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McCartney think NU-CU rivalry will live on


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woody paige

Paige: Nebraska rivalry isn't lost — McCartney's thinking roses

By Woody Paige

The Denver Post

Posted: 06/15/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT

Updated: 06/15/2010 07:16:19 AM MDT

 

 

The Buffaloes-Cornhuskers football rivalry will not end on Nov. 26, 2010, Bill McCartney announced Monday.

 

"Over? Never. We're not going to miss Nebraska. Colorado and Nebraska will play every year . . .

 

". . . in the Rose Bowl.

 

"We just don't have to ever go back to Lincoln."

 

The former Buffs coach, who transformed the CU-NU game into a red-letter day in Colorado, did make a valid point that has not been brought up during the past week — even if it's not very realistic, and can't be true annually.

 

The Pac-10 and Big Ten champions do meet regularly in the Rose Bowl. As you may have heard, the Buffs and the Huskers are leaving the Big 12 Conference and each other — like Rick and Ilsa. Nebraska will begin play in the Big Ten in 2011, and Colorado is scheduled to join the Pac-10 for the 2012 season.

 

It's conceivable, I suppose, that there could be a CU-NU game in January 2013, at the Rose Bowl — or, dream real big, the BCS Championship in south Florida. Both the Rose Bowl and the BCS title games are scheduled for Pasadena in January of 2014.

 

McCartney, who coached the Buffs from 1982-94 and to their only national championship (1990), created a rivalry the Cornhuskers and Nebraskans (tens of thousands of whom live in Colorado) never wanted — and still don't. He demanded that the Nebraska game be printed in red on the CU schedule. "I knew that when we could beat Nebraska, we would be a good program," he said.

 

The Buffs finally defeated the Huskers in his fifth season — and CU won for the first time in Lincoln in 23 years in 1990. In a six-season span, CU was 3-2-1 against NU. Colorado first beat Nebraska in 1904, in the fourth meeting between the teams.

 

The schools from neighboring states were united in 1948 in the Big Seven, but they've always been divided together.

 

"When Nebraska decided to go to the Big Ten, it was time for Colorado

 

Colorado and Nebraska are scheduled to meet for the last time as Big 12 foes on Nov. 26, 2010. (Jack Dempsey, AP)to go west," McCartney said. "It makes all the sense in the world for so many reasons. First, Colorado was No. 1 academically in the Big 12, and will be competing and recruiting against schools on the same academic level in the Pac-10. We'll be in our element. We couldn't admit the marginal players that some of the schools in the Big 12 like Nebraska could, but we can recruit those guys that are considering Stanford, Cal-Berkeley, UCLA.

 

"Let's face it. The two most important recruiting grounds in the entire country are California and Texas."

 

The Texas schools have decided not to join the Buffs in the Pac-10 and will stay in the Big 12-minus-2.

 

"Back when I got to Boulder, you couldn't promise the recruits from California they'd be able to go back home once or twice every year and play. Those kids will love to come to school in Colorado and get away from California, and they know they'll get a quality education, and they'll play a majority of their games in great weather and a conference they grew up with.

 

"Truthfully, we didn't have many alums in the places we played in our conference, so the support wasn't there. California is the home to thousands of alumni who can't wait to see Colorado play every season. I know they're already holding pep rallies. It will make fundraising and attendance at road games so much easier when CU has that bond with the alumni.

 

"We have a window to start developing those relationships on the West Coast with the players and the alumni. This is going to be a great fit."

 

But, as I suggested to the man known as Coach Mac in this state before the Broncos hired one, the Buffs must get back on track in football or get lost in the Pac-10. What about Dan Hawkins' future before the Buffs switch conferences?

 

"It's a critical year for Dan, for the team. There's more talent, but the schedule is still very difficult." Pushed, he replied: "Speculation is for you, not me."

 

McCartney did squash any possible speculation that he might return to CU as coach, or as Tom Osborne did, athletic director. "I'm Over The Hill Bill," he said. McCartney will turn 70 in August. After five years of retirement, he returned in 2008 to Promise Keepers, the men's evangelical ministry he founded.

 

However, even the ever-optimistic McCartney says the Buffs will have difficulty finding a new rival in the Pac-10.

 

"I hope we can because that's so much a traditional part of intercollegiate football. But the conference has USC-UCLA and Stanford- Cal, the Washington, Oregon and Arizona schools as natural rivals. Maybe it will be Utah," he said, as the eyes of Texas no longer are on the Pac-10.

 

Unlike Rick and Ilsa, Colorado and Nebraska will not always have Paris. But the Huskers have 48 wins, and the Buffs have back-to-back shutouts in the 1950s, a 27-12 win in Lincoln in 1990 and 62-36 over then-unbeaten Nebraska in 2001.

 

McCartney grudgingly admits: "It won't be quite the same without Nebraska. That was very special."

 

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They oughta focus on beating teams like Toledo and Colorado State before they start beating USC and Oregon.

 

Agreed, we do need to take care of those teams and ya'll can take care of Iowa State and then perhaps in a few years we can meet up once again, would be fun....

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They oughta focus on beating teams like Toledo and Colorado State before they start beating USC and Oregon.

 

Agreed, we do need to take care of those teams and ya'll can take care of Iowa State and then perhaps in a few years we can meet up once again, would be fun....

 

 

put it to bed......

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They oughta focus on beating teams like Toledo and Colorado State before they start beating USC and Oregon.

