Friday, November 7, 2008
It’s been 40 years since Kansas went in to Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium and beat the Cornhuskers. Lincoln has not been pretty for the Jayhawks.
In a span lasting more than three decades, legendary Nebraska coach Tom Osborne put a hurting on the Jayhawks year after year on his turf. In 12 trips to Lincoln, Kansas scored just 96 points. That’s three touchdowns more than Kansas scored against Nebraska in last year’s 76-39 blowout in Lawrence.
A lot has happened in Husker Nation since Osborne retired. Coach Frank Solich was able to carry the torch on for six years before Nebraska handed the keys over to Bill Callahan.
The Callahan years ushered in a new crash-and-burn style of football, in which the Huskers once legendary program declined. To give you a better idea of what this has been like to Nebraska fans, imagine if Kansas basketball were to implode.
Meanwhile, Osborne spent six years in the House of Representatives for Nebraska’s 3rd District for seven years. It wasn’t until last year that Osborne decided to come back to the University and take over as the athletic director. With that, Osborne brought in LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini.
Though the fans are optimistic about Pelini, Nebraska is still nowhere near where it was in its glory days. There was a time when the Huskers won 47 consecutive games at home and went undefeated in Osborne’s last six seasons. Over the last five years, Nebraska has lost 10 games at home but none to Kansas.
Though Mangino brought the Jayhawks close in 2006 with a 39-32 overtime loss and a 14-8 loss in 2004, Kansas has yet to get over the hump. With last year’s blowout featuring the same keys to success — Todd Reesing, Jake Sharp, Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meier, who scored seven touchdowns combined — you would think Nebraska is due for more of the same.
But it is in Lincoln where Kansas teams come to die. Despite the convincing loss last season, Nebraska is still a favorite in this game by one and a half points.
Memorial Stadium itself, which seats roughly 85,000 Husker fans, is unofficially the third largest city in Nebraska on game days. With 295 consecutive sellouts, Husker fans are some of the most dedicated and loudest in the country.
Tomorrow the Jayhawks will have history and an environment working against them but it’s one of their best opportunities to win in Lincoln in four decades. Should they win, consider it one small step for coach Mark Mangino and one giant step for Kansas football.
— — Edited by Brieun Scott
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