Sorry to get this out so late...hope you get it before the game tomorrow.
Last Saturday's game was an offensive slug-fest for the Huskers and Cowboys with 92 points scored by both teams. Fortunately the Huskers came out on top. This Saturday's battle against the Mizzou Tigers is probably for all the Big 12 North Division marbles, with the winner eventually facing Oklahoma in Texas Stadium for the conference championship. Lets hope Mizzou gets the Halloween tricks and the Huskers get the treats. Should be a good game to watch.
The Volleyball team stubbed their toe last Wednesday in a 4 set loss to Texas, but they look to get back on the winning side tomorrow against Iowa State. The Soccer team has had a great year and have the most wins in a season since 2005. They face the Buffs today on FSN.
A couple of other good articles below...enjoy.
Go Big Red (White and Blue),
Carl
Watch Parties:
The Mizzou game will be broadcast on ABC Regional TV and for those of us on the west coast and outside the over the air broadcast area (see map below) it will be available on ESPN/ESPN HD. Athough you may be able to watch it at home, it will be a lot more fun to share the experience with other Husker fans at our Bay Area Watch Sites in San Francisco, Concord, Fremont and Monterey (see www.BayAreaHuskers.org for info and directions). So get there in time for lunch and grab a good seat for the game. Hope to see you there!
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HUSKERS AND TIGERS SET FOR SATURDAY CLASH...
THE MATCHUP
Nebraska returns to Memorial Stadium for a Big 12 North showdown with the Missouri Tigers on Saturday afternoon. The winner will take a major step toward representing the North in the Big 12 Championship Game in early December. Kickoff between the Huskers and the Tigers is set for 12:30 p.m. (PDT) with the game televised on ABC.
The Huskers go into the game with a 6-1 overall record and a 2-1 mark in the Big 12 following an impressive 51-41 victory at No. 17 Oklahoma State. Nebraska trailed late in the second quarter in a back-and-forth offensive affair, before the Huskers took control with an outstanding all-around second-half display. The victory represented the highest ranked team Nebraska has defeated since 2001, and helped the Huskers stay at No. 14 in the AP poll and move up to 12th in the coaches poll.
Nebraska will face its second straight unbeaten and nationally ranked foe when Missouri comes to town. The Tigers are ranked seventh in the AP poll and eighth according to the coaches. Mizzou is one of the nation's seven remaining unbeatens after its 36-27 win over BCS No. 1 Oklahoma last Saturday night in Columbia.
A Nebraska win would pull it even with Missouri in the Big 12 North standings, while the Tigers could forge a two-game lead with a win. Either Nebraska or Missouri has represented the North in the last four Big 12 title games.
THE SERIES
Nebraska holds a 64-35-3 all-time edge between the two schools, including a 33-15-1 advantage in Lincoln. Missouri snapped a 15-game NU winning streak in Lincoln in 2008, before Nebraska rebounded last season with its first win in Columbia since 2001. The Tigers have not won back-to-back games in Lincoln since 1976 and 1978.
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HUSKERS WIN SHOOTOUT WITH COWBOYS...
Stillwater, Okla. - In an old-fashioned shootout that may have rekindled memories of Nebraska-Oklahoma State games of the late-1980s, the No. 14 Cornhuskers outyarded, outlasted and outscored the unbeaten and No. 17 Cowboys in a 51-41 win at Boone Pickens Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Nebraska amassed 542 total yards, including a career-high and NU freshman record 435 total offense yards from quarterback Taylor Martinez that included career bests of 323 passing yards and five passing touchdowns. The Huskers got some huge special teams plays from Alex Henery and Niles Paul to improve to 6-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big 12, while notching their sixth straight road win.
NU bounced back from its first loss of the season last week against Texas to hand OSU its first loss of the year and improve to 37-5-1 all-time against the Cowboys. OSU slipped to 6-1 overall and 2-1 in the conference with the loss.
