2 Average Guys

Nebraska Football Blog Space

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We are just average guys who love our Nebraska Cornhuskers! We discuss college football and will also dabble in baseball, volleyball, and UNO Mavericks hockey!

  • Abysmal Black Friday Game

    That sucked.  

    There’s no other way to spin Friday’s game against the Iowa Hawkeyes.  If this team wants us to be patient with them, then they’ve got to at least play sound, fundamental football from this moment on, with no “games off”.  These are professional athletes being paid a helluva lot more than the average fan that buys their stuff and supports them, sometimes going further into debt over tickets just to see them.  It doesn’t matter if they are 18 and 19 years old anymore, I’ve coached junior high volleyball teams that I’ve expected more from and they responded and appreciated the talk.  There’s no more press conferences that the coaches can give to smooth it over and defend the players, they need to not just be held accountable, but need to produce and if they don’t, then play the scrubs.  If we’re going to give up mentally and lose by a large margin, then give those guys their chance.  

    When I started learning how to ride a horse, everything was one step forward, two steps back for a while, but I couldn’t stay there and expect to get better.  Sure I’d get thrown sometimes, but it wasn’t something I blamed on the horse, it was because I had made a mistake.  My trainer would give me a smirk every time after I’d get back in the saddle and say, “Don’t get thrown off.”  Simple, but it was true … .getting thrown is worse than relaxing in the saddle when they go crowhopping or bucking.  I’ve got the scars to prove it.  Everytime I decided that I knew more than the horse, I’d pay for it.  It’s the same with Nebraska football ever since Solich was fired and AD Steve Pederson decided to go away from our foundation.  Not counting Pelini, and don’t start on why we never should have fired him seeing as he would get slaughtered in big games, the coaches have all tried to rebrand Husker football.

    Bill Callahan tried the west coast offense.  It was a disaster.  Mike Riley was pro style, coupled with the Hip Hip Hooray celebration.  That was a joke.  Scott Frost popped off about the Big Ten adapting to his pass first approach.  That was an absolute disgrace.  And now Holgorsen talks about a pro style offense again.  It’s clearly not working.  Matt Rhule said recently that he asked Dylan Raiola what he needed to make the offense successful.  If I, as a coach, ever ask a 19 year old kid what he wants me to do with my multi million dollar company, please slap me.  The point is, enough with trying to upgrade, or change the way it has always worked, because it clearly doesn’t.  We were tailor made for the Big Ten and its physical style of football, but yet we keep letting coaches implement other styles.  Do you think Ohio State really cares whether their quarterback goes on to have a successful NFL career?  The fans don’t.  They are focused on what we used to be focused on, playing within the system and bringing championships to the university.  The rest sorts itself out through development and training.  

    Don’t tell the average fan that we need to be nicer to the players or coaching staff when that’s what we have been.  I truly believe that Rhule is the right guy and is learning just like the players are.  That’s just the way of life, you can’t expect to know everything at a new job, no matter how long you’ve been doing it.  It’s a new environment completely and Rhule gets that.  But it needs to start now and not in the offseason.  Does he realize how happy the fan base would be if from this moment on, he coached the team to play fundamental ball and go back to the basics for this bowl game, and how successful they most likely would be?  No more of one step forward, two steps back.  If you want to grow and get better, you have to overcome and make it two steps forward for every one back.  Bring this program back to the greatness it deserves and do it the right way

  • Black Friday Preview


    Black Friday is upon us and that means it’s the traditional Iowa game for the Cornhuskers.  This game hasn’t been friendly in any way to us seeing as the Hawkeyes have a 10-4 record since we joined the Big Ten conference and they hold a 9-1 record in the last ten meetings.  Most of those games have been rock fights that ended in one score losses and walk off field goals.  We’ve been taunted, trash talked, and embarrassed by Iowa and can’t seem to get out of our own way in that regard.  It reminds me of the Simpsons episode where Mr. Burns asks Grandpa Simpson if he can go five seconds without embarrassing himself.  One second later, Grandpa’s pants fall to the ground and he asks, “How long was that?”  That’s our reality as of late and if we judge this week based off of last week’s performance against Penn State, well, it doesn’t look too promising for Nebraska.  

