40 posts tagged “college”

The weekend is pretty much over, but it was a great weekend.  Nebraska won with a few "green" players in the starting lineup on offense.  Cody Green was the first QB to start as a true freshman since Tommie Frazier did it back in 1992.  He's still getting to know the offense, but still they responded well to having him under center.  With the 20-10 win over Baylor, the Huskers are sitting at 5-3 (2-2 Big 12) and are one game closer to being eligible for post season play.  Below is a list of possible bowl games (including BCS bowls), not saying the Huskers will run the table and go to the national title game (not yet anyway).  I'm hoping the Huskers make it to the Cotton Bowl since the new Cowboys stadium is down the street from my apartment.

Another great bowl game is the Alamo Bowl.  I've gone down there twice (2003, 2005), great overall experience down in San Antonio.  The Holiday Bowl is another possible game that the Huskers could land.  I'd fly out for that one.  I think Tane said the drive is not far for her to come along.  She had a great time down in Waco and even had her picture taken with Herbie.  This weekend the Huskers take on Oklahoma who is also sitting at 5-3.  Every game in college football is important as the teams jockey for position in the polls, but this one is very important since it's a possible turning point for the program.  A win vs. OU and the Huskers are 6-3 with Kansas, Kansas State and Colorado left on the list.  They'd also have the Big 12 North crown to add to their trophy case and a ticket down to Arlington with a December 5th date with Texas (from the looks of things right now). 

Can Nebraska win the rest of their conference games?  I think so, if their offensive line holds up, their receivers hold on to the ball, the running backs learn how to run straight through the hole vs. dancing around, and the defense plays solid.  Is that asking a bit much?  Maybe, we'll see.  I think there's plenty of magic left at Memorial Stadium for this historic rivalry meeting again.
 

Cotton Bowl
Nebraska must: Win out but lose to Texas in the Big 12 title game
Likely opponent: Some SEC West leftover or Fightin Kiffins
Odds: Zero. One trip to Cowboys Stadium would be enough.

Holiday Bowl
Nebraska must: Beat OU, win North, lose to UT
Likely opponent: USC
Odds: Fair. But only if Nebraska beats Oklahoma.

Alamo Bowl
Nebraska Must: Win eight games, preferably the North title.
Likely Opponent: Minnesota or Northwestern
Odds: Good. We like NU to win North, but lose to OU.

Sun Bowl
Nebraska Must: Finish at least 7-5
Likely Opponent: California, Stanford or Arizona
Odds: Fair. If NU wins 7 but loses North, here's the spot.

Insight Bowl
Nebraska Must: Finish at least 6-6
Likely Opponent: Michigan State, Michigan, Northwestern.
Odds: Poor. NU would rather play in Shreveport, wethinks.

Independence Bowl
Nebraska Must: Finish 6-6
Likely Opponent: Arkansas, Ole Miss or Georgia
Odds: Poor. We think Nebraska wins at least two more.

Texas Bowl
Nebraska Must: Finish 6-6
Opponent: Navy
Odds: Very poor. This spot seems made for Iowa State or Texas A&M.

It's 0442, I'm still up doing laundry and cleaning my apartment, getting everything ready for Tane's weekend visit.  I can't believe that this weekend is finally here.  We've talked about this trip the past couple of months and BAM!  Now it's here.  I just printed her itinerary, I'll place it by my keys so I don't leave it on my printer.  I'm really looking forward to the visit.  We're going to head down to Waco, Tx for the Nebraska (GEAUX BIG RED!) and Baylor game Saturday.  Kickoff is set at 1130 which is a bit early, but it may actually work in our favor since tomorrow is Halloween.  Wow, I'm glad that I printed it just now otherwise I would've driven out to the wrong airport.  Whoa! 

We really haven't been able to talk as much this week since she was trying to get everything in order for her trip, but we'll have a 3 day period to hang out.  This is her first taste of Nebraska (or college for that matter) football, she's more into the NFL.  We briefly talked about what we'd like to do after the game.  I think the game will end around 1530-1600, we talked about driving down to Austin to party down on 6th street later in the evening.  I know a few great places for drinks and good food.  Plus my cousin lives there and we could meet up with him (and his gf) to party the night away.  The only downside of this is her flight leaves at 1130 Sunday morning!  GASP!  Time is a factor here. 

Another option we discussed was just renting movies or going out to the movies back in the metroplex.  I still have to find a shirt that will fit her, not to mention I have to swing by the Halloween costume store to pick up some makeup.  I'm probably going to paint my face for the game (think back to the game vs. Auburn).  Yeah, that's right.... skull.  My Lattimer tribute once again, but this time I'll take my time with the application.  It's 0451, I should be in bed, but I still have to check on the laundry.  Hmm, even after Tane lands tomorrow, Chuck was talking about heading out to Wish Lounge.  Apparently, he placed us on the list to get in.  I've never been there, just heard it was a decent place to party. 

I'm not sure if that will be a good idea since we have to get up and hit the road by 0800 for Waco.  We may just pass.  Damn the luck.  Speaking of luck, one great turn in my favor had to do with my days off.  I only requested Friday-Saturday for Tane's trip and the game, but amended it to include Sunday and Monday.  My GM was okay with this request so now I have a 96 hour liberty!  Sweet!  So far it's shaping up nicely.  I plan on shopping for a new couch and some shelves from IKEA to move to my apartment.  I love that store!  Right now, it's looking like IKEA will be right along side Chipotle in having all my money.  HA!

