Nebraska Football: The Cornhuskers-Sooners Rivalry Is Back!

(Virtual Nebraska getting ready to take the field to satisfy the traditionalists of the fanbase. Said without a hint of irony. Image courtesy of The Gaming Tailgate.)

Welcome to another edition of the Husker Hotwire, the sometimes-weekly, sometimes-funny look at Cornhuskers athletics!

If there's one thing that's important to college football fans, it's tradition. And history. History and tradition. And an almost fanatical devotion of a fanbase to its beloved team.

Now that the Hotwire has successfully ripped off Monty Python's Spanish Inquisition skit in a desperate attempt to come up with a led, the real meat of the story can be discussed. Just days before Nebraska's departure from the Big 12 Conference becomes final, it was announced that Nebraska and Oklahoma are renewing their football rivalry.

Happy days for lovers of tradition! Once again, we can call on the memories of Tom Osborne and Barry Switzer squaring off against each other on a blustery November afternoon with conference glory on the line. It's the best of both worlds for Nebraska fans, being able to get out from under a Longhorn-shaped thumb in the Big 12 and still renew their Game of the Century rivalry. And just days after some idiot didn't even list Oklahoma as one of the eight teams Nebraska would love to see on the schedule!

Wait a minute. Nebraska and Oklahoma aren't meeting on a real football field, you say? This matchup is actually a vote for the Tunnel Walk versus the Sooner Schooner in a marketing tool for EA Sports' NCAA Football 12 video game? That might not sit quite as well for the average Nebraska season ticket holder, whose average age puts them squarely in the "get off my lawn" demographic and less likely to be getting ready for their online dynasty matchups on Xbox Live.

Still, it's an upset that Nebraska is advancing in this online poll. The Tunnel Walk was listed as a No. 15 seed in the poll, upsetting No. 2 seed "Script Ohio" in the first round. That kind of devotion from the Children of the Corn might not sit well with ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit, who for some reason had an issue with two Nebraska teams ending up being selected as the best teams in college football history. But that's likely just sour grapes from a guy who probably gets dominated by middle school kids in video game football online.

Beeonegee Conference Update

We at the Husker Hotwire are committed to provide ongoing coverage of Nebraska's new opponents in the B1G Conference. Buckeye Hotwire, who informed us that if we ask for one more story from them they are going to get a restraining order, reports that Ohio State president G. Gordon Gee has apologized to the Little Sisters of the Poor in an analogy about TCU's schedule being very soft in 2010, as a reason why the Horned Frogs didn't belong in the BC$ title game.

Badger Hotwire is now awaiting an apology from Gee, after the "Little Sisters of the Poor" Horned Frogs knocked off the Big Ten champion Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl as further proof that TCU had no business playing in the BC$ title game. 

Around the Hotwire Network

Tar Heel Hotwire reports that the NCAA has delivered a Notice of Allegations against the football program saying that a number of players received cash and other improper benefits. Coverage of this story nationwide is likely to be far less than that of the Ohio State story because (1) there appears to be little evidence tying head coach Butch Davis directly to the scandal, (2) after USC and Ohio State, people are sort of sick of stories like this and (3) North Carolina football really hasn't won anything.

Duck Hotwire reports that the NCAA has not yet delivered a Notice of Allegations against the football program, but expects one to be coming soon after reporting that the school paid a "recruiting coordinator" a whole bunch of money for a whole bunch of outdated information. The fact that this "recruiting coordinator" had ties to running backs Lache Seastruck and LaMichael James, and that Seastruck and James subsequently signed letters to play for Oregon is clearly a coincidence of the highest order. After all, that outdated information could have been critical in the recruiting process, right?

Sooner Hotwire reports that the Oklahoma coaching staff will now receive a bonus if the Sooners finish in the top five of the final BC$ standings. Surprisingly, no mention was made of bonuses being offered for the Sooners actually winning a BC$ bowl. Offering bonuses like that would help the Oklahoma legislature with its current budgetary woes, after all.

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