    It’s not for lack of talent because we are the more talented team in many ways and have been for years, yet we keep snatching defeat from the jaws of victory every stinking time.  Something has to give, right?  Not unless this team is so sick of the joke they have become in this game that they go to a place in their soul they’ve not shown us they can, a place so dark and disgusted from the mockery and year after year of coming up short, that they can’t take it any longer….and start throwing punches.  A place from where pre game hype and speeches no longer matter, in fact no words should be spoken.  It has to be growling from the pit of their souls and it comes out in their play on the field.  They have to do what we have yet to see them do, which is play a focused, disciplined game from start to finish where all their assignments have to be met with no more post game excuses.  They are more than capable of doing this.

    Iowa is Iowa.  Their quarterback isn’t anything outstanding, but he is mobile and that tends to cause issues for Nebraska’s defense.  Special teams are talented on both sides between Jacory Barney for the Huskers and Iowa’s Kaden Wetjen who has been outstanding throughout his career.  Nebraska has an edge at running back, quarterback, receivers, and secondary, but Iowa has the strength and discipline where it matters the most….in the trenches.  That’s a tough one to overcome for this Husker team that is undersized on the defensive line and young on both sides of the ball.  Still, though, if Nebraska wins this game it shouldn’t surprise anyone, except maybe Iowa, who will do what they always do, wait for us to make the mistakes.

    Losing this game will be hard to overcome and might set the program back a little bit heading into the bowl game and next season, but overcoming this obstacle that has ended so many seasons for us would be huge in terms of confidence and growth.  The Huskers just need to stick to the script that the coaches have in place and they will win, it’s as simple as that.  The team went off script mentally last week vs Penn State and could never recover and that can’t happen this Friday, in fact it can’t happen ever again if they want to get over this mental cancer that has plagued the team.  Jimmy Connors once said that tennis was 10% physical and 90% mental and that’s pretty accurate across all sports, you can have all the physical ability and toughness in the world but if you can’t be mentally tough, you’ll always lose.  Let this be the game where we step over that obstacle and never look back.  Take that god-awful trophy and never give it back.  In fact, come up with something better, like the golden ear of corn trophy that can be disconnected from the stalk so players can pretend to eat it or something along those lines.  Now that would be something worth fighting for and more meaningful and representative of both fan bases and programs.  Go Big Red!

  • What Husker Fans Want

    We’re a hurting fanbase and have been for longer than is fair.  We’ve watched our style of play and culture be flipped upside down with glimpses of hope and promise in some years, but the past decade has been too much to ask.  We all stick together in all kinds of weather for dear old Nebraska U, so walking away will never be an option so forgive us when we are beyond frustrated.  It’s the exact same script.  Every.  Single.  Time.  I can’t fault the coaches, they willingly inherited this mess and are doing the right things to change the culture and attitude in an era where these kids are given tons of money and can change their mind if times get tough, ultimately jumping ship if they choose.  We have the best resources, fan base, and according to Matt Rhule, money isn’t an option anymore, so what the hell is it?

    When Mike Riley took over as head coach of the Cornhuskers, he brought the mentality that it’s okay to just try your best because we’ll still go out for ice cream.  Recruits started coming to Lincoln to play for a storied program, thinking it would be easy solely on brand recognition.  That invited an aggressive cancer to saunter its way into the program so exit Shawn Eichorst and enter Bill Moos who mercifully fired Riley and hired Scott Frost.  Scott wasn’t a bad hire, but one could have really predicted how disastrous that would turn out.  He inherited the cancer with bravado but couldn’t stay out of his way even if he was gifted the victory.  We all know how that worked out and ultimately we hired Matt Rhule, a proven program builder who knew what he was getting into, and willingly embraced the opportunity to turn it around.  I’ll die on the hill that, yes, there are always things a coaching staff can do to adjust and correct, but this isn’t the fault of this coaching staff.  

    We need to be in for the long haul with Rhule and his staff and that means understanding that they know what is best, but have to adapt to things that come up, all the while curing the cancer.  We are watching other teams dump coaches like we did with Solich and there really isn’t anything worth hiring at the moment.  Can the coaches make adjustments?  Of course, but it’s a little late in the season to be making major ones that may need to be addressed.  For instance, we don’t have the size up front to run a 3-3-5 defense, but that is what coach Butler inherited and he’s doing his best given the situation.  Hopefully that gets scrapped and they adopt a more traditional 4-3 in the offseason, however, that affects recruiting and changes what the current players are used to.  Adam Carriker has talked a lot about just switching a defensive end from the left to right side is a major adjustment, let alone changing the defensive scheme.  Cignetti at Indiana is an enigma and yes it works, but how long will that last?  One and done?  It’s likely not sustainable.  The current landscape needs continuity and consistency plus patience.  We will get there and it will be worth it.

