with red beaver pelts and winning 180-3.

Husker fans can argue that this game didn't end up being so destructive, and they may be right. Nearly a half-dozen teams choked away their games, and through attrition, gave the Huskers a shot at the title, (where they were worked over Andy Dufrane in the laundry room by Miami. See loss #6) The second place team in the Big 12 north, did their conference and the BCS system proud falling to Miami eventually in the Rose Bowl.

The fallout from that Colorado bitchslapping in late 2001 is still up for debate today. But it is not coincidence that things have yet to be the same since, and Husker fan no longer feels that a 10-0 start is a God-given right. Oh wait...actually they do, but Colorado really beat the fucking piss out of them, running through holes the size of Mark Mangino's coaching sweats.

For steamrolling a Husker team in a way that had never been seen before, for proving that the BCS is sprinkled with horseshit, and for ruining the life of some 12 year old Husker fan, who's dad dragged him to the game in Boulder, promising him that they'd go to Disneyland if they won but instead getting hit by a urine bomb from the CU student section....The 2001 North Champion Colorado Buffaloes finish with the #4 Husker loss of all time.

Tomorrow - "Too good to be true"

Top 10 Husker losses of all time - #5

Top 10 Husker losses of all time - #5





November 15th, 2003

Kansas State 7 0 10 21 - 38
Nebraska 0 7 0 2 - 9
@ Lincoln, NE
A - 78014


In our countdown over the past few days, we've seen losses that sting. We've seen losses that were unexpected. We've seen losses that cost championships. Hell, we've even seen losses that technically weren't losses. However, this is one of those times where context overrides all else in terms of the pain a loss inflicted on the mighty corn.

When looking back at the 2003 Huskers, there really wasn't all that much to be ashamed of prior to K-State's now annual beating of Nebraska. The Huskers were 18th in the nation at the time, fighting for a spot in the Big 12 Title game. They had only lost twice all season: Once to a talented Texas team in Austin, and once as Brad Smith's personal Playstation game in Columbia. Even after the eventual loss to the Wildcats on a cold November night in front of 78,000 John Deere owners, the Huskers still went on to beat Colorado in Boulder and beat Michigan State handily in the Alamo Bowl.

No, what is bad about this loss, is the sheer way things went down. It's widely known that this particular night was the night Frank Solich was kicked to the curb. It was also the night Steve Pederson introduced himself to the world as the biggest crack-pot, hypocrite, self-centered dictator since Mussolini. This loss was culminated not only by the piss pour performance of the Red and White, (no, I'm not saying "scarlet and cream"...that's just fucking stupid) but by the way K-State took them behind the woodshed, beat them senseless, slapped them around and then told them they fucked their wife the night before. We talked on Saturday how Miami let up on the throttle to keep NU within respectability standards. KSU did no such thing on this night.

Trash talking the entire way, the Cats taunted and teased the Huskers in their worst home loss in 45 years. Tied up at the half, KSU blew the doors open early and often in the third, breaking the game with the feet of El Roberson. As if that weren't bad enough, Roberson went to the air as the lead increased, throwing touchdown passes of 63 and 37 yards to James Terry.

As the game got out of hand, things got worse. A TD run by Ayo Saba with a minute and a half left, sent the Husker faithful into a state of despair and anger seldom seen in our lifetime. After the 38-9 ass-pounding, and the proud (yet pathetic) tradition of clapping for the opposing team after the game died, Husker defensive coordinator Bo Pelini blew a gasket, screaming down head coach Bill Snyder. Pelini, who's defense was humiliated in ways that would make Marv Albert blush, showed his true colors by throwing a tantrum at one of the Big 12's most successful coaches...one who exposed the blackskirts for what they were. The offense wasn't much better for the Hicks, finishing with 293 yards total offense, 98 of them passing. Jamal Lord, paving the way for underachieving shitty quarterbacks everywhere was an impressive 8-26 with 2 interceptions. On the other side of the ball, Roberson threw for an impressive 313 yards, while Darren Sproles scampered for 140 on 25 carries.

Did I mention this game was for the North title and was played in Lincoln? Did I mention world class prick and athletic director Steve Pederson was so enraged by the game, that he fired Frank Solich after the next week's game? (Ironically a win over a tough Colorado team in Boulder?)

