Every Game Counts, Some Matter More
4 comments so far
April 10, 2007 by
It's hard to watch the Huskers come together in the spring and not let your mind wander to the fall. How many games will they win? Which games? Without getting into that kind of prognostication yet, you can get a fair sense of which games will be most important. The top priority is winning the Big 12 North games, then the South ones, and finally the nonconference (home games being more important). So with that said, here's how I'd rank Nebraska's regular season games for 2007 in order of importance:
1. @ Missouri - Likely to Decide Big 12 North (again), Tigers will go for 3 wins in a row in Columbia over NU
2. Kansas State - Next most likely to decide Big 12 North (and was decisive in 2006)
3. @ Colorado - Expect to see improvement in Hawkins second year in Boulder, they could contend in the North
4. Iowa State - You just can't lose to Iowa State at home
5. @ Kansas - Not likely to contend in North but could play spoiler
6. Oklahoma State - Huskers need to maintain home win streak against Cowboys
7. Texas A&M - They also need to maintain their home win streak versus the Aggies
8. @ Texas - Win the games above and this one only affects rankings. Would be the least damaging Big 12 South loss
9. Ball State - Would just be humiliating to lose this one (their game last year versus Michigan aside)
10. Nevada - Would be almost as bad as a loss to Ball State, but not quite
11. USC - An acceptable loss in terms of rankings but you hate to lose at home
12. @ Wake - Even more acceptable loss to computers, its early and on the road versus a decent team
Related: Hi-Plains Drifter disagrees and offers his own assessment
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Tyler Apr 10 07
I like the way you organized this. Everybody tends to focus on games like UT and USC, but what we have to remember is that the important ones are our division games first. Win those, then win the conference, then win the BCS game. I think we all tend to forget this and are becoming obsessed with the "we-are-back-for-sure" win against a big-time program in the top 5.
That said, winning them all wouldn't be too bad either. GBR!
Andrew Apr 11 07
Steve,
I am going to agree with all you have siad, and the general order, but I think the Texas game is way more important then you are giving it credit for. Over the years since the Big-12 came together Texas has been our Achilles heal. They got us in the title game, and they treat our home field like it is there, I believe this has to stop, and I think it will, starting next year! I will take a loss to USC, they are the most dominant team in America, but know longer will I accept losses to TEXAS. We want there players, and they have them. The only way we will get them is to beat them, beat them at home, and win decisively.
Andrew Apr 11 07
I don't know what to say really. Three minutes to the biggest battle of our professional lives all comes down to today. Either we heal as a team or we are going to crumble. Inch by inch play by play till we're finished. We are in hell right now, gentlemen believe me and we can stay here and get the shit kicked out of us or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb out of hell. One inch, at a time.
Now I can't do it for you. I'm too old. I look around and I see these young faces and I think I mean I made every wrong choice a middle age man could make.
I uh....
I pissed away all my money believe it or not.
I chased off anyone who has ever loved me. And lately, I can't even stand the face I see in the mirror.
You know when you get old in life things get taken from you. That's, that's part of life. But, you only learn that when you start losing stuff. You find out that life is just a game of inches. So is football. Because in either game life or footbal the margin for error is so small. I mean one half step too late or to early you don't quite make it. One half second too slow or too fast and you don't quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around us. They are in ever break of the game every minute, every second.
On this team, we fight for that inch
On this team, we tear ourselves, and everyone around us to pieces for that inch. We CLAW with our finger nails for that inch. Cause we know when we add up all those inches that's going to make the fucking difference between WINNING and LOSING between LIVING and DYING.
I'll tell you this in any fight it is the guy who is willing to die who is going to win that inch. And I know if I am going to have any life anymore it is because, I am still willing to fight, and die for that inch because that is what LIVING is. The six inches in front of your face.
Now I can't make you do it. You gotta look at the guy next to you. Look into his eyes. Now I think you are going to see a guy who will go that inch with you. You are going to see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this team
because he knows when it comes down to it,
you are gonna do the same thing for him.
That's a team, gentlemen and either we heal now, as a team, or we will die as individuals. That's football guys. That's all it is. Now, whattaya gonna do?
Al Pacino- Any Given Sunday
Now if that don't get your dont get you up, I don't know what will!
Bob Apr 11 07
I think Callahan needs to pull out all the tricks to make sure to beat KSU. We can't be having recruits like Freeman commit to us for 6 months and then jump at the last second to another school in the Big 12, especially in our division. If the Huskers thrash KSU every year Freeman is there, it will make other recruits think long and hard about pulling the stunt he did. The Huskers did not get a chance to go out and get another great quarterback since Freeman had committed so early and long.