2009 Husker Football

[Bosco55David]

Barney Cotton....hmmm, where do I remember that name from????  Oh yeah, the offensive genius that turned ISU's 2005 season from 10-1 to 7-4 because we couldn't score in the red zone and lost 3 OT games because of it.....yeah, hey, good luck with Barney.

Cotton is the offensive line coach. Shawn Watson does the play calling.

[icejammer]

Defense played good again.  ISU should be happy with the gift given to them today.  Without our own mistakes it would have been a Husker win easy.  But we seem to try and find ways to beat ourselves.

Let's just call it an equalizer for ISU having to start a freshman at QB for his first career start.

Just a little trivia...who was the last visiting QB to make his first career start at Memorial Stadium and come away with a win?

[S33]

[Pelini isn't |expletive| it up.  It's Shawn Watson and Barney Cotton that are setting up the plays on offense, and pushing the o-line to try to do well (operative word being 'try').

Barney Cotton....hmmm, where do I remember that name from????  Oh yeah, the offensive genius that turned ISU's 2005 season from 10-1 to 7-4 because we couldn't score in the red zone and lost 3 OT games because of it.....yeah, hey, good luck with Barney.

How does a person turn a season from 10-1 to 7-4? I don't get it.

[icejammer]

How does a person turn a season from 10-1 to 7-4? I don't get it.

Barney Cotton was the offensive line coach AND offensive coordinator for Iowa State, and the general consensus around Ames is that he wasn't very good at either.  Not bad either, but way too conservative in play-calling, which cost ISU dearly in 3 games that they should have won in regulation if not for an inability to score from the red zone.  Hence, the 7-4 record that should have been 10-1.

[Bosco55David]

How does a person turn a season from 10-1 to 7-4? I don't get it.

Barney Cotton was the offensive line coach AND offensive coordinator for Iowa State, and the general consensus around Ames is that he wasn't very good at either.  Not bad either, but way too conservative in play-calling, which cost ISU dearly in 3 games that they should have won in regulation if not for an inability to score from the red zone.  Hence, the 7-4 record that should have been 10-1.

Hence why he was basically took a demotion to come back to Lincoln.

[S33]

How does a person turn a season from 10-1 to 7-4? I don't get it.

Barney Cotton was the offensive line coach AND offensive coordinator for Iowa State, and the general consensus around Ames is that he wasn't very good at either.  Not bad either, but way too conservative in play-calling, which cost ISU dearly in 3 games that they should have won in regulation if not for an inability to score from the red zone.  Hence, the 7-4 record that should have been 10-1.

Lol, so with that logic the huskers should be 7-0. That sounds much better!

[icejammer]

Barney Cotton....hmmm, where do I remember that name from????  Oh yeah, the offensive genius that turned ISU's 2005 season from 10-1 to 7-4 because we couldn't score in the red zone and lost 3 OT games because of it.....yeah, hey, good luck with Barney.

Cotton is the offensive line coach. Shawn Watson does the play calling.

Yeah, I know, but Barney pulled both roles at ISU.

[icejammer]

Lol, so with that logic the huskers should be 7-0. That sounds much better!

I'm sorry?  Did I miss something and the Tech game was a 1 score affair last week?

Listen, I'm not trying to make excuses for those 3 losses 4 years ago, just pointing out a common thread in the offensive woes at 2 schools.

[S33]

Lol, so with that logic the huskers should be 7-0. That sounds much better!

I'm sorry?  Did I miss something and the Tech game was a 1 score affair last week?

Listen, I'm not trying to make excuses for those 3 losses 4 years ago, just pointing out a common thread in the offensive woes at 2 schools.

Ya, ya, I gotcha. I guess I don't understand why Nebraska would higher Iowa States trash. Doesn't seem like a very solid game plan to me. Maybe I'm just a sucker for the obvious though.

[icejammer]

Hence why he was basically took a demotion to come back to Lincoln.

No, the demotion was when he was let go at ISU and he ended up as a volunteer asst. coach at Ames High School for a year.

[Bosco55David]

Yeah, I know, but Barney pulled both roles at ISU.

I know. I was simply illustrating how Cotton has very little effect on this team outside of the offensive line.

No, the demotion was when he was let go at ISU and he ended up as a volunteer asst. coach at Ames High School for a year.

