Nebraska welcomes Wisconsin to Lincoln on Saturday for their final home game of the year. Both teams are 5-5, battling to become bowl eligible with two left to play. The Huskers are looking for their first bowl berth in nearly a decade. The Badgers have lost three straight, including a 42-10 drubbing at the hands of Iowa, and a much more competitive 16-13 loss to #1 Oregon.
On behalf of the Common Fan podcast, here are three keys to victory for the Huskers, and one key to victory for all the fellow Common Fans.
NEBRASKA’S KEYS TO VICTORY
Battle of the Dysfunctional Teams. This is probably not totally fair, as Wisconsin has been a much more stable and successful football program than Nebraska for the better part of two decades. And of course, as all Common Fans know, the Huskers haven’t beaten the Badgers since 2012.
That said, the similarities between the two squads are notable. Both teams came into the year expecting to take off in year 2 under new head coaches. Both teams have had disappointing setbacks after promising starts. Both teams are still searching for bowl eligibility, late in the year. And remarkably, both teams have replaced their offensive coordinators in the month of November, with Wisconsin having done so earlier this week. Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell seemed to indicate this week that the Badgers would call plays by committee. Instead of being hurt by their own issues, can Nebraska for once benefit from the disarray happening in another program?
More Heinrich Haarberg! As Common Fan Podcast listeners know, I’ve been harping on this ad nauseam. Can we please see more Heinrich Haarberg under center?
I am not advocating for Dylan Raiola to be benched. I understand he is the present and future of Nebraska football, and coaches have put their eggs in the Raiola basket. That’s fine; he is immensely talented and will only get better. But we’ve seen Haarberg come in and take the occasional snap, and it always looks good. Against USC, he ran two plays at quarterback. On one play, he kept it for a 13 yard gain, almost breaking free for a touchdown. On the other play, he handed off to Emmett Johnson, who had a solid gain for about six yards. It’s clear the presence of an athletic, running quarterback throws the defense for a loop. It’s another wrinkle they have to prepare for in advance, and adjust to in-game. Coach Rhule has said he will do anything necessary to get that sixth win and get to a bowl game. The offense has struggled for pretty much all of conference play. Instead of one play per game, can Haarberg get a couple drives per half? What’s the harm in giving it a try at this point?
It’s the Little Things. Both teams have really struggled on offense. Both teams have been led by their defenses. It’s not a stretch to think this will be an old fashioned, Big Ten slobber knocker where points are hard to come by. The kind of game where Nebraska will need to do the little things right in order to win. Avoid turnovers. Avoid penalties. Make plays when plays are there for the taking. Can the defense force a turnover or two? Maybe even get points? Can special teams make an impact play? I’d love to think Nebraska can win by three touchdowns, and everyone in Memorial Stadium will be breathing easy and dancing to “Celebration” by Kool and the Gang by the middle of the 4th quarter. But let’s face it: this will likely be another close game that goes down to the wire. The Huskers will need to play a complete game to get the W.
COMMON FAN KEYS
Leave it All Out There. Hard to believe, Common Fans, but here we are. Two games left in the season, with Saturday being the final home game of the year. It’s been a roller coaster ride for the Big Red faithful, as the Huskers started 5-1 with tons of promise, only to lose the last four. The good news is, there’s still time left to define this season as a success. There will be plenty of time in the offseason to diagnose the things that went wrong, but for now, getting to a bowl game would represent progress for the program.
Are you going to the game? Let’s get loud early and often. Channel all of the angst and pain of so many losses to Wisconsin into the kind of energy we saw earlier this season. Let’s make it a miserable experience for the Badgers and do everything possible to help pull the Huskers across the finish line. Not going to the game? You’ve still got a role to play. Get down to tailgate, get to your favorite game watching location, wear your lucky 1990s national championship t-shirt, and bring all the positive vibes you can muster. It’s time to get the badger off our back and get back to a bowl game!
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