Nebraska vs Colorado - Go Big Red!

Nebraska Football. The mere mention of it conjures up images of Tommy Frazier running the unstoppable option rushing attack, rugged corn fed fullbacks steamrolling unsuspecting linebackers and stalwart, bone crushing defenses. They claim three Heisman trophy winners, over 800 total wins (4^th in NCAA History), and five national championships – three of which occurred during the 1990’s. By any measure, Nebraska stands as one of the most storied programs in College Football, and I wanted to make the journey to Lincoln to experience it first hand.

This would be the second game of my three day Thanksgiving rivalry weekend extravaganza, and I made the quick morning drive across the fallow plains of I-80 from Omaha to the Star City of Lincoln. A crisp late fall morning snapped some color into my cheeks and I hurriedly broke out my best bright red sweater to bundle up and blend in with the Husker crowd.

To say that Cornhusker football is a religion in the state would be an understatement. They are the only game in town (in State for that matter), and on Saturdays in Nebraska you are either attending the game or watching the game. The 80,000 plus capacity behemoth known as Memorial Stadium boasts the longest consecutive sellout streak in College Football at 306 games, which, for perspective, dates back to 1962. In fact, Memorial Stadium by itself is the third largest city in Nebraska on any given home football Saturday.

Lincoln is a quintessential smaller Midwest town, bisected by one way streets and flanked by old brick and limestone clad buildings. The University of Nebraska sits right in the middle of downtown, and due to the limited parking space, tailgating isn’t quite as robust as one would expect. You simply don’t have the vast oceans of grass surrounding the stadium that you will find at other schools with more tailgating notoriety. The fans at Nebraska make due, however, occupying all nooks and alleys of downtown Lincoln. The Cornhusker faithful are widely reputed to be among the most welcoming, and ardent fanbases in the country.

One of the most notable features of the crowd at Nebraska is their sheer energy when the Huskers go on defense. Nebraska, as a program, has a rich tradition of stifling defenses and the last few years have yielded some of the stingiest defenses in the College game. The pride of the Husker defense lies in a tradition known as the “blackshirts”. Since the 1960’s black shirt practice jerseys have been awarded exclusively to the defensive starters, and are a revered honor among Husker players. The fans respond in kind in the stadium, rising and cheering loudly when the Cornhuskers go on defense. Now most stadiums get louder on defense, which is hardly remarkable. At Nebraska, however, the crowd becomes absolutely deafening on defense, and their exuberance for a “three and out” is the most energetic I have witnessed in my travels. This, coupled with the tight quarters of the field (the grandstands are packed extremely close to the sidelines and endzones) make Memorial Stadium one of the most imposing places in the sport for visiting teams.

The opponent on the day would be the Buffaloes from Colorado, whom I had recently witnessed blow a 28 point 4^th quarter lead against Kansas down in Lawrence only a few short weeks ago. That collapse cost head coach Dan Hawkins his job, and interestingly the Colorado program has sported a 2-1 record since the firing. Thickening the plot, this would be the final regular season Big 12 games for both of these squads as Colorado departs for the Pac 10 next year, while Nebraska leaves for the greener pastures (and fatter television contracts) of the Big 10.

The game itself was predictably one sided except for a slow start through the first quarter. Once the Huskers got warmed up, however, they never looked back despite missing their starting quarterback Taylor Martinez. Running back Rex Burkhead picked up the slack for the missing quarterback by amassing 101 yards of rushing and a touchdown on the ground. Burkhead, the Plano, Texas native, also demonstrated remarkable versatility by passing for two touchdowns on the day as well. Additionally, the stifling Nebraska defense lived up to their reputation by forcing three turnovers and holding the Buffaloes to a stingy 262 yards of total offense, many of which came late in the third quarter once the contest had already been decided. In the end the Huskers pulled away to a hearty 45-17 win.

After a trip there, it’s impossible not to be impressed by a Nebraska game. There is an incredibly rich football tradition that precedes a gameday in Lincoln, but in true understated Midwest fashion the experience lives up to its lofty reputation . There is a solidarity permeating the entire Kool Aid State (look it up) that rallies around the Cornhuskers, and their red clad fans have drunk it in droves. Filling an 85,000 seat stadium for the last forty eight years in such a sparsely populated state is testimony to Husker Nation, and I certainly screamed myself hoarse in the third largest city in Nebraska on Saturdays.

Misty's Steakhouse - A Little Slice of Nebraska Beef

While Nebraska might not be renown for a selection of interesting regional fare, one thing they do know is beef. Good old, American corn fed beef. The kind of mustache inspring beef that fed the likes of Wade Boggs, Bob Gibson and Buffalo Bill Cody (all Nebraska natives). The same beef that many of you send away through the mail for a special holiday meal (Omaha Steaks). After a four hour game in the chilly confines of Nebraska’s’ Memorial Stadium I had hankering for the honest simplicity of a slab of beef. Misty’s, I was told, would have the kind of portions needed to quell my carnivorous appetite. Long time College Football announcer Keith Jackson used to come here, and if it’s good enough for the maestro of hyperbole it’s good enough for me.

Stepping into Misty’s is a journey back in time, as the restaurant dates back to 1964 and I doubt has been remodeled since. The interior is cavernously dark, accented by stained wood paneling, exposed oak beams and flanked by deep chocolate leather booths. The walls and display cases are riddled with all manner of Nebraska Cornhusker paraphernalia, and assorted other dusty Big 12 Football artifacts.

