Oklahoma football: Sooners can’t overlook old rival

Oklahoma football and Nebraska football make up 25 percent of the eight programs labeled “Blue Blood” in college football history.

These programs are so great and so elite that their mention brings in flooded thoughts of excellence. The Cornhuskers have 909 wins, but their status in the current climate would hardly have you think so. The program that has won five national championships, and 46 conference championships have not been excellent, or excellent often enough since the retirement of legendary coach Tom Osborne.

Certainly, joining the Big Ten conference, which led Nebraska to greener pastures but drier recruiting with their pipeline to the state of Texas all dried up, has been a factor. Nebraska has always had a program that values excellence and lacks patience leading them to fire good but not elite coaches in Frank Solich and Bo Pelini. This led to the wildfire that was Mike Riley, and the failure of the prodigal son; Scott Frost. The Cornhuskers now find themselves in a predicament that they have become accustomed to. Stuck in the mud, no way to go but up, but when is the tow going to get here to pull them out?

Nebraska is still a proud program today

The nation-leading sellout numbers say it all: Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska is still one of the craziest environments to play in college football. The passion and pride around the program have not dwindled even with the difficulty over the past decade and a half. Sometimes it is hard to remember, that this program was the most recent college dynasty before Alabama. Nebraska was the unstoppable force and immovable object. The folks who watched this team in the 90s felt the way they do today watching Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide. They were that good, and not that long ago.

How does this play into Saturday’s game, Tim?

Well, it’s quite simple, on paper it doesn’t. But football isn’t played on paper, it’s played on grass or turf.  There is a hidden factor in football, and that’s the emotional aspect.  Nebraska may lose every other game the rest of the year for all we know, but for them, Saturday is a grand opportunity to make a statement, show togetherness, and give the world the signal that they haven’t given up. They also, by the way, do not have a lot to lose, and Mickey Joseph sure has a lot to gain. In other words, the Huskers are a desperate team, and they are dangerous, Oklahoma will need to come into this game with their head on a swivel and be ready for a battle. The Huskers will muster all their pride, and strength and put it on the line and force OU to match their emotion and will.

Not just emotional edge, Huskers brimming with talented offensive players

It’s no secret that the Huskers have struggled mostly on defense this year and along their offensive front. But from a skill position standpoint, there aren’t many in the country that featured as lethal a combination as Nebraska does. This team is not devoid of talent. Nebraska QB Casey Thompson, the transfer from Texas is all too familiar with the Oklahoma program. First, his father Charles played for the Sooners in the late 1980s, Casey played against OU last year while starting for Texas. In addition, Oklahoma has recruited him twice and failed to acquire his services.

Thompson is third in the nation in passing yards with 866, nearly 289 per game. Anthony Grant the Husker’s surprise star RB second in the country with 428 rushing yards. This team has guys who can play football, and even though their defense has been shredded, they have guys who will make it to the next level like TCU transfer Ochaun Mathis. Oklahoma will need to bring their lunch pale, and be ready to rock. If not, the recipe for a disaster is all there in Lincoln. Can Coach Venables and the Sooners handle their business in the head man’s first round trip?