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NU offers bulletin board material
BY MITCH SHERMAN
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN — Just when Nebraska-Colorado appeared free of all that once made it a hot rivalry, two prominent Huskers pumped new bad blood into the series on Tuesday.
Quarterback Joe Ganz and guard Matt Slauson held little back in discussing their motivation as NU prepares to host the Buffs on Friday in the regular-season finale for both schools.
Slauson was the most outspoken.
"I've personally never been a big fan of them," Slauson said. "Being recruited there a little bit, they recruit guys there for one reason only, and that's to beat Nebraska. So if you take that away from them, they have nothing."
Slauson spent two years at the U.S. Air Force Academy Prep School in Colorado Springs before landing at Nebraska in 2005. He said he made a recruiting visit to Boulder and was surprised to learn of the Buffs' attitude about the Huskers under former coach Gary Barnett.
"They would be happy if they lost every game and still beat Nebraska," Slauson said. "They said that when I went there. They said, 'We're here to beat Nebraska.' I'm like, 'Well, shoot, I'm gonna go play for Nebraska. How about that?'"
Such banter was common in the not-so-distant past.
In recent years, the Big 12 North showdown has lost some luster. Colorado coach Dan Hawkins has not stressed the Nebraska game as much as predecessors Barnett and Bill McCartney.
After five straight games decided by three points or fewer, just one of the past seven has been closer than a nine-point margin. The Buffs won three of four over Nebraska between 2001 and 2004. NU won in 2005 and 2006 but lost 65-51 last year in Boulder.
That defeat ensured a losing season and cost Nebraska an opportunity to play in a bowl game.
Colorado heads to Lincoln on Friday in a similar spot. And the Huskers know it.
"It's an absolute redemption game — for me, for the seniors, for everybody who was a part of it last year," said Ganz, who threw for 484 yards but was intercepted three times in his first start against CU. "Absolutely, that's one thing on our mind, to see how they'll like it, sitting at home, watching everybody else play, like we did last year."
Nebraska coach Bo Pelini, asked about Ganz's remark, appeared surprised.
"I wish Joe would just worry about Joe," Pelini said.
Pelini downplayed the impact of last year's result on the meeting this week.
"Different things make people tick," he said. "Whatever it is, I'm sure Colorado is more motivated, knowing this could put them into a bowl game. I don't worry about all that. You can want something as much as you want, (but) your deeds and how you go about things better equate to accomplishing that goal.
"Ultimately, that game is going to be decided between the lines in who blocks and tackles the best."
Good logic from the coach won't stop Slauson from agreeing with Ganz on the bowl-eligibility thing.
"Oh, yeah, definitely," said Slauson, whose 33 career starts lead the Huskers. "As a somewhat native of Colorado, I have an extreme distaste for them, and I wouldn't mind keeping them out of a bowl, just like they did to us last year and what they did to us, what was it, '04?"
That's right: CU snapped Nebraska's NCAA-record 35-year bowl streak four years ago. So the Buffs had the final say in both NU absences from the postseason since 1968.
Perhaps it explains some of the Huskers' hostility. The Buffs, according to Slauson, "seem irrelevant" anymore.
Why?
"Because they're in the Big 12," he said, "and when you think Big 12 schools you think Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas."
The 22-year-old senior paused for a moment during his diatribe to admit that his words amounted to "billboard material."
He didn't try to take any of it back, though.
Suh, the junior All-Big 12 candidate, took a more analytical approach. Motivation for Suh to beat the Buffs comes from his memory of the loss a year ago.
Suh said he remembers thinking after that game that Colorado had just made its season by winning on the day after Thanksgiving.
"That is always something that's always stuck with me," Suh said. "That was a tough one."
Suh said the incentive to beat Colorado compares to a game against Oklahoma or Missouri.
"You definitely are a little bit more fired up for this game," Suh said, "than maybe, say, the K-State game, or something of that sort."
Suh is quick to note that he doesn't know what inspired the "bad blood" between Nebraska and Colorado.
Still, he said, he enjoys a game under these circumstances.
"It really just lit a fire underneath you," Suh said. "Regardless of what the score is — if you're blowing them out or if it's a close game — there's always a fire there just to keep getting after that team."
