Missouri is the must win game

H

HuskerExpat

Starter
A lot of people talked about USC being a must win game. That wasn't true, and I think it is evident from the results that it wasn't true. The national consensus on the USC game is that it didn't mean much, because USC is so far above everyone right now, and that they have a professional caliber offense. So our national rep didn't get hurt much with the USC game.

By contrast, the Missouri game is a must win. We must begin to consistently win against teams that are ranked 15 to 25. If we don't, we begin to fall down the slippery slope to oblivion where no one cares about us. Aside from Nebraska, I have lived in Texas (in the early and mid 90s) and I have lived in Illinois for the last 6 years. My time in Texas was fun because everyone there hated Nebraska, viewing us as the evil empire. I love it when people hate on Nebraska, because I take it as a sign of respect. Being a Husker fan in Illinois these last 6 years has been another story. Now other fans are simply indifferent to the Huskers.

That's why the Missouri game is a must win. The next step back to national prominence is not consistently beating top 5 teams. We're not there yet. The next step is consistently beating teams in the bottom half of the top 25. Once we do that, then we can start thinking about consistently beating teams in the top half of the top 25, and then the top 5. If we don't start consistently beating teams like Missouri, then the college football world will not simply be indifferent, but will begin to pity us. I cannot accept that.

For those reasons, this Saturday is really the first must win game of the season.

 
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Every conference game is a must win, and against Missouri, which is probably one of the best teams in the Big XII North (Besides Nebraska). Saturday is a must win for the Huskers, with K-state, and Kansas having easier schedules. Nebraska will win.

GO BIG RED

 
EbylHusker said:
People thought USC was a must win game? I must have missed that. Anyway, all the conference games are important.
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True that. But as long as we start showing improvement, and that we can beat teams in the bottom half of the top 25, then games like the Ball St. game will just be considered a "scare" rather than reflective of our power, etc.

 
HuskerExpat said:
A lot of people talked about USC being a must win game. That wasn't true, and I think it is evident from the results that it wasn't true. The national consensus on the USC game is that it didn't mean much, because USC is so far above everyone right now, and that they have a professional caliber offense. So our national rep didn't get hurt much with the USC game.

By contrast, the Missouri game is a must win. We must begin to consistently win against teams that are ranked 15 to 25. If we don't, we begin to fall down the slippery slope to oblivion where no one cares about us. Aside from Nebraska, I have lived in Texas (in the early and mid 90s) and I have lived in Illinois for the last 6 years. My time in Texas was fun because everyone there hated Nebraska, viewing us as the evil empire. I love it when people hate on Nebraska, because I take it as a sign of respect. Being a Husker fan in Illinois these last 6 years has been another story. Now other fans are simply indifferent to the Huskers.

That's why the Missouri game is a must win. The next step back to national prominence is not consistently beating top 5 teams. We're not there yet. The next step is consistently beating teams in the bottom half of the top 25. Once we do that, then we can start thinking about consistently beating teams in the top half of the top 25, and then the top 5. If we don't start consistently beating teams like Missouri, then the college football world will not simply be indifferent, but will begin to pity us. I cannot accept that.

For those reasons, this Saturday is really the first must win game of the season.
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We have already fallen down the slippery slope and no one cares about us. People everywhere are indifferent about NU. The reality then is that under Callahan NU was supposed to be climbing back UP the slope and ideally commanding the attention of the nation once more on the basis of an improved program. Thus far it has been like walking up a slide in the park while wearing socks --- you make it up a notch (or so it seems) and then fall and slide down again. Beating MU will not really move NU up much --- but losing will more fully solidify that NU has fallen.

Frankly, even if NU beats Missouri, Colorado, Kansas, and KState --- well, these programs are themselves viewed as third tier teams (or 4th tier) and so no one at the national level will be impressed. If, however, NU loses, well then..... more fuel to the fire that says Big Red is not so big.