I slipped into a spot at the oval shaped bar, sank deep into a plush leather bar chair and promptly ordered up the king cut prime rib with a pint of house made Altbier to wash it down. My wrist thick slab of beef arrived moments later, along with some warm bread and a pile of garlic mashed potatoes. I don’t need to exhaustively describe prime rib, except to say that it was tender, thick, juicy and delicious. I made short work of my meal before getting on the road back to Omaha for an early morning flight to Columbus.

Nebraska is a beef state, and the beauty of steak is that it never goes out of style. It’s timeless. So if you ever find yourself in Lincoln with a hankering for some corn fed cow, then park yourself in a plush leather booth at Misty’s and put the feed bag on.

http://www.mistyslincoln.com

Runza - A Nebraska Hot Pocket

Nebraska isn’t defined by a prevalence of regional or noteworthy cuisines, and outside of a hunk of beef, I couldn’t uncover any must try local delicacies in my research. The closest that I came was a place called Runza, a small regional chain native to Nebraska with about 80 plus locations scattered throughout the state. Founded in 1949, Runza specializes in a unique kind of sandwich, aptly named a “Runza”. The Runza is a bread pocket type sandwich stuffed with spiced beef or pork, cabbage and onions, and owes its’ origins to the Volga Germans that settled in the Great Plains. Though I normally avoid chains, an exclusive sandwich was something I felt compelled to try, so I put my biases aside and ambled in for a bite.

At the fast food style counter, I ordered up the Swiss Mushroom Runza on the recommendation of the cashier. Naturally, this included fries and I felt compelled to give the chocolate milkshake a run as well. The Runza can most appropriately be described as the fast food equivalent of a hot pocket. It was warm, doughy, moist and gooey inside and certainly good filler on a chilly afternoon. While in true fast food fashion the actual contents of the filling remain a bit mysterious, in addition to the cheese, mushrooms and beef I picked up notes of cabbage, onions, and some unidentified spices. The fries were standard variety, though surprisingly crispy, while the thick chocolate shake more closely resembled a Wendy’s Frosty (and hence perfect for dipping the fries).

Runza was an interesting stop, and I was glad to try one of the few foods native to Nebraska. At the end though, the sandwich is hardly remarkable from a hot pocket, and pretty standard fast food fare. It’s deserving of a taste from a curiosity standpoint, but hardly worth going out of your way for. I’d love to unearth a place that had a more inspired home made version of the sandwich. Interestingly, I discovered that they serve Runza’s in Memorial Stadium, and on a cold day in Lincoln they certainly make a better alternative than a hot dog.

http://www.runza.com/

Texas vs Texas A&M - A Texas Turkey Day Tilt

While many of you were lounging around with a five thousand calorie turkey hangover, I was diligently behind the wheel on my way down to see the most heated rivalry in Texas College Football. Unfortunately, all my favorite barbecue haunts were shut down for the day so in lieu of the turkey dinner, I opted for a chicken sandwich at the Whataburger during the three hour jaunt down to Austin. Ah, the untold glamour of the Pigskin Pursuit.

This was the first game of a three game, three day odyssey during Thanksgiving weekend that would take me to Austin, Texas; Lincoln, Nebraska and Columbus, Ohio. That’s Texas, Nebraska and Ohio State for those of you following at home, not a bad way to spend rivalry weekend. Beats a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

Dating back to 1894, the Texas vs Texas A&M matchup is the third longest running rivalry in College Football. Although Texas owns dominance of the series with a 75-36-5 record, this is a heated rivalry that in the state of Texas has undoubtedly caused more than its fair share of family Thanksgiving dinner table squabbles over the last 116 years. In fact, in both school songs “Texas Fight” and the “Aggie War Hymn” each school makes a point to denigrate the other in the lyrics. You may recall our trip down to College Station for this game last year, and you can freshen up on it here:

http://www.pigskinpursuit.com/2009/12/normal-0-microsoftinternetexplorer4.html

While the Aggies have struggled against the Longhorns the past couple of years, this year set up to be something different. A&M was ranked in the top 20, held a formidable 8-3 record, and a win would put them in contention for the Big 12 Championship Game. Texas on the other hand, has stumbled this year, hampered by an interception prone quarterback, revolving door at tailback and unusually porous defense. Prior to the matchup they carried dismal 5-6 record into the contest, and a loss would knock the Longhorns out of bowl contention for the first time since 1997. Patience is growing thin with the Burnt Orange faithful in Austin, and fans are quick to forget their team played for a National Championship not even a year ago.

On an unusually chilly night in Darrel K. Royal stadium, the game lived up to the hype as both teams were embattled in a defensive standoff until late in the second quarter. Aggie running back Cyrus Gray then broke the game open with an explosive 84 yard touchdown run to knot the game at 7-7 heading into halftime. Gray would be a one man highlight reel on the day, as he would later scamper for another 48 yard touchdown run while racking up 223 yards on the ground. Between Gray and injured starter Christine Michael, the Aggie backfield will remain quite formidable for another year. On the Texas side of the ball, the Longhorns struggled to put together any momentum or sustain drives. Predictably, maligned quarterback Garrett Gilbert tossed a pair of interceptions, one of which was a critical game ending pick. Even the Longhorn crowd was discernibly flat on the night, reluctantly cheering meekly for the Horns and routinely being drowned out by the exuberant Maroon faithful and internationally famous Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band.

This was my second year in a row spending Thanksgiving at the Lonestar Showdown, and I can’t think of a better way to spend it than under the lights of some premier College Football in Texas. Though certainly not as rewarding as sharing the day with family lounging around a crackling fire, you’re never alone surrounded by 100,000 or so other rabid college football fans. It’s what the Pilgrims intended.

Special thanks again to my friends Jared and Kimberly. It’s always a pleasure to meet up with them and their family for Longhorn games, and hopefully next year will be better fortunes for them in Austin.