My point is that if he was a capable offensive coordinator, he would have moved back into that role when he returned to the college ranks. As it stands he went backwards back to being a positional coach.

Nothing wrong with that really. There are lots of position coaches who bombed as coordinators, just as lots of coordinators bomb as head coaches.

[Bosco55David]

Listen, I'm not trying to make excuses for those 3 losses 4 years ago, just pointing out a common thread in the offensive woes at 2 schools.

Except there isn't a common thread. Cotton isn't calling the plays here for the Huskers, which is what was apparently his downfall at ISU. He has a much different role here.

Ya, ya, I gotcha. I guess I don't understand why Nebraska would higher Iowa States trash. Doesn't seem like a very solid game plan to me. Maybe I'm just a sucker for the obvious though.

Actually he was our trash that went to ISU for a better gig, found out he wasn't cut out for it and came back to the spot he should have stayed in.  :mrgreen:

It's alot like Mike Nolan in Denver. Nolan was an outstanding defensive coordinator for many years before taking the head coaching job with the 49ers, but he simply didn't have the mind set that a head coach should have so he returned to the job (D-Coordinator) that he is good at and the team (Denver) where he got his start.  :yes:

[icejammer]

I was simply illustrating how Cotton has very little effect on this team outside of the offensive line.

As a Nebraska fan, you should be more than a little concerned about how a team came into Lincoln with an all-freshman backfield and still out-rushed you.  That's not a good sign for your o-line.  That's all I'm saying....

[S33]

Actually he was our trash that went to ISU for a better gig, found out he wasn't cut out for it and came back to the spot he should have stayed in.  :mrgreen:

It's alot like Mike Nolan in Denver. Nolan was an outstanding defensive coordinator for many years before taking the head coaching job with the 49ers, but he simply didn't have the mind set that a head coach should have so he returned to the job (D-Coordinator) that he is good at and the team (Denver) where he got his start.  :yes:

Wait, so we knew better?  :?

[Bosco55David]

As a Nebraska fan, you should be more than a little concerned about how a team came into Lincoln with an all-freshman backfield and still out-rushed you.  That's not a good sign for your o-line.  That's all I'm saying....

So you're saying that those ills are all the result of poor O-line play?

[Bosco55David]

Wait, so we knew better?  :?

Yes, and you can view that as a good or bad thing actually.

Nolan bombed as a HC, so he was available and the Broncos used his previous ties to the club as one of the main draws that got him to come back and work as the defensive coordinator. He's a major reason the Broncos have the best defense in the NFL right now.

Coaches often try to move up in the ranks, and they sometimes fail. When that happens, you can pick them up for the job they're truly meant to do and they're usually better for it after a stint with more responsibility.

[icejammer]

Except there isn't a common thread. Cotton isn't calling the plays here for the Huskers, which is what was apparently his downfall at ISU. He has a much different role here.

Well, it wasn't just the play-calling that was his problem at ISU - the o-line paved the way to 150 yds/gm rushing in the 3 yrs prior to Barney and that o-line prowess dropped to 118 yds/gm in the 3 yrs Barney was at ISU.

Now, maybe he just had too much on his plate to handle both duties at ISU, I don't know.  But certainly the quality of the o-line went in the crapper those 3 years.

[icejammer]

As a Nebraska fan, you should be more than a little concerned about how a team came into Lincoln with an all-freshman backfield and still out-rushed you.  That's not a good sign for your o-line.  That's all I'm saying....

So you're saying that those ills are all the result of poor O-line play?

No, not at all.  But it all starts up front.  Are you satisfied with what's happening upfront?  Honestly?

[Bosco55David]

Now, maybe he just had too much on his plate to handle both duties at ISU

I'd say that's the most likely explanation. The only time I've seen people be able to handle positional and coordinator duties is a when the position coaching is for the QB spot, the centerpiece of the offense.

No, not at all.  But it all starts up front.  Are you satisfied with what's happening upfront?  Honestly?

Given that being in Florida means I see very little of the Husker games, it would be hard for me to give an honest answer. There is always room for improvement, but I simply don't have enough exposure to the team to get a real deep analysis of what's failing and what's working.

[Zilla]

Barney Cotton....hmmm, where do I remember that name from????  Oh yeah, the offensive genius that turned ISU's 2005 season from 10-1 to 7-4 because we couldn't score in the red zone and lost 3 OT games because of it.....yeah, hey, good luck with Barney.

