Ramblings from a Texas fan...

[Orangeblood]

After four years, I get the opportunity to return to Memorial Stadium to watch the Horns take on the Huskers. Although my expectations of the football team are lower than they have been in 12 years, I can honestly say that I'm extremely excited to be making the trip to Lincoln this week. The last trip we had there in 2006 was one of the best tailgating and gameday atmosphere's I've ever been to (and I've been to a lot of them). Despite the crap that's gone on between TX & NU during the offseason, I still expect to find a knowledgeable, respectable fan base when we get there. You've been historically great fans for way too long to just change in an offseason.

 

As for the game itself... I probably share the same feelings and expectations as many of the Texas fans headed north this week. We're just not a good team this year and to escape Lincoln with a 'W' might be more surprising than losing to UCLA. Then again, weird things always seem to happen when we play in Lincoln.

 

Coming into this season, I figured we'd lose 2-3 games and thought we'd be in for a defensive slugfest with the Huskers. That was before Martinez trotted out for you guys in the season opener and basically reinvented your offense. To say that I've been impressed with his running ability would be a huge understatement. I'm still curious what will happen when he plays a disciplined defense (not saying ours is) that will contain the zone read and option and force him to throw the ball.

 

Here's a brief breakdown of our team for anyone that cares. Keep in mind that I'm just a casual fan so take this for what it's worth...

 

Offense:

 

It's been extremely painful to watch this season and something Husker fans can probably sympathize with from prior NU teams. Garrett Gilbert has the physical tools to be a good, maybe great quarterback at Texas when it's all said and done. That said, he's going to struggle against good defenses as all first year starters might. He still locks on to receivers at times and doesn't look comfortable trying to get the ball downfield in pressure situations. I'm extremely concerned that a defense as good and as experienced as NU's will likely confuse the hell out of him. He's also not getting any help out of our receivers. Freshman Mike Davis is our biggest playmaker and that's not a good thing. If Gilbert's going to have any success on Saturday, our experienced receivers are all going to need to step up.

 

Most Texas fans you'll find really want OC Greg Davis' gone. We've scored more points over the last 10 years than any other team in the country but most will say that's because of the talent Davis had to work with (Vince, Colt, Shipley, etc) The answer probably lies somewhere in between but there's no denying that Davis has absolutely stunk it up over the past few games. The two yard hitches and "lateral offense" that we've run this season isn't going to cut it in Lincoln. I think they know that and I'd actually expect Davis to open it up a little more in this game since the "pressure is off", so to speak.

 

Our running game is atrocious. Some fans will blame it on the recruiting we've done over the past 5 years at that position but most will come out and admit that our offensive line just isn't as good as it should be. They're decent pass blockers but still haven't figured out how to blow people off the ball in the run game. I don't see that changing at all against NU. If we rush for 100 yds I'll be shocked. I'd expect us to spread out and try and chunk it all over the field against you. Yes, I know how good your DB's are, but I think Mack is done with trying to force a square peg in a round hole.

 

Defense:

 

Talent, talent, talent all over the field but we're not playing disciplined football right now. Stupid penalties, going for the big play, over running gaps.... all these things have contributed towards an up and down performance this year. I'd expect Muschamp to have a great gameplan and I'm optimistic that these guys will regroup and make things hard on Martinez. The defensive backfield is filled with future NFL starters (much like NU's) and is probably the strength of the team. Our line has questions in the middle, but have a lot of speed on the outsides and at linebacker. IF we can contain Martinez and make him throw the ball, then we might have a chance. If we overcommit like we've done all season, expect him to have another big day running the ball.

 

So there you have it... a brief take on what a Texas fan expects this weekend. Whatever happens on the field, I'm looking forward to getting back to Lincoln. For those that actually read this whole thing, I'd really appreciate any recommendations you can give us with places to go, bars to hit up, tailgating spots, etc. This is only the second time we've been to Lincoln and it's been a while since the last trip.

 

Good luck this weekend and I hope to run into some of you.

