I'm starting out this day before Thanksgiving with criticism. Not with Bill Callahan, Tom Osborne or anything to do with Husker football, but of the Omaha World Herald. Every time I go to their web site, I get these damned pop-up ads, this morning one popped up in the background and started playing video with audio and I couldn't figure out where the heck it was coming from and nothing irritates me more than a web site that starts with audio turned on.

Do others get this same experience? Annoying ain't it?

Check the site CFB Stats for some college football stats, where they've been doing comparisons between this year and last regarding the new kickoff rule. Interesting item? It hasn't made much of a difference in field position.

Check that table down a little further and you'll see that true frosh Adi Kunalic has the highest percentage of touchbacks in the nation at 47.9%.

15 Cornhuskers were named to the Academic All-Big 12 football team, which is great until you see that Texas lead the Big 12 with 23. What was this stuff about not surrendering the Big 12 to Texas and Oklahoma? Dammit!

As bad as this year has been, it's still a milestone for some Husker fans. Kenyon W writes a nice piece about the Kansas State game - his first visit to Memorial Stadium, something he'd waited years to do. Drove seven hours and paid too much for tickets and loved every bit of it. Nice pictures and a good example of what the Huskers still mean to people.

Darren at Big Red Network bemoans the fact that Colorado is our designated rival, stating "I suppose we’ll all just have to learn to like the taste of Buffalo with our turkey."

I'm older than Darren, so watching Oklahoma-Nebraska at Thanksgiving happened during my formative years of watching football. What I remember most is how disappointed my family would be year after year in the 70's. I wouldn't go so far as to say it ruined Thanksgiving, but let's leave it at this - I love watching us beat Colorado far more than I liked watching us lose to Oklahoma.

I'm sentimental about Oklahoma because of my childhood. Switzer and Osborne, two giants, one having sold his soul to the devil, each battling it out. Doesn't get any better than that, but as Steely Dan says "Those days are gone forever, over a long time ago".

Darren is right in that a feeling of mutual respect is missing from the Nebraska - Colorado rivalry, for some people, it's downright hatred. Things aren't going to change any time soon so maybe we should accept it for what it is - a rivalry game. Beat them and feel better about it!