Wisconsin-Nebraska provides one of best new rivalries in college football

[Landlord]

It's not a rivalry if we never win.

Thank goodness that's not the case, huh?

Never isn't to be taken literally, you know? Like only once barely beating their worst team of the last 8 years with the second largest comeback in school history after a fourth down stop where the runningback didn't even know he was getting the ball and then going on to lose to that sam team by 40 or so kind of still fits within the point I'm making.

 

[hosker]

I really liked our series with Penn State. It's a shame we can't do that yearly anymore.

Me too. That fealt like the most natural B10 rival to me... I know some here feel differently, but if PSU, Iowa, and Wisconsin were all in the schedule every year, I think I would care most about the PSU game most years. That would be the division game I wolves did/would circle on the pre-season calendar.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

I really liked our series with Penn State. It's a shame we can't do that yearly anymore.

Me too. That fealt like the most natural B10 rival to me... I know some here feel differently, but if PSU, Iowa, and Wisconsin were all in the schedule every year, I think I would care most about the PSU game most years. That would be the division game I wolves did/would circle on the pre-season calendar.

But, it wasn't a division game.

 

[Hoosker]

It's not a rivalry if we never win.

Thank goodness that's not the case, huh?

Never isn't to be taken literally, you know? Like only once barely beating their worst team of the last 8 years with the second largest comeback in school history after a fourth down stop where the runningback didn't even know he was getting the ball and then going on to lose to that sam team by 40 or so kind of still fits within the point I'm making.

My OP was trying to get a gauge on what the series will look like going forward with these new coaching staffs.

The intention of this thread is not to dwell on the fact that Bo's teams got their teeth kicked in, but far be it from me to tell you how to think and feel.

 

[Landlord]

My only point is that present tense, it's not really a rivalry, because we haven't held up our end. It's as much of a rivalry as Colorado or Iowa, with us on the other side.

 

[CheeseHusker]

It's a weird dynamic..... I grew up as a solitary Nebraska fan in Wisconsin, at a time when they were still finding their way. They were a pretty miserable program for most of the 70s and 80s and I'd say the attitude was mostly apathetic. Everyone's attitude towards me was more curiosity than anything else; all in all Wisconsin is still an NFL state first even as the Packers renaissance kind of coincided with Wisconsin's. Alvarez really did change everything... the attitude, the swagger, the style. And the success was incredible when it came, but I think there's an element there that takes it a bit for granted now, and maybe doesn't know how to handle it that well. It really is a lot like the Kansas State / Colorado kind of demographic. That's a fan base that I think is happy to see them succeed, but I think is simply more invested in having a good time and not really invested in it quite so much. It's not really that personal for them yet, mainly because we haven't really been a threat.

In short, Landlord is right. Nebraska has to start winning for it to matter to them. I think for real legitimacy, Nebraska's got to win a game in Madison. No time like the present, right?

 

[ColoradoHusk]

The thing that was always stuck with me about Barry Alvarez was that Wisconsin and the media thought of him as being a Notre Dame guy. Yes, Alvarez played at Nebraska under Devaney, and Devaney was a huge coaching influence. But, Alvarez was at Notre Dame as DC before he was hired as Wisconsin's head coach. Alvarez got his "fame" in coaching before Wisconsin when he was Notre Dame's DC in their 1988 National Championship season. When Alvarez and Wisconsin started having success in 1993, it was always "former Notre Dame Assistant Coach Barry Alvarez". Maybe that's why Wisconsin fans don't think of Alvarez being a "Nebraska" guy.

 

[Redux]

I really liked our series with Penn State. It's a shame we can't do that yearly anymore.

I'm not a fan of forced, "cross-divisional" rivalries. It creates an imbalance in the strength of schedule, and it doesn't allow for a great variety of teams that NU would play from the other division. There is already talk of a 16 team conference, with two 8-team divisions. In that instance, NU would play only 2 teams from the East division (unless the B1G somehow adopted a pod schedule system).

It wasn't a rivalry, that's why I said series. It felt like the B1G placed us together because we were the two most recent additions to the league. Still though, seeing PSU and NU battle it out makes even the most casual CFB stop and watch.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

I really liked our series with Penn State. It's a shame we can't do that yearly anymore.