The two teams combined for 92 points - the most during the Bo Pelini-era at Nebraska, and the most since NU and Kansas State combined for a 104 points on Nov. 10, 2007. That game included a school-record seven touchdown passes by NU's Joe Ganz, the only player in Husker history to throw more touchdown passes in a game than Martinez's five-TD effort on Saturday.
The Huskers and Cowboys also joined forced for 1,037 total yards.
It was the third-highest scoring game in the history of the NU-OSU series, trailing a 63-42 Husker win between a pair of ranked teams on Homecoming in Lincoln on Oct. 15, 1988. The next year in Stillwater, the two Big Eight brethren mustered 71 points in a 48-23 Husker win. The second-highest scoring game in the series came with a 65-31 Husker win in Lincoln during NU's 1970 national championship season.
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HUSKERS FOCUS ON UNBEATEN TIGERS...
Lincoln - Coach Bo Pelini and the Huskers met with the media at Memorial Stadium on Tuesday to discuss Saturday's Big 12 North battle with unbeaten Missouri.
The No. 14 Huskers will take on the No. 7 Tigers at Memorial Stadium with a 12:30 p.m. PDT kickoff scheduled to be televised live regionally by ABC-HD.
Nebraska (6-1, 2-1 Big 12) will be hoping to hand their second straight undefeated foe their first loss of the season. Last week, the Huskers gave Oklahoma State its first setback with a 51-41 victory in Stillwater.
The game between the Huskers and Tigers has major implications in the Big 12 North standings, with an NU victory pulling Nebraska even with MU atop the division standings.
Nebraska Coach Bo Pelini downplayed the big-game implications of the match-up.
"It is the next game and it's a big football game," Pelini said. "To me they are all big when you get to this point of the season. You've got to win, and they create a great challenge and obviously there are some things at stake. But you can pile all of those things up on top and it comes down to execution and playing football, and the team that makes the most plays is going to be winning that game."
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HUSKERS FINISH PREP FOR TIGERS...
Lincoln - The Nebraska football team practiced for just less than two hours Thursday inside the Hawks Championship Center as the Huskers finished preparations for Missouri on Saturday. After practice, Head Coach Bo Pelini addressed the media about this week's match-up with the Tigers.
"I thought it was a good week of practice, I really did," Pelini said. "I thought the attention to detail was pretty good. There are still a couple of things to clean up, but I thought it was a good week."
Pelini expects defensive end Pierre Allen to be healthy this week and contribute on the defensive side of the ball. While he has been sidelined, Jason Ankrah and Josh Williams have seen playing time at the position.
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HUSKER-IOWA STATE GAME SET FOR ABC REGIONAL BROADCAST...
The Big 12 Conference announced on Monday that Nebraska's Nov. 6 game at Iowa State in Ames will be televised regionally on ABC with kickoff set for 12:30 p.m. PT.
The game will mark Nebraska's fourth straight game televised on ABC and the fifth overall this season on that network. Nebraska has already appeared on the network in games against Washington, Texas and Oklahoma State, while this week's contest with Missouri is also set for an ABC telecast. Additionally, Nebraska's Nov. 26 regular-season finale with Colorado will be televised nationally on ABC.
Game times and television information for Nebraska's Nov. 13 game with Kansas and its Nov. 20 matchup at Texas A&M will be announced six to 12 days in advance.
Other Big 12 games selected for telecast on Nov. 6 include Baylor at Oklahoma State (9:30 a.m., FSN), Oklahoma at Texas A&M (4 p.m., FSN), Missouri at Texas Tech (5 p.m., ABC) and Texas at Kansas State (5 p.m., ESPN2).
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MARTINEZZ EARNS MORE HONORS...
The honors continued to roll in for Taylor Martinez on Monday, as the redshirt freshman was announced as one of 16 semifinalists for the 2010 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award, in addition to earning a pair of player-of-the-week honors.
