I wouldn't call the season dead for me, but I would call me surprised.
Go back a year. We compete in the b12 cg, kill ourslelves in the last 1 minute and lose a close one nobody saw coming. Our D is called "back" by the national media. We get Burkhead and helu back healthy, find out Lee has been playing hurt all year(ohhh...that explains everything with our offense in 09)and put an old school NU beatdown on Arizona. Bo proclaims Nebraska is back(which caught me off guard as he never says anything like that). The press is in love with us, Oct. 16 is circled. We will come into 2010 with a seasoned offense, better defense(according to Bo you can be better than ranked #1 in defense in 09), Crick is the next Suh(according to Suh) and will surely be all big 12...maybe leaving early for the pros?
Spring Game: TMart appears as a cant miss. we are bringing back a lot on offense and Bo says the defense will be better than the 09 unit(still surprised, but I am biting now). We start the season and are the toast of the town. Everyone is talking about Nebraska. The press loves us. blah blah blah . After Washington, TMArt is on Heisman watch ready to shatter all NU QB and rusghing records as a freshman, Huskers are the media darling. sentimental favorite for many. Theres talk of the b12 sending TU, NU and OU to big bowls with the great hope that we have a OU/NU game for a fitting end to the big 12 conference. OFcourse NU and OU would be ranked #1 and #2 going into that "game of the century" Now I am biting harder...
then SDSU, doh, wait a minute we tarred KSU SDSU was a one off-their NC game. they were pumped and we were bored, Texas-No!, OKie state and MU-woo hoo! oh wait-ISU, KU, aTM! Now we have a hobbled qb, Zac Lee is "missing", a seemingly not quite so good offense, not a better defense, going into a game against CU needing to win to win the North coming off a saturday night that was not our proudest moment on so many levels.. I think we will beat CU, but I think most of us are "cautiously optimistic" thinking about a rematch(which has a way of going bad) against Okie Lite or a win against an improving OU team with Tmart at 50% and this offense.
Yes, I would call me surprised.
But I will always be a husker fan.