I'm not a fan of forced, "cross-divisional" rivalries. It creates an imbalance in the strength of schedule, and it doesn't allow for a great variety of teams that NU would play from the other division. There is already talk of a 16 team conference, with two 8-team divisions. In that instance, NU would play only 2 teams from the East division (unless the B1G somehow adopted a pod schedule system).

It wasn't a rivalry, that's why I said series. It felt like the B1G placed us together because we were the two most recent additions to the league. Still though, seeing PSU and NU battle it out makes even the most casual CFB stop and watch.

That said, I'm not a fan of forced, cross-divisional series to be played every year. I understand why the SEC did it when they split into 2 divisions in the early 90s, but it still creates scheduling inequalities.

 

[Landlord]

NU-PSU were matched up because we have serious history -- not a ton of it, but the history we do have was with the highest stakes and the most contention -- and because neither school had another primary rival cross-division. Minnesota had Wisconsin, Michigan had Ohio State, Northwestern had Illinois, and obviously we wouldn't have picked Purdue or Indiana over PSU.

 

[CheeseHusker]

Yeah, the PSU thing was trying to capitalize on the historical controversies that happened between us... we were still salty about 1982 and they were still salty about 1994 and there was a lot of angst during the first series of games played following those incidents. Obviously that kind of petered out and the Paterno-Sandusky scandals have kind of overshadowed everything.

I've felt since the beginning that Wisconsin would eventually become a natural rival, but I've also spent my whole life close to both programs, so I suppose I always kind of sensed it might happen as there was always a tension growing up when Wisconsin began to get really good (albeit in another conference) and the locals really began paying attention.

 

[Mierin]

I don't mind having a Wisconsin player call it a rivalry.

But it's not a rivalry until we beat them more often. We haven't beat them in Wisconsin yet, and the one season we beat them by a few points we get demolished in the rematch.

 

[secretasianman]

I wonder if Wisconsin fans feel like "we" are forcing a rivalry with them?

I think Wisconsin fans won't admit that our program is the reason they are who they are. Point being that Alvarez copied the Huskers to help make them successful up there and it worked. I don't meet too many Badger fans here in Iowa, but the few I come across have been jerks and I suppose that's an aspect to the rivalry if there is one. I don't think we're trying to force a rivalry at all. I think it's becoming a natural rivalry at this point. Where when we joined the B1G it was like "Oh, you guys share borders, your rivalry is now Iowa." We're just kinda moving along waiting for a rivalry to happen. We don't need to force a rivalry, we're a college football blue blood, the rivalries will happen naturally.

Alvarez's Nebraska- Devaney link is often mentioned; especially in regards to "Alvarez modeling the Wisconsin program after Nebraska".

I find it interesting that many Iowa fans consider Alvarez another great coach from the lineage of Hayden Fry and say that Alvarez modeled his Wisc program after Iowa.

Like others have said, we need to pound Wisconsin a few times before this becomes a two sided rivalry.

Iowa though ... That's just good old fashioned hate. It is a rivalry. Their fans hate us and I hate them. It's fun to see them lose !

 

[AFhusker]

I wonder if Wisconsin fans feel like "we" are forcing a rivalry with them?

I don't know but for me, I feels like how we always denied K-State and Colorado games were rivalries. We aren't holding up our end of the bargain. One main ingredient (at least for me) is a relatively even win/loss split and close competitive games. Sure this may change in the future but since joining the Big Ten we've only beaten them once. I do think the potential is there though.

I know some may laugh but NW actually feels rivalryish to me. Lots of NU alumns in Chicago, culturally a lot different, come backs, upsets, close games, unbelievable endings.

As for Iowa it's interesting how it's rivalry status seems to fade as you go west from the Missouri even between Omaha and Lincoln.

I really couldn't give two sh#ts about Iowa. IMO most years they are on the same level as ISU was and losing to them is just as embarrassing as losing to ISU. They hate us for some reason, but most of the NU fans that I know are very indifferent when it comes to Iowa and this supposed "rivalry."

 

[AFhusker]

I don't mind having a Wisconsin player call it a rivalry.

But it's not a rivalry until we beat them more often. We haven't beat them in Wisconsin yet, and the one season we beat them by a few points we get demolished in the rematch.

I agree 100%. This would be the ideal year to beat them in Madison and put them out of their misery as far as this year goes. Maybe that will get a real rivalry started.