Martinez is the only freshman among the Davey O’Brien semifinalists and is one of four quarterbacks from the Big 12 Conference to make the list. He is the first Husker to be a semifinalist for the award since Eric Crouch, who won the award in 2001. The Davey O’Brien Award also features a fan vote that accounts for five percent of the voting total. Fans can vote for Martinez by visiting www.voteobrien.org.
A native of Corona, Calif., Martinez has led Nebraska to top-20 national rankings in rushing (fifth), scoring offense (10th) and total offense (17th). He has completed nearly 60 percent of his passes while throwing for 1,046 yards and eight touchdowns. On the ground, Martinez has rushed for 870 yards on 100 carries, scoring 12 times.
Martinez needs only 130 rushing yards to become just the third freshman in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision history to both run and pass for 1,000 yards. Martinez is also 223 yards away from posting the highest rushing total ever by a freshman quarterback. Among the individual NCAA leaders, Martinez ranks in the top 10 nationally in rushing yards per game (9th) and scoring (t-10th) and is among the top 25 individuals in passing efficiency (20th) and total offense (23rd).
In addition to being a Davey O’Brien semifinalist, Martinez was also honored as the Big 12 co-Offensive Player of the Week and the Rivals.com National Freshman of the Week. The Big 12 honor marked Martinez’s second honor in the past three weeks, while he was named the national freshman of the week for the fourth time this season. On Sunday, Martinez was also selected as the Walter Camp Foundation National Offensive Player of the Week.
Martinez was honored with those awards following an outstanding performance in Nebraska’s 51-41 win at previously unbeaten Oklahoma State last Saturday. Against the Cowboys, Martinez completed 23-of-35 passes for 323 yards and five touchdowns, with each of those totals setting a Nebraska freshman record. He added 112 rushing yards on 19 carries to become the first Husker and only the fifth freshman in NCAA history to pass for 300 yards and rush for 100 yards in a single game.
Martinez’s 435 yards of total offense set a Nebraska freshman record and ranked third overall in Husker history. Through seven games, Martinez has already set Nebraska freshman records for season passing yards (1,046), longest rush (80 yards, twice) and consecutive 100-yard rushing games (3), along with tying Ahman Green’s freshman record of five 100-yard rushing games.
Martinez has also set Nebraska freshman game records for rushing touchdowns (4), passing touchdowns (5), passing yards (323) and total offense (435), and he also owns the Nebraska quarterback record for most rushing yards in a game (241).
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CRICK NAMED LOMBARDI AWARD SEMIFINALIST...
HOUSTON - October 28, 2010 - Nebraska defensive tackle Jared Crick (Cozad, Neb.) was named one of 12 semifinalists Thursday evening for the 2010 Rotary Lombardi Award.
Crick has anchored a Nebraska defense which ranks in the top 20 nationally in scoring defense (17.9 points per game, 17th) and total defense (305.9 yards per game, 18th) and has held five of seven opponents under 300 yards of offense this season. He has totaled 31 tackles this season, including six tackles for loss and a team-high 3.5 sacks for 40 yards
Crick was one of 10 defensive players among the 12 semifinalists, and one of three Big 12 players, joining Oklahoma's Jeremy Beal and Texas' Sam Acho. The 2010 winner will be announced on December 8, in Houston.
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HENERY ADDS TO IMPRESSIVE HAUL...
Lincoln - Nebraska special teams standout Alex Henery received a pair of honors Friday, as he was named a Lou Groza Award semifinalist, as well as earning a spot on the Ray Guy Award watch list. The senior place-kicker/punter is the only player in the country on both award lists.
Henery, who is a Groza Award semifinalist for the second straight year, has been one of the nation's top specialists over the past four years, holding school records for single-season (24 in 2009) and career field goals (59) while going 174-of-175 on career extra points. He also holds the NCAA record for most games with four field goals or more with six.
He is among the active NCAA leaders in career points (351, second), extra points (174, second) and field goals (59, fourth) and has connected on 59-of-66 career field goals, a rate of 89.39 percent. He is currently ahead of the all-time record for NCAA career accuracy (87.8 percent by Florida's Bobby Raymond during the 1983-84 seasons).
