Nebraska Football: Husker Hex continues bowling teams over

I’ve talked about the very weird effect that Nebraska football teams have on their opponents before. Whether you call it the Scott Forst curse, or the Husker Hex, the effect is the same. For whatever reasons, when an opponent emerges victorious in a game against the Cornhuskers, trouble is sure to soon follow.

Easily the weirdest aspect of this particular curse is that it’s still going, unbroken since the last few weeks of last year. There was a time when this was just a joke. It’s turned weird. It’s turned into a thing where you almost have to entertain the possibility that it’s a real thing. It’s not, of course. But what the heck is going on with teams that beat the Nebraska football team?

For those who are somehow unfamiliar with the Husker Hex, it’s a simple concept. Beat the Huskers? Lost next week. It’s happened every week since several assistants were fired by Scott Frost in a frail effort to save his own job.

It’s continued this year even with the firing of Frost. Every single team, that has beaten the Huskers this year, has lost the following week. However, it’s worth pointing out that it’s not even that teams lose the next week but for the most part, aren’t all that good for the rest of the season.

One need look no further than Northwestern to prove that point. The Wildcats are currently 1-8 this year, having not won a single game since toppling the Cornhuskers and likely pushing Frost a bit closer to the exit.

Oklahoma and Purdue can certainly attest to the dangers of beating Nebraska football. The Husker Hex has taken a lot of steam out of their season. The Sooners were 2-0 and looking like a national power when they clashed with the Huskers. Since their 49-14 win, they’ve gone just 2-4 and a bowl game isn’t a given.

Purdue looked like a possible Big Ten West champion thanks to a 4-2 record. Since toppling Nebraska in a barn burner, the Boilermakers have lost their last two games and are also in danger of missing the postseason. Likewise Georgia Southern was 2-0 leaving Lincoln and it looked like former USC coach Clay Helton had found some reasonable success. The Eagles are 3-4 since being the team that finally ended the Scott Frost era.

Finally, there’s Illinois. The Illini looked like a train just rolling down the tracks after beating the Huskers. They looked like the best team in the Big Ten West by a lot. The week after beating the Nebraska football team, they went out and lost to a beleaguered Michigan State team 23-15.

The big question now is what happens to Minnesota this week. If there was a team and a time that could finally break the Husker Hex, it would seem to be the Golden Gophers this week. They take on lowly Northwestern on Saturday and are 17.5-point favorites. But what happens if the Wildcats, who certainly gave Ohio State a fight last week emerge victorious? Things could get even weirder really quickly.

All told, teams that have beaten the Nebraska football team this year are a combined 5-19 post-victory. There are plenty of Husker fans who feel as though the program is cursed. Perhaps it’s just bled over and infected everyone who comes into contact at this point.