Nebraska Football: Countdown to kickoff

nebraska football
David Schumacher Posted on 10:05 pm

It is the final week before Nebraska football is back. During times like these, it’s good to look back on how we got here and why we are here. In seven days’ time, the Cornhuskers will be taking the field for the first time in 2020.

It Just Means More

No, I’m not referring to the SEC. You may see that tagline played over and over on Saturday afternoons. It may be trademarked by that conference down South, but that’s not what we are talking about here. Big coastal cities have their college teams. They cheer for them on Saturdays, live and die with them, but at the end of the day if their team loses they can still go watch a load of other in-state colleges fight it out. Not in Nebraska. In Nebraska, we have Husker football.

This state isn’t perfect, we all have our differences. Yet, Saturdays are different in Nebraska. On Saturdays that neighbor you don’t like, he’s a close friend. That close friend of yours, he’s family. No matter the problem, on Saturdays we all band together to cheer for Dear Ole Nebraska U. Across the sea of corn that is Nebraska we all chant Go Big Red!

Now let’s look back to March when a pandemic hit the world. Times are tough, but there is still a light at the end of the tunnel. Things will get better, they always do. You might see where this is going. I’m not going to say that football is everything because it’s not. But, if something can bring a little happiness to the hardworking people of this state it would be Nebraska football.

By now we all know what happened. The season was postponed, and there was an outcry of opposition. This opposition came very strongly from the University of Nebraska. Scott Frost stood strong and voiced his support of playing football in 2020, as did Athletic Director Bill Moos and University President Ted Carter. After weeks of uncertainty and plenty of pressure from not only Nebraska but Ohio State and plenty of student-athletes the Big Ten announced the football season would resume Oct. 24.

People can say what they want. Nebraska fans have always been attacked for being too passionate or caring too much. Yes, Husker fans do live in the past. They talk a lot about their five national titles, 46 conference championships and 375 consecutive sellouts but since when was caring for something you love or caring for something this state loves been wrong? In Nebraska, football just means more. It means more to the people of the state. It means more to the University of Nebraska. It’s what fans look forward to every Saturday in the fall, and win or lose they keep on coming back.

Countdown to kickoff

Nebraska football is back next week. As I am writing this, it has been 322 days since we last saw the Huskers take the field. That is 43 days short of a full year. Almost a full year without seeing Nebraska make its way through that tunnel and march into the Sea of Red.

Now football is back but not in the way we remember it. There will be no Sea of Red, no Sirius, no Tunnel Walk. The Railyard will be empty. Kegs of Natty Light will not be tapped in the North Bottoms. Yet, there is so much to be thankful for. Nebraska will take the field in 2020. Yes, it will be against Ohio State, and yes Nebraska will probably lose by 21 plus. However, the Husker faithful will still stand by to cheer for Big Red.

Nebraska plays an eight-game schedule. That’s eight games it wasn’t going to play a month ago. The past five years have been some of the darkest in Nebraska football history, 28-34 is the record. Surely this year won’t be any different? Then again, could it? So far 2020 has produced some of the most interesting games in quite some time. The defending National Champions, LSU are 1-2, heck Kansas State in first place in the Big 12. Even Texas isn’t back, but that’s something we are all used to anyway.

Let’s say things fall in place for the Cornhuskers this year. Maybe Nebraska wins a few games here and there. Possibly, knock off a team or two they have no businesses beating. Would that really be all that surprising? It’s a new season, a new decade. Maybe this is the best time to bring Nebraska back to national prominence.

Regardless of what the season brings, we should all be thankful that football is back in the Big Ten. Whether you’re a Badger, Terrapin, Buckeye or even a Hawkeye, the best conference in college football begins play next week. Let’s all sit back, and enjoy.