This season, he is perfect on all 44 kicks, going 35-for-35 on extra points and 9-for-9 on field goals, including a season-long 52-yarder at No. 17 Oklahoma State. He has three games with multiple field goals, including a 3-for-3 effort against the Cowboys last weekend.
The Groza Award will announce three finalists in November and they will be honored at the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Awards Banquet on Dec. 7 in West Palm Beach, Fla., with the winner being announced on the Home Depot College Football Awards show on Dec. 9.
Henery, who was also on the Guy Award watch list in 2009, is in his second season as NU's starting punter and ranks seventh nationally in punting with an average of 46.29 yards per punt. He has placed nearly 40 percent of his punts this season inside the 20-yard line and has 11 kicks which have gone at least 50 yards.
The Ray Guy Award will announce its 10 semifinalists on Nov. 12 and three finalists on Nov. 22. The winner will be announced at the Home Depot College Football Awards show on Dec. 9.
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TWO HUSKERS NAMED QUARTERFINALISTS FOR LOTT TROPHY...
Senior cornerback Prince Amukamara and junior defensive tackle Jared Crick were two of the 23 defenders named quarterfinalists for the Lott Trophy, the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation announced on Wednesday.
Nebraska, Oklahoma and LSU were the only schools with more than one player selected to the list. Named after NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, the Lott Trophy is presented annually to college football’s defensive IMPACT player of the year. The Lott Trophy is the only college football award to equally recognize athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player.
Semifinalists for the award will be announced on Nov. 3 and four finalists will be announced on Nov. 24. The winner of the 2010 Lott Trophy will be announced in early December.
Amukamara, a native of Phoenix, Ariz., is widely regarded as one of the nation’s top cornerbacks. One of five defensive backs among the quarterfinalists, Amukamara leads Nebraska with seven pass breakups this season, while totaling 24 tackles, including 10 solo stops. He has helped Nebraska lead the nation in passing defense and pass efficiency defense.
A native of Cozad, Neb., Crick was one of 10 defensive linemen on the list of quarterfinalists. From his defensive tackle position, Crick ranks fifth on the team with 27 tackles. He is also tied the team lead with five tackles-for-loss, while ranking second with 2.5 sacks and five quarterback hurries
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FINAL BATTLE FOR THE BELL...
In this October 2004 file photo, Nick Clatterbuch (left), keeper of the bell for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Innocents Society, Rob Edwards from the University of Missouri and Bob Peterson lay out score plaques on the Victory Bell. Scores of the rivalry hadn't been updated since 1954, Peterson's class. (LJS file)
See the bell
The Victory Bell will be on display at the Wick Alumni Center, 1520 R St., during the Nebraska Alumni Association's Football Fridays event, which starts at 5:30 p.m. Friday. The free event also will feature NU volleyball coach John Cook, and former Husker football players Matt Davison and Tommie Frazier.
More from Husker Extra
Watch the Husker Extra Game Day pregame video series here.
Get Nebraska-Missouri game updates and chat with other fans here.
Look for NU-Mizzou game photos here.
Look for fan photos here. Send yours to yourpics@journalstar.com to be featured.
Saturday's Memorial Stadium matchup isn't just the last time the two football teams will meet as members of the Big 12 Conference.
It's also the final Battle for the Bell.
The Victory Bell, stolen from a church in Seward by two fraternities in 1892, has gone home with the winner of the Nebraska-Missouri football game every year since 1927. The Big Red claimed it last year after beating Mizzou 27-12 in Columbia.
Should the 14th-ranked Huskers win Saturday, all is good in Corn Country. The bell stays here, no questions asked.
But what if the No. 7 Tigers should leave Lincoln with their perfect record still intact?
"It's not an ideal situation if Missouri wins," said Jack Ehrke, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln senior and keeper of the bell for the UNL Innocents Society, the honor group that exchanges the trophy with Missouri's similar QEBH Society.