    It sucks watching teams look like perennial champions against us and showing off during the game.  I’d like to be more sympathetic to the players because of their age, but they are getting paid to play a game and in any job, you are expected to produce certain results.  They are sheltered in a way the rest of us aren’t so we are going to be short on patience.  I really believe that Rhule gets that and does preach it to his team, it’s on them to get the message.  As a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan and devout Christian, I understand what an eschatological faith means, which is one day Christ is coming back, one day the Cubs will win (which they did), one day the Huskers will fix this crap.  The Cubs were trying to overcome a century of misery and ultimately had to start from scratch, the Huskers are trying to overcome two decades of it and haven’t started from scratch.  If you’re getting killed consistently, take the loss and throw in the players that don’t let curses and cancers affect them, and play them.  No, the Blackshirts didn’t physically quit, but they mentally did.  They didn’t throw helmets but it’s obvious they weren’t willing to do the fundamental things and do what was needed.   You can’t ask anything more from a fanbase that will never quit on you.  That being said….

    Damon Benning said it best, “Nebraska’s got 99 problems, but Lateef ain’t one.”  If you watched his demeanor during the game, he showed his maturity and being young, helps him not understand the cancer that plagues this team.  Sideline reporter for the Huskers, Jessica Coody, said that even though the team is getting beat badly, you’d never know it looking at Lateef.  She talked about how well he handled himself by watching video in between drives and not being rattled at all, rather staying focused and positive.  It sucks but these games are bound to happen while we are learning, however it doesn’t excuse giving up.  That is what Husker fans find unacceptable, especially when it’s been happening for 10 plus years.  Losses happen, but continuing to follow the same script when adversity rears its ugly head isn’t acceptable anymore.  There are no more excuses.  Go Big Red, but get over your stuff and move on from accepting failure.

  • Huskers in Happy Valley

    It’s finally time for the Penn State game and although they aren’t what we thought they would be, they still pose the stiffest challenge for the Huskers on the season.  The Nittany Lions have a roster filled with 4 and 5 star guys that are playing a very physical brand of football right now and can still reach a bowl game if they win the next two games.  They have a lot to play for in a season that seems like a disaster for them; they were a preseason favorite for the national championship, ranked #2 in the country and won their first three games.  Three straight losses later, head coach James Franklin was fired by the university and now they stand no chance at making the college football playoffs.  

    This is a game that has to have them salivating seeing how all of our weaknesses play to their strengths plus their defense is really good and  will run the ball like we used to do.  They  know what it takes to win in the Big Ten and will give Nebraska all it can handle.  So how does Nebraska deal with that and come away with quite possibly its biggest win of the Matt Rhule era?  The Huskers have to play disciplined football from start to finish and can’t hope for the Nittany Lions to gift them the game.  Penn State won’t make a lot of those mistakes unless Nebraska forces them.  Finding some way to stop the run is crucial because we haven’t shown that we can get big plays downfield from our passing game which the Huskers will need to do in order to come away from this one.  

    This past bye week should prove to be a godsend for the team as a whole, knowing it gives TJ Lateef three straight weeks of practicing with the starters which is huge in terms of timing, efficiency, and confidence.  The coaches most likely will let him throw the ball downfield in a big time hostile environment, and that is what he needs, experience.  Emmett Johnson will need to be himself and getting some big plays on special teams is always helpful.  The week leading up to UCLA, coach Rhule didn’t say too much about Lateef and just let his play do the talking.  This week, though he has repeated himself a lot about how well Lateef is buying in and the team rallying around him.  Why do I bring that up?  I think it’s because I’m still getting used to coach Rhule and learning that he truly believes what he’s saying. We’ve heard all those answers before from previous coaches and watched the team come out flat and unprepared for the game, ultimately losing.  Personally I prefer the coach say it once or twice and move on, regardless of how many interviews they do, but that’s not Rhule’s style and never has been.   

