Wisconsin "Ball" over Nebraska in Big Ten opener.

Nebraska finally got a taste of some Big Ten action, but it will be one that they would rather forget after getting whipped 48-17 by Wisconsin.  Hard to believe that Nebraska actually led at one point in this game (14-7), but had nothing in the bag as they were out scored 41-3 the rest of the way.

With Wilson leading the way, the Badgers could very
well find themselves contending for a national title.

Also making his Big Ten debut was Badger QB Russell Wilson, who threw for 255 yards and 2 TDs while running for another.  Coming into the season, Wisconsin's ability to contend for the conference title received a major boost when Wilson came aboard after a record setting career at NC State.


There were some questions regarding Wisconsin's defense, but they went a long way toward answering some of them, picking off Huskers' QB Taylor Martinez 3 times, all of which resulted in touchdowns.  2 of those touchdowns were just part of a 20 point effort in the 2nd quarter, as the Badgers put their foot on the pedal and never looked back.


Not to be left behind, RB Montee Ball had himself quite the evening, rushing for 151 yards and 4TDs on 30 carries; moving this tally to 13 TDs this season.  At Wisconsin, the running back position has never lacked any depth.  Ball is just the latest to star in a position that has featured names like John Clay, PJ Hill, Anthony Davis, Michael Bennett and Ron Dayne, the NCAA's all-time rushing leader (in Division 1, at least).

Madison, WI is a long ways from Lawrence or Ames.

Bo Pellini's reign at Nebraska started in 2008 and over that time, he has used his reputation as a defensive guru to restore some pride to a tradition that was famously hailed as the black shirts.  Over the last two years, Nebraska had one of the nation's best pass defenses, which played a big part in their consecutive Big 12 title appearances.  If they had an offense to match, they might have been playing for bigger things.


When Nebraska switched to the Big Ten, the revival of the black shirts was a key reason why most pundits felt the Cornhuskers would be able to contend for the conference title right away.  However, given Saturday's performance, they clearly have ways to go.


Looking at the remainder of Wisconsin's schedule, their biggest game will probably be the matchup against Illinois, who are off to a surprising 5-0 start.  Other than that, there's some decent teams, but none that could seriously challenge them for the division crown.


At this point, it wouldn't be a bad bet to pencil in Wisconsin as participants in the inaugural Big Ten title game.

A measure of revenge.

Last weekend when Nebraska held on to upset Texas 70-67, not only did they ruin the Longhorns chance at reclaiming the #1 ranking, but it also brought another thought to my mind; REVENGE!!! 

Husker fans couldn't bear another loss to Texas

After all that Nebraska has been in the least year (plus a few months give or take), they were finally able to come up with a win against Texas.  Maybe I'm the only who saw it, but I'm sure Husker fans were kind of feeling it too. 

Let's face it, Nebraska isn't exactly known for their basketball prowess; they're a football school.  So to deal a defeat to Texas (and a darn good Texas team too) on the hardwood wasn't really expected by anyone outside of Lincoln, NE.  Nebraska fans, please don't take it personal if nobody thought that you'd win.  For what it's worth, Nebraska has played well down the stretch, and that form really counts for something.

(R-L) Hunter Lawrence nails the game winning fg in the 2009 Big 12
title game, while Garrett Gilbert led Texas to an upset win in Lincoln.

One can only wonder what Kinnie is thinking

Nebraska fans can still remember the 1 second that was added back to the clock at the end of the 2009 Big 12 Title Game; enabling Texas to kick the game winning field goal and advance to the National Championship game.  Then to rub salt onto the wounds, Texas (who were on a 2 game losing streak) beat #5 Nebraska in Lincoln.  What's crazy is that Texas (who are 9-1 against Nebraska in the Big 12 era) only won one more game after that; against Florida Atlantic (from the vaunted Sun Belt Conference).

As if that wasn't enough, there was that game against A&M in College Station, where all the calls just seemed to go against Nebraska.  Big Red couldn't even get any love in the last ever Big 12 Title game; fans preferring the other Big Red (more like crimson, but you get the point).  

