Well, it’s about that time, isn’t it? The kids are going back to school. The days are getting shorter. And you know what that means . . .
Football!
Aye, it’s been a fearful long drought, pilgrims, but the Long Wait between seasons is almost over. Can I get an amen?
I’m from Nebraska, folks. What did you expect? We take our football a tad seriously around here.
How seriously? Put it to you this way: Memorial Stadium in Lincoln has been sold out for every home game since 1962. Yes, you read that correctly. That’s forty-five consecutive years. No one else comes close. Not Texas. Not Bama. Not Notre Dame. No one.
So I thought I’d take a moment to prognosticate on my beloved Huskers and the 2007 season.
Expectations are high this year. The team seems to feel pretty good about themselves. Hope springs eternal. And as much as I love my ‘Skers, I have to say that I don’t share the optimism.
We’ve been trying to get back to national title contention under Bill Callahan, and to be fair, he has made great strides. In my experience (solely as a fan of the game, never as a player), one of the telltale signs that a team is improving is when they start winning games they’re supposed to lose. I saw that happen in 2005, when Nebraska went into its final two games as two-touchdown underdogs, and won them both (including a 30-3 hammering of Colorado, surely one of the sweetest NU victories in recent years).
In 2006, Nebraska had a better overall record than 2005, finishing 9-5 and winning the Big XII North. Despite the numbers, though, I consider last year a bit of a setback for the team. We didn’t beat anyone we weren’t supposed to beat, and we lost one or two games we were supposed to win. (We could have pulled off a monumental upset of Texas last year, but we snatched defeat from the jaws of victory with a late fumble.) The offense put up amazing numbers, but also had a nasty habit of falling asleep in the third quarter, allowing opponents to crawl back into games. The secondary got scorched last year, and a veteran defensive line failed to put consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
In 2007, we have a new QB in ASU transfer Sam Keller. The consensus seems to be that he’ll be great. He certainly put up impressive numbers at ASU, but can he do it again? Who knows? Add to that four new starters on the D-line, a secondary that is still suspect, and a non-conference schedule featuring three teams that went to bowls last year–including the consensus pick for this year’s national champion, USC. Ouch, babe. Oh, and a week before USC, we travel to 2006 ACC champion Wake Forest. Watch out for that one, gang. My “upset alert” radar is already pinging.
A 2-2 start seems like a very real possibility. And conference play doesn’t seem any easier. Outside of the Ball State game, I don’t see any gimmes on our schedule.
It’s going to be an interesting season. Personally, I would prefer it to be boring–forty-point blowouts that are over by halftime, where you can just sit back and admire the style. Not gonna happen this year. I’m not even sure we go to a bowl game.
Nonetheless, I will cheer for my team, rejoice when they win, despair when they lose. Such is the life of a fan during football season.
As for the NFL–don’t even get me started on my beloved Dolphins. Cam Cameron? John Beck? Who the hell are these guys? Sigh.
Still, the Long Wait is nearly over. Can I get an amen?