Regardless of the outcome, both schools will get commemorative bells ordered by the Innocents Society.
If the Tigers win, the plan is for them to take the real Victory Bell home on loan, Ehrke said.
"It's a fun thing for them," Ehrke said. "They should be able to take it home and enjoy that."
It's not clear -- should Missouri win -- when, or if, the real Victory Bell will return to Nebraska.
The bell belonged to a pair of UNL fraternities for 30-odd years before the start of the Missouri-Nebraska tradition.
Alex Ruppenthal, a Missouri senior and QEBH president, said he isn't heart-set on withholding the bell from the Huskers.
"We definitely do understand that it all started there."
He described the commemorative bells as "a gracious move."
QEBH hadn't given much thought to the bell this year before the Innocents contacted them, Ruppenthal said. The Missouri group was more interested in the game itself, he said.
A month ago, Ehrke said, he didn't expect this last game to be much of a battle at all. Back then, Nebraska was considered the clear favorite to win. Now the Huskers appear to have a real contest on their hands.
"It makes it a little more exciting," Ehrke said. "A little more interesting."
Reach Zach Pluhacek at 402-473-7234 or zpluhacek@journalstar.com.
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Big 12 suspends Nebraska LB for helmet hit - College Football - Rivals.com
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ap-t25-nebraska-martinsuspended
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ATHLETICS:
REGENTS APPROVE EAST STADIUM UPGRADE AND INDOOR PRACTICE FACILITIES FOR BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL...
At its Friday meeting, the University of Nebraska Board of Regents approved the Nebraska Athletics program statement and $55.5 million budget for improvements to the East Stadium in Memorial Stadium as well as a proposed capital improvement expenditure of $4.75 million for a new baseball and softball indoor practice facility at Haymarket Park.
The East Stadium proposal calls for funding to come from athletic private donations and bond revenues generated from the new seating. The Indoor Practice Facility will be paid for through athletic private donations. No state appropriated funds will be used for either project.
"We are pleased that the Board of Regents has given us approval to move forward on expanding Memorial Stadium with the East Stadium Improvement Project and also for us to work with NEBCO to build an indoor baseball and softball practice facility at Haymarket Park," Nebraska Athletic Director Tom Osborne said.
The expansion plan will increase Memorial Stadium's attendance to more than 90,000 by adding approximately 5,000 new seats.
Plans are still being developed for the baseball and softball practice facility, but the indoor complex is expected to feature batting cages, as well as room to work on defensive and team drills.
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VOLLEYBALL:
HUSKERS LOOK TO BOUNCE BACK AGAINST CYCLONES...
No. 3 Nebraska (19-2, 11-1) vs. No. 12 Iowa State (9-3, 16-4)
Saturday, Oct. 30 • NU Coliseum • 7:30 p.m. Centrak
TV: NET Lincoln - (Time Warner: SD-12/HD-112
DirecTV: SD/HD-29
Dish Network: SD/HD-12)
Omaha - (Cox: SD-12/HD-712
DirecTV: 379
Dish Network: 26)
Radio: Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and KTWI 93.3 FM in Omaha, and on Huskers.com
Web Video: Huskers.com (Free Video)
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Following its first conference loss of the season on Wednesday night at Texas, the No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team (19-2, 11-1) will get back on the court Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. when it hosts the No. 12 Iowa State Cyclones (16-4, 9-3) at the NU Coliseum.
The Huskers sit atop the Big 12 Conference and will be in search of their 10 straight win at home this season, while Iowa State enters the night on a five-match winning streak, including four sweeps during the run.
Nebraska has won the last three meetings between the two programs, including a 3-1 win in Ames earlier this season to open Big 12 play.
The match will be carried statewide on NET and a free live video stream will also be available on Huskers.com.
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VOLLEYBALL:
HUSKERS FALL TO LONGHORNS IN FOUR...