 

Agreed, we do need to take care of those teams and ya'll can take care of Iowa State and then perhaps in a few years we can meet up once again, would be fun....

Pardon me for not finishing, what I meant to say was "They oughta focus on beating teams like Toledo and Colorado State AND THEN winning more than 3 games, before they start beating USC and Oregon.

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They oughta focus on beating teams like Toledo and Colorado State before they start beating USC and Oregon.

 

Agreed, we do need to take care of those teams and ya'll can take care of Iowa State and then perhaps in a few years we can meet up once again, would be fun....

Pardon me for not finishing, what I meant to say was "They oughta focus on beating teams like Toledo and Colorado State AND THEN winning more than 3 games, before they start beating USC and Oregon.

 

:laughpound :laughpound :laughpound

 

chuckleshuffle

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They oughta focus on beating teams like Toledo and Colorado State before they start beating USC and Oregon.

 

Agreed, we do need to take care of those teams and ya'll can take care of Iowa State and then perhaps in a few years we can meet up once again, would be fun....

Pardon me for not finishing, what I meant to say was "They oughta focus on beating teams like Toledo and Colorado State AND THEN winning more than 3 games, before they start beating USC and Oregon.

 

I understood what you meant and point proven, just like ya'll need to be able to take on ISU and Texas Tech before assuming victory in Columbus, Ann Arbor, and Happy Valley and then perhaps one day, for old times sakes it would be fun for a Rose Bowl matchup...

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They oughta focus on beating teams like Toledo and Colorado State before they start beating USC and Oregon.

 

Agreed, we do need to take care of those teams and ya'll can take care of Iowa State and then perhaps in a few years we can meet up once again, would be fun....

Pardon me for not finishing, what I meant to say was "They oughta focus on beating teams like Toledo and Colorado State AND THEN winning more than 3 games, before they start beating USC and Oregon.

 

I understood what you meant and point proven, just like ya'll need to be able to take on ISU and Texas Tech before assuming victory in Columbus, Ann Arbor, and Happy Valley and then perhaps one day, for old times sakes it would be fun for a Rose Bowl matchup...

Only problem for you and sCUm is that Nebraska will have played in the Rose Bowl on several occasions before the Puffs even get a sniff at it. But then again you can always watch it on tv.

 

Hawkins giving anymore ten win predictions this year?

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They oughta focus on beating teams like Toledo and Colorado State before they start beating USC and Oregon.

 

Agreed, we do need to take care of those teams and ya'll can take care of Iowa State and then perhaps in a few years we can meet up once again, would be fun....

Pardon me for not finishing, what I meant to say was "They oughta focus on beating teams like Toledo and Colorado State AND THEN winning more than 3 games, before they start beating USC and Oregon.

 

I understood what you meant and point proven, just like ya'll need to be able to take on ISU and Texas Tech before assuming victory in Columbus, Ann Arbor, and Happy Valley and then perhaps one day, for old times sakes it would be fun for a Rose Bowl matchup...

Only problem for you and sCUm is that Nebraska will have played in the Rose Bowl on several occasions before the Puffs even get a sniff at it. But then again you can always watch it on tv.

 

Hawkins giving anymore ten win predictions this year?

 

Fortunately for me then, everyone still has to play their games. I don't know what Talkins is predicting for this season, what matters now for me is 2011 and someone else will be at the helm and just like Bo was an upgrade for Clownahan for you guys, I expect that we will be able to take advantage of moving into the PAC 10 with a new man at the helm and with the potential of a new tv deal, we should be able to compensate someone appropriately for their talents.

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I understood what you meant and point proven, just like ya'll need to be able to take on ISU and Texas Tech before assuming victory in Columbus, Ann Arbor, and Happy Valley and then perhaps one day, for old times sakes it would be fun for a Rose Bowl matchup...

 

This is why Nebraska Fan has no respect for Colorado Fan - because there's none given, and there never has been. The difference between Nebraska and Colorado is this - we've been bad as often as Colorado has been good over the past 50 years. Yet despite this 90/10 split, all we get from y'all is a pointing out of our flaws.

 

Colorado never learned humility, and the respect for their betters that humility brings. Had they ever learned that, and based their rise to prominence on that, they may have been a team and a fanbase that Nebraska could learn to appreciate as a rival.

Since that proved too hard, all Colorado ever came across as was a bitter group, forever destined to hate what they could not become.

 

I won't miss Colorado in the least, and it'll be a cold day in hell before they ever sniff the Rose Bowl.

  • Fire 1
Link to comment
I understood what you meant and point proven, just like ya'll need to be able to take on ISU and Texas Tech before assuming victory in Columbus, Ann Arbor, and Happy Valley and then perhaps one day, for old times sakes it would be fun for a Rose Bowl matchup...

 

This is why Nebraska Fan has no respect for Colorado Fan - because there's none given, and there never has been. The difference between Nebraska and Colorado is this - we've been bad as often as Colorado has been good over the past 50 years. Yet despite this 90/10 split, all we get from y'all is a pointing out of our flaws.

 

Colorado never learned humility, and the respect for their betters that humility brings. Had they ever learned that, and based their rise to prominence on that, they may have been a team and a fanbase that Nebraska could learn to appreciate as a rival.

Since that proved too hard, all Colorado ever came across as was a bitter group, forever destined to hate what they could not become.

 

I won't miss Colorado in the least, and it'll be a cold day in hell before they ever sniff the Rose Bowl.

 

Bring a jacket...

 

 

Sorry, didn't know I had to keep bending over without being able to fire a few shots back...

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