Nebraska Husker Football Tailgate: To the land of Mary

Husker Football is almost upon us again.

I’ll admit I was a little surprised my whiskey hangover wasn’t worse. Same can be said for the Husker team only losing 37-21. It’s awful that we are now relegated to being happy we weren’t destroyed. That’s what it’s come to. On the bright side, our record won’t be worse than last year’s lol.

It’s almost Thanksgiving and I’m thankful Husker running back Dedrick Mills finally found the crease instead of the pile. Our running back had a banner day of 188 yards on 17 carries. I’m thankful QB Adrian Martinez made quick decisions and racked up 309 yards. For more detail click here. Quick thinking, like a mother of 4 at Walmart on Black Friday. Mostly I’m thankful we still believe that almost 500 yards of offense against a super stingy defense is better than a win. (I don’t)

The Husker defense needs to still improve though. Husker head coach Scott Frost even admitted the defense “hasn’t improved the way we wanted it to.” Thanks, Captain Obvious. Some good news for the defense is that Darrion Daniels will likely be back at his nose tackle spot. You can also expect true freshman D-line newby Ty Robinson  to see more snaps too, according to Coach Tuioti (no need to buy a vowel in that name).

Maryland. Home of the crabby patty, which is what I will be if the Huskers don’t beat them. I’m not really a fan of many things back east but I did meet a bunch of “the Mary’s” (that’s what I called them)  when they tailgated with us last time their team was in town. They were a lot of fun actually. I highly suspect “DC Huskers” and anyone close to that stadium will be putting on their Big Red gear and going to the game. Could be more of us than them in the stands. GBR!

Big Red rolls into Maryland on Saturday and the game is at 2:30 on BTN. Their stadium holds a little over 51k but I doubt it’s had that many butts in the seats for a while. When I say “a while”, I don’t mean how long it’s been since we had a kicking game. I define “a while” as think of how long it’s been since we had an explosive punt returner like De’Mornay Pierson-El. That’s how long “a while” is in my book.

Speaking of explosive returners….that’s something that the Terrapins DO have! Special teams will need to be playing MUCH better to corral Maryland running back/punt returner Javon Leake. 1 punt and 2 kickoffs have been taken in for touchdowns. (See why the reference to DPE…)

Speaking of fast feet, Maryland is the home of the Preakness Stakes horse race. The official drink is the Black-eyed Susan. Weird that a drink for a MARY-land event is named Susan but whatever. Maybe her sister Mary got mad and hauled off and “rum punched” her one. There are as many different recipes for this drink as there are excuses for a 4-6 losing record. The one I like is 1.5 oz vodka, 1.5 oz light rum, 1 oz triple sec/orange liqueur,  4oz OJ, 2 oz Pineapple Juice and crushed ice. Garnish with an orange and a cherry!

Since most Husker fans will be watching the game in the warmth of their home, I went with a hot crab dip this week. Super easy to make and goes down faster than an expectation for winning the B1G Ten West Division.

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Mix together 8 oz cream cheese, 1/4 c sour cream, 1/4 c mayo, 1 c cheddar cheese, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1 TBS WorceHestershire sauce, 1 TBS lemon juice, 1/2 tsp salt & 1/ 4 pepper. Then fold in 1 lb. lump crab meat. Put in a medium baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes or until it bubbles. Serve with pita chips or baguette. Feel free to toss in some Old Bay (keeping it with a Maryland theme) or toss in some cajun spice!

All kidding aside, the Husker football team MUST win this game in order to still hope to go bowling. It makes that game with the other bird that week much more interesting…. stay tuned. Feel free to share your photos with me on Twitter at @Kelian_NE In the meantime, get your gang together for that homegate and as always GO BIG RED!