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Remember the Nicholls State game?
Back on Sept. 9, Nebraska thumped the Colonels 56-7 at Memorial Stadium. The Cornhuskers were playing an inferior opponent that day, and seemingly every other fan and media outlet spent more time talking about the following week's game at Southern California rather than the game at hand.
Friday's game against Colorado had the same feel.
The normally exciting Nebraska-Colorado battle was reduced to little more than a nationally televised exhibition game. The Buffs came into Lincoln with an abysmal 2-9 record and hadn't won on the road in four tries all season. Heck, CU couldn't even play the spoiler role because the Huskers clinched the Big 12 North Division two weeks ago at Texas A&M.
Yep, the stakes were about as high as a celebrity poker game.
NU never led by more than a touchdown until the final quarter, but there seemed to be a sense of calm - or quiet confidence, maybe - that everything would be OK for Husker fans. Even if the Big Red did the unthinkable and blew the game to the Buffs, a loss would have meant little in the grand scheme of things.
As it happened, of course, Nebraska took over the game late and went on to win 37-14, winning border bragging rights and breaking a streak of four straight wins by the road team in the series.
If nothing else, the victory provided NU with another shot of confidence as it prepares for a game it hasn't played in since 1999 - the Big 12 title game in Kansas City.
It's that contest, by the way, that most players and media were interested in talking about after a Memorial Stadium-record crowd had filed out Saturday evening.
At the time, though, the Huskers' opponent for next week's game hadn't been set. Would they prefer to play Texas or Oklahoma? Would NU rather try to settle a score with Texas? Or would it like to rekindle a classic rivalry with Oklahoma?
If Nebraska players and coaches had an opinion, they certainly didn't reveal it.
"They're both good football teams," said senior defensive end Adam Carriker. "It really doesn't matter."
The always-quotable Corey McKeon didn't even have a strong opinion on NU's opponent, choosing instead to keep his eyes on the prize.
"We're getting ready to play for that bling ring," the junior linebacker said. "It's going to be bigger than the (NBA champion) Miami Heat's."
As it happened, the Huskers will hook up with Oklahoma on Saturday by virtue of Texas's home loss to Texas A&M combined with the Sooners' 27-21 win at in-state rival Oklahoma State.
Time to prepare for approximately 507 Nebraska-Oklahoma games this week on ESPN Classic.
And how about some storylines for next weekend? OU's All-Universe running back Adrian Peterson might be back after having suffered a broken collarbone on Oct. 14. Either way, the Sooner running game has been the trademark of Oklahoma's offense, churning out 244 yards on the ground against OSU.
How will it match up with a Husker group that gave up 166 rushing yards to Colorado and 155 to Texas A&M before that?
Nebraska vs. Oklahoma. Bill Callahan vs. Bob Stoops. The Big 12's two hottest teams pitted against each other with a bid to the Fiesta Bowl on the line.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. After all, Nebraska is just a few days removed from sweeping North opponents for the first time in seven years. Maybe everyone should stop for a moment and realize how significant that is.
(Dramatic pause).
Long enough, Husker fans? Good. You wouldn't want to keep Oklahoma waiting.
