After Kansas State knocked off Kansas Saturday in the battle of the Sunflower State, a lot of heads lowered in Cornhusker country.
The Wildcats upended their in-state rival Kansas 17-10 to capture the Governor’s Cup while Nebraska had a game looming against its rival Oklahoma. Some Husker fans expected NU to get blown out for the second-straight year.
When the final whistle blew, the Huskers also shocked more than just their fans, winning 10-3.
NU coach Bo Pelini couldn’t have been happier.
“I’m just proud of this whole football team,” Pelini said. “I’m proud of how they played. I’m proud of the effort and the attitude they brought to the game.”
That “attitude” is what Nebraska will need to end up in the Big 12 Conference title game in Dallas at the end of the year.
After Saturday, K-State coach Bill Snyder and his Wildcats are in position to represent the North in Dallas, but they won’t do it without a fight from NU.
After what was expected to be an inevitable loss to Oklahoma, Nebraska was supposed to bow out of the North race.
But the NU upset over the Sooners, paired with the KSU win, makes the North a two-team race.
As a whole, the Big 12 is in shambles. Texas is the only undefeated team left in the conference and has all but punched their ticket to the BCS title game, making the South relatively irrelevant until December.
Which brings us to the messed up world that is the North.
Somehow, Colorado currently finds itself third in the division ahead of Iowa State, Kansas and Missouri, even though CU is 3-6 on the year. The Buffaloes found a way to edge Texas A&M 35-34 Saturday, giving them a 2-3 conference record.
The Jayhawks and Tigers are out of serious contention with 1-4 conference marks, while the Cyclones sit at 2-4 in Big 12 play. This leaves Nebraska (3-2) and K-State (4-2) as the only two teams left with a ticket to Dallas on the table.
Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, who has now faced both teams, had nothing but good things to say about the Huskers after the shocking NU win.
“My congratulations to Nebraska and coach Pelini and their staff,” Stoops said. “(Their) team played a hard-fought game and really played well, and had an excellent game defensively.”
After the Sooners beat Kansas State 42-30 two weeks ago, Stoops gave his required compliments to KSU, but then spent the rest of his time talking about how his team really grew in the close win.
However, if I were to compare the ways KSU and NU played against Oklahoma, I would also have to do that with Louisiana-Lafayette, and it’s safe to say the Wildcats are a bit better than the team that lost 17-15 to the Ragin’ Cajuns back in September.
The fact is, both K-State and NU control their own destinies from here on out. Nebraska finishes with Kansas, KSU and Colorado to end the year. The Wildcats have just two games left, against Missouri and Nebraska.
As long as the Huskers don’t slip up against KU or Colorado, the North will be decided in Lincoln on Nov. 21. The Wildcats shouldn’t have much of a problem with Missouri at home considering the Tigers just let Baylor go into Columbia, Mo., and come out with a win.
After NU’s win over Oklahoma, the players stayed the course, saying it’s just another game and that they’re now ready to focus on Kansas, but I’m not buying it.
You have to like Pelini’s mindset, but a big win can change the course of the season, and NU needs to give this win a chance to do that.
Nonetheless, be prepared for another week of expected comments from players and coaches. Come Sunday morning, they are all about Kansas.
“It’s just one win,” Pelini said of the win over OU. “This game means nothing if we don’t come back and go to Lawrence and take care of business next weekend. At the end of the day, you get back to business as usual tomorrow and go back to work.”
Spencer schubert is a senior news-editorial and broadcasting major. Reach him at spencerschubert@dailynebraskan.com.
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