    This year’s team has been different, and have found ways to win games when in the past they wouldn’t have.  They seem more tight to the chest and not as focused on talk, but rather action and that’s what it’s going to take to win this game.  No talking until it’s over and Penn State winds up with its seventh loss of the season while Nebraska looks strong at 8-3, giving Iowa something to ponder heading into the Black Friday game.  It’s about time the Huskers start playing with some quiet confidence like they did against UCLA, that’s the version of Nebraska we hope for.  We went through the Riley and Frost years of embarrassment, watching the endless hype videos, social media presence, and trash talking that only fueled our opponents, leaving the coaches and team giving humiliating excuses and all but scripted answers in the post game and throughout the next week.  

    I’m learning that Rhule understands the world of college football these days and that it’s better he be the face that says the things and takes the heat, than his players.  He wants them to only be focused on what is right in front of them, and this week it just happens to be Penn State.  Two storied programs that were run in similar fashion throughout the 70s 80s and 90s by two head coaches that were the faces of their programs.  Forget about the Wisconsin and Iowa trophy games which were manufactured, we’re not their true rivals and they aren’t ours. The Penn State game has the better feel of a respectful rivalry given its history, one we haven’t had since Oklahoma and are desperately seeking.  Two fan bases with shared values of hard work making an honest living, joined with family and faith.  We’ve never felt at home in the Big Ten and maybe never will, but if this provides one moment when things feel normal and right, when two storied programs can go let it all out on the field, with a Nebraska win of course, then that would be something to talk about, and would give Husker Nation it’s well deserved sense of peace.

  • Nebraska vs Bye Week

    In his song, Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes, Jimmy Buffett talks about how he took off for a weekend just to try and recall the whole year.  Well call me crazy but this bye week has been just that for all of us living in Husker Nation seeing how it’s been a relatively quiet one in Lincoln for a change.  We’re sitting at 7 wins, a bowl game, and even though Dylan Raiola is out for the season to injury, there’s something calming and comfortable about where the Cornhuskers are at.  Last week against UCLA, they established an identity and stuck with it. It certainly wasn’t an overpowering identity, but for the first time in years, we could all relax and watch Nebraska not deviate from their game plan and see it pan out.  So how are we supposed to feel heading into the last two games of the season, which we will most likely be underdogs for?

    Penn State has been rocked this year with the firing of Franklin and Iowa is Iowa, same script and same consistent team that finds a way come November.  TJ Lateef is our starter under center, assuming he stays healthy and that brings a lot of optimism to Husker Nation, knowing that he can use his feet and not spend forever in the pocket.  Let’s hope he continues to be an effective leader these past few games.  Coach Rhule really seems to have settled in during his pressers these past couple of weeks and speaks of just playing our game regardless of what happens.  Maybe we have turned the corner and finally established an identity on offense that works, not only for the Big Ten, but for Husker fans as well.

    Emmett Johnson has started to get noticed by Heisman voters and has a realistic shot at being the Nation’s leading rusher when it’s all said and done. The offensive line has handled themselves well the past two games, and the defense overall is still decent despite their struggles stopping the run.  Could it be that things are starting to come together and break us out of this 20 year funk that we’ve been accustomed to?  Anything worth doing takes time and it seems like the patient approach of building for many years to come and not for the immediate future will be exactly what it takes to once again, hold our heads high, sleep more soundly, and cut down on the booze.  As a fan base, we are exhausted and having some sense of normalcy in the midst of this chaos is a welcome positive from the catastrophic disasters of the past decade of Husker football.  Hell, maybe we’re just crazy.

    The joke is always Nebraska 1 Bye Week 0 and it really feels like there’s some truth to it this time.  Even in the late 90s and early 2000s we didn’t come out of bye weeks well so maybe this one will be different.  Things have been relatively quiet for a change, knowing where we stand in the grand scheme of things.  That’s who we are as a fan base, though, because of the culture in Nebraska; Slow and steady uphill farm work, winning games in the fourth quarter by wearing teams down, and the more quiet, workmanlike approach to things has always been what Nebraska and its greatest resource, its football team, stands for.  I’m not one for hype videos and constant social media presence by the team, because that doesn’t win games.  All that talk, even if it’s trying to be positive, becomes a distraction and bulletin board material for other teams, ultimately making us look like a joke when the scoreboard shows us losing another heartbreaker.  

