Nebraska's woes

[np_husker]

NU fails tests against top teams

BY DIRK CHATELAIN

WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

 

LINCOLN — Struggling to digest Nebraska's current place in college football? Chew on these numbers.

 

Since November 2001, 63 of the 65 BCS conference football programs have beaten at least one team ranked higher than 20th in the AP poll.

 

63 of 65.

 

Guess which group Nebraska belongs to.

 

The Huskers hit the road on Saturday to face No. 7 Texas Tech. If they lose, it would mark NU's 19th consecutive loss against top-19 teams. If that doesn't get your attention, consider that Nebraska, during the 1990s, won 13 straight against the top 15.

 

Let's test some reader knowledge here. Trivia question: Who is the Huskers' sole roommate in Club Cursed?

 

Syracuse? Good guess, but no. The Orangemen have upset three teams ranked higher than 20th since 2002. They won at Louisville just last year.

 

Indiana? No, the Hoosiers knocked off Iowa in 2006.

 

Keep thinking about it.

 

Nebraska's best win since beating Oklahoma seven years ago came at the 2005 Alamo Bowl. NU topped No. 20 Michigan 32-28.

 

NU, which has been unranked most of the time since 2001, isn't expected to beat elite programs all of the time. But losing every time? Almost unheard of. Failing continually against marquee opponents, often by large margins, may have damaged the Huskers' psyche in profound fashion.

 

According to senior Zach Potter, there's a palpable sense of excitement leading up to games against highly ranked teams. When players lose them, they feel as though they let people down.

 

"You put so much more into the game mentally," Potter said. "You watch more film than you usually do. You put a lot more into preparation during the week. So to come out with a loss, it takes a toll on you."

 

Imagine how the trajectory of the program may have changed had NU beaten Texas in 2002 or in 2006. Imagine what a win over Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game may have done, or an upset of Southern California.

 

OK, what about Iowa State? No. The Cyclones upset highly ranked Iowa in 2002 and in 2005.

 

Gotta be Baylor then. Nope. Texas A&M fell victim to the Bears in 2004.

 

Tom Osborne once went through a rough patch. From New Year's 1989 to Halloween 1992, he lost eight straight games to teams ranked in the top 10. Criticism rained down. Hecklers called for his job.

 

But the current streak, spanning three head coaches, has lasted twice as long and includes the top 19, not the top 10. Parity, it seems, has benefited every underdog program but Nebraska. Well, Nebraska and . . .

 

Northwestern? Nice try. But the Wildcats beat Purdue in 2004 and Wisconsin in 2005.

 

Connecticut? South Florida got devoured by the Huskies in 2007.

 

Arizona? Vanderbilt? Minnesota? Been there, done that.

 

College football fan bases draw nourishment from big wins. Coaches retain jobs because of big wins. Students stand in line for tickets and daydream of celebrations starting at midfield and finishing on downtown streets.

 

To leave college without that experience? Potter never considered the possibility.

 

"I can't say when I got recruited here and signed my letter of intent that I was going to come here and not really win a big game," Potter said. "I was never thinking that. I was always thinking positive."

 

The Huskers get another shot Saturday at Texas Tech. A win would be critical in rebuilding a fallen program. And, thankfully, Nebraska could finally say goodbye to its neglected neighbor, its partner in gridiron poverty, the answer to today's trivia:

 

Duke.

 

Nebraska's top 20 struggles

 

• Nebraska has lost its past 18 games in a row against teams ranked higher than 20th in the country:

 

Nov. 23, 2001: No. 14 Colorado 62, No. 2 Nebraska 36

 

Jan. 3, 2002: No. 1 Miami 37, No. 4 Nebraska 14

 

Sept. 28, 2002: No. 19 Iowa State 36, No. 20 Nebraska 14

 

Nov. 2, 2002: No. 7 Texas 27, Nebraska 24

 

Nov. 16, 2002: No. 11 Kansas State 49, Nebraska 13

 

Nov. 29, 2002: No. 13 Colorado 28, Nebraska 13

 

Nov. 1, 2003: No. 16 Texas 31, No. 12 Nebraska 7

 

Nov. 13, 2004: No. 2 Oklahoma 30, Nebraska 3

 

Oct. 8, 2005: No. 15 Texas Tech 34, Nebraska 31

 

Sept. 16, 2006: No. 4 USC 28, No. 19 Nebraska 10

 

Oct. 21, 2006: No. 5 Texas 22, No. 17 Nebraska 20

 

Dec. 2, 2006: No. 8 Oklahoma 21, No. 19 Nebraska 7

 

Jan. 1, 2007: No. 10 Auburn 17, No. 22 Nebraska 14

 

Sept. 15, 2007: No. 1 USC 49, No. 14 Nebraska 31

 

Oct. 6, 2007: No. 17 Missouri 41, No. 25 Nebraska 6

 

Oct. 27, 2007: No. 17 Texas 28, Nebraska 25

 

Nov. 3, 2007: No. 8 Kansas 76, Nebraska 39

 

Oct. 4, 2008: No. 4 Missouri 52, Nebraska 17

 

Average score: Opponent 37, NU 18

[DeathCultArmaggedon]

We are in the football equivalent of the Great Depression.

[CENTEXHUSKER]

Us and freaking DUKE? c'mon skers........

[Igetbored216]

I don't want to look at the freakin' numbers...

[huskerfaninbuckeyehell]

I don't think pitiful even begins to describe those stats.

[Guy Chamberlin]

That Ball State win last season is starting to feel pretty good.

[I See Red People]

already seen this posted earlier, thanks for the reminder!

[HuskerTrucker]

Gawd...is it really that bad? I wish sometimes that people would just leave certain statistics buried where nobody could find them...

 

What was that my father used to tell me? If you can't say something positive, don't say anything at all. Pretty hard to do anymore, Dad. Especially when it comes to the Cornhuskers.

[mwj98]

We should archive a list of all the husker bashing for later.

 

I'll will go down in flames before I roll over.

 

GBR!!!!!!!