Corn Nation: for Nebraska Cornhuskers fans

Purdue Recap, And Here Comes Sparty!

Nebraska sits at 5-3. One more win to get a bowl bid - and the game this week is against the 2-6 Michigan State Spartans. Sparty is currently on a six-game losing streak, and things don’t look they’re going to get any better with Nebraska, Ohio State, Indiana and Penn State left on the schedule.
Our beloved Huskers just finished a win over Purdue; an ugly, ugly win, but a win nonetheless.
Todd and I discussed... well, honestly, not that much Michigan State talk.
We spent much of the time discussing:
Jeff Sims at quarterback
How the offense is doing under Marcus Satterfield
The fact that Bryce Benhart is doing very well because nobody ever talks about him
Iowa and Brian Ferentz and Kirk Ferentz
Michigan and their sign-stealing fiasco.

Winning in All Phases

I know what you’re thinking. How do you win in all phases of the game when the offense commits five turnovers?
A fifteen-play drive that lasted almost nine minutes and ended with points. Then just moments later, after a Tommi Hill interception, the quick attack from Haarberg to Lloyd to extend Nebraska’s lead to 14-0. Meanwhile, the Huskers rushed for 155 yards and a late Emmett Johnson touchdown to put the game away.
Defensively, what can you say about a unit that continually answers the call? From being put into bad situations early on to two Hill interceptions, a Quentin Newsome fumble recovery, and a blocked punt that led to Newsome’s touchdown return. Add another eight tackles for loss and the defense continues to do all it can to keep Nebraska winning.
This week on the show (a little later than usual, and we apologize for that), Greg and Hoss enjoy the fact that we’re riding a winning streak and one game away from bowl eligibility. Also, Hoss will be in East Lansing this weekend for the game that could get Nebraska bowling, so next week’s episode could be quite a celebration, even if it’s recorded on Monday night again.
Go Big Red.

Why Have There Been So Many Nebraska Football Injuries?

On the Five Heart Podcast this week, Jon and Greg are talking about the scourge of injuries that has hit Nebraska’s beloved football team.
Nebraska has lost:
- Their top two running backs
- Their top four receivers
- 83 offensive linemen
- Numerous defensive players
Why?
Some theories that have been tossed around include the physicality in practice. Greg had the thought of tying in some of the complaints being levied in the NFL that maybe grass is better than turf. But would replacing the RealTurf even be feasible in Lincoln?
The show gets started with some conversation about music, including the group’s first albums. Jon claims we have too much “off-season chatter” for a 4-3 team looking to become bowl-eligible for the first time since the Obama Administration, while also stating that there isn’t enough buzz around the football team.
Apparently Purdue Head Coach “hates the color red, hates the letter N, and hated Sesame Street.” All because he played at Colorado fifteen years ago. Boo hoo. But you don’t hear Matt Rhule saying anything to the press about how “it’s personal.” And that just indicates a higher level of maturity than that coach over there (Colorado).
Predictions were overwhelmingly for Nebraska winning on a day that is likely to include inclement weather. Even with the decimated offense, the defense is strong. The defensive line is playing at a high level and getting plenty of help from the rest of the unit.
And along the way, we make Jon super uncomfortable!

Nebraska vs Purdue Preview LIVE with The Boilers

Our beloved Huskers play Purdue this weekend, and YOU NEED A GAME PREVIEW.
You need to know about the Boilers. They have Hudson Card, the best quarterback in the Big Ten West. They have Devin Mockobee, that crazy legs running back.
They have Graham Harrell for an offensive coordinator. He’s that guy that knows all about the Air Raid offense. They have Ryan Walters as a head coach. He hates Nebraska because he grew up a Colorado fan.
Jon is joined by Drew Schneider. Drew is the co-manager at the SBNation Purdue site Hammer and Rails and also writes for ShakintheSouthland (Clemson) and Bring on The Cats (K-STATE). Drew is a Clemson grad, but his dad brainwashed him into the Purdue cult of pain and sadness at a young age. Drew currently resides in Athens, Georgia.
Drew sounds like he needs a lot of therapy.
So say we all.

