Nebraska Football: Huskers, Horseshoe and the Hush

Nebraska football is back!

It’s FINALLY here! B1G Ten football begins Friday night with a matchup of Wisconsin v. Illinois. Interesting, it’s almost like Barry Alvarez could pick his own schedule… but surely that isn’t how it worked. Big Red is on the road to Columbus and the Buckeyes will be playing to a quiet stadium (thanks to Kevin Warren’s HUGE insight in how to make an awful situation more awful).

It will be weird not to hear 100,000 screaming Nebraska football fans in there, but I’m sure but it’s better than not playing at all. Nebraska wanted to play football. Yes, we have it. The over/under on the sarcastic announcers saying “well Nebraska wanted to play football… and they got it” is 18.

Huskers play at 11 am on FS1 which means a morning tailgate/homegate.  Ohio State is poised to win the B1G Ten for the 4th straight year. To do that in this shortened season, they will need style points.

And they will need to play all games, comply with the overly stringent (my opinion) testing protocols, and stay COVID free, basically. For comparison, the Big 12, SEC and ACC test their players 3 times a week and B1G Ten does it 6 times a week.

If you followed the drama over the offseason you know that OSU and NU pretty much were the drumbeat of putting pressure on the league and getting the games back on the calendar.

There were many alliances made on social media and between OSU and Husker fans. However, the gloves come off on Saturday. and OSU needs to make a statement that may explain the 26 point spread. Translation: they will look to run up the score.

I’m certainly tired of being embarrassed on national tv when Nebraska loses big. I’d really like for that to change. It’s year 3 of the Frost era and it’s time to see some benefits of the weight room and training table. Clearly, we don’t host the amount of 5 and 4-stars that OSU has. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean a blowout. I would take Nebraska and the points… um, if I bet.

The weather on Saturday morning will be cloudy, maybe rainy, and 50ish degrees. That usually means a lot of running. The run game slows the clock and the less time OSU has the ball the better for Big Red.

Husker RB, Dedrick Mills has been called the “workhorse” and the “bell cow.” Is this because we are in the heartland or just because no running back is never called the “rock n’ roller”? (trivia tip: Cleveland claims fame for being the home of Rock N’ Roll).

For that early morning tailgate, biscuits and gravy sound perfect since it will most likely get sloppy for the Huskers. I also recommend Big Red Sliders Or try the Husker Gameday Quiche for that early crowd.

Since we have a GREAT reason to gather and watch the game on Saturday, I have created a Buckeye jello shot. First, brown jello is not easy. Second, Buckeye food is mostly candy and no one needs to be hyped up into a sugar coma before noon. And third, please appreciate all the people who helped me taste test the batches that didn’t make it to print.

Buckeye shots: 1 pkg Black Cherry jello, mix with 1 cup of boiling water. Add in green food coloring and then yellow to the desired brown color. Mix in 3/4 c Captain Morgan (or other spiced) rum. Stir and then pour into the shot cups.

Chill to set. I used an apple corer (thanks for the idea Cindy) to take the center out. I mixed 1 pkg pineapple jello with 1 cup hot water, then 3/4 c of peach schnapps. I poured it into the cut-out center. You will want to chill the jello mixture down quite a bit before pouring in the center or it blends together by melting the outside into the inside. Chill it and enjoy!

Other CORN Nuggets:

1. Adrian Martinez is the starting QB. We will find out if last year was a culmination of injury and no offensive weapons and an O-Line in chaos, or if he still can’t make reads and can’t hit his targets;

2. WR Kade Warner and OL Damian Jackson are now on scholarship. Great stories, both of them;

3. Captains are A. Martinez, Colin Miller, Matt Farniok, Kade Warner and DiCaprio Bootle;

4. The Blackshirts have not been handed out; and

5. We will find out if Defensive Coordinator Erik Chinander has gotten any better at adjusting at halftime, or being able to set the edge.

That’s it. Well, there is more but there are more weeks to get to that. In the meantime, send me your photos, recipes, and thoughts on the Huskers on Twitter – @Kelian_NE. I’m hoping the Cornhuskers keep it close. If it’s under 21, that’s a win in my book. As always, GO BIG RED!