[Ratt Mhule]

Well Gentleman, two Longhorn fans I can stand, TexArcher and Orangeblood. Nice to see knowledgeable football fans coming here and not trolls. Go to Misty's while your in Lincoln for a nice steak. As far as bars go, I live in Omaha so I can't tell you about Lincoln bars.

[epocSoN]

Thanks for stopping by the board! Always good to see rational fans from other teams stick around.

 

Hope your trip to Lincoln is a good one and we treat you with respect, ignore the idiots, hopefully they are few and far between.

[WYHusk]

Glad to see another sane Horns fan. Have a fine time in Lincoln. I second the recommendation of Misty's.

[darkhorse85]

Po is right, Misty's is pretty good for steaks and just about everything else on their menu. If you like more of the college scene go to 'O' Street for your bar experience, if that's not your cup of tea I'd say stick around the Haymarket (there's plenty of good restaurants down there as well). For tailgating you could kind of base yourself around 10th Street, starting around 'M' Street and working your way North until you get to the Stadium. You can branch off East or West a couple blocks once you get around 'O' and find bars to drink and have a bite if you can't find any fellow horns in the tailgate lots. A lot of people like to hang out at Embassy Suites (10th and 'P') before, during and after the games. It's a pretty good atmosphere inside of the lobby and out back on their loading dock where they have more bars set up. It's a but pricey, however. Caddy cornered (to the Southwest) of Embassy is the Grand Manse. Their tailgate isn't quite as big as Embassy but it's less crowded and you can get bigger drinks for less than you're paying at Embassy. You also won't have to wait an hour to use the restroom there either. You'll find this all within pretty reasonable walking distance. If you need any other advice on parking or whatever you can shoot me a message and I'd be happy to give you all the info I have.

 

Hope you have a good time here in Lincoln.

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

Welcome Orangeblood. Hope your visit to Lincoln is a memorable one regardless of the outcome.

[Husker_x]

You're telling me you want to fire your O-coordinator after a few games when he's fielded a NC winning team and had an NC appearance last season?

[ESPY]

Then again, weird things always seem to happen when we play in Lincoln.

Ain't it the truth, and it's not just Lincoln either. Pick your poison with Austin or Dallas as well. Things just haven't gone the Huskers' way. Definitely will be an exciting game and one of the loudest you'll ever attend.

[Orangeblood]

You're telling me you want to fire your O-coordinator after a few games when he's fielded a NC winning team and had an NC appearance last season?

 

Like I said in my post, you'll find A LOT of Texas fans that feel that way. As a matter of fact, this feeling goes all the way back to 2001 when we were struggling offensively in big games (OU). The years of Colt and Vince tempered things for a while but you still had the GD "Haters" just waiting for a down year. I'm personally not on the FIRE GREG DAVIS bandwagon and do think he deserves a lot of credit, but the fact remains that the play calling over the last few games has been frustrating.

 

He's extremely stubborn and tries to run a type of offense that we just don't really have the personnel for. This blog article touches on how a lot of Texas fans feel right now and also talks about the success Nebraska is having with Martinez.

 

"Davis’ vision of college QBing is a 6-4 kid with a gun throwing from a pocket, executing an intricate passing offense, with or without a running game. He dreams of Carson Palmer. I dream of Vince Young. That almost no one in college football can run Davis’ offense extremely effectively without NFL talent at every supporting position and/or an offensive coordinator with a natural play caller’s knack doesn’t enter his thinking."

 

Dual Threat QB's Bailed Davis Out

[dubsker]

You're telling me you want to fire your O-coordinator after a few games when he's fielded a NC winning team and had an NC appearance last season?

 

Like I said in my post, you'll find A LOT of Texas fans that feel that way. As a matter of fact, this feeling goes all the way back to 2001 when we were struggling offensively in big games (OU). The years of Colt and Vince tempered things for a while but you still had the GD "Haters" just waiting for a down year. I'm personally not on the FIRE GREG DAVIS bandwagon and do think he deserves a lot of credit, but the fact remains that the play calling over the last few games has been frustrating.

