A decade of losing to Wisconsin illustrates the struggles of a Nebraska program in need of redemption
Two pedestrians passed each other on a warm September evening just outside of Memorial Stadium.
He was southbound, walking furiously. I was northbound, hanging onto hope and working on a plan. I didn’t have a ticket to the Nebraska-Wisconsin game.
As I reached the university campus, I knew the Huskers had played a lackluster half of football, and it dawned on me that someone in the stadium might throw up his hands in disgust and go home. Sure enough, in the distance, I saw about a dozen people walking out of the old ball yard.
Like a covey of quail, the people started to disperse as they headed for their cars. I knew I had to lock onto one and see if I could talk him out of his ticket.
I was surprised at how rapidly the man rushed by and left me in his wake. I scurried to catch up. When I reached him, he was palpably irate. He seemed dubious about my request, but finally stopped, dug in his pockets and handed the ticket to me. Maybe he foresaw what was about to happen to Nebraska’s football program in the coming years. As for me, oblivious to the future, I hurried in, found my seat in the East Stadium, and watched junior quarterback Taylor Martinez go to work in the second half.
Nearly two years after his first ankle injury, Martinez was still almost as skittish and explosive as he was his freshman year, raw and compelling as a young Johnny Cash. He ran and passed and ran some more, bringing the Huskers back from a deficit that grew to 17 points early in the third quarter, and eventually, propelling them to a 30-27 win over Wisconsin.
That was 2012. Nebraska has not defeated the Badgers since. Earlier this week, Mickey Joseph wrote that year on the board in front of his team to drive that point home. How much of an impression did it make?
Does this Nebraska outfit have the wherewithal to outscore even a stripped-down, low-octane version of the Badgers, who come into Saturday’s game with a 5-5 record?
With Martinez directing the offense and Rex Burkhead and Ameer Abdullah switching off in the backfield, Nebraska out-rushed Wisconsin 259-56 that night a decade ago. It seems mind-boggling now to think of Nebraska piling up a 200-yard rushing edge over Wisconsin. Just staying even with the Badgers on the ground would be a huge boost for a program that has blown through the last bit of momentum generated seven weeks ago by athletic director Trev Alberts’ memorable Indiana game ball presentation to Joseph. Even if Casey Thompson shows up with a fully restored passing arm and reignites his connection with Trey Palmer, it will prosper only if the Huskers can run the football enough to defuse the Wisconsin pass rush. Or maybe Palmer overcomes his recent tendency to fair catch every punt, and breaks a big return.
This is a program in dire need of redemption, a theme I have pursued ever since Scott Frost was hired and almost immediately veered off the rails. It’s a topic Frost often spoke about but never really lived out.
Redemption is the theme of many a song recorded by Cash, the country music legend who spent much of his professional life struggling against drug and alcohol addictions. It’s a theme I vainly pursued throughout Frost’s time in Lincoln, and mistakenly thought I’d caught a few times. But whenever I found something to optimistically analyze, it fell apart, snuffed out by all of the devastatingly harmful habits and self-doubts that thrived under the toxic culture that prevailed under Mike Riley, and then Frost.
It has to turn sometime, doesn’t it? Even the Man in Black finally gained a large measure of victory over the demons he battled for much of his life. Can the Huskers overcome those tendencies to be their own worst enemy? It’s hard to say. Frankly, I’ve observed it’s much more likely for football teams who develop strength at the line of scrimmage to find redemption than it is for teams who struggle to block and tackle.
Although some of the Husker teams of the past decade came close, none have been able to defeat Wisconsin. Is this the year the Huskers break that miserable string? It would be a gold star on Joseph’s coaching record, even if he is not offered the full-time job by Alberts about one week from now. The optimists in Husker Nation, the people who somehow managed to keep the sellout string alive during this dismal stretch, must be rewarded at some point.
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