Nebraska wanted to leave the Big 12 with a bang!!  Win the last ever title game, then stick it to Texas and Dan Beebe a.k.a the Commish.  That didn't happen.  Their reward for losing?  A second consecutive trip to the Holiday Bowl to play against Washington; a team that Nebraska had torn to shreds earlier in the season.  They couldn't even get Boise State in there??  It didn't matter because when Nebraska lost, they all of a sudden became the punchline to any and every joke.  They just could not catch a break.

So when Nebraska beat Texas in the most unlikeliest of venues, I'm guessing all this stuff must have been running through the minds of the Husker faithful as they stormed the court.  I just got this feeling, that they weren't just celebrating an upset of a highly ranked opponent; it was a lot more than that.  It was for the 1 additional second that cost them a conference championship.  It was making up for failing to exact revenge in their next meeting.  It was for the mistreatment they felt they've received, getting kicked to the curb because Texas wields the power.

This was just more than your ordinary upset; it was a measure of revenge.

Battle of the Big Red: One night only!!!

When I think of Oklahoma vs Nebraska, I think of 2 great programs who are rivals not out of hatred, but out of deep respect for one another.  2 tradition rich and dominant programs that co-existed in the same conference, since the days of the Big Eight and even beyond.

Throw in the numbers if you'd like.  12 National Titles, 86 Conference Titles, 8 Heisman Trophy winners, over 100 consensus All-Americans.  Games of the Century I & II.  Sooner Magic.  Switzer and Osbourne roaming the sidelines.  How can you not love this, the amount of respect that these 2 teams have for each other.  Even the fans can't help but throw friendly jabs at each other every now and then.

So it was only fitting that Nebraska and Oklahoma got together one more time, to close the chapter on the Big 12 Conference.  For one night only; where people can reminisce about the time when it was these 2 teams running the show.  None was 2nd best to the other, and everyone else was playing for the scraps.

You never really quite knew what to expect with this Nebraska team.  First, they blow out Kansas State (who in turn blew out Kansas), then come back 2 weeks later and lose to Texas.  They didn't even get an offensive touchdown.  The next week, they go to Stillwater and Taylor Martinez puts on a passing clinic against Oklahoma State.  They then followed that up with some less than convincing performances against Iowa State, Kansas and Texas A&M before bouncing back to beat Colorado.  It was becoming rather hard to know what to expect from this team.

I doubt any of us thought that OU would be trailing 17-0 midway through the 2nd quarter.  Especially after Nebraska's 2nd touchdown was set up by a Landry Jones interception (yeah, I know we're still trying to forget the 5 he threw last year in Lincoln).  I was starting to wonder where this Nebraska team was when they played both Texas and Texas A&M.  

However, Oklahoma had a little Sooner Magic up its sleeves.  Against one of the better defenses in the nation, especially against the pass, Oklahoma was able to go deep a few times and got some results.  Nebraska neutralized Oklahoma's short passing game (which at times has been rather annoying), and their pass rush forced Landry Jones into making some throws early or just throwing it out of bounds altogether (where's Broderick Brown when you need him).

Earlier in the season, had Oklahoma been trailing 17-0, especially on the road (coz that sure ain't happening in Norman), it would have been understandable if you wrote the team off.  Something happened to Landry Jones along the way, and aren't we glad it did.  He was on the money on those attempts, and Oklahoma outscored Nebraska 23-3 in that span.  He just stayed with it and it paid off.

Had it not been for Nebraska's defense, this game might have been a blowout.  How often does a team turn over the ball 4 times, get completely shut out in the second half and lose only by 3 points?  The second half turned out to be a retro Big 8 match up; smash mouth defense ruled the day and neither team would budge, save for a couple of long gains and those didn't come easy.  Sometimes, the beauty of a masterpiece lies not in the result but in the struggle.

Despite the result, this game will surely go down as one of the good ones in this storied rivalry.  The next Oklahoma-Nebraska is scheduled in 10 years, unless they meet in a bowl game.  Until then, thank you for all the memories.  It sure was fun while it lasted.