[Promoted to Front Page from the Fanposts]
9-3, as the frost settles in on another Husker football season.
If someone had told me that we could have won 9 games this season, I would have said "yes, I can see that". I would have then offered the suggestion that our 3 losses would be to Missouri, VT, and Oklahoma.
Thankfully, we have a different lineup of losses. Let me explain.
Residing in Cyclone country, I hear a lot about the loss to Iowa State. Being only 2 hours from the border, I actually hear jabbering from both Nebraska followers, and from the clowns in Ames. Aside from the "little brother" complex spewed forth by Cyclone fans everywhere, I also see a lot of Big Red faithful pointing to how we should be a 10-2 team. How the ISU loss was a fluke. My question is, would you rather the outcomes of the ISU and OU games be reversed and played out as predicted?
Not this Husker. I would much rather own a 9-3 record having won a huge game against a real, quality, Big 12 South team in OU, versus the same record, with an easy and assumed win against the Cyclones... taking the loss against Oklahoma as predicted.( Not to mention the untold emotional impact of beating OU again in a rivalry game).
The Iowa State game has no significance now, other than waking our coaches up to some very real issues on the offensive side of the ball. In fact it may have helped us realize a few things about ourselves, something we needed before hitting the home stretch. The VT loss was a good battle, in which the popular opinion being that the Huskers played the better game. Texas Tech...well...they can beat anyoneone in the top 5 if they hold the opponent to under 20 points. I think if we squeak that ISU game out, and end up 10-2....the consequences would be an expectation to play like a top 15 team. Something which we are not.
As it stands, we are in a great postition to shock some people and win a bowl game by virtue of that pesky 3rd loss. A 9-3 or 9-4 record puts us in a very decent bowl position, one we can manage. 10-2 or 11-2 would be setting the expectations too high, and lining us up against a far superior team. We are not an 11-2 team, and shouldn't be playing in games we have no business being in. Can you imagine the pressure heaped upon these guys if they were 10 (11)-2?
Yes, I think we lost the right 3 games this year. Bo is always preaching about these kids learning about life and adversity outside of the lines. I think the ISU loss did that. Thank you ISU, for opening our eyes to the tasks ahead of us. ( I know, it's much more fun to hate us and gloat over the win) The resulting improvements and adjustments allowed for a monumental win against the Sooners, which in my opinion turned the corner for this coaching staff. The Huskers seem to have gotten a few ugly games out of the way, therefore setting up a possible perfect storm against the 'Horns.
What do you think? Do we own a record that is befitting of our team? Did we lose when we should have? Did we win when we deserved it?
