Another Step Taken
3 comments so far
October 14, 2006 by
NU Athletic Director Steve Pederson laid out his expectations for a Nebraska head coach. The team must be playing for or gaining on the national championship. Most college football pundits around the country would say the Huskers will not be playing for the national championship this season. But can anyone argue that it is further away today than it was at the end of the 2003 season?
With a 21-3 victory in Manhattan Saturday, the Huskers ended a streak of road futility against the Wildcats that went back to 1998. The win comes just a week after the Huskers ended a two-game winless streak in Ames, Iowa to the Cyclones. The win also comes after a season where the Huskers were a LeKevin Smith fumble away from winning the Big XII North. With the Missouri loss to the Aggies in College Station, Nebraska now has sole possession of first place in the Big XII North. It’s about time.
These Wildcats are a far cry from the squads under Snyder that went to three Big XII championship games between 1998-2003. Defensively, the Wildcats did enough well to keep the game interesting for most of three quarters. If not for some aggressive play-calling by the Huskers (including a fake field goal that went for a touchdown and a fourth down conversion that set up NU’s second touchdown) the game may well have gone the distance. But offensively, the ‘Cats were as bad as you’d expect a team to be starting a true freshman at quarterback against a ranked team. Even easy passes seemed beyond Josh Freeman’s capability at times. Still, he showed flashes of why he was such a hot prospect out of high school.
But despite the Wildcats troubles in recent seasons, a win in their stadium is still a step forward for the Nebraska program, even if it is a fairly minor one. It’s probably a good sign also that the Huskers becoming bowl eligible will be overlooked by most Husker fans. Next up is defending national champion Texas, which would constitute a major step forward for most any program that could manage a win. For Nebraska, it would likely mean a return to the AP top ten for the first time since a one week appearance in 2003 that was ended with a loss to Missouri. It would also be the first win over Texas since 1999 and only the second victory over the Longhorns in the last 11 years.
Whether the Huskers are ready to take that giant step is a topic for another day. For now, Husker fans can enjoy holding “scoreboard” over Kansas State both in Lincoln and Manhattan for the first time since Tom Osborne was leading the team. We have yet to see what Callahan can offer with five recruiting classes completely his own. Until then, it’s one step at a time.
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Darren Oct 15 06
Great post, Steve.
I completely agree with the context you used. Is this a water-shed victory that sends a message outside of the Big 12 North? No. Next week's game is the proper measuring stick for that.
But, this absolutely is an "exercise the demons" kind of win for NU, especially the fans. It also sets the right tone for our bevy of young players as the move forward in their careers.
Mitch Oct 16 06
I am sorry but when is it a bragging thing at Nebraska to finally get a 2 game winning streak over K-State. Have things really slipped that far with everyone the fans included. I am one of the biggest Nebraska fans out there but I am still hesitant to buy fully into this sceme of the WCO (even though with the reemerging ground attack it is easier) when they march into Memorial Stadium with the temp around zero and a 30 mph wind howling off of the new scoreboard and snow flying and still move the ball through the air then I will believe. Go Huskers
Scott Oct 16 06
I think you guys hit it right on the head. This is something that will come with time, just as we have heard from our AD and Coach Callahan.
It's been nice to enjoy a couple of road wins, regardless of who the opponent is. This game with Texas should be interesting. I just saw a poll where almost 50% of the respondents think that NU has no chance to win. Granted this was in informal poll on a news station here in town. Hopefully, those 50% will not be attending the game.