 

 

You'll also find A LOT of Nebraska fans that wanted to fire Barney Cotton after last year. You'll also find a ton of them that piss and moan about Gilmore wanting our receivers to block and wish we had fast widdle guy receivers. You know, those same blocks from both coaches' players that are springing this obscene number of big plays.

 

So really, saying a lot of fans feel the same way is saying... nothing.

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

You're telling me you want to fire your O-coordinator after a few games when he's fielded a NC winning team and had an NC appearance last season?

 

Like I said in my post, you'll find A LOT of Texas fans that feel that way. As a matter of fact, this feeling goes all the way back to 2001 when we were struggling offensively in big games (OU). The years of Colt and Vince tempered things for a while but you still had the GD "Haters" just waiting for a down year. I'm personally not on the FIRE GREG DAVIS bandwagon and do think he deserves a lot of credit, but the fact remains that the play calling over the last few games has been frustrating.

 

He's extremely stubborn and tries to run a type of offense that we just don't really have the personnel for. This blog article touches on how a lot of Texas fans feel right now and also talks about the success Nebraska is having with Martinez.

 

"Davis’ vision of college QBing is a 6-4 kid with a gun throwing from a pocket, executing an intricate passing offense, with or without a running game. He dreams of Carson Palmer. I dream of Vince Young. That almost no one in college football can run Davis’ offense extremely effectively without NFL talent at every supporting position and/or an offensive coordinator with a natural play caller’s knack doesn’t enter his thinking."

 

Dual Threat QB's Bailed Davis Out

It's funny but your season this year is almost identical to how our season played out last year. Great defense but inept offense.

[Orangeblood]

You're telling me you want to fire your O-coordinator after a few games when he's fielded a NC winning team and had an NC appearance last season?

 

Like I said in my post, you'll find A LOT of Texas fans that feel that way. As a matter of fact, this feeling goes all the way back to 2001 when we were struggling offensively in big games (OU). The years of Colt and Vince tempered things for a while but you still had the GD "Haters" just waiting for a down year. I'm personally not on the FIRE GREG DAVIS bandwagon and do think he deserves a lot of credit, but the fact remains that the play calling over the last few games has been frustrating.

 

 

You'll also find A LOT of Nebraska fans that wanted to fire Barney Cotton after last year. You'll also find a ton of them that piss and moan about Gilmore wanting our receivers to block and wish we had fast widdle guy receivers. You know, those same blocks from both coaches' players that are springing this obscene number of big plays.

 

So really, saying a lot of fans feel the same way is saying... nothing.

 

I hear what you're saying but you'd have to be a Texas fan to understand the Greg Davis dynamic. He's been with Mack since the beginning and in most cases, there has always been a clear line drawn between Texas fans on their opinions of him. The GD apologists were out in full force when we won our national title in '05 but the Greg Davis haters have been in the majority every other year. Hell, even when we were putting up big numbers in 2008 people were griping about the play calling.

[huskerswrkhavoc]

People like you, Orangeblood, give me some semblance of respect for UT fans.. welcome to the board... if you like wings, make sure to stop by the Watering Hole on 14th-ish and O st. It's not far off campus. Get their grilled wings, they are amazing. Hope you enjoy the game.

[The Dude]

Hope you have a great time while you're here. You're take on the game is more or less the same as mine. Good luck.

 

Go Big Red!

[krill]

A "bad" season is tough medicine...often it seems the fans of don't realize how difficult it is to recruit high school players and work them into a program that can win 10 games, let alone be serious national title contenders every year. We've got a lot of positive things going this year but there's still reason to be worried about turnovers and whether we can sustain drives against defenses that don't give up big plays. Kick / punt coverage and returns have also been a big question mark, we've gave up a lot of big returns and never seem to get big returns. A good punt return for us is a fair catch that isn't fumbled. That can kill you in a close game which I expect on Saturday.

 

Eating downtown, Misty's, Lazlo's and Yia Yia's are probably the most recommended local places. Personally I find they are all great places for beer but the food is nothing special. The best downtown restaurants are jtk and Dish. Phat Jack's barbecue is another favorite place of mine that's not downtown.