"So What" End To Husker-Jayhawk Run

Thanks to good neighbor Neal, I got to witness first-hand the final Huskers versus Jayhawks college football clash last Saturday evening. But "clash" would be far, far, far overstating this encounter. And that's too bad, because there has been some big-time energy surrounding this game quite often during the past 100-plus years.

Even the last 2 years had some drama and tension. Remember the game in Lincoln in 2008---when Joe Ganz and Todd Reesing went at it back & forth? And the game wasn't really decided until Zac Potter forced a late interception. And a year ago in Lawrence, with the boys needing to win in order to hold control in the Big 12 North, KU went ahead--but Roy Helu Jr. bailed Big Red out with a trademark long TD run.

This year though, it was, "Oh well--meh."

I mean, how can you get really charged up for the game when the first thing that plays on the HuskerVision board is T.O.'s "Welcome back Turner" video? That set the tone for the whole night. Is this a game? Is it a scrimmage? Is it a reunion? Really really really awkward--a word that has been rolled out in probably every single postgame "real news" article.

Well, thank heaven it's almost over. And as this strange wind-up tour trundles toward the end, one can only hope that some honest-to-goodness competitive energy cranks up when Big Ten play starts next year. My guess is that there won't be any "muchas smoochas" when Iowa shows up.

What about the game itself---well, who knows how good the Husker D is with #15--Alfonzo Dennard--back on the field. After all, they were going against a weak KU offense. But still--like the coaches said--only 87 yards for the whole game for KU? That stat is a keeper! Dennard's INT was something that we're used to seeing those ballhawks in the SEC do. Jared Crick was a beast in the middle of the line. And there is no way that anyone can run away from Lavonte David--or for that matter, run wide on this defense period.

Offense, however---uhh, not so much. I like Jeremiah Sirles at left tackle--I know he got stoned during the Texas game, but this guy has done a great job since and I thought showed it again against KU. The rest of the line, frankly, looked like they were having a hard time. And there were no running lanes between the tackles. Going forward, that's not a good sign. With the quicks that Helu & Burkhead have, just that one crease and they're good to go. Wide is fine, but the money yards are between the tackles.

Also on the offense---Niles Paul showed up the other night. He made some tough catches and took some hits. It was this point in the season a year ago that Niles made some consistent big plays---I hope that history repeats itself.

I am also concerned about Taylor Martinez's ankle, along with everyone else. He gave up on some runs the other night, and frankly did not look that fast overall. Hopefully this was an exercise in "work yourself back, big fella---better to do it now than next week."

And, boy can Alex Henery smack the ball on his kicks. The sound of him striking the ball on punts and field goals was truly audible. What a talent!

This week against A & M---it's in many respects cave-man ball. Defense, special teams, just enough offense to take care of business is the formula I foresee Bo Pelini and the Husker staff following this coming Saturday. It will be interesting to see how it plays out in front of the loud & rowdy bunch in College Station. Can they do it? Well, there's still no margin for error. Missouri is over its slump it appears, and suddenly Colorado looks like their typical scratch-and-claw selves at the end of the year. But, it also looks like the Husker D is hitting its stride as well--and that's enough to lick the chops over as we all keep thinking about the last Big 12 title and a Fiesta Bowl chance--and who knows--maybe a back-door run to the BCS biggie.

There's certainly a lot left to play for and look forward to!

Go Big Red!!

The Old Husker Fan