This purple beat down brought down an empire, and ushered out the option era for good. In the off-season that followed, Pederson's first 4 choices turned him down, and the team was left with a second-year NFL flunky that to this day is still trying to find his identity as the college coaching genius that many of his fans think he is.

For kicking their ass all over their own turf, for sending Frank Solich into coaching oblivion, for humiliating a once proud fan base and literally killing a brand of football that stood the test of time for 40 years, the 2003 Kansas State Wildcats are responsible for the 5th worst loss in Husker history.

Tomorrow - "Those are some big holes"

Top 10 Husker losses of all time - #6

Top 10 Husker Losses of All-Time - #6





January 3rd, 2002

Nebraska 0---0---7---7----14
Miami Fl 7---27---0---3---37
@ Pasadena, CA
A – 93,781



Looking back now on our #6 Husker loss of all time, I’m sure most Husker fans look back and think of this as no big deal. In retrospect, Eric Crouch and company had absolutely no business going against a loaded Miami team that would give them the world's biggest ass pounding since Anal Girls 4 came out. (Or the Colorado game just 42 days before..which I’m sure we’ll talk about in the coming days.) I’m sure by now, most Husker fans would agree that they were just happy to make the Rose Bowl, and spent a lovely evening in the Los Angeles area, eating at Cheesecake Factory and hitting the Newport mall with fellow obese fans. (Note the estimated 60,000 Husker fans in attendance probably kept the game from being 49-14)

However, when you look back at the golden opportunity handed the Hick Nation that winters night, it’s plain to see that an chance such as that most likely will never come around again. This loss against a bevy of NFL stars such as Clinton Portis and Jeremy Shockey was devastating because it put Nebraska through the toilet on every single sports talk show on the planet. This loss proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Huskers were placed in Pasadena on name recognition alone, and had absolutely no business playing in a game that large. What was once a proud program, was suddenly a running joke to the National Media, as they finally saw you for the frauds you are.

The corn got off to a flying start on college football’s biggest stage by giving up points early and often in new and exciting ways. Andre Johnson, who finished the game with 199 yards receiving started things off early with a TD catch, despite handing the Huskers the ball in the first two possessions with a punt and a Ken Dorsey interception. (Dorsey later told the media that he felt sorry for Nebraska, and thought they could use any points they could spot them. But, the Huskers simply turned the ball back over to the Canes on the following drive. OK, maybe not, but you believed me for a second)

With a Clinton Portis touchdown early in the second, as well as a James lewis pick of an Eric Crouch pass, the Canes cruised to the National Title, piling up 472 yards of total offense, most of which in the first half. Dorsey finished the game going 22 of 35 for 362 yards, most of those with his eyes closed. Several Miami players after the game even commented on how slow the game had become in the second half, as their vaunted passing attack was put on the shelf.

Interesting to me, when all of the Nebraska bashing was said and done, was the blame for which Husker fan pinned the loss on; Head coach Frank Solich. When you look at the rosters, the stats and the way each team had been playing up to that point, it’s a wonder Miami didn’t win by 60. But most Husker fans you talk to will say that it was Frank Solich’s inferior coaching that did them in. Uhhhh, say what? Miami made this game look like playstation, pulling up in the second half, and cruising in for the title. Only a DuJuan Groce punt return at the start of the 4th quarter made the game even close to respectable.

So for giving the most overrated Husker squad of all time a nuclear wedgie in front of the entire world on its biggest stage, the 2001 Miami Hurricanes are rewarded with delivering the #6 Husker loss of all time.

Monday – “This has to be rock bottom….right?”

Top 10 Husker losses of all time - #7

Top 10 Husker losses of all time - #7




November 8th, 1997

#1 Nebraska 14 7 7 3 31
Missouri 7 17 7 7 38
@ Columbia
A- 66846



Our #7 Husker loss of all time is going to be a controversial one for sure. Let me explain to those who don't get it. If a team loses..and nobody acknowledges it...is it a loss? Fuckin A right it's a loss. If a team is #1 in the country, and they drop out of the top spot the next morning..is it a loss? People often ask me, "Hey asshole, that game in 97 must have killed you. I'll bet you went on a killing spree or something. That must have been funny to see" Uhhhhh, not really, for reasons I'll get to in a second.

