Are Washington Fans Excited About the Holiday Bowl?

by Jon Johnston on Dec 21, 2010 7:01 AM CST in Nebraska Husker Football

It's not secret that Nebraska fans aren't all that excited about playing the Washington Huskies in a bowl game. The University of Nebraska still has a few thousand tickets to sell from their allotment - clearly not normal for Husker fans, who are known for traveling so well.

I wondered if things were going on the other side - how are Washington Husky fans reacting to the news that they'll be playing Nebraska again - so I asked John from the Husky site UW Dawg Pound a simple question:

Are Husky fans excited about the Holiday Bowl?

John: I would definitely say yes because we haven't been to a bowl since 2002. I think the biggest gauge of excitement has been ticket sales. Washington has sold its allotment of 11,000 tickets even though the price to fly betweenSeattle and Southern California is a very expensive this year. The announcement that Washington was playing Nebraska again took a little bit of the initial excitement out of the contest, but I think we are pretty much over that even though both schools would have been better off playing a different opponent.

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Washignton's last bowl

Actually, two of Washignton’s last three bowl games came agaisnt Purdue. They beat us in the 2001 Rose Bowl 34-24, and we reversed that score in beating them in the 2002 Sun Bowl.

A futile crusade to prevent mass ignorance

HammerAndRails, SBNation's Boilermaker Blog

by BoilerTMill on Dec 21, 2010 9:11 AM CST reply actions

UW fans are stoked...

… as you’ve noted, this is a no win situation for Neb. Thus, it is a no-lose situation for UW.

. First bowl game since 2002. check
. Bowl game in Jake Locker’s last season. check
. Highly respected and ranked opponent. check
. 14 point underdog who got whipped by same opponent in earlier game. check
. Opportunity for redemption simply by losing by a more narrow margin. check
. History of the game that tells us it is hard to beat, much less whip, the same opponent twice in one season. check
. West coast venue (and recruiting pipeline area). check
. 15 extra practices for our young program. check
. Apathetic and unmotivated opponent who is having some early off-season turmoil. check

Yup. we are excited and we will stay that way even if we do no more than cover the spread.

Damn, my eyeball tastes good.

by Gekko Mojo on Dec 21, 2010 10:37 AM CST reply actions

+1

Lose-lose for Nebraska, unless the Huskers once again engineer a blowout.

Chance of that happening is about nil with a gimpy quarterback and a offensive coordinator that seems to have all the in-game adjustability of an avalanche down a mountainside.

by UltimaRatioRegum on Dec 21, 2010 11:24 AM CST up reply actions

At least an avalanche can't be stopped.....

/had to do it.

But yeah, we don’t have that much to gain from this, apart from one more game. I almost wonder if the Huskers could play better than expected just because this seems like such an obvious let down game.

"My hardest job is to convince the people of Nebraska that 10-1 is not a losing season." - Tom Osborne

by jdhusker on Dec 21, 2010 12:10 PM CST up reply actions

But I have a plan!

I am going to try and get Sean Watson nicknamed “The Avalanche”. To outsiders it will mean he is cool, unstoppable, with irresistible offensive strategies. Who could resist hiring a guy called “The Avalanche”?

To insiders, it means he has no ability to adjust and snows everybody, leaving our defense cold.

Heh heh heh.

by UltimaRatioRegum on Dec 21, 2010 2:02 PM CST up reply actions

Love it… I’m using it.

by No2CoF on Dec 22, 2010 11:19 AM CST up reply actions

Just because

the fanbase seems apathetic and unmotivated does not mean the team will be. Bo will have these kids ready to play.

I'm your huckleberry.

by Brizzle T on Dec 21, 2010 1:07 PM CST up reply actions

Two DUI's would suggest that the not all of the players are all-out focused on the game...

… but I agree that they should not be as apathetic as the fans. Nevertheless, they also have done the same no-win calculation in their own minds.

Damn, my eyeball tastes good.

by Gekko Mojo on Dec 21, 2010 1:49 PM CST up reply actions

Ok

so you guys only lose by 21 or so this time instead…

I'm your huckleberry.

by Brizzle T on Dec 21, 2010 2:14 PM CST up reply actions

I always enjoy watching my Huskers

This games is for 11 wins this year. However, it does seem like some of the wind is out of the sails for this game, though. I’m already dreaming of the Big 10 next year.

by Aaron Musfeldt on Dec 21, 2010 10:51 AM CST reply actions

Me too.

We had so much in front of us, and it seemed like the same frustrating stupidity we thought (hoped? prayed?) we were past kept us from being in the national championship hunt. After losing to Texas (when we really, really, really should not have) made not winning the Big 12 just icing on the disappointment.

Good season and all, but for some Callahan-like inflexibility it should have been a great season.

by UltimaRatioRegum on Dec 21, 2010 1:59 PM CST up reply actions

Defense wins

No matter what other people think, Coach Bo always has this team ready to go, especially in Bowl games. With that being said, our defense is just too good to allow a let down. I will be surprised if UW can score 21 pts. Even as up and down our offense has been this year, they can still strike quick and often. This will be a fun game and I wish the best of luck to UW. Nebraska 45-17.

by Huskerman21 on Dec 22, 2010 10:14 AM CST reply actions

Bo has a great track record in bowls

But this will be by far his greatest challenge in terms of motivating his players.

"My hardest job is to convince the people of Nebraska that 10-1 is not a losing season." - Tom Osborne

by jdhusker on Dec 22, 2010 11:29 PM CST up reply actions

We had

better be ready to play or we will get beat. Turn the ball over like we did against OU and we lose. If I was the UW DC I would pressure Martinez until he proved he could beat it. That is what OU did and it worked brilliantly. With no threat of a draw or screen pass (can’t remember the last time we ran either play) to slow up the rush it’s just pin your ears back and meet at the qb.

by Huzkerfan on Dec 22, 2010 10:15 AM CST reply actions

Keep in mind

UW has nowhere near the athletes OU does, especially on defense. We’ve had a rough stretch, but keep in mind, UW is not nearly as good as either OU or A&M and those were both games we probably should have won. If we lay an egg we could lose. But UW doesn’t have anything we should be afraid of personnel wise, at least compared to our recent opponents.

"My hardest job is to convince the people of Nebraska that 10-1 is not a losing season." - Tom Osborne

by jdhusker on Dec 22, 2010 11:32 PM CST up reply actions