Barney has zero to do with the plays going in.  Nothing.

I don't think Barney is doing a "horrible" job.  I'll give him a little more time for a few reasons.  1) None of the guys on the OLine were recruited for the run...they are pass blockers for the WCO.  That's part of the reason we haven't seen the smash mouth game as much as we'd like.  We don't have the right personnel for it.  2) For the most part, their pass blocking has been decent.  It tends to look worse when you have a QB who indecisively stands in the pocket way longer than he needs to.  Most pockets will break down if you stand back there for more than 3-5 seconds. 3) Outside of Hickman they are all So., and starting for the first time.  And now Hickman is out. 3) They showed improvement today.  No penalties, and some halfway decent blocking.  I think the only sack we got today was a "coverage" sack.  Zac stayed in the pocket way too long.

I'll repeat what I said a few posts up, if there are any two coaches who should be on the hotseat, it's Watson and Gilmore.

[Zilla]

Ya, ya, I gotcha. I guess I don't understand why Nebraska would higher Iowa States trash. Doesn't seem like a very solid game plan to me. Maybe I'm just a sucker for the obvious though.

Many coaches are good position coaches but not great coaches or with other duties.  I'd take Solich back in a second as our running back coach, but I'd never want him to be the head coach again or Off Coordinator.

As a Nebraska fan, you should be more than a little concerned about how a team came into Lincoln with an all-freshman backfield and still out-rushed you.  That's not a good sign for your o-line.  That's all I'm saying....

Let's see, we have our #1 back with a shoulder so bad he has trouble holding onto the ball, true #2 out, #3 & #4 are so average they got jumped by a true freshmen, and a true freshmen.  I'd say we have a serious problem in the backfield due to injuries.  Not Oline play.  Better OLine play would help, but the Oline didn't cause the fumbles today.  And seriously, you outgained us by 23 yards.  It's not like we had 10 yards and you had 300.

And honestly, not to take anything away from your win, but you aren't concerned with the fact that you guys got 8 turnovers and couldn't win by more than 2?  If just one of those turnovers hadn't happened in the redzone there would have been no win.

No, not at all.  But it all starts up front.  Are you satisfied with what's happening upfront?  Honestly?

There's room for improvement, but they are certainly not playing "horrible."  Certainly not today.  Runs were made, there was time for passes, but fumbles and dropped balls make any offensive series look terrible.

[OmahaJaysCU]

As a Nebraska fan, you should be more than a little concerned about how a team came into Lincoln with an all-freshman backfield and still out-rushed you.  That's not a good sign for your o-line.  That's all I'm saying....

So you're saying that those ills are all the result of poor O-line play?

No, not at all.  But it all starts up front.  Are you satisfied with what's happening upfront?  Honestly?

Now, honest question for someone who doesn't really care about ISU or Nebraska.  Didn't ISU lose both Stevie Hicks and Brett Meyer the year Cotton became offensive coordinator?  If so wouldn't that play a substantial role in the numbers you've been citing?

[thenewguy]

Now, maybe he just had too much on his plate to handle both duties at ISU

I'd say that's the most likely explanation. The only time I've seen people be able to handle positional and coordinator duties is a when the position coaching is for the QB spot, the centerpiece of the offense.

No, not at all.  But it all starts up front.  Are you satisfied with what's happening upfront?  Honestly?

Given that being in Florida means I see very little of the Husker games, it would be hard for me to give an honest answer. There is always room for improvement, but I simply don't have enough exposure to the team to get a real deep analysis of what's failing and what's working.

Icejammer is correct: the offensive line sucks.  Regardless of the west coast offense, they know that there are times they still have to run the ball.  They can be awesome at pass protection, but that is only one component to offense.  They ALSO have to be good at blocking the run during running plays, or they are going to be considered a bad offensive line.  They are 60th in passing, 69th in rushing (FWIW, Iowa State is 12th).  Nebraska is ranked 65th in overall offense.  What you can take from those numbers is that they may be good at pass protection and Lee just waits too long.  But if you're 69th in rushing (worse than well over half the nation), then you have a bad running back (Helu isn't bad), or your offensive line doesn't help to create holes for the backs to run through and gain 4-6 yards a carry, which would make for a good average.  