NU offers bulletin board material
BY MITCH SHERMAN
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN — Just when Nebraska-Colorado appeared free of all that once made it a hot rivalry, two prominent Huskers pumped new bad blood into the series on Tuesday.
Quarterback Joe Ganz and guard Matt Slauson held little back in discussing their motivation as NU prepares to host the Buffs on Friday in the regular-season finale for both schools.
Slauson was the most outspoken.
"I've personally never been a big fan of them," Slauson said. "Being recruited there a little bit, they recruit guys there for one reason only, and that's to beat Nebraska. So if you take that away from them, they have nothing."
Slauson spent two years at the U.S. Air Force Academy Prep School in Colorado Springs before landing at Nebraska in 2005. He said he made a recruiting visit to Boulder and was surprised to learn of the Buffs' attitude about the Huskers under former coach Gary Barnett.
"They would be happy if they lost every game and still beat Nebraska," Slauson said. "They said that when I went there. They said, 'We're here to beat Nebraska.' I'm like, 'Well, shoot, I'm gonna go play for Nebraska. How about that?'"
Such banter was common in the not-so-distant past.
In recent years, the Big 12 North showdown has lost some luster. Colorado coach Dan Hawkins has not stressed the Nebraska game as much as predecessors Barnett and Bill McCartney.
After five straight games decided by three points or fewer, just one of the past seven has been closer than a nine-point margin. The Buffs won three of four over Nebraska between 2001 and 2004. NU won in 2005 and 2006 but lost 65-51 last year in Boulder.
That defeat ensured a losing season and cost Nebraska an opportunity to play in a bowl game.
Colorado heads to Lincoln on Friday in a similar spot. And the Huskers know it.
"It's an absolute redemption game — for me, for the seniors, for everybody who was a part of it last year," said Ganz, who threw for 484 yards but was intercepted three times in his first start against CU. "Absolutely, that's one thing on our mind, to see how they'll like it, sitting at home, watching everybody else play, like we did last year."
Nebraska coach Bo Pelini, asked about Ganz's remark, appeared surprised.
"I wish Joe would just worry about Joe," Pelini said.
Pelini downplayed the impact of last year's result on the meeting this week.
"Different things make people tick," he said. "Whatever it is, I'm sure Colorado is more motivated, knowing this could put them into a bowl game. I don't worry about all that. You can want something as much as you want, (but) your deeds and how you go about things better equate to accomplishing that goal.
"Ultimately, that game is going to be decided between the lines in who blocks and tackles the best."
Good logic from the coach won't stop Slauson from agreeing with Ganz on the bowl-eligibility thing.
"Oh, yeah, definitely," said Slauson, whose 33 career starts lead the Huskers. "As a somewhat native of Colorado, I have an extreme distaste for them, and I wouldn't mind keeping them out of a bowl, just like they did to us last year and what they did to us, what was it, '04?"
That's right: CU snapped Nebraska's NCAA-record 35-year bowl streak four years ago. So the Buffs had the final say in both NU absences from the postseason since 1968.
Perhaps it explains some of the Huskers' hostility. The Buffs, according to Slauson, "seem irrelevant" anymore.
Why?
"Because they're in the Big 12," he said, "and when you think Big 12 schools you think Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas."
The 22-year-old senior paused for a moment during his diatribe to admit that his words amounted to "billboard material."
He didn't try to take any of it back, though.
Suh, the junior All-Big 12 candidate, took a more analytical approach. Motivation for Suh to beat the Buffs comes from his memory of the loss a year ago.
Suh said he remembers thinking after that game that Colorado had just made its season by winning on the day after Thanksgiving.
"That is always something that's always stuck with me," Suh said. "That was a tough one."
Suh said the incentive to beat Colorado compares to a game against Oklahoma or Missouri.
"You definitely are a little bit more fired up for this game," Suh said, "than maybe, say, the K-State game, or something of that sort."
Suh is quick to note that he doesn't know what inspired the "bad blood" between Nebraska and Colorado.
Still, he said, he enjoys a game under these circumstances.
"It really just lit a fire underneath you," Suh said. "Regardless of what the score is — if you're blowing them out or if it's a close game — there's always a fire there just to keep getting after that team."
