There's a thread a lot of people are running through this game. A program with a rich history of success and virtually no recent success vs. a team with a bunch of recent success and virtually no history.
Old School vs. New School.
On one side we have the Oregon Nike Models, a team that changes its uniforms so much that I'd be shocked if they came out in the same uniforms for the second half.
On the other side we have the Nebraska Cornhuskers, a team that changed it's uniform once in 2002 and it resulted in the end of 4 decades of dominance. Those 2002 uniforms will not be pictured here as they are too obscene for children's eyes.
Now we just stick to the classics. Except for that one game every year where we try to look "cool" with alternate uniforms and impress recruits, but just end up looking like rejected Marvel superheros. The only thing missing is a cape.
I've actually got a lot of respect for Oregon. You've got to have respect for a team that proudly wears the number of National Championships they've won (or lack thereof) on the side of their helmets. And kudos to them for their relationship with Nike. Many teams like Nebraska, Penn State and Alabama have traditional uniforms. Oregon didn't, so they made their own tradition of wearing new uniforms every game. It's certainly unique and I can respect that.
Today's match up reminds me a lot of my high school rivalry with Elkhorn. I went to Elkhorn South, the new school, and was a member of its second graduating class. My whole life I grew up thinking I would play for Elkhorn, a very traditional power running team modeled after Tom Osborne's teams. Instead I went to the polar opposite. I ended up going to Elkhorn South, a team with a spread offense that sometimes threw the ball 40+ times a game, a ton of speed and really cool modern uniforms. (Unlike Oregon we wore the same uniforms every game. But compared to Elkhorn, whose jerseys worn today are the EXACT same physical jerseys worn by kids in the 80s, our uniforms were pretty flashy.)
The annual Elkhorn vs. Elkhorn south match up became a literal battle of "Old School vs. New School."
Last year, I returned to watch the annual rivalry. Elkhorn South won 49-28 for the first time against Elkhorn. Because there were no seats in the "visitors" section, I watched the whole game beneath the press box with my wife, who was my girlfriend at the time, and one of my friends and former Elkhorn South teammates. As the game went on and every time I cheered for Elkhorn South, a group of Elkhorn fans would turn around and glare at me. Eventually they pointed out where the visitors section was and aggressively suggested I go over there. I tried my best to ignore them, but I must admit their hostility toward me made me cheer much louder and more frequently. After the game, wanting to be the bigger person, I told them "good game" before we left and was promptly flipped off.
The reason I tell this story is because I couldn't understand why a group of 50 something year-old fans would get that upset about a group of fans cheering for their team at a high school football game. Then it hit me. They were just really P/O'd about seeing their proud football program giving way to that flashy new school. Elkhorn South went on to win their first state title last year with a dominating 13-0 record. Elkhorn ended up 4-5 and missed the playoffs for the first time in decades. The Old School had become irrelevant while the New School had seized its former glory.
Does that sound familiar yet?
One thing I learned about playing at Elkhorn South is that there are many ways to play football and win. Lining up in the I-formation and pounding the rock every play isn't the only way to have success. While I'm definitely an advocate of a successful run game, I think modernizing and adopting new offensive philosophies could help Nebraska climb out of this hole we've been in for 15 years. We could honestly learn a few things from the way Oregon has done things the last decade.
But not today. Today let's just beat the crap out of these ducks and show that FCS quarterback Dakota Prukop what 90,000 angry Nebraskans looks like.
Old School vs. New School.
On one side we have the Oregon Nike Models, a team that changes its uniforms so much that I'd be shocked if they came out in the same uniforms for the second half.
On the other side we have the Nebraska Cornhuskers, a team that changed it's uniform once in 2002 and it resulted in the end of 4 decades of dominance. Those 2002 uniforms will not be pictured here as they are too obscene for children's eyes.
Now we just stick to the classics. Except for that one game every year where we try to look "cool" with alternate uniforms and impress recruits, but just end up looking like rejected Marvel superheros. The only thing missing is a cape.
I've actually got a lot of respect for Oregon. You've got to have respect for a team that proudly wears the number of National Championships they've won (or lack thereof) on the side of their helmets. And kudos to them for their relationship with Nike. Many teams like Nebraska, Penn State and Alabama have traditional uniforms. Oregon didn't, so they made their own tradition of wearing new uniforms every game. It's certainly unique and I can respect that.
Today's match up reminds me a lot of my high school rivalry with Elkhorn. I went to Elkhorn South, the new school, and was a member of its second graduating class. My whole life I grew up thinking I would play for Elkhorn, a very traditional power running team modeled after Tom Osborne's teams. Instead I went to the polar opposite. I ended up going to Elkhorn South, a team with a spread offense that sometimes threw the ball 40+ times a game, a ton of speed and really cool modern uniforms. (Unlike Oregon we wore the same uniforms every game. But compared to Elkhorn, whose jerseys worn today are the EXACT same physical jerseys worn by kids in the 80s, our uniforms were pretty flashy.)
The annual Elkhorn vs. Elkhorn south match up became a literal battle of "Old School vs. New School."
Last year, I returned to watch the annual rivalry. Elkhorn South won 49-28 for the first time against Elkhorn. Because there were no seats in the "visitors" section, I watched the whole game beneath the press box with my wife, who was my girlfriend at the time, and one of my friends and former Elkhorn South teammates. As the game went on and every time I cheered for Elkhorn South, a group of Elkhorn fans would turn around and glare at me. Eventually they pointed out where the visitors section was and aggressively suggested I go over there. I tried my best to ignore them, but I must admit their hostility toward me made me cheer much louder and more frequently. After the game, wanting to be the bigger person, I told them "good game" before we left and was promptly flipped off.
The reason I tell this story is because I couldn't understand why a group of 50 something year-old fans would get that upset about a group of fans cheering for their team at a high school football game. Then it hit me. They were just really P/O'd about seeing their proud football program giving way to that flashy new school. Elkhorn South went on to win their first state title last year with a dominating 13-0 record. Elkhorn ended up 4-5 and missed the playoffs for the first time in decades. The Old School had become irrelevant while the New School had seized its former glory.
Does that sound familiar yet?
One thing I learned about playing at Elkhorn South is that there are many ways to play football and win. Lining up in the I-formation and pounding the rock every play isn't the only way to have success. While I'm definitely an advocate of a successful run game, I think modernizing and adopting new offensive philosophies could help Nebraska climb out of this hole we've been in for 15 years. We could honestly learn a few things from the way Oregon has done things the last decade.
But not today. Today let's just beat the crap out of these ducks and show that FCS quarterback Dakota Prukop what 90,000 angry Nebraskans looks like.
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