HuskerfaninOkieland
Heisman Trophy Winner
Perspective Piece: Texas-Nebraska
By Matt Zemek
Staff Columnist
Posted Oct 20, 2006
Literally and figuratively, you don't want to sleep on this game in the Heartland of America.
In the week before kickoff, the natural storylines and points of intrigue have been bandied about: this is Texas' last huge test in the Big XII on the road to a potential BCS title game spot; this is Nebraska's signature conference test and a measure of the Huskers' credentials in the Bill Callahan era; and this is a likely Big XII Championship Game preview, an enticing matchup between an established powerhouse and a program looking to regain its old winning aura, forged under Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne. As the college football world anticipates the biggest game to hit Lincoln since the Eric Crouch love-in against Oklahoma in 2001, there's no shortage of angles for this showdown between the Horns and Huskers. You don't have to look very far to find an attractive and compelling subplot.
And yet, for all the obvious storylines that define the backdrop of this Big XII backyard battle, it's a not-so-obvious point that--while bereft of the romance or poetry that enhances the buildup to a big game--provides a likely indicator of the outcome. This subtle subtext to Horns-Huskers? Sleep.
It's worth noting that in week eight, the college football season will finally have a major spotlight game in the noon Eastern/11 a.m. Central time slot. ABC's Saturday Night Football crew is in Lincoln for this game, a result of a desire to honor the significance of Game 1 of the World Series. Had this contest been scheduled for week six or week ten, it would have started at 8:10 Eastern, the traditional starting time for a Brent Musburger-Bob Davie game. As it is, though, the biggest game of October 21 is also the first game of the day. This sets Horns-Huskers apart from the other ballyhooed brawls of the 2006 college football season.
With that as prelude, then, the big key in this game--aside of all the blackboard considerations--concerns sleep... the sleep both teams may or may not get the night before this very early kickoff.
Close followers of Texas football will note that the Longhorns, in the past, have often failed to answer the bell for one of these "sleepy starts" in the 11 a.m. Central time slot. A blowout home loss to Arkansas a few years ago? Sleepy start time kickoff. A sluggish win over Kansas two years ago that came oh-so-close to being a mammoth upset loss? Sleepy start time kickoff. And this doesn't count some losses to Oklahoma, though a mature Vince Young enabled Texas to trounce the Sooners in 2005... in a game with a sleepy start time kickoff.
The biggest challenge for Texas--who is, on paper, a clearly superior team when compared to Nebraska--is to respond to this sleepy start time kickoff with appropriate energy and focus. Colt McCoy has proven to be a surpassingly cool customer under center for Mack Brown and offensive coordinator Greg Davis, but even with his poise, McCoy could still be vulnerable to something that afflicts a lot of college freshmen: the tendency for their bodies and minds to not respond well to a premature or early awakening on a Saturday morning. It's not part of the young American male's nature to get up early on Saturday. McCoy, though, must do so, and all while leading his teammates with passion and purpose. Colt is the real McCoy for Texas as a leader and a student of the game, but even the great ones can get sabotaged by a sleepy start time kickoff, and that's the challenge Texas must stare down this Saturday morning in Lincoln. If Texas plays without the grogginess and sluggishness that have characterized past 11 a.m. Central time kickoffs, its talent should surface and carry the Longhorns to victory. But if the Horns come out sleepy in this morning game, Nebraska--lying in the weeds and waiting to spring an ambush at home--has more than enough energy and physicality to take this tussle from Texas.
The attractive storylines and subplots of Horns-Huskers suggest that you don't want to sleep on this game in the first place. But from an even more analytical standpoint, it's sleep--or a lack thereof--which could well determine the outcome of this battle between two brand-name Big XII ballclubs. The team that is or isn't ready to play some morning football will stand out like a sore thumb on a day when neither team has much margin for error.
Don't sleep on this game. Sleep is--in many ways--the biggest factor in a conference
Linky-Link
By Matt Zemek
Staff Columnist
Posted Oct 20, 2006
Literally and figuratively, you don't want to sleep on this game in the Heartland of America.
In the week before kickoff, the natural storylines and points of intrigue have been bandied about: this is Texas' last huge test in the Big XII on the road to a potential BCS title game spot; this is Nebraska's signature conference test and a measure of the Huskers' credentials in the Bill Callahan era; and this is a likely Big XII Championship Game preview, an enticing matchup between an established powerhouse and a program looking to regain its old winning aura, forged under Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne. As the college football world anticipates the biggest game to hit Lincoln since the Eric Crouch love-in against Oklahoma in 2001, there's no shortage of angles for this showdown between the Horns and Huskers. You don't have to look very far to find an attractive and compelling subplot.
And yet, for all the obvious storylines that define the backdrop of this Big XII backyard battle, it's a not-so-obvious point that--while bereft of the romance or poetry that enhances the buildup to a big game--provides a likely indicator of the outcome. This subtle subtext to Horns-Huskers? Sleep.
It's worth noting that in week eight, the college football season will finally have a major spotlight game in the noon Eastern/11 a.m. Central time slot. ABC's Saturday Night Football crew is in Lincoln for this game, a result of a desire to honor the significance of Game 1 of the World Series. Had this contest been scheduled for week six or week ten, it would have started at 8:10 Eastern, the traditional starting time for a Brent Musburger-Bob Davie game. As it is, though, the biggest game of October 21 is also the first game of the day. This sets Horns-Huskers apart from the other ballyhooed brawls of the 2006 college football season.
With that as prelude, then, the big key in this game--aside of all the blackboard considerations--concerns sleep... the sleep both teams may or may not get the night before this very early kickoff.
Close followers of Texas football will note that the Longhorns, in the past, have often failed to answer the bell for one of these "sleepy starts" in the 11 a.m. Central time slot. A blowout home loss to Arkansas a few years ago? Sleepy start time kickoff. A sluggish win over Kansas two years ago that came oh-so-close to being a mammoth upset loss? Sleepy start time kickoff. And this doesn't count some losses to Oklahoma, though a mature Vince Young enabled Texas to trounce the Sooners in 2005... in a game with a sleepy start time kickoff.
The biggest challenge for Texas--who is, on paper, a clearly superior team when compared to Nebraska--is to respond to this sleepy start time kickoff with appropriate energy and focus. Colt McCoy has proven to be a surpassingly cool customer under center for Mack Brown and offensive coordinator Greg Davis, but even with his poise, McCoy could still be vulnerable to something that afflicts a lot of college freshmen: the tendency for their bodies and minds to not respond well to a premature or early awakening on a Saturday morning. It's not part of the young American male's nature to get up early on Saturday. McCoy, though, must do so, and all while leading his teammates with passion and purpose. Colt is the real McCoy for Texas as a leader and a student of the game, but even the great ones can get sabotaged by a sleepy start time kickoff, and that's the challenge Texas must stare down this Saturday morning in Lincoln. If Texas plays without the grogginess and sluggishness that have characterized past 11 a.m. Central time kickoffs, its talent should surface and carry the Longhorns to victory. But if the Horns come out sleepy in this morning game, Nebraska--lying in the weeds and waiting to spring an ambush at home--has more than enough energy and physicality to take this tussle from Texas.
The attractive storylines and subplots of Horns-Huskers suggest that you don't want to sleep on this game in the first place. But from an even more analytical standpoint, it's sleep--or a lack thereof--which could well determine the outcome of this battle between two brand-name Big XII ballclubs. The team that is or isn't ready to play some morning football will stand out like a sore thumb on a day when neither team has much margin for error.
Don't sleep on this game. Sleep is--in many ways--the biggest factor in a conference
Linky-Link