I still think it starts with Cotton and how he works with his players.  They get pushed around way too much compared to what Nebraska would do when i was growing up.  They are almost pitiful at times.

And for the record, i love Nebraska.

[Adam]

I am getting so sick of all the "should have won by this" comments out there.  There's an article in the Omaha World Herald stating that the Huskers "should have" won 35-9 or 28-9 "at the minimum".

This drives me crazy. I could say the same thing in reverse... ISU "should have" won 16-7 or 19-7 or 20-7 "at the minimum" if it wasn't for Sims interception getting blown dead early, a missed PAT, a blocked FG, or Robinson and Arnaud both sitting out.  They just can't accept the fact that they lost, and they have to keep looking for excuses.

All I can say is that I am an ISU alum, and it is a great time to be a Cyclone right now!  Just accept the fact that we won, and that Rhoads coached the perfect conservative game that he needed to do to get this win.

[S33]

I am getting so sick of all the "should have won by this" comments out there.  There's an article in the Omaha World Herald stating that the Huskers "should have" won 35-9 or 28-9 "at the minimum".

This drives me crazy. I could say the same thing in reverse... ISU "should have" won 16-7 or 19-7 or 20-7 "at the minimum" if it wasn't for Sims interception getting blown dead early, a missed PAT, a blocked FG, or Robinson and Arnaud both sitting out.  They just can't accept the fact that they lost, and they have to keep looking for excuses.

All I can say is that I am an ISU alum, and it is a great time to be a Cyclone right now!  Just accept the fact that we won, and that Rhoads coached the perfect conservative game that he needed to do to get this win.

No, ISU should have won 42-7 or such. If it was any other team, they would have.

And yes, he did coach the perfect game, they did nothing. They're stats show it. They didn't have to, Nebraska refused to walk away with a win Saturday.

[Zilla]

I am getting so sick of all the "should have won by this" comments out there.  There's an article in the Omaha World Herald stating that the Huskers "should have" won 35-9 or 28-9 "at the minimum".

This drives me crazy. I could say the same thing in reverse... ISU "should have" won 16-7 or 19-7 or 20-7 "at the minimum" if it wasn't for Sims interception getting blown dead early, a missed PAT, a blocked FG, or Robinson and Arnaud both sitting out.  They just can't accept the fact that they lost, and they have to keep looking for excuses.

All I can say is that I am an ISU alum, and it is a great time to be a Cyclone right now!  Just accept the fact that we won, and that Rhoads coached the perfect conservative game that he needed to do to get this win.

Um....seriously?  The difference is when ISU had the ball the Nebraska Defense stopped them.  When Nebraska had the ball, we threw it on the turf.  We were moving the ball down the field and stopped ourselves with stupid mistakes.  ISU couldn't score cause our D stopped them.  If you think you're going to win more games by getting 8 turnovers and having an inept offense on the other side you're in for a shock.

I will agree that Rhoads did good in his playcalling.  All they had to do was hold onto the ball and let Nebraska beat themselves.  We would have lost any of our first three games with 8 turnovers.

[nebugeater]

ISU is not that good and we "should" be able to beat them.

I've got to tell ya, I've been biting my tongue on this one for 4 days now.....I might wait a few more days....

Hey, at least Nebraska has half of a team. Iowa State is pretty unimpressive in all facets of the game. State got away with one today, that's for sure.

Like I said earlier, both teams should be embarrassed with the outcome of this one. Trust me, Iowa State is NOT the better team.

Last Saturday I St was the better team, like it or not.  If the Huskers were the better team they would have won and overcome all the holes they ended up, either from their own play or a result of the I St play.

[OmahaBen]

ISU couldn't score cause our D stopped them.

Yeah, and ISU's defense had absolutely nothing to do with holding NU to 7 points, either...

But you're right. In the history of Nebraska football, they've never been the worse team on the field. They've always beaten themselves, been screwed by the refs, or just had bad luck on that one day. On paper, though, they should be undefeated.  :roll:  :roll:  :roll:

[Zilla]

ISU couldn't score cause our D stopped them.

Yeah, and ISU's defense had absolutely nothing to do with holding NU to 7 points, either...

