Nebraska Football tailgate tales: Will Illinois annoy Nebraska?

Nebraska Football gets set to take on Illinois.

Way to GO BIG RED! I’m not going to lie, I was seeing shades of the Colorado game, complete with shady, dirty cheap shots, (get ahold of your team Coach Franklin) as the seconds ticked down last week. But finally, the Huskers finished with a win! It was good to see Coach Frost and the players celebrate their first win in 357 days, and the first home win in 400 days. Let that sink in.

Blackshirts were handed out this week as they should have for that epic performance in the red zone, but no press release. Coach Chinander said not everything needs to be out there on social media. Hey Coach, here’s a tip: Share the good things. There haven’t been that many and if the Huskers lose to Illinois, you’ll want to have built up some goodwill. #endofrant

Nebraska AD, Bill Moos said in his weekly radio appearance that Kevin Warren won’t be coming to any Nebraska Husker football games. I tried to imagine what THAT invite would say? “Dear Kevin, if you aren’t too busy going down to Mississippi State to watch your son play football, or hiding in your basement in Illinois reading “An idiots guide to management,” the Husker football game is at 11 am on Saturday in Lincoln. You can sit next to Ed McCaffrey and the rest of the parents who filed suit against you.” He’s not coming? In the immortal words of Ross Geller, “FINE BY ME!” Only friends and family are allowed anyway and you’re never making either of those lists K-Dub.

Next up is Illinois (Fox Sports). There’s nothing fancy about them. They bring the hits. They still have a good defense. They force turnovers, lots, beating Rutgers 23-20 last week. This could be troublesome given the propensity of Luke McCaffrey to cough the ball up at bad times. And with our offense packing it in by halftime, it’s concerning. Typically Nebraska accumulates a lot of yards against the orange and blue, but that doesn’t always mean points this year. And more 2020 bad news, head coach Lovie Smith has shaved off that epic beard too. I blame the Rona.

Since Nebraska Football has been outscored something like 59-6 in the 2nd half this season, here’s a thought… Luke starts the first half and Adrian Martinez starts the second half. That way each has a “first” half where Nebraska scores a lot of points. Just tossing that out there.

I hope we see a true running back out there Saturday instead of Wan’Dale Robinson. His smaller frame is not meant to take the kind of abuse an Illinois defense can provide. We all heard about the “stable” of running backs. Open up the barn, Frosty!

Yet another painful morning game for Nebraska Saturday. For my tailgate/homegate I’m inspired by a Chi-town staple, a pizza….. a breakfast pizza! In college that meant put a fried egg on that cold slice leftover in the box. Now that I’m a little older, I can be lazy and buy great breakfast pizzas from Hy-Vee (call ahead to order). I’ll admit I’ll probably buy an Oh Mio Dio from Piezon’s Pizzaria (402-991-7437) and toss on fried eggs Saturday morning. Nebraska Football alum Matt Vrzal makes great stuff over there! But if you’re more of a deep dish person, this recipe stacks it on and is VERY tasty from Tammy Christie on Allrecipes.

The jello shot for this Husker home game is inspired by my sexy friend, and BIG Nebraska fan, Bobbi. She suggested an “Ode to the Cardboard Cutout.” How would that taste? What would be in it? It would need to be strong enough to stand up to Nebraska winds, sweet enough to emulate the sweetness of watching a game in Memorial Stadium, plus leave a good taste in your mouth like another Husker victory! Mix Raspberry jello with a cup of boiling water and stir until dissolved. Add in 1/2 cup of UV Cherry vodka and 1/4 cup of white creme de cocoa. Pour into shot cups and chill! Thanks, Bobbi!

It would be great for Nebraska to have back to back wins. I looking for the quarterback play to be improved. (The most improvement comes between game 1 and game 2) I hope that when Nebraska gets a great big lead, Adrian Martinez comes in and plays well. He’s a class act and deserves it. I want to see wide receiver Alante Brown make catches for a lot of yards.

I want to see Kade Warner actually get his touchdown in the end zone. Most of all, I want another Husker victory. Hit me up on Twitter at Kelian_NE with your drink suggestions or recipes. And as always, GO BIG RED!