Austin, Texas - The No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team dropped its first match of the 2010 Big 12 season on Wednesday night to the No. 10 Texas Longhorns, 1-3 (15-25, 19-25, 27-25, 25-27).
The Huskers (19-2, 11-1) were their own worst enemy on the night as they tied a season high with 30 errors. After hitting over .300 the last three matches Nebraska struggled to find its rhythm and hit a season low of .160, the first time this season the Huskers have hit below .200.
Hannah Werth, Brooke Delano and Lindsey Licht all topped double figures in kills, while Werth added 12 digs to chart her ninth double-double of the season.
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SOCCER:
HUSKERS CONCLUDE REGULAR SEASON AGAINST BUFFS ON FSN ROCKY MOUNTAIN...
Game 19: Nebraska (12-5-1, 5-3-1) at Colorado (7-9-2, 3-5-1)
Date: Oct. 29, 2010
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Prentup Field; Boulder, Colo. (map)
Capacity: 2,000
Series History: NU leads, 7-6-2
Television: Fox Sports Rocky Mountain (DirecTV 683, Dish Network 414)
Live Stats: cubuffs.com
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SOCCER:
HUSKERS EARN 2-1 SENIOR DAY WIN OVER KANSAS...
Lincoln - Junior Jordan Jackson and senior Colleen Goetzmann scored in each half as Nebraska (12-5-1, 5-3-1) survived a late scare in a 2-1 win over Kansas (5-12-0, 1-8-0) on Friday afternoon at the Nebraska Soccer Field. With the win, Nebraska has its most wins in a season since the 2005 team finished 14-8-1 and qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
The Huskers were in control from the kickoff, outshooting the Jayhawks 17-7 with a 7-3 shots on goal advantage. Nebraska took a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute when sophomore Morgan Marlborough sent a corner kick through the KU defense to the far post. Jackson received the ball and calmly knocked in her 10th goal of the season from four yards out.
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RUCKER JOINING MU FRIENDS FOR LAST GAME; WISTROM STAYING HOME WITH THE KIDS...
Randy York's N-Sider
For Mike Rucker, Saturday's last scheduled game in the longstanding Nebraska-Missouri football series is a homecoming of sorts.
The former Carolina Panther is flying to Nebraska from Charlotte, N.C., to hook up with his high school buddies. He says 90 percent of them are Missouri fans, and all will celebrate this rivalry like they always do ... together and with fervor.
For Grant Wistrom, Saturday's NU-MU game is important and historic, but not enough to move a recent College Football Hall-of-Famer from his Springfield, Mo., home where he's gearing up to spend Halloween with his family.
"My daughter's going to be a Berry Fairy and wear strawberry wings, and my son is going to be a robot," Wistrom said. "That's our priority for the Nebraska-Missouri weekend, and I don't want to miss anything."
So Wistrom will watch the Huskers and Tigers on television from home, reflecting on a series that was always lopsided for him and for Rucker, his college teammate and understudy.
Lopsided, that is, until one incredible 1997 afternoon in Columbia.
You remember that day. A 29-point favorite, Nebraska had to cover 67 yards in 62 seconds without a timeout to tie the game, 38-38, before winning it in overtime, 45-38, on a 12-yard run by quarterback Scott Frost.
"Corby Jones (Mizzou's quarterback) had his way with us that day," Wistrom recalled. "If Scott's pass doesn't come off Shevin's ( Wiggins) leg and into Matt's (Davison) arms, we lose. My career would have ended on a bad note because Missouri would have pulled off one of the biggest upsets of all time."
Wistrom, Rucker Never Lost to Mizzou
Fortunately, that did not happen, and Nebraska went on to win its third national championship in four seasons. It also meant that Wistrom and Rucker - two of the Huskers' greatest recruits ever from the Show Me State - never had to endure the indignity of losing to their home-state university.
You might recall that Wistrom and Rucker came to Nebraska in the same 1994 recruiting class. Rucker redshirted that fall as a freshman, but Wistrom played and lettered on Tom Osborne's first