This is an unpleasant reality. Winning will mean little but losing will mean much.

 
HuskerfaninOkieland said:
I thought every game was a must-win? <_<
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Sadly, that just isn't the case anymore. The USC game was not a "must win" in the sense that it would throw us off track to returning to glory. The truth is that we are still rebuilding, which takes a very long time. Longer than most sports fans are willing to recognize. If we don't start proving that we can consistently beat teams in the top 25 very soon, it is going to get harder to get on national tv and harder to get recruits, and we will slip into oblivion. Sure, I would like to win every game, but since we all knew we probably wouldn't compete for a national championship this year, not every game is a must win.

 
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I would have to completely agree. We are stuck in a division of our conference where beating these teams does us no good, unless we crush them by 24 pts everytime. It seems we have everything to lose and nothing to gain by playing these teams.

 
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robsker said:
HuskerExpat said:
A lot of people talked about USC being a must win game. That wasn't true, and I think it is evident from the results that it wasn't true. The national consensus on the USC game is that it didn't mean much, because USC is so far above everyone right now, and that they have a professional caliber offense. So our national rep didn't get hurt much with the USC game.

By contrast, the Missouri game is a must win. We must begin to consistently win against teams that are ranked 15 to 25. If we don't, we begin to fall down the slippery slope to oblivion where no one cares about us. Aside from Nebraska, I have lived in Texas (in the early and mid 90s) and I have lived in Illinois for the last 6 years. My time in Texas was fun because everyone there hated Nebraska, viewing us as the evil empire. I love it when people hate on Nebraska, because I take it as a sign of respect. Being a Husker fan in Illinois these last 6 years has been another story. Now other fans are simply indifferent to the Huskers.

That's why the Missouri game is a must win. The next step back to national prominence is not consistently beating top 5 teams. We're not there yet. The next step is consistently beating teams in the bottom half of the top 25. Once we do that, then we can start thinking about consistently beating teams in the top half of the top 25, and then the top 5. If we don't start consistently beating teams like Missouri, then the college football world will not simply be indifferent, but will begin to pity us. I cannot accept that.

For those reasons, this Saturday is really the first must win game of the season.
Click to expand...

We have already fallen down the slippery slope and no one cares about us. People everywhere are indifferent about NU. The reality then is that under Callahan NU was supposed to be climbing back UP the slope and ideally commanding the attention of the nation once more on the basis of an improved program. Thus far it has been like walking up a slide in the park while wearing socks --- you make it up a notch (or so it seems) and then fall and slide down again. Beating MU will not really move NU up much --- but losing will more fully solidify that NU has fallen.

Frankly, even if NU beats Missouri, Colorado, Kansas, and KState --- well, these programs are themselves viewed as third tier teams (or 4th tier) and so no one at the national level will be impressed. If, however, NU loses, well then..... more fuel to the fire that says Big Red is not so big.

This is an unpleasant reality. Winning will mean little but losing will mean much.
Click to expand...
I agree 100%.

 
robsker said:
Frankly, even if NU beats Missouri, Colorado, Kansas, and KState --- well, these programs are themselves viewed as third tier teams (or 4th tier) and so no one at the national level will be impressed. If, however, NU loses, well then..... more fuel to the fire that says Big Red is not so big.

This is an unpleasant reality. Winning will mean little but losing will mean much.
Click to expand...

You might be right, but that's kind of my point. It is why this is a must win game. No, we don't gain a lot by winning it, but we lose so much more by losing.

 
DaveH said:
Every conference game is a must win.
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That's easy to say, and yes, it would be nice to win every conference game. But with where we are right now, it just isn't true. If Oklahoma or Texas is ranked in the top 5 when we play them, then no, it isn't a must win game. It would be great to win it, but not a "must win" in the sense that it will hurt our program if we don't. I would love to get back to the days where we are so good that we honestly expect to win every game, but we just aren't there yet. Step one to getting back there is consistently beating teams in the bottom half of the top 25.

