Saying Goodbye To Colorado

I'll start this by saying something that may shock you. All of the animosity I've ever felt towards Colorado was gone before this game was played. It wasn't that I wasn't worried about beating the Buffs, they've given us some great games even when their team wasn't the best over the years, but it was that I recognized we've somehow become brothers (blasphemy!) in the whole conference expansion game that happened over the past several months. 

I am still amazed that Dan Hawkins had so little success in Boulder. When he was hired, I was sure the Buffs had the right guy. He was energetic, and while he hurled some insults at Husker fans, they were pretty innocuous, really, and in retrospect rather silly. He was hard to hate, but left Boulder looking as aged as most presidents do after a term in office. 

As for the game..... 

There were some pleasant surprises. Cody Green easily had his best game ever, going 10-13 passing for 82 yards and two touchdowns. He ran the offense with much more confidence than he had previously - perhaps that will rub off on his teammates and they'll be a much faster offense when they face the Sooners. 

At 10:53 in the third quarter, Rex Burkhead became even more superman than normal, tossing his second touchdown pass to Kyler Reed and I wondered if the game would turn into a snorefest, but it did not. It's no wonder they killed so many Buffalo in the plains years ago - once you start killing them, it's easy and therefore addictive and hard to stop. 

It was a great day for everyone Husker (what's that Dan Hawkins?) as so many guys got valuable playing time. Joe Broekmeier finally got his chance to make some plays, as did Jake Long. Dontrayevous Robinson got nearly as many carries as Burkhead and even walk-on Austin Jones got into the game. Thaddeus Randle gave you the idea that he might be something special within the next couple years - hell, even Cole Pensick got into the game at center when Mike Caputo was injured.

Finally, was it fitting that Alex Henery tied the school record for scoring on Senior Night or what? 

If there's one thing I don't understand, it's Nebraska's penchant for running trap and pulling plays on short yardage. Several times this season we've been caught up because the linemen aren't fast enough to get to their blocks. Oklahoma's defensive line will be better than what we've faced most of the season, so I hope like hell we just switch to zone blocking and make it work. 

I've given Colorado fans a lot of crap over the past few years (hippies!), but I hope they do all right in the Pac 10. I wonder what will happen when the fake hippies from Boulder meet the real deal in Berkeley. If nothing else, they could use Dumpster Muffin as a rivalry trophy. 

I wish the Buffaloes the best in their search for a new coach and in their new conference. Hope it turns out well for them and that they find someone to hate as much as they've hated us over the years. I know I won't have a problem with that - I already hate Iowa much more than I ever did Colorado.....  okay... maybe not, but I'm damned sure going to try. I have a feeling it won't be very hard.