Wall Street Husker
Kansas State 2007

Now that’s want I’m talking about! It appears like the entire season’s frustration was taken out on the Mildcats in Lincoln. And I love it. Sure enough, Cos (after the first few possessions for KSU) abandoned that soft zone look and starting running multiple blitz packages to help out the front four. The pressure built up, and Freeman made poor throws. Bingo. I’ll overlook the last few touchdowns in the 4th quarter. Ganz’s first game mistakes were gone, and a perfect day for him and the offense. Who would have thought little Joey Ganz would be a National Player of the Week with a 7 touchdown, 510 yard performance at the beginning of the season? Good for him. Although far from a complete game (defense still gave up 428 yards & 31 points), it was the closest we’ve seen since the Nevada game to open the season.

The worst part about this past week was the national media coupling the current state of Nebraska’s program with Notre Dame. Every media outlet from Portland to Miami ran the, “What’s happened to Notre Dame AND Nebraska?” Yes, this slide is unacceptable and coaches are going to lose their jobs. But our talent has led to victories where Notre Dame clearly has inferior talent on the field. Yet nobody seemed to identify this fact. And I’m sure every one of those outlets will invariably forget to mention that what NU has become and what ND have become – are two very different things.

Consider this, four of the losses have come at the hands of Top 25 teams and 2 in the Top 10. In fact, Kansas, Missouri, Texas, & USC are all ranked within the Top 12 after this past week. With these teams finishing the season with great results, the only two losses that look horrible are the losses to Oklahoma State and Texas A&M. (The Kansas game was difficult to stomach, but they are ranked 3rd in the BCS at this point.) If they would have pulled out victories in those games, BC might still have his job at seasons end. With a win at Colorado, that would have put NU at 8-4 going into a bowl game. A 9-4 season and he would be back again. That’s all it took. Two losses to OSU and A&M and an entire coaching staff will be changed.

Therefore, I, Wall Street Husker, being of sound body and mind, issue the following proclamation to the next head coach for the University of Nebraska: Beat the teams you are expected to beat in Lincoln. The friendly confines of Nebraska quickly become enemy territory if you lose in the beloved and trusted Memorial Stadium. It makes sense. With a fan base that has sold out 289 consecutive home games, it’s pretty clear that a coaching staff must win in Lincoln if it wants to maintain gainful employment. We saw this happen with Frank and now BC. From 1991-1998 Nebraska won 48 consecutive games in Lincoln. Dr. Tom kept his job through the late 80’s and early 90’s by being successful in Lincoln. Many forget that it took Dr. Tom 20 years to “win the big one” and many called for his head too during this period. I used to get excited about seeing 8 or 9 games scheduled in Lincoln, because that would automatically mean we start the season with 8 or 9 wins. Not the case anymore. So, note to the new head coach: beat the teams you are expected to beat in Lincoln. Nebraska fans have become familiar over the last 30 years with going on the road and losing. They have not, and will never, become familiar with watching a team lose games in Lincoln.

On that topic, I wanted to see where our 300th sellout would fall. If Nebraska continue to sell out every game at home, our 300th consecutive home sell out will be against Arkansas State in 2009. The new coaching staff will need to make it a point of winning this game. Let's hope they are not the next Appalachian State

There is more at stake than just bragging rights for the upcoming game against the Buffs. First, our so called rival to the west has circled this game at the beginning of the season as a ‘big’ game. I was watching a Colorado pre-season football program interviewing an old quarterback at CU. He went on and on about how important the Nebraska game was to their season and that was the game that success would be measured. Why haven’t we ever picked up on this? Oh yeah, I forgot – Since 1980, the current series balance is between these two “rivals” is currently in our favor. It must be close since it is a true rivalry, right? Try 20-6-1. And three of those losses came in the last 6 years of coaching transition.

Second, a potential million dollar payout and valuable practice time are crucial to future success. The team was oozing with confidence against KState, and we can only hope that it filters through to the Colorado game. The program desperately can’t lose out on a bowl appearance for these reasons. Many want us to crawl into a hole and wait for better times. I say the better times are now. Get off your butts and root like you have never rooted before. There is more at stake than coaches here. Honor is in the dollar. And this program needs every penny it can snag.

From the Big Apple – to the Big Red Country…

WallStreet Husker