But you're right. In the history of Nebraska football, they've never been the worse team on the field. They've always beaten themselves, been screwed by the refs, or just had bad luck on that one day. On paper, though, they should be undefeated.  :roll:  :roll:  :roll:

Yes, because that is exactly what I said.    :roll:  :roll:

[icejammer]

Now, honest question for someone who doesn't really care about ISU or Nebraska.  Didn't ISU lose both Stevie Hicks and Brett Meyer the year Cotton became offensive coordinator?  If so wouldn't that play a substantial role in the numbers you've been citing?

The year Barney became o-coord Hicks rushed for a trifle over 1,000 yds.  As I recall, Stevie was plagued with injuries throughout his career at ISU.  So yeah, you bring up a good point, Hicks injuries probably hurt the numbers, as the o-line couldn't open enough holes for the smaller, speedier backs that played behind him.  Austin Flynn was the starting QB when Barney started, but Meyer replaced him midway through the season, and Meyer played every game after that, although Chizek sat Meyer quite a little the last few games of his senior season in favor of Arnaud, to get Arnaud experience for the future.

Regardless of Stevie's injuries, ISU averaged 3 ypc or less each year Barney was there and was 12th, 9th, and 9th in red zone offense in the conference due in large part to inability to consistently run the ball. (to be fair, ISU was also 12th in red zone offense the year prior to Barney, but on the other hand, that offense was in the hands of a freshman QB all year)

[S33]

ISU couldn't score cause our D stopped them.

Yeah, and ISU's defense had absolutely nothing to do with holding NU to 7 points, either...

But you're right. In the history of Nebraska football, they've never been the worse team on the field. They've always beaten themselves, been screwed by the refs, or just had bad luck on that one day. On paper, though, they should be undefeated.  :roll:  :roll:  :roll:

Nebraska has had their |expletive| handed to them year in and year out since '02. I don't think anyone here is pretending to make excuses for all of Nebraska's losses. I will say, and I would bet any so called 'expert' would agree, that the only team Nebraska has played this year so far that was actually a better team - Texas Tech. Had State had in their starting QB and RB, maybe they would have looked better. Nebraska looked embarrassing, but productive, while Iowa State looked sedentary (with the exception of Jesse Smith - he's an animal) and slow.

Hats off to Iowa State though, they did what they had to do to win the ball game - kept giving the ball back to Nebraska's offense.

Congrats to Iowa State, and enjoy the win. They are few and far between.  :lol:

[Adam]

ISU couldn't score cause our D stopped them.

Yeah, and ISU's defense had absolutely nothing to do with holding NU to 7 points, either...

But you're right. In the history of Nebraska football, they've never been the worse team on the field. They've always beaten themselves, been screwed by the refs, or just had bad luck on that one day. On paper, though, they should be undefeated.  :roll:  :roll:  :roll:

Nebraska has had their |expletive| handed to them year in and year out since '02. I don't think anyone here is pretending to make excuses for all of Nebraska's losses. I will say, and I would bet any so called 'expert' would agree, that the only team Nebraska has played this year so far that was actually a better team - Texas Tech. Had State had in their starting QB and RB, maybe they would have looked better. Nebraska looked embarrassing, but productive, while Iowa State looked sedentary (with the exception of Jesse Smith - he's an animal) and slow.

Hats off to Iowa State though, they did what they had to do to win the ball game - kept giving the ball back to Nebraska's offense.

Congrats to Iowa State, and enjoy the win. They are few and far between.  :lol:

Thanks! You're right, we definitely need to enjoy this one.  It might be a while before we come out of Lincoln with another one!

This is no way targeted to anyone in this thread, because nobody here has made this comment, but I have been hearing it a lot over the last couple of days.  Lots of Husker fans out there are calling this a fluke.  I think this is completely unfair... the ISU defense deserves credit for this.  They were forcing those turnovers and jumping on the loose balls.  Those kids played their hearts out and deserve the credit for this win.

If it was the other way around, and ISU would have turned it over 8 times, it would have been a historical day in Blackshirt history... however with ISU it is just a fluke.  Sounds like a double-standard to me.

[Big E]

Regardless of who it happened to or whether they were forced or flukey or who was the better team on the field that day, it was simply a historically flukey statistical day.  End of story.  Statistically, NU bitchslapped ISU except for turnovers.  How many times did ISU line up inside the NU 10?  heck, how many times did they cross the 50?  If Helu fumbles on the second play of the day instead of the first, ISU doesn't get their first FG.  If NU goes minus-7 on the day instead of minus-8 they win.  At the end of the day it was a 9-7 win that no one with a football brain thinks ISU wasn't once-in-a-generation lucky to win, regardless of who the better team was on the field.  ISU might be able to beat the Minnesota Vikings if they go plus-8 in turnovers.

