The Most Anticipated College Football Game in 2010: Texas at Nebraska

The Nebraska Cornhuskers have made away like bandits, jumping from the Big 12 to the Big Ten, but there is one matter that has to be settled.

The 2010 season. In particular, the week six matchup with the Texas Longhorns.

Coach Bo Pelini will be in his third year as head coach. Last year his Huskers made great gains over the season, and in the process developed a team confidence in their coaches that will carry over to next year.

The Cornhuskers arguably gave the Longhorns the most competitive Big 12 game of the 2009 season, and if not for a favorable call on the last offensive play of the game, would have handed the proud Texans their first loss and squandered a shot at the national title.

As fate would have it, the clock had a few ticks left, according to the game officials, and there was time enough for the Longhorns to kick a 46 yard field goal to win the game.

For the Husker faithful, as well as the players on the field that day, that memory bites. It really bites.

Many in the Nebraska fan base feel that this was just another item in the long list of judgements and calls on and off the field that "just happened to go the way of Texas" and they were cheated out of a Big 12 Championship.

Gone are playmakers Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley. Adam Ulatoski, Charlie Tanner and Chris Hall, the core of the 2009 offensive line have graduated and moved on, as well.

For the Huskers, Ndamukong Suh, Phillip Dillard, Larry Asante and Matt O'Hanlon will need to be replaced on defense, but the Nebraska defense returns 11 players that have earned letters, many are experienced in the trenches and will carry a chip on their shoulders from that last encounter.

Overall, Nebraska returns 46 lettermen in 2010, six starters on offense and seven on defense. They will be led by seasoned quarterback, Zack Lee, who led the team of scarlet and cream to an overall record of 10-4.

Lee was 5-2 in Memorial Stadium during the 2009 season. He ended the season with a passer rating of 126.9, completing 164 of 279 passes. Receivers gained more just under 2000 yards for the season. 

The Texas offense will be led by Garrett Gilbert, the sensational true freshman who stepped into the national championship game as a debut to his career. He played very respectable against one of the best defenses in the nation, and kept his team in the game until late in the fourth quarter.

Reviewing the statistics from the national championship game, Gilbert recorded 15 completions of 40 attempts for 186 yards and two touchdowns. Unfortunately, Alabama intercepted the freshman four times in the game, one of those was returned for a score just before the half.

Though the game was lost in the end, the Longhorn fans just knew they were seeing the beginning of a great career for the next leader of the powerful Texas offense. That debut was followed up by a great spring practice.

Gilbert is ready to lead the Longhorns. He was tested by one of the best defenses he may face for quite some time, and he received an overall passing grade. A grade well above average for a true freshman.

Texas returns 51 letter-men to the gridiron in 2010, nine on offense and seven on defense. Mack Brown is in his 12th year as head coach. He has had plenty of opportunities to prepare his team for big games. This game will be played on the road, in a hostile stadium, with coaches, players and fans all burning with disdain for the visiting Longhorns.

This won't just be about the game. It will be for everything that the University of Texas represents and all that Nebraska scoffs. Pride, hubris, the Ivory Tower and political muscle. 

You see, Tom Osborne has tremendous credibility in the state of Nebraska. He is a big part of the reason why the administration voted to bolt for the Big Ten and to move out from under the great shadow cast by the Texas ivory tower.

He has stated publicly that this is the right move for Nebraska. Despite the rich tradition and history with the Longhorns, he showed public disdain for Texas in this departure. It is not an amicable breakup.

Although they have squared off only 13 times, the series dates back to 1933. From 1933 to 1999, they played eight times and the record stood at 4-4.

Since '99, the Huskers are 0-5 against the Longhorns. All but one game has gone down to the wire, with the margin of victory no more than three points. In 2003, Texas defeated the Huskers 31-7 in Austin.

On October 16, 2010, the Longhorn and Cornhuskers will square off one last time as members of the same conference. Both teams will likely be undefeated, although Texas could potentially be coming off their first loss of the season against Oklahoma.

The Nebraska team will be coming off of a bye week, the Longhorns will be rested as well, taking their bye after the Red River rivalry in week five. The coaches will have time to prepare their teams. The nicks and bruises will have healed in the off week.

There will be no excuses made after this game, but the winner will definitely have more to say than the loser. A loss in this game may send the defeated team into a tailspin and dampen the spirit of the entire fan base.

It is possible that these two teams will not meet again in the regular season for another 20 years, enough time for the older generation involved in this dispute to pass and for younger participants to let bygones be bygones. It may in fact take a full 40 year generation to heal the wounds.

But the institution carrying the biggest burden will be the one who walks away with the bloody nose and wounded pride. It will be a classic match-up.

As a fan with no dog in the fight, I have more interest in the outcome than any other game not on the schedule of the Crimson Tide.

Until that day, the energy will build to maximum intensity. It should be a game that everyone remembers for years to come. Pelini was brought into the fold in Lincoln specifically for this kind of game. Mack Brown will do a masterful job preparing his team.

Ticket prices will be unreasonable and Memorial Stadium will be sold out. Mark the date on your calendar. Whatever it is that you are doing that day, put it off and sit down to watch this one.

It will be one to remember.