By Kyle Kardell
10/10/2017
It was a perfect night for football in Lincoln, Nebraska. Weather was clear and 67 degrees at kickoff. The Sea of Red was painted black for the student-led blackout. The 1997 National Championship football team was being recognized and had their own tunnel walk led by Coach Osborne himself. The environment was truly electric. You could feel the anticipation of the fans starving for a big conference win. Grant Wistrom led the current Huskers in the team prayer before the gladiators took the field. The stage was set and was sure to be a daunting task for any visiting team. The Badgers were in town. Every Nebraska fan had been waiting for this game since the overtime loss in Madison last year.
The stadium was ready to explode by the time kickoff actually happened. Night games are special in Memorial Stadium. Nebraska boasted a 20 game win streak under the lights at home. There was a feeling of "we can't lose on a night like this". The Huskers took the ball first and marched right down the field. Then disaster struck. The play that had cursed Nebraska all season happened again..a 90 yard pick six for the visitors. It was almost hard to be surprised because this had been the narrative so often this season. All the momentum built up before the game and through that drive was taken away in an instant.
Nebraska would rebound though. The team showed resilience and fought hard to make it a 17-10 game at halftime. What could have been a knockout punch hadn't rattled the Huskers and fans were feeling okay about the next 30 minutes of football. Early in the second half the football gods would even things up giving Nebraska a pick six of their own to tie the game 17-17. Now the stadium was absolutely ballistic. People were knocking each other over in excited chaos and there were surely injuries. This seemed to be the turning point in the game. Nebraska had all the momentum and pinned Wisconsin deep in their own territory. This was going to be the night that all was made right.
Wisconsin came out and did the most Wisconsin thing possible. They ran the ball 32 out of their last 34 plays to finish the game and would go on to score 21 unanswered points. Nebraska knew what was coming and there was nothing they could do about it. Wisconsin has now won five straight against Nebraska. Husker fans have sat back and watched their team continue to get beat by their evil twin. The hardest part for Husker fans is that when they watch current Wisconsin, they see the old Nebraska. They see a team that will tell you what they are going to run and there is nothing that you can do about it. Wisconsin has a clear identity and Nebraska does not.
Nebraska has one of the most storied programs in the history of college football. It should be celebrated and never forgotten. Yes Nebraska fans might cling to the 90's, but I would argue that it would be dangerous to forget. To get where your going, you must know where you've been. This is a very critical time for the state of the Nebraska football program. I was born in 1994, right as Nebraska would go on to win 3 out of the next 4 national titles. While I don't remember watching those games, I feel it in my blood. I do remember "Black Flash 41 Reverse" and watching Eric Crouch win the Heisman Trophy. Freshmen coming into the program will most likely not remember the days when Nebraska was at the top of the football world. Saturday night was special. However, Saturday night exposed the realities that the program is not where it used to be. Patience is hard to find for fans that lived through the championship years. I do believe that the patience will pay off, but until then let's continue with faith and honor held high.
Go Big Red
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