I could go on and on for hours about how the ball hit the ground. (which it may not have..it was awfully close). I could go on and on about how it's a blatant illegal to kick a ball while in play. (which it is...especially if you later get convicted of fondling a 14 year old girl in a trailer with your cousin...but again, I'm not here to judge "student" athletes like Shevin "Grass on the field" Wiggins). The problem is...this game isn't mine to decide whether it was a win or a loss for the mighty Huskers....who went on to whine and cry their way to a partial "National Championship".

What matters is what happened later on in the years to follow. Ironic that 1997 was NU's last "title" run? Ironic that the wheels fell off of the Husker football machine right about 1998? Ironic that losses to Big 12 schools started to pile up like socks in a corner hamper? Ironic that the "smooth transition of power" to Franck Solich ended up being a giant clusterfuck, that you people are still trying to clean up to this day? Ironic that after losing to Nebraska for 24 years, Missouri has now beaten NU 2 out of the last 3 seasons?

That's not irony. That's karma.

In a side note, you can believe me or not on this...but I've actually sat down and talked briefly about this to Matt Davison a few years ago. We discussed how his life changed after that play, and they cheated to win it. After a few beers and some meaningful dialogue, we settled our differences, and to this day...I am free to talk about it openly and candidly. He apologized. I forgave him. He gets to keep his ring, and I get to call that game a Missouri victory. (Don't tell anybody this..but he's actually a pretty nice guy) Again, believe this if you want....but it actually happened.

Anyhow, back to 97.....ANYBODY who watched that game knows two things. 1) It was probably the best college football game you will ever see. And 2) No fucking way on God's green earth did Nebraska deserve to "win" that game. You know they didn't win. I know they didn't win. God knows they didn't win. Even if Wiggins catches that ball...he's down at the 1. Looking back, that Missouri team didn't have much business even being on the same field as NU that day. Corby Jones played the game of his life, throwing for 233 yards and hitting as many wide open receivers as you will ever see in a regulation game. Human Bowling Ball Brock Olivo finished the game with only 42 yards on 11 carries.

"National Champions" don't allow longtime doormats like Mizzou to march up and down the field on them like that. "National Champions" don't need "miracles" to beat a team that hadn't gone to a bowl game in 13 years. "National Champions" don't turn the ball over 4 times against teams like Mizzou. "National Champions" don't sell their souls in order win a late season game.

So is it really a loss? Was it God's way of giving Nebraska one final fleeting moment in the sun, before cursing them with underachieving players, Steve Pederson and Bill Callahan? Was it God's way of rewarding Tom Osborne for never using the word "fistfuck"? You be the judge. All I know is, had it not been for the plucky Mizzou Tigers on that faithful night in Columbia, the Hicksters most likely would have won an actual National title instead of a piece of one. (One they even barely won anyway). Plays like that don't happen because of flukes. There is a purpose for plays like that that change lives. (How do you think I got this way in the first place?). That play happened for a reason.

So for the loss that was never recognized outside me....for the loss that cost a program 1/2 a "National Title"...for a loss that started the ball rolling down the hill of mediocrity....The scrappy Missouri Tigers are credited with All-Time Husker loss #7. Even if nobody but me gives them credit but me.

Tomorrow - "Boy am I tired"

Top 10 Husker losses of all time - #8

Top 10 Husker Losses of All-Time #8 -





November 14th, 1992

Nebraska (7-1) 3 7 0 0 10
Iowa State (3-6) 3 9 0 7 19
@ Ames, IA


There are have been many Husker losses over the years that are so blatantly easy to call in advance, that to the non-brainwashed they defy comprehension. For example, who in the hell didn't see Miami sodomizing Nebraska in the Rose Bowl in 2002? Who couldn't see an overrated Husker team falling to eventual Champ Georgia Tech in the Citrus Bowl back in 91? But very few times over the years has the result of a Husker game made you say, "what the fuck was that?"

Rewind nearly 14 years to a cold and breezy November afternoon in Ames, Iowa where a downtrodden Big 8 cellar-dweller took on the Huskers and their army of red-clad, Howdy Doody-esque fans. Nebraska's only stumble prior to the disaster in Ames was a respectable loss to then Number 2 Washington in Seattle in week #2. (Who if I'm not mistaken, won the National Title the year before) In the two weeks prior to the game, NU had beaten #8 Colorado 52-7 and #13 Kansas (that looks strange doesn't it?) 49-7. In those two games, the Hicksters outrushed the Buffs and Jaychickens 724 - 136. The Clones on the other hand were 3-6 on the season, and sitting in 7th place. The week before, they lost to a soon to be upstart Kansas State team 22-13. To make things worse, ISU coach Jim Walden couldn't decide which sacrificial lamb to throw out at QB against a top 10 defense in NU. Regular QB Bobby Utter suffered a concussion against OU earlier in the month, so Walden went on a QB rotation in late October..starting Donnie Smith and 3rd string QB, Marv Seiler. Because it was senior day, Walden gave the 5'11, 190lb Seiler the start for the first time in his career, and the march to history was on.

