College football is not a microwave.
You can't push the settings and say, “We want to be a Top 10 program by this time.'' Championships don't appear like popcorn, unless John Blake or Ron Zook are in charge of stocking your shelves.
Most Nebraska fans understand this. But they're also antsy. It's been too long since the Huskers have been anything more than the answer to a college football trivia question.
Last time in the national title hunt? Forever. Last time they beat a Top 10 team? Forget about it. Well, actually I have.
It's no wonder some folks are putting a lot of chips on today's game at Virginia Tech. Win and you change the program. Win and you turn the corner.
Keep an eye on that thing coming around the corner.
Statement game. Measuring stick. Signature win. You dig into the cliché stash — and I've used them more than anyone — because you want that instant definition, that team identity. And you want to say Nebraska has won a big game, because you want to say Nebraska is back.
But is Nebraska really “back'' if it wins today at Lane Stadium?
What if the Huskers beat Virginia Tech but look sloppy and lose at Missouri in two weeks? Or Baylor? Or Kansas? Is the Big Red “not back'' then?
Elite programs aren't built in one game nor do they crumble in one setting. Colorado football historians like to point to the 2001 massacre as the day the Big Red died. But the truth is, that game didn't spur the fall, it merely exposed the program's tired state brought on by a coaching staff that had run out of recruiting gas.
Like the second-year coach in the sweatshirt says, “It's a process.'' Here's when you know Bo Pelini will have made his statement: when winning these kinds of games is a habit, not a hope.
Or, when I stop writing columns about these things.
Win today and you beat No. 13, Hall of Fame coach, solid Top 20 program. Is that the new definition of Nebraska renaissance? Didn't think so.
A win today would be chicken soup for the football soul. And it would be important for Pelini pride. When you go against a sound drill master like Frank Beamer, you want your own troops to look and act the part, too.
But it says here that the Missouri, Kansas and other Big 12 games are more important for the Husker psyche and long-term outlook. More than national recognition now, Nebraska needs to get its identity back in the Big 12 North. In that way, this little side trip to Blacksburg sets up well for the challenge that awaits in Columbia in two weeks and the ones thereafter — the statements that will mean more to the Big Red and their fandom. Playing a team with physical talent and speed in their little snake pit can only be good preparation for what lies ahead.
Win or lose, here's what we need to see out of the lads today:
1. A team that is competitive. Nebraska in recent years has not won a big game and often looked overmatched when the thermostat gets turned up. Texas Tech was a good sign last year, but Missouri and Oklahoma were painful reminders last season of what Pelini was brought in to clean up. Time to clean that up.
2. Get physical. The score of last year's game in Lincoln was close thanks to a Husker special teams touchdown, but the Hokies owned the trenches. You want to show you belong on the national scene? Show some muscle. Nebraska's front four needs to get after Tyrod Taylor, and the offensive line needs to establish a running game and give Zac Lee time against defensive coordinator Bud Foster's maroon marauders.
3. Be in the game late — with a chance to win. Victory is almost a bonus for a program that hasn't been close in these bouts. Pelini is trying to build confidence and swagger. If NU can stomp into a tough place to play and play well, it bodes well for the next stop in this process at Columbia, Mo.
Enjoy the game. Microwave popcorn optional.
Contact the writer:
444-1025, tom.shatel@owh.com
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