Nebraska Tailgate Talk: Indiana Hoosiers taste like chicken when they're roasted

Nebraska takes on last year’s Natty Champ, Indiana, in an 11 a.m. matchup in Lincoln. Temperatures at kickoff will be about 70 degrees, warming into the low 80s, but Mother Nature has conjured up some nasty, gusty winds (30mph before and up to 40 during). “B1G Fox” show is in town at the Student Union and “Bussin with the Boys” is down in the Haymarket. The game is televised on FOX. The spread is currently Indiana -7.5.

What a game with Maryland! I knew it wouldn’t be a cool walk in the park. Good on Maryland for coming to play, but it's better for the Huskers to get it together and win finally. That pick-six by McDougle will be a highlight for a while. QB Anthony Colandrea was impressive again, even with an interception. I’m not complaining. Other quarterbacks have had fat interception numbers by now, and even fatter sack numbers—just sayin'.

Props to the B1G Ten for not fining HC Matt Rhule after he straight up called out the horrendous idiots in stripes. That’s usually a hefty fine. This is the same crew from the Michigan -Western Michigan debacle, by the way. But hey, the B1G coming out and saying, “They were wrong, but at least it didn’t affect the overall score of the game,” is almost as admirable as “The crew got the call wrong, but we can’t change who won the game.” If that were us at our jobs, folks, we’d have had that security guy with the box at our desk in the morning.

Now onto the TEETH of the schedule. Indiana rolls into town having done Hoosier things for most of the season so far, except for that game against Northwestern.  It was a close one in week 4. They beat an unranked Northwestern by 6 points. Will Indiana overlook the Huskers with Ohio State up next week? Hope so. I’m sure Rhule & Company noticed that Northwestern kept lining up in tight formations on offense and their QB run game caused Indiana fits. It’s a great time for LUUUUKE chants at Memorial Stadium as senior Tight End Luke Lindenmeyer gallops toward the end zone (a lot).

Nebraska football looks for first Matt Rhule Top-25 win against defending champion Indiana

If you don’t have time to keep up on the Hoosiers, here it is in a nutshell: 2 great interchangeable running backs (Lee Beebee, Jr. and ), 2 or more great wide receivers who will end up playing on Sunday (Charlie Becker and other guys I don’t like) , andr hasn’t turned it over yet this year. He had that problem at TCU last year. It’s a disciplined team that doesn’t give up penalties. They are solid on defense as well. Probably why they won it all last year.

However, Nebraska has a great and a much better offensive line than last year. (Coach Geep Wade is quietly doing great things.) This game will hinge a lot on the trenches. It’s the perfect time for Williams Nwaneri to wreak havoc. Also key for Nebraska this week is having Husker Safeties Jamir Conn and Dwayne McDougle ready to tackle in space. The Hoosier running backs like to take it down the sideline and don’t often go out of bounds. Don’t get me wrong, Andrew Marshall and linebacker Owen Chambliss will have their hands full too.

Things that bother me about this game: 1) unranked against ranked. Rhule sucks in this category more than the holidays, when your in-laws stay over until Christmas. 2) early start time versus afternoon when Huskers usually practice. I’ve seen enough Big Red slow starts and awful 3rd quarters to know this team needs rhythm. 3) HC Curt Cignetti is a good coach, even though I wouldn’t bother to shake his hand even if trapped in an elevator for 5 hours. I don’t care for him and wouldn’t share my water with him either.

Y’all know how much I absolutely hate morning games. They aren't, and never will be, the preferred time slot. Not everyone lives in Lincoln, so adding drive time at o’dark thirty bites worse than two-day-old bitter coffee. Plus, tailgaters will have to battle the 30+ mph winds long before any special teams players have to navigate it. Morning casseroles are boring, but it’s the deal. Breakfast pizza never fails either.

Regardless, I’ve come up with a morning shooter for those tense moments. Before you say, “but it’s not even noon yet.” It is somewhere, and as my friends in the SEC say, “you can’t drink all day if you don’t start in the morning.” 1 shot Brandy, 1 shot Peach Schnapps, and 2 oz Orange Juice. Shake over ice and strain. I’m calling it “who’s your Daddy.” (see what I did there)

Things I’d love to see: I want to see the Blackshirts make Indiana QB Josh Hoover uncomfortable, and I don’t think a pick-six for Nebraska is asking too much. I want Big Red to be in it right up to the end. I can handle it if we lose. I can’t handle it if it’s by an embarrassing amount. I would love to see other Husker wide receivers step up. Pretty obvious they are going to be all over Kwazi Gilmer like a senior on prom night. Plenty of other receiver options out there. Mostly, I don’t want to see an Indiana blowout.

Get on the road early because traffic always bites, and there is still too much road destruction everywhere. Put on a tight hat because winds are gonna be Nebraska wind. Cheer loudly and no matter the outcome, win at the tailgate. As always, GO BIG RED!

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow