Nebraska Football Tailgate Talk: Undermining Minnesota is key

The Nebraska football team will play against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at 11 am, on Saturday in Lincoln and televised on ESPN2. The weather forecast is kind of crappy. It might rain a little. Temperatures from the overnight will be chilly with a low of 32. Until the sun comes up, it will leave you a little cold. Kind of sums up the whole season. But I digress.

Last week’s game had that sad old familiar feeling. I’ll admit that once Husker QB Casey Thompson went down, I had that sinking feeling (do not count that as a boat reference). We learned a lot of things in hindsight, not unlike the Frost era. We learned that there is a large gap between #1 and #2 QB. I was hoping that only applied to the O-Line.

We learned that Husker sensation Trey Palmer doesn’t like having Prom-night-like hands on him. Keeping him to only 1 reception for one yard in the entire game, well-done Coach Bielema.  We know that practice doesn’t make for perfect catches in game situations. We learned that you really shouldn’t throw the ball across your body unless you wear a Packer jersey. We always knew four turnovers quickly kills hopes of victory and that not even attempting to block the opponent on an extra point kick will lead to a blocked one.

I much prefer learning how much more awesome Nebraska football interim head coach Mickey Joseph is each week. I relish the feeling of anticipation of an impending victory. I like sailing along knowing kicker Timmy Bleekrode has MUCH improved our special teams play. Despite my attempts to stay positive, if I were a betting person, I would bet we don’t see Casey Thompson on Saturday. I really hope I’m wrong but I don’t see us getting past the Gophers if we can’t sling it down the field on the regular.

Huskers are going to be in a dog fight Saturday. Not the cute cuddly kind of dog like Milo, either. Think more like the kind of dog that scared you in the movie Sandlot named “the Beast.” Another physical game on a Nebraska football team that definitely took its licks last week. I still believe that Coach Joseph will have them hungry for another fight.

Minnesota comes to town with a similar game plan as Illinois and having just beat Rutgers 31-0 to improve to 5-3 this year. They have a similar defense and the same kind of quarterback in 6-year guy, Tanner Morgan. If Offensive (which seems to be more of an adverb than a title) Coordinator Whipple can’t figure out a better gameplan, then this game could get as ugly as PJ Fleck’s pants. If you want the odds, click here.

The Huskers will need to play solid on defense as Mohamed Ibrahim is STILL playing college football at the running back position. It feels like he’s been their running back longer than Goldy has had an overbite.  It’s going to take solid tackling to slow him down. Maybe he will still be tired from the 169 yards he ran for last week.

It’s also time for the Huskers’ defensive backs to cause some game-winning picks for points. The reality is that the Nebraska football team needs this win to have any hope of making a bowl game.

The early morning hours will require a lot of warm coffee and perhaps something extra mixed in to keep you warm. Bloody Mary’s and Mimosas won’t feel the same with an ouside temperature of 40 degrees so choose wisely. Always plenty of options.

Breakfast feel-good food must include a casserole of some kind, right? I love this little gem. It’s similar to a breakfast pizza which is good warm or cold. Cook and crumble a pound of sausage. Whip up 8 eggs in a bowl. Grease a 9 x 13 pan and spread 1 sheet of crescent roll dough out. Mix the eggs, 2 cups of cheddar cheese and sausage together and pour over the dough. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. I cut it up into pieces so I can stack more in a warming tray. Use ham bits to switch it up too.

Wear layers to your Nebraska football tailgates as the sun will come out, and things will improve. I’ll be cheering on Big Red as they work hard to improve against conference foes. Wear Red. Be good fans and as always, GO BIG RED!