AUSTIN, Texas - What a weird trip.
It was on the sidelines as much as the field - bizarre turns of events and scenes you could only find in the South.
Granted, this wasn't the deep South. This was fringe South, deep in the heart of Texas, a place saturated with clashing patriotisms to America, Texas and, oddly enough, the Confederacy.
I could probably write a column solely about the perplexing pride Southerners have in the fallen Confederacy. I would appreciate someone explaining to me how people can have patriotism for the United States and the Confederate States at the same time. It's been more than 140 years. Shouldn't the bitterness of losing the war have dissipated by now?
There were more oddities that caused my head to turn even before we reached the stadium. The interstate speed limits, which are slower at night than during the day. The interstates themselves, which are built more like circular systems than road systems.
I might even mention that media will-call was located a walking mile from the stadium, where we were greeted by a large man behind a small glass window set in a thick rock wall.
This is the state that Texans are so unflappably proud of? To each his own, I guess.
The strangeness didn't stop at the gates to Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium - which, by the way, is a 14-syllable name for a football venue that perfectly affirms the "Everything is Bigger in Texas" motto.
From the start of the game, Nebraska was sending the defense into the backfield like it was attempting to block a kick rather than shut down an offense. To NU's credit, the strategy worked well for a good majority of the game. It was a smart plan. That doesn't mean it wasn't unbelievable to watch.
"We were not just going to sit there and let him decide who he was going to throw to," NU safety Ben Eisenhart said. "We were going to come after him and we were pretty successful."
For three quarters, one could argue that they were very successful. Seeing the way the Cornhuskers took Texas' multiple weapons out of the game was surpassed in awe only by the way they took a nap with the lead in the fourth quarter of the game.
Texas quarterback Colt McCoy never really got the passing game going. He had 181 yards through the air, but only 13 came on 1-of-3 passing in a breakout fourth quarter on the ground. The rest of his passing yards were fairly inconsequential.
The trouble for Nebraska was that the blitz, which did well to neutralize McCoy, made Jamaal Charles look like he was running the ball against a Pop Warner defense. Charles is a sure bet to be the Big 12 Conference's Offensive Player of the Week, and not to discredit him, but the situation was pretty advantageous for him.
There was upside to the game, though. The Huskers were playing on national television, and for the first time in what some would argue was a month, they came to play. They took a halftime lead, had a balanced offense and made extreme changes to stay competitive on defense. NU Coach Bill Callahan's assessment of the game was cliché, but it wasn't wrong.
"That's all you can ask your team to do is to empty their tank, and they gave everything they had today," Callahan said. "They just came up on the short end of the stick, but I'm awfully proud of those players and the effort they gave today."
For fans looking for moral victories or baby steps or hope, the loss at Texas supplied those. In an odd way, Nebraska's fourth-straight loss wasn't all bad. Most people chalked the game up as a sure loss. It was very nearly a stunning win.
Maybe it's more appropriate to call the game very surprising.
But Texas? Still weird.
JONATHAN CROWL IS A SENIOR ENGLISH MAJOR. REACH HIM AT JONATHANCROWL@DAILYNEBRASKAN.COM
