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The Maneater
Column: Losing is not an option in game against Nebraska
By Mark Levitt
Oct. 3, 2008
For 30 years Lincoln, Nebraska has been a place where the hopes and dreams of Missouri Tiger football fans have gone to die. Memorial Stadium in Lincoln has been a place of misery, a place of disappointment and, put bluntly, a place of embarrassment for Tiger football.
There have been 14 games played in Lincoln between the two schools since Missouri's 35-31 win back in 1978. The Cornhuskers have won every one of them, averaging a whopping 24-point margin of victory against our not-so-ferocious Tigers. It's been 20 years since the Black and Gold have finished a game within single digits of their Husker rivals.
History no longer matters. Not to this Missouri team. Not this year. Because unlike in the past when they went into Lincoln and accepted their beating, these Tigers know the stakes reach far beyond this single game.
Losing on Saturday is not an option.
A loss tomorrow would mean no room for error the rest of the season if they hope to qualify for the National Championship. That's a tall order considering their next three games include a match up with 4-0 Oklahoma State and a trip to Austin to meet Texas, the fifth-ranked team in the country, before returning to Columbia to play 3-1 Colorado. If the Tigers make it through October unscathed it would be quite an accomplishment.
Missouri will be favored to beat a rebuilding yet dangerous Nebraska program. The Tigers have more talent, more experience and more confidence. Last season they ended long road losing streaks against Kansas State and Colorado. That will be good practice as they try to do the same in Lincoln.
Unlike last year's contest at Faurot Field, there will be no 41-6 walk in the park. Nebraska coach Bo Pelini will have his troops ready; the famous black-shirt defense of the Huskers rumored to be re-emerging against the Tigers. Elvis Fisher and the rest of the offensive line better be ready to protect.
To return to Columbia 5-0, Missouri will need to overcome a crowd ready to return to the glory days of Tom Osborne. If Nebraska were to emerge victorious, it would be a huge step in that direction. The red-clad faithful remember the beating their boys took last October. They are still less than pleased about coach Gary Pinkel's call for a fake field goal with Missouri up big in the fourth quarter. Don't think the Cornhuskers won't be thinking about it as they go after Chase Daniel.
Missouri will have to withstand the opening surge the Huskers will inevitably begin the game with. This game is their National Championship. For Nebraska, the season will be deemed a success if they upset the third-ranked Tigers.
On the field, the Tigers' secondary must perform at a higher level to give them a chance to win. A healthy William Moore should help. Last season the defense as a whole improved greatly between the non-conference and Big 12 seasons.
The Tigers have a prime opportunity at 8 p.m. on ESPN to showcase how good they really are. A win solidifies their top five national ranking. A loss puts them in a tie for last place in the Big 12 North. No pressure.
The same ghouls and the ghosts from the past will be out Saturday night, the demons present. But for the first time in 30 years they will simply be spectators, contributing no more embarrassment to a Missouri program ready to get over another hump on its way to the top of the college football world. Losing is not an option.
Missouri 41, Nebraska 34.
Column: Losing is not an option in game against Nebraska
By Mark Levitt
Oct. 3, 2008
For 30 years Lincoln, Nebraska has been a place where the hopes and dreams of Missouri Tiger football fans have gone to die. Memorial Stadium in Lincoln has been a place of misery, a place of disappointment and, put bluntly, a place of embarrassment for Tiger football.
There have been 14 games played in Lincoln between the two schools since Missouri's 35-31 win back in 1978. The Cornhuskers have won every one of them, averaging a whopping 24-point margin of victory against our not-so-ferocious Tigers. It's been 20 years since the Black and Gold have finished a game within single digits of their Husker rivals.
History no longer matters. Not to this Missouri team. Not this year. Because unlike in the past when they went into Lincoln and accepted their beating, these Tigers know the stakes reach far beyond this single game.
Losing on Saturday is not an option.
A loss tomorrow would mean no room for error the rest of the season if they hope to qualify for the National Championship. That's a tall order considering their next three games include a match up with 4-0 Oklahoma State and a trip to Austin to meet Texas, the fifth-ranked team in the country, before returning to Columbia to play 3-1 Colorado. If the Tigers make it through October unscathed it would be quite an accomplishment.
Missouri will be favored to beat a rebuilding yet dangerous Nebraska program. The Tigers have more talent, more experience and more confidence. Last season they ended long road losing streaks against Kansas State and Colorado. That will be good practice as they try to do the same in Lincoln.
Unlike last year's contest at Faurot Field, there will be no 41-6 walk in the park. Nebraska coach Bo Pelini will have his troops ready; the famous black-shirt defense of the Huskers rumored to be re-emerging against the Tigers. Elvis Fisher and the rest of the offensive line better be ready to protect.
To return to Columbia 5-0, Missouri will need to overcome a crowd ready to return to the glory days of Tom Osborne. If Nebraska were to emerge victorious, it would be a huge step in that direction. The red-clad faithful remember the beating their boys took last October. They are still less than pleased about coach Gary Pinkel's call for a fake field goal with Missouri up big in the fourth quarter. Don't think the Cornhuskers won't be thinking about it as they go after Chase Daniel.
Missouri will have to withstand the opening surge the Huskers will inevitably begin the game with. This game is their National Championship. For Nebraska, the season will be deemed a success if they upset the third-ranked Tigers.
On the field, the Tigers' secondary must perform at a higher level to give them a chance to win. A healthy William Moore should help. Last season the defense as a whole improved greatly between the non-conference and Big 12 seasons.
The Tigers have a prime opportunity at 8 p.m. on ESPN to showcase how good they really are. A win solidifies their top five national ranking. A loss puts them in a tie for last place in the Big 12 North. No pressure.
The same ghouls and the ghosts from the past will be out Saturday night, the demons present. But for the first time in 30 years they will simply be spectators, contributing no more embarrassment to a Missouri program ready to get over another hump on its way to the top of the college football world. Losing is not an option.
Missouri 41, Nebraska 34.