    Let’s stay on this tropical high for as long as we can, knowing that it will all work out in the end, because better days are a comin’ and we can bask in the warm sunshine soon to be replaced by the frigid prairie wind that blows so freely across the Nebraska landscape, because even that is bound to play in our favor again.  Like I said, maybe we’re just crazy, but according to Jimmy Buffett….

    “If we weren’t all crazy we’d all go insane.”

  • Nebraska Beats UCLA at the Rose Bowl!


    Nebraska defeated UCLA 28-21 Saturday to push their record to (7-3) overall and (4-3) in conference play. This was a game that didn’t feel as close as the score says, but left us feeling somewhat comfortable.  It was the official debut for TJ Lateef as he took over the reins for the remainder of the season from an injured Dylan Raiola.  In a game that the Bruins, with a (3-6) overall and (3-3) in conference play, and favored to win by a couple points, the Huskers stuck to their game plan and executed on offense to take the victory ride back home to Lincoln.  Both teams were almost identical in passing, rushing, and total yards, with special teams not playing much of a factor in this one.  So why did it feel like Nebraska was the more dominant team even with the defense struggling to stop the run and why did this game feel so good overall?  Nebraska focused on the basics and execution, taking things simple for a change and playing to TJ Lateef’s strengths as a runner and a better passer when he can move outside of the pocket. 

     During the broadcast Damon Benning made the suggestion that although they want to do something huge, don’t do it.  Keep this game as boring as possible.  Slow, boring, patient and methodical,  are the recipe for winning football in Lincoln, Nebraska.  It was like a warm blanket that brought us peace and reminded us what Nebraska football should be, which is hard working, gritty, and honest.  Rhule has preached this since he first got to Lincoln and is teaching the team to embrace the farming culture that makes up the entire state.  He nailed it when he said that we are like an old southern mansion that has been neglected and needs to be refurbished.  When you’re doing that kind of work, there’s always one problem after another after another that keeps coming up.  It’s expensive and labor intensive but to be able to salvage as much as you can and also add new amenities, make it worthwhile in the end.  

    The defense seemed to struggle, as usual against a mobile quarterback, but they still haven’t given up 400 yards in a game all season.  That’s a big win considering what they’ve done in the recent past. Things are changing, not in the time frame we would hope, but let’s be honest, in the current landscape of college football,  we’ve been conditioned to feel it should happen sooner.  Things are changing as they should because slow and steady does achieve what our hope is, not just to win one championship, but build a program that brings us back to glory and lasts for a lifetime, like it once did and should be again.  It is frustrating, however, when all units can’t seem to click at the same time which is what the team is going through right now and it makes us insane as a fan base.  We’ve all been there though, when overcoming our biggest hurdles and growing in our own lives….it’s always one step forward, two steps back for awhile.  Eventually, it becomes one for one and then we finally get over that hurdle, only having to revisit occasionally, because that’s how life goes.

    When Joe Maddon led the Cubs to the NLDS in 2015, their motto was, “We don’t suck”.  That’s where our Huskers are right now, they struggle and are learning, but they don’t suck anymore.  The key is for this team to stop the backsliding, and stick to the fundamentals;  be a disciplined team from here until forever.  Rhule truly believes that the standard should never be low here and he’s right.  This past game should be the lowest they ever get, having to go back to the basics, because  that’s what ultimately works.  We’ve all seen this before, when they have a good win and give us all the answers we want to hear and then they lay an egg the next week, reverting back to who they were.  Anybody can all talk the whole day long about how they’ve overcome and will never backslide, only to screw up the next chance that comes along, but it’s best to take quiet pride in the victory and go right back to work without announcing it. That’s the expectation for this team from a fan base that has shown up for 404 consecutive games, and those that have to plow the fields, listening on the radio. They need to continue to get after it and not look back.  Here’s to hoping these next two weeks are hard, vicious, and determined leading up to an incredible environment in Happy Valley during a white out. And here’s to hoping Penn State has to see Red. 

