Wisconsin-Nebraska: The Berth Of A Rivalry
MADISON, Wisc. – The Nebraska CornHuskers are set to play their first Big 10 Conference game in school history tonight from Madison. The Nebraska faithful will be showing Badger Nation how they travel. People do not understand unless they’re at a game against the Huskers, how their fans support them. One way or another, it’s going to be a sea of red.
Rivalries carry on tradition for decades in college football. Just take a look at Auburn-Alabama, Arizona-Arizona State, Oregon-Oregon State and Ohio State-Michigan for instance. These are nationally recognized rivalries that take precedence over the rest of college athletics. Tonight from Camp Randall Stadium could be the berth of a brand new rivalry between the #7 Wisconsin Badgers and the #8 Nebraska CornHuskers. It feels like these two programs should of been playing one another for a long time.
This is the first time in 49 years that two teams in the AP top 10 will play each other in Madison. It is going to be an insane atmosphere, with so many Husker fans making the trip as well. Add to that two teams who pattern themselves after one another and are both fighting for a BCS National Championship appearance.
For years, Barry Alvarez was enamored with Nebraska’s style of football. He felt Tom Osborne was an evil genius, who had the right idea on how to build an elite college football program. Therefore, Alvarez spent years trying to get the Badgers into a position to be a top-notch powerhouse annually, like the Huskers. After Barry led his Badgers to back-to-back Rose Bowl wins in 1998 and 1999, Wisconsin all of a sudden became a force in the Big 10 Conference. Fast forward ten years, and Alvarez’s predecessor Bret Bielema is trying to follow the same blueprint. Bo Pelini is now trying to follow in Tom Osborne’s footsteps to the best of his ability as well.
The Badgers want what the Huskers have, and have had in the past. Wisconsin now has an elite talent at the quarterback position, which they’ve been missing for decades. They pound the ball down opponents throats, until their competition relents….Then the Badgers run the ball some more for good measure. As run-heavy as Wisconsin is, they keep themselves balanced at all times. Then of course, there is the defensive side of the ball. Tom Osborne recruited the infamous “blackshirts” that made his program legendary. These two midwest programs love to rely on their defense to do most of the heavy lifting. Both coaching greats realized, when you’re in the midwest during fall/winter you must control the clock by running the ball and playing stellar defense.
These two schools have been built the same way, based upon the same values and morals. Both teams wear red and white, with similar colored helmets. The fanbases for both programs are rabid with love for their school. This is sure to enhance the rivalry on every level tonight, and as we move forward. It would seem as if these two programs were looking at one another in the mirror. Nebraska’s signal caller Taylor Martinez and Wisconsin’s Russell Wilson are extremely talented duel threat QB’s who can destroy defenses with their running or passing ability. The duel threat QB certainly adds another dimension to their respective offenses for weekly opponents to gameplan against.
If you are looking for an old school physical match-up of programs with elite histories of success, then look no further then Wisconsin and Nebraska. These storied programs pride themselves on being consistent and steadfast each and every college football season. With Nebraska entering the Big 10 this season, they will desperately be looking for a rival for the coming years to draw more national attention. They might not have to look very far however, as their first test in the conference comes with some of the highest stakes for their 2011 season. If you like old school, knockdown, drag ‘em out football…this is the place for you. If you like spread offenses with little or no defense, you better look somewhere else, like Missouri. As you are watching tonight’s showdown between two Big 10 powerhouses, make sure you realize the history in the making. Tonight could be the berth of one of college football’s next great rivalries.
2 Rants to “Wisconsin-Nebraska: The Berth Of A Rivalry”
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This game will never be a major rivalry, because Nebraska and Wisconsin do not have a protected cross over game. So, this game will be like Nebraska/Oklahoma after the Big 12 formed.
If they played every year, this would become a big rivalry. As it is, it will be a big game, for 2 years, then not again (unless of course in the B1G 10 championship game) for another 2. In those 2, it could be forgotten.
I agree Paul, however both teams would like to play each other once a season as Bielema has stated tons of times. They are trying to develop that end of the season rivalry game like michigan-ohio state, but as you said, the new divisions messes that up. we’ll see. I sure would love to see them play annually so this relationship can bud into something epic. Thanks for the thoughts Paul