Monday Night Therapy: Nebraska’s Incredible Weekend, Quarterback Issues And Injuries Plague Our Beloved Huskers

Nebraska football beat Northwestern. It was ugly, but that’s a thing we should accept as beautiful in itself.
Someone made a comment that we lost ugly for years, and now instead of losing, we’re winning ugly.
I don’t know why we would think we’d just jump from losing ugly to winning beautifully, when winning ugly is the next natural step towards greatness.
Nebraska volleyball beat Wisconsin. Our beloved Huskers took the first set, then got bludgeoned by Wisconsin’s block in the second. We then lost the third, and I honestly thought the match was over.
Silly me. Our volleyballers have a helluva lot of resilience. It was beautiful, the win. Merrit Beason flying from the back row is some of the best ballet I’ve ever seen.
Nebraska soccer became Big Ten Co-Champs. #2 seed Nebraska will face the #7 seed Ohio State on Sunday, Oct. 29 at Hibner Stadium. Maybe get out there and support them?

Corn Nation Over Reaction: One More and That’s a Winning Streak

The Husker Football team is 4-3, having for the second time this season won back-to-back games after Saturday’s 17-9 Homecoming win over Northwestern.
I think Nebraska has defeated all the important teams in Illinois this season, going 3-0 against the state. As a resident of Illinois, I couldn’t be happier.
As for the game against the Wildcats, the offense picked up where they left off against Illinois, going five straight possessions over the two games that ended with turnovers.
But that defense...I don’t know if they’re officially being called the Blackshirts yet, but they are definitely playing at a high level, being the key component for the Huskers’ success this season.
While the offense stumbled out of the gate, they eventually found some footing, as Emmett Johnson led the team in rushing and Malachi Coleman caught his first touchdown pass of his career.
Can the offense build on this and sustain this momentum with Heinrich Haarberg at the helm? Hoss seems to think that at some point, the keys to the castle will be returned to Jeff Sims.
And Greg has an interesting question. Who was the last Husker RB to rush for more than 200 yards in a game. Hoss believes it was Tre Bryant in the 2017 season opener against Arkansas State, but post-production research informed us that Bryant ran for 192 yards in the game. So do we have to go all the way back to 2014 and Ameer Abdullah? Because that’s a really freakin’ long time ago.
Regardless...just two more wins til Nebraska is bowling. And we’re grateful for that.

Five Heart Podcast: Preview of #1 Nebraska volleyball vs #2 Wisconsin MATCH OF THE CENTURY

Nebraska is a volleyball school. Some intend that as an insult. It’s not an insult.
If there’s one team that’s been in the way of Nebraska accomplishing great things recently, it’s them damned Wisconsin Badgers and their tall, athletic volleyballers.
This show we will preview the MATCH OF THE CENTURY - #1 Wisconsin vs #2 Nebraska, coming Saturday Night!

Nebraska vs Northwestern Preview - Interview with InsideNU!

David Gold, Editor in Chief at our SBNation Northwestern site InsideNU will join Jon for a discussion about the upcoming Nebraska - Northwestern game.

Monday Night Therapy: What Is Nebraska Football’s Ceiling?

Todd was out, so Andy K joined me for the show.
We had a lot of discussion about the past weekend’s best games:
Stanford shocking Colorado 46-43 after leading 29-0 at half.
Oregon vs Washington and what an amazing game that was.
USC sucking and losing against Notre Dame.
Iowa beating Wisconsin 15-6 and taking control of the Big Ten West.
Illinois surprising Maryland
News that Wisconsin quarterback Tanner Mordecai broke his hand against Iowa and will be out for a while.
We covered Matt Rhule’s Monday press conference, including news that:
Heinrich Haarberg is named the starter
Malachi Coleman will start this weekend against Northwestern
Luke Reimer will be back this weekend
Rahmir Johnson wants to come back for his 6th year
Marcus Washington wants to come back if possible
Have to get Billy Kemp IV the ball more

Corn Nation Over Reaction: Husker Bye Week

Nebraska had a week off, but there’s no time off when there’s a lot to discuss.
Hoss and I run down the Big Ten schedule for the weekend. Some surprises (Illinois upending Maryland on the road, Sparty letting Rutgers come back and win in New Jersey) and some expected triumphs (Michigan dismantles Indiana, Ohio State dominates Purdue, Penn State shuts out UMass - which shouldn’t count but it does). Meanwhile, Iowa AND Wisconsin either play really good defense or really poor offense in a 15-6 donnybrook.
We talk about which conference is better suited for dominance, the Big Ten or the SEC. And speaking of Michigan State’s collapse, they weren’t the only and they weren’t the most spectacular, as two teams from Colorado were on opposite sides of meltdowns. Colorado State trailed Boise State by 20 points with less than six minutes left to score as time expired and win by one. Colorado led Stanford 29-0 at halftime only to lose in double overtime. It was a thing of beauty.
So that’s the show. Looking forward to Husker football this Saturday when Northwestern comes to town.
Oh, spoiler alert - this episode contains a lot of “if’s.”
GBR