 
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billdozer15 said:
I would have to completely agree. We are stuck in a division of our conference where beating these teams does us no good, unless we crush them by 24 pts everytime. It seems we have everything to lose and nothing to gain by playing these teams.
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It seems to me that you underestimate the rest of the teams in the Big 12 North. Secondly, you must realize that the days of complete domination by Nebraska are of the past. The talent level of many of these programs is much improved. That is why every game is tough to win and there are no gimmies. Nebraska's talent has come down a bit, but the rest of the conference talent has improved immensely. Save for a couple of exceptions.

When you watch the game Saturday, watch the speed of MU, I think if you watch the game with any objectivity, you will come away impressed with the strides in talent acquisition the Tigers have made under Pinkel. Is he a perfect coach? No, I don't agree with many of the game day decisions he makes, but he has moved Missouri from the punchline of a joke, to a program on the cusp of achieving sustained success that hasn't been achieved at MU since the 60's. The days of whipping Missouri by 5 and 6 touchdowns are over. Missouri looks to take the next step this Saturday. This will be an exciting game. Good Luck to the Huskers.

 
I agree that days of total domination are over but you can still be a dominating team. Losing 1-2 conference games and beating some teams by 20+ can still exist, but rolling through everyone but OU and TX by 20+ is gone for everyone. Not that the other teams are so much better but everyone at the top took a step down due to scholarship regulations.

That being said, this game isn't a must win but a desperately needed win on 2 levels. First, we need to beat a team in the North that we will probably compete for the title against. A win vs. Mizzou is like 2 wins, first they have a loss and second we have the tie breaker against them. This makes the game important for those 2 things. Level #2 is that we need a quality win. Wake was a good win but not of much quality especially since an interception saved our butts (we have 2 of those this season). We haven't been playing well and we need this win because we can't afford a loss. If we lose, especially by 10+ pts then our confidence could be ruined and we might struggle through the rest of the season. I think a close loss would hurt, but not defeat us.

I never heard the USC be a must win, I did hear a must not get destroyed, but it would have been a huge upset. Our only must win is when we are down to needing to win in order to still win the North. Probably around week 10 we will see our first must wins. The only must wins are playing to stay in the conference race. A loss and you are eliminated makes it a must win.

 
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I Bleed RED said:
I agree that days of total domination are over but you can still be a dominating team. Losing 1-2 conference games and beating some teams by 20+ can still exist, but rolling through everyone but OU and TX by 20+ is gone for everyone. Not that the other teams are so much better but everyone at the top took a step down due to scholarship regulations.

That being said, this game isn't a must win but a desperately needed win on 2 levels. First, we need to beat a team in the North that we will probably compete for the title against. A win vs. Mizzou is like 2 wins, first they have a loss and second we have the tie breaker against them. This makes the game important for those 2 things. Level #2 is that we need a quality win. Wake was a good win but not of much quality especially since an interception saved our butts (we have 2 of those this season). We haven't been playing well and we need this win because we can't afford a loss. If we lose, especially by 10+ pts then our confidence could be ruined and we might struggle through the rest of the season. I think a close loss would hurt, but not defeat us.

I never heard the USC be a must win, I did hear a must not get destroyed, but it would have been a huge upset. Our only must win is when we are down to needing to win in order to still win the North. Probably around week 10 we will see our first must wins. The only must wins are playing to stay in the conference race. A loss and you are eliminated makes it a must win.
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I certainly agree with your assessment on the importance of the game in the Big 12 North. I don't think winning this game delivers the title, but losing certainly ends any chance of winning the North.

I didn't think the USC was a must win for Nebraska but more of a measuring stick on where Callahan has your program. I was very surprised to see USC dominate the line of scrimmage so easily. I figured USC would win by a touchdown, by play action and defense, not by dominating the Nebraska defensive line.

 
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