Nebraska Cornhuskers News: Rebuilding and rebounding after tragedy, more

On a normal Saturday morning, the focus of this post would obviously be the spring game that's taking place in just a few hours. However, this isn't a normal Saturday morning after the events that took place on Friday afternoon.

Massive tornados tore through the Lincoln and Omaha area with ferocity that has been confirmed as historically awful. A sections of Bennington and Elkhorn were nearly wiped off the map. Epply Airfield was hit as well and downtown Lincoln was witness to a massive funnel cloud that somehow apparently did very little damage.

So on Saturday morning a good portion of the state will be trying to turn their attention to the Nebraska Cornhuskers spring game as a way to avoid having to think what may, or may not be waiting for them at home.

While it feels like most people in Nebraska are still in a state of shock at just how hard the two most populous areas of the state were hit, rebuilding and rebounding efforts have officially begun. Funds are almost certainly going to be set up. One would have to hope that the Nebraska Cornhuskers wll find a way to incorporate rebuilding efforts into the game.

Slowly but surely, organizations around Nebraska are beginning to step up. Coaches have started to make their voices heard.

One organization only very tangentially tied to the Nebraska Cornhuskers have started fundraising as well. Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy announced on Friday night that Barstool is feauring a pair of "Nebraska Strong" shirts for sale. Portnoy said that all proceeds will go towards helping Nebraskans rebuild after the storm.

More Nebraska Cornhuskers news

Just hours after the storm rolled through Lincoln, the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Iowa Hawkeyes saw first pitch of a very important series for both squads. Things looked more than a little dire at first, thanks to Brett Sears first rough outing of the season.

Sears allowed three runs in the first, and for a while, it appears the Hawkeyes were going to make that lead stand up. However, in the bottom of the 5th, the Huskers scored three runs on a blast by Tyler Stone to tie it, 4-4. A run in the 7th and two runs in the 8th allowed the Nebraska Cornhuskers to escape 7-4. In the process, they snapped Iowa's 5-game win streak and showed some toughness they've been lacking of late.

Love or hate Trev Alberts, he deserves some credit for the job he did when he was the athletic director here. Earlier this week, it was announced that the Nebraska Cornhuskers are currently ranked 7th in the Directors Cup.

That's a higher spot that then Huskers have held in over a decade. It's the first time since 2000 they've been in the Top 10.