  • Nebraska vs UCLA Preview

    To paraphrase Garrison Keillor of Prairie Home Companion fame, “This has been a quiet week in Husker Nation, our hometown….”    Quiet in the sense we have remained calm for the most part considering Dylan Raiola is out for the season and TJ Lateef is our starter for here on out, yet everyone seems fine with it.  It’s not a knock against Dylan, but with a bowl game already achieved and a high ceiling with TJ, there’s more hope for optimism than our usual doom and gloom thought process.  Like a “wait and see” approach which is good for our psyche right now.  Of course a lot can go wrong and we could get destroyed, Lateef could seem a bust and the Bruins offense may torch us, but we’ve already been down that road  many times before.  All we’ve got left is our hope that things will eventually get better.  There’s no more excuses left for this team and there’s no denying that they are measurably better than teams of the past ten years.  

    The message from the coaches and players this week in practice and the media has been to just go out there and play.  Don’t overthink about what could be, rather play loose and confident because after all, the rest of this season isn’t just learning for TJ Lateef as the starter, it’s also an audition.  Show us all what you and this team are by keeping things simple, playing disciplined on both sides of the ball, and take some chances.  I think as fans we are desperate for this type of attitude and effort.  We understand that you can’t always win, but you absolutely control your mind and heart.  That takes us to the coaches….will they make minor adjustments that allow the guys to just go out there and play?  They lead the charge when it comes to the mentality of this team, and although they are fighting against a soured past, they need to stay consistent and hold the Huskers to a winning standard.  Too often we have to endure the press conference with a repeat of “We had a great week of practice, we didn’t execute, and I’m proud of this team.”  We’d rather see an ass chewing at this point and  to not coddle this team.  They are young, but they are adults and need to know that the acceptance of trying their best will never cut it.  Not ever, and not here.

    UCLA is not the same team they were when the season started.  The fact that this team has responded to a coach being fired with winning football is a testament to their mindset and culture.  They aren’t a team that is struggling with their identity or effort.  Quarterback Nico Iamaleava is mobile and can throw the ball, something the Huskers have struggled with this season and in years past.  Their weakness on offense lies in their running game which on paper isn’t very good, but we all know how that can go, given our past decade of debacle.   Their defense struggles against the run and nothing would make us happier than seeing our running backs and quarterback rack up some serious rushing yards.  It wouldn’t just be nostalgic, it’s who we are at our core.  We aren’t a passing culture and never have been.  Coach after coach has tried to make Nebraska a pass first school and it has always failed.  Rhule does better than Riley and Frost did with running the ball more,  but he needs to commit to racking up 300 plus this week.  Not to say that Lateef shouldn’t have the freedom to fling the ball downfield but keep the offense simple with RPO’s and play action.  Think of the jolt of confidence that would give the o-line to push everyone around for four quarters, and they are very capable of doing just that against this UCLA team.  

    The bottom line is if Nebraska plays how they should, then we should win going away for a change.  There will most likely be upwards of 25,000 Husker fans in attendance, based on previous visits to the west coast so it will feel similar to a home game for the boys in red.  It’s another game where there’s not a lot of pressure, but winning, especially winning going away, will help a fan base breathe a little deeper and hopefully show this team what it takes and to keep that mindset into every week from here on out.  Give our minds, hearts, and livers a break, boys and go out and smoke this team.

  • A Strange Feeling

    An all too familiar loss for the Huskers with a “You can’t make this up” moment seeing Dylan Raiola go down with a season ended injury essentially gifted USC the win.  Call it what it was for USC knowing that Nebraska was playing, not outstanding, but consistent and solid football up until that point.  If you haven’t listened to the 2 Average Guys Podcast from Sunday, you should.  I found myself wondering if they had invaded my thoughts from Saturday’s game.  TJ Lateef is our new starting quarterback and that doesn’t sound bad at all.  No disrespect to Dylan, because he gives us the best chance to win, but Lateef is a very talented QB.  It would be very easy to take the sky is falling approach, but we’re already in a bowl game and this could be a great thing.  Take the handcuffs off this kid and play all out, let’s see what he does.  It’s no surprise that TJ is a mobile quarterback that isn’t comfortable in the pocket, but he is a pass first guy … .and he’s got an accurate cannon which we’ve all seen.  

    The coaches have a job to do and that is to develop players and win games, it’s that simple.  What if this week, knowing this is a winnable game, they threw caution to the wind and let Lateef fly?  And what if we as fans, knowing the score could be bad and the interceptions could be high, gave it the grace it deserves and supported it?  This team needs to let loose and play freely, that’s why you schedule junk games where you can dominate, not to pad stats or to just get a feel for your team, but to teach them how to play with confidence.  Every game it’s close and every game you can feel the team tighten up and let the thoughts of yesteryear creep into their heads, even Rhule has talked about this.  The coaches are learning too and they can only teach, after that it’s up to the players to learn and not revert.  I remember coaching junior high volleyball and telling my girls, “If you make a mistake, make it big, but make it once.  I’ll never yell at you for that, but if you make the same mistake over and over, then you’ll hear it from me.”  

    Saturday night the fans were loud and still believed after Raiola went down with an injury, casting aside the lingering doubts, knowing that our guys needed us, and they ultimately were let down.  Again.  It’s not the fans responsibility to win games, especially Husker fans.  Having coached and lived in various places throughout the country, nowhere else, does the football team mean more to a state and fanbase, than it does to Nebraska.   We aren’t perfect fans but we are the most loyal  in the entire nation. Go ahead and debate us, you’ll lose that argument every time.  Most fans are very supportive of Lateef and very encouraging, because all we ever ask is that the team plays to win and not to not lose.  That is the mindset that the coaching staff is trying to instill in these players and if you think that fix has a specific timeline, then you’ll always be disappointed.  It’s a hive mentality and once that cancer creeps in (Mike Riley with hip hip hooray), it’s very hard to change.  

    Hopefully this week is an encouraging one, with progression and a better resolve than we’ve seen up to this point.  There won’t be any major fixes at this point during the season; you can’t put antifreeze in your overheating car when you don’t have any and you’re miles from town, but you can use water and get yourself there, just the same.  Just as every person has their breaking point, they also have a point where they are motivated to run through a brick wall in order to achieve a goal.  The Huskers have come close over and over again, but still haven’t reached deep enough to get over that hump and flip that mental switch.  UCLA has a very potent offense, but so did USC and we did alright against them.  It’s time for the offense to let loose and play with a reckless abandon we haven’t seen from a Husker football team in a long time.  How they prepare this week will tell a lot about this group leading into Saturday so we’ll touch on that in a few days.  Until then, stay hopeful and patient Husker fans.

  • Nebraska vs USC Preview

    Happy Halloween Husker fans, its finally here, Blackout weekend against the USC Trojans.  A lot has happened since we beat Northwestern and this game is gut check time for Nebraska.  First thing’s first, let’s take a moment and thank Troy Dannen and Julie Rhule for telling coach Rhule where they will be residing for the foreseeable future.  In this era of college football, stability matters and the facts are that under Matt Rhule, we have seen this program trending in the right direction.  Rome wasn’t built in a day and it’s better to get it right by re-building a program than just spending as much as we can for any 4 or 5 star we can get.  Think of them as free agents that fill skill positions and focus on keeping Nebraska kids in Nebraska.  

    This game against the Trojans isn’t a measuring stick game, it’s probably the biggest test in the Matt Rhule era for Nebraska, who happen to have the youngest roster in the Big Ten.  It’s huge because victory is very achievable but it will be extremely difficult.  There’s a lot to overcome in this game mentally and from an execution standpoint so the Huskers will need to play lights out for 4 whole quarters plus overtime if needed.  There’s no excuses in this one, either they can be the team we know they are capable of, or they hole up like we’ve seen in the past.  

    In the horse world, our number one rule is that if you get thrown from the horse, you get back up because it’s not a matter of if, but when it will happen.  We’ve all been there, arm torn up and bleeding, bruised, groin pulled from hitting the saddle horn, sitting in the dirt and rocks with two choices; either sit there and bleed or reach up, grab the reins and saddle horn and place your foot into the stirrup, pulling back up into that saddle again.  That’s when the work gets put in mentally, knowing your mistakes that lead to it and correcting them by squeezing the horse up and getting back to work.  Getting thrown sucks and it’s in no way as cool as it looks in rodeo competitions, it’s embarrassing and very painful, but if you don’t put all that out of your head and get back to it, you’ll never do it again.  Scars are cool and make a great story, but only if you had the guts to not quit.  This Husker team needs to have good scars to show after this one.  This game is a must win.