I remember a KSU game in Lincoln in 1999 (when KSU was still good) in which NU dropped the ball eleven times, but only lost 3 or 4, and won the game handily.  A couple bounces the wrong way and KSU wins that game over what ended up being a 12-1 NU team that was probably the best team in the country that year.  The only thing that kept them out of the NC game?  Yup... two fumbles by Dan Alexander inside Texas' two yard line in October.  NU fumbled the ball so many times that season that the team psychologist (Jack Stark) had an interview request every week.

1999 NU was good enough to overcome it.  2009 NU isn't.

2009 NU is a better football team than 2009 ISU, Saturday and every other day of the season.  9-7 don't lie, though.  Congratulations on the win.

[Adam]

I agree that NU won the game statistically... there isn't much arguing there.  My only point is that the ISU defense doesn't deserve to be short-changed by people stating that NU gave the game to them.

[Big E]

My only point is that the ISU defense doesn't deserve to be short-changed by people stating that NU gave the game to them.

I'll counter with this question:

How many times have you seen a truly good defense go plus-8 in turnovers (let alone 8-0) against ANY caliber of offense?

Teams simply don't cause eight turnovers very often, period.  I don't care how good they are or how bad the team they're playing is.

Explain Niles Paul dropping the ball while tip-toeing down the sideline.  Explain that flukey four-man bobbled interception at the goal line.  I've never seen anything remotely like it.  It's less about short-changing ISU and more about pointing out how sucktastic NU's offense is.

[Brad]

Huskers need to learn how to do this!  Amazing Hit!

[youtube][/youtube]

[Big E]

Huskers need to learn how to do this!

And here I thought you meant give away the game on turnovers like the Vikings did.  

[S33]

I agree that NU won the game statistically... there isn't much arguing there.  My only point is that the ISU defense doesn't deserve to be short-changed by people stating that NU gave the game to them.

The only good thing they did was take advantage of Nebraska turnovers. Otherwise, they got their butts kicked up and down the field all day long. Except for Jesse Smith of course, heck of a walk-on player to end up with.

For that, I give them credit because that is what won the game.


On a different note, I think all the naysayers and people calling for Watson and Cotton's head (which I'm also guilty of), should sit back and relax. After seeing some of the post game shows and highlights, they still are noticeably better than previous years and have made a lot of improvements.

Osborne wasn't exactly banging out championships right out of the gate and he took over for a coaching legend. Pelini is still cleaning up after Caladouche's abortion of a program.

If we are in the same boat two years from now, then I would think that's when changes need to be made.

[lnkS]

My only point is that the ISU defense doesn't deserve to be short-changed by people stating that NU gave the game to them.

I'll counter with this question:

How many times have you seen a truly good defense go plus-8 in turnovers (let alone 8-0) against ANY caliber of offense?

Teams simply don't cause eight turnovers very often, period.  I don't care how good they are or how bad the team they're playing is.

Explain Niles Paul dropping the ball while tip-toeing down the sideline.  Explain that flukey four-man bobbled interception at the goal line.  I've never seen anything remotely like it.  It's less about short-changing ISU and more about pointing out how sucktastic NU's offense is.

In addition, a child could cause Roy Helu to fumble by making contact with his "not injured badly" shoulder.  So, while ISU's defense did make some plays (like standing Robinson up while other defenders stripped the ball), at least 4 of the turnovers were flukes, one of which gave ISU a field goal, at least one other (Paul) directly cost a touchdown, and another (crazy interception caused by an iffy decision by Lee) made it so Nebraska couldn't even attempt a field goal.

Oh well, it doesn't really matter.  If two bad teams play and nobody outside of Nebraska and Iowa care, did it even happen?

[icejammer]

I agree that NU won the game statistically... there isn't much arguing there.  My only point is that the ISU defense doesn't deserve to be short-changed by people stating that NU gave the game to them.

Adam, you are right, but you're just wasting your breath on some people.  There are still Husker fans making excuses for the last Cyclone victory in Lincoln, or that refuse to acknowledge that ISU was the better team when we smoked the Huskers by more than 3 TDs in 2002.