I'm quite sure that what happened next was the wrath of God, paying the Huskers back for all of those 63-6 wins over Big 12 rivals. Or perhaps it was a huge point shaving scandal that was never uncovered by the Feds? Either way, the Nebraska running game (you guys remember that don't you? It was actually pretty good at one time) was held to 42 yards in the second half and less than 200 for the game. A Herculean effort in 2006, but completely mind-boggling back in 1992.

With 11:08 remaining, and the Clones clinging to a 12-10 lead, a 3rd string kid from Chicago jabbed a #2 pencil into the eyes of the Big Hick nation with the single greatest running play in college football history. OK, so it wasn't dazzling or flashy, but watching a short, white QB waddle down the sidelines 78 yards before finally as 8 future NFL defenders chase him is to this day one of the most comical moments in college football history. Seiler suffered a Cardiac Arrest at the 2 yard line, but were vindicated when RB Chris Ulrich scored one play later.

Seriously...Marv Seiler? What the fuck were you guys thinking? I know what most of you were thinking...."NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!" or "FOR CHRIST'S SAKE...STOP HIM!!!!!" Meanwhile, Iowa State fan loses his mind, and the Cyclones go on to win 19-10. The game, which Sports Illustrated at the time called it the "Upset of the century" is even more disturbing when you look back on it today. The Huskers started the greatest football player since Pele, Tommie Frazier at quarterback and had the 1-2 punch (pun..get it?) in Calvin Jones and Derrick Brown in the backfield. At one point, former Husker coach William "Bobby" Devaney called the 1992 team "the most talented NU team he'd seen since 1984 and even better than the 71 title team." The Big Hick machine would not lose another regular season game in 4 years, going on to the Orange Bowl that year (Where they...shock...lost to Florida State). Iowa State ended the season at 4-7, not reaching a bowl game until later in the century.

I've spent the better part of three hours trying to figure out what in the hell happened on that day, even though I vividly remember listening to it on the radio, as soon as I heard the mighty Hicksters were losing to one of the worst teams in college football. To this day, I can still feel the soreness in my oblique as I nearly lost consciousness rolling on the floor with laughter. Hell, as I am writing this blog today, I've had to stop no less than five times just to keep from chuckling out loud.

Sure there are other losses that stung. Sure there are other losses that were more humiliating and more devastating to Joe Husker fan. However, for pure shock value and for pure "What the fuck?"....the shocking defeat to Iowa State will live forever as the most shocking blunder Nebraska football has ever seen.

So for Marv Seiler...who is still running down the sidelines at Jack Trice to this day, the Iowa State Cyclones upset over #7 Nebraska is our #8 Husker loss of all time.


Tomorrow - "You fucking cheaters"

Top 10 Husker losses of all time - #9

Top 10 losses in Husker history - #9

November 26th, 2004

Colorado 10 10 6 0 - 26
Nebraska 0 7 0 13 - 20
@ Lincoln, NE
Att - 77661



If game #10 in our countdown (1996 Big 12 Championship game) killed a dynasty, this season-ending kick to the nuts threw it in wet concrete and plunged it off of the Mormon bridge into the muddy depths of hell. It's not very often you get to taunt Husker fan for being sub .500. However, for this glorious off-season, Husker fans everywhere came to the realization that they were now barely better than Baylor. The loss finished the Husker's season in November for the first time since.....hmmmm...since.....???

Not that it mattered, but Joe Dailey passed for a bunch of yards (306). Basically because the vaunted defense of the mighty 6-4 Buffaloes held NU to a whopping 67 yards rushing. (on 23 carries). What's really funny is the fact that the game wasn't even as close as this....with Colorado leading 26-7 with 4:00 to play. A frantic Nebraska comeback fell short, as Colorado committed to playing only Seniors during the second half, and guys named, "Mike".

The BEST part of this game, was AD Steve Pederson, explaining to the Lincoln Journal Star after the game, "I'm as excited as I was the day we hired Coach Callahan, I'm even more excited today."

YOU WENT 5-6 STEVE. What in the fuck are you thinking? You played for a NATIONAL TITLE just 2 years earlier, and now you're one of like 5 teams that didn't make a bowl game. Luckily, not all Husker fans took it as easily as I did. Call in shows were filled with hate and rage for the used car salesman/AD. I'll never forget driving home from Kansas City that day, listening to the post game show, as caller after call after caller sobbed and cried about how it was all over. The bowl streaks...the 548 years of winning seasons...all gone.

For me, this wasn't a particularly satisfying loss...even though in the big grand scheme of things, it certainly was a monumental one. By this time, I had figured out that the Big Red Titanic had hit the iceberg long ago, and this was merely the point where Jack freezes to death. But no matter....when looking back at the worst (or best) losses in the past 25 years of Husker football...this reality check has to rank right up there in terms of that sinking feeling you get in the pit of your overalls, when you realize that everything you had is now gone.

For the end of an era and the beginning a new golden age...the Buffs win in Lincoln on November 26th, 2004 earns a #9 ranking in our countdown.

Tomorrow: "Somebody stop him!!!"

Top 10 Husker losses of all time - #10

Earlier this month, I asked you to nominate your favorite Husker loss in the past 25 years for my annual spectacular celebration of Husker heartache and misery. This week, each day (or so) I will take a look back at what I feel are some of the lowest of the lows....the bottom of the barrel of Husker moments that sting many a Hick fan to this day. Please note this is a non-scientific summary, and the final decision of the judge (ie - me) is final. Please feel free to add your own comments or disagreements.

Today.....#10

Texas - 1996 Big 12 Championship game


12/7/96
1 2 3 4 F
Nebraska 7 10 7 3 27
Texas 7 13 3 14 37
@ St. Louis
Att: 63,109

Riding an eight game winning streak, the Huskers took their lofty #3 ranking into the Edward D. Jones dome into St. Louis, looking to knock off the upstart seven-win longhorns. Thousands of Husker fans had already booked their trip to New Orleans, to witness an unprecedented third straight National Title against Florida State. Unfortunately, somebody forgot to tell Nebraska defensive coordinator Charlie McBride that 4th and inches doesn't always mean a run up the middle.

I remember vividly, jumping up and down in my living room, as millions of red-clad Husker fans shouted in unison "Nooooooooooooooooooooo" as a wide open Wane McGarrity caught a floating pass from QB James Brown with 8:53 to play and Texas down by 3. The gigantic blunder in defensive philosophy (Seriously...who didn't see that coming?) propelled Texas to a program changing win, and a first-ever Big 12 championship.

Joe Montata look-alike and future NFL Hall-of-Famer James Brown (Hey, at least it wasn't Major Applewhite) finished the day 19 of 28 for 353 yards, as the blackshirts folded like a house of cards. Noted Husker quitter DeAngelo Evans ran for 130 yards on 32 carries with three touchdowns, ironically months preceding comments by thousands of Hick fans that he "sucked anyway" and "wasn't a real Husker" when he suddenly quit the team the next off-season.

Tom Osborne was his usual flashy self as he quipped with his trademark style and charisma, "We didn't play with quite the intensity". Brilliant Tom...just brilliant. Media pundits to this day marvel at the level of "gunslinger guts" it took Texas coach John Mackovic, meanwhile never mentioning the boneheaded idiocy of Charlie McBride not to cover McGarrity. (Even with future NFL standout Mike Minter "covering" (I use the term loosely) him.

No official record has been kept on the number of suicides in the Cornhusker state that faithful night, but rest assured that THOUSANDS of airline employees from across the region had a much happier new year, dealing with empty seats on their assigned flights to New Orleans, and not thousands of howdy-doody looking fans, chanting "Go Big Red" on a DC9 while dressed in overalls. Although Nebraska had already lost for the first time in over 2 years earlier in the season (Because the Arizona State band kept them up all night...uhh.....yeah), this lost truly drove the stake into the heart of the beast.

For a win that killed a dynasty (if you call 2 years a dynasty), the 1996 Texas longhorns earn the #10 spot on our countdown.

Tomorrow? "Ohhhhhh so close"