    Last week was about finding our identity and we know that we are young, talented and make a lot of poor decisions and let ourselves get beat.  But the positive is that if we flip the switch mentally, with our talent….think about that for a second.  The all black uniforms do look cool and simple, which is who we have always been.  We are not and should not be a flashy program that become the darlings of social media and espn, rather we should represent the state and its hard working farming culture of sun up to sun down.  It’s honest and simple but tough to do day in and day out.  This blog is short this week, but that’s because there isn’t much more to analyze other than the past mistakes, punches in the mouth, and mockery by the college football world need to end.

    And wouldn’t it be something, if that’s exactly what happens Saturday.  Go Big Red.

    • Joel

  • Nebraska vs Northwestern Recap


    Andre Agassi shocked the world in 1992 when he won his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon on the grass surface he hated and wasn’t built for, dressed all in white. Andre, after all, lived by the creed of “Image is everything” according to his commercials and lifestyle.  In the years following he hit rock bottom, at one point playing the challenger circuit ranked 141 in the world, and was out of shape.  His career was over as far as fans and media were concerned,  that is until one day in 1994, out of nowhere, an unranked Agassi fought back  and won the US Open.  From 1994 through 2002 Andre won six Grand Slam titles, reached number one in the world rankings, including the Olympic gold medal in 1996 and achieved the elusive Career Grand Slam, winning all four major titles.  What changed?  He took on Brad Gilbert as his coach who taught Andre how to be patient and grind out matches, not focusing on style points, in fact Gilbert’s book is titled, “Winning Ugly”.  Brad wasn’t the country club style player himself or coach but he found ways to win, regardless of how it made him look.  

    Nebraska won ugly on Saturday against a gritty Northwestern team that basically wrote the Big Ten book on how to do it.  At times it was pretty, like when Kenneth Williams took the opening kickoff of the second half in for 6, but for the most part, it wasn’t a fan’s dream of a dominant game. In fact, it was frustrating thinking we might be watching the same movie play out like in years past.  Northwestern clawed back to tie the game until Dylan Raiola led an incredible drive to take the lead in the 4th quarter. This year the Huskers keep finding ways, in spite of the situation in close games, hell even Michigan wasn’t supposed to be as close as it was, but the guys stayed in it until the end, giving themselves a chance.  Chalk the Minnesota game off as a wake up call.  

    As a fan, watching Agassi all those years ago, he had moments in every match that frustrated me so much, thinking he was going to choke again, but point after point, he kept playing his game and finding a way.  That’s what the Huskers did today, they stuck with their game plan and used their grittiest player, Emmett Johnson, to keep moving the chains and leading by example.  Leading up to this game, I mentioned how we need to find an identity and maybe, right now our identity is finding ways to discover who we are.  One week it’s Raiola, the next Nyziah Hunter, and then it’s a dose of Kenneth Williams and Emmett.  That’s the world we live in right now as Husker fans and maybe AD Troy Dannen was right when he said that as fans we see 15 years or terrible football, while the current coaching staff is still teaching toughness and how to find ways through adversity.  After all, if we would have been told that Nebraska would start the season 6-2 heading into the USC game, we would probably have been thrilled.  

    There’s not really a feeling of “Will we or won’t we?”  with a tough Trojan team coming to Lincoln this week. It’s more of a “Wait and see how it plays out”.  That’s where we need to be right now after the nightmare of Mike Riley and Scott Frost coaching tenures.  This staff knows what they’re doing and the players will put it together as they go along.  It’s tough having to let go of the past and give this team its chance, but it’ll be worth it, knowing how they took their steps and made mistakes, all while rebuilding a once dominant program. The alternative of putting together a quick fix team that scorches for a few years and falls again isn’t our style. We live for the grind it out games that eventually wear our opponents into submission.  Go back and watch the games from the 95 team. Even though they were dominant, they still had games where they took awhile to get going against mediocre teams.  

    Looking good while winning is great and all, but it pales in comparison to demoralizing an opponent that prides itself on looking sexy.  Remember 94 Miami, and Colorado last year?  Good teams that couldn’t pass the test when it came to facing adversity.  This week we’ll cuss at our tv’s and call for coaches to be fired because we do care and want  to get over this mountain. I’d love to smoke the Trojans, but that probably won’t happen because it’s not who we are and not who we need to be right now…

    We’re young, we’re fast, and we are learning how to win ugly!

    • Joel