I'll be sure to post the photos and video from the weekend as I can (some will be from my iphone, the rest from my camera).  I plan on taking Tane to a few places in my area to eat.  Of course I have to take her out for crawfish!  Mmmmmm.  She's not looking forward to it, but is open to the idea.  Should be fun.  I need to log off, check on my laundry, finish cleaning my apartment, and go through some scales work on my guitar.  Speaking of guitar, I need to return my GM's acoustic to him.  He dropped it off at work for me to check out, it's a Fender.  Not bad, but not made in the U.S.A. (Korean made), still, a free guitar is a great guitar (to an extent).  I checked the strings (they're still good), tuned it and then strummed a few chords, it's holding a tune and has a nice sound to it.  He was just going to give it to me when I told him that I played, but then I didn't stop talking about guitar and then he was excited to pick it up again.  I should learn to keep my mouth shut at times.

That is all...

There is no place like Nebraska.

Huskers helmet

I woke up roughly 60 minutes ago and went through my "morning" routine of checking email, reading articles, updating my cheers on facebook and being meowed at by the fat cat.  But like in my title, I'm really stoked.  I purchased (or will purchase) 3 sets of tickets, 2 of the events are this month.  First, I won my tickets to watch the Celtics vs. Mavericks (Go Celts!) on the 12th.  Second, I'm waiting on the good word for my ticket to the Slipknot concert on the 22nd.  Finally, I bought a few tickets to the annual Red/White spring scrimmage up in Lincoln.

I haven't been to the spring game since 2005 and I'm overdue.  The sights and sounds of Memorial Stadium in the spring are unmatched.  Last season the event sold out.  The university managed to sell 80,149 seats to watch the game.  Basically, it looks like a regular season game.  There's so many fans dressed in the scarlet and cream.  I miss being in Lincoln for the games and even the scrimmage.  Lincoln, is a great town.  It's a college football town.  The spirit of college football lives there.  The fans are quite knowledgable about the team and the sport. 

What I love about college football, the loyalties lie to the program, the school, and most of all the state.  It's not about contracts, player shifts, it's about the pride in the program.  Tom Osborne knew this, that's why he's a coaching legend within the state (also to the college football world).  I think with Tom as the A.D. and Bo as the head coach, the program is in good hands.

GEAUX BIG RED!

Doc493c5c4684c3c856918370

Nebraska fell short of the national rankings when the final football polls were released around the midnight hour.  The Huskers received 64 points in The Associated Press poll (the equivalent of a ranking of 29th) and 62 points in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll (a ranking of 30th). 

After a 26-21 Gator Bowl win over Clemson, it was wondered if the Huskers (9-4) might find their way into the rankings for the first time since the first week of October last year.  Nebraska hasn’t finished a year ranked since after the 2005 season when an Alamo Bowl victory over Michigan vaulted NU to 24th in both polls. 

I just don't understand how the Cornhuskers could not have cracked the top 25 in either poll after finishing the season at 9-4?  The team won 9 games under first year head coach Bo Pelini, including a season-ending four-game winning streak, against Kansas, Kansas State, Colorado and Clemson.  Nebraska was able to pull together to play as a team after last year's squad rolled over for former coach Bill Callahan. 

Baffling. 

The AP rankings:

1. Florida (48) 13-1 1,606 points

2. Utah (16) 13-0 1,519

3. USC (1) 12-1 1,481

4. Texas 12-1 1,478

5. Oklahoma 12-2 1,391

6. Alabama 12-2 1,264

7. TCU 11-2 1,193

8. Penn State 11-2 1,153

9. Ohio State 10-3 1,013

10. Oregon 10-3 997

11. Boise State 12-1 938

12. Texas Tech 11-2 916

13. Georgia 10-3 903

14. Mississippi 9-4 857

15. Virginia Tech 10-4 713

16. Oklahoma State 9-4 534

17. Cincinnati 11-3 506

18. Oregon State 9-4 467

19. Missouri 10-4 435

20. Iowa 9-4 317

21. Florida State 9-4 246

22. Georgia Tech 9-4 223

23. West Virginia 9-4 144

24. Michigan State 9-4 138

25. Brigham Young 10-3 137

Others receiving votes:

California 128, Pittsburgh 106, LSU 95, Nebraska 64, Tulsa 61, Northwestern 53, Ball State 13, Boston College 11, Rutgers 11, Rice 8, Arizona 4, Kansas 2.

The USA Today coaches' poll:

1. Florida (60) 13-1 1,524

2. Southern California 12-1 1,393

3. Texas 12-1 1,389

4. Utah (1) 13-0 1,375

5. Oklahoma 12-2 1,333

6. Alabama 12-2 1,157

7. TCU 11-2 1,114

8. Penn State 11-2 1,091

9. Oregon 10-3 1,011

10. Georgia 10-3 904

11. Ohio State 10-3 874

12. Texas Tech 11-2 867

13. Boise State 12-1 809

14. Virginia Tech 10-4 740

15. Mississippi 9-4 620

16. Missouri 10-4 549

17. Cincinnati 11-3 493

18. Oklahoma State 9-4 480

19. Oregon State 9-4 407

20. Iowa 9-4 250

21. Brigham Young 10-3 248

22. Georgia Tech 9-4 219

23. Florida State 9-4 217

24. Michigan State 9-4 179

25. California 9-4 116

Others receiving votes:

West Virginia 101, Tulsa 68, LSU 65, Northwestern 63, Nebraska 62, Pittsburgh 38, Arizona 21, Ball State 14, Rice 14, Boston College 6, Rutgers 5, Kansas 3, Kentucky 3, Connecticut 2, Houston 1.

Get it?  Gator "BO"wl? HA.

Bo & Dabo have their similarities, but they've traveled different paths. But, Steve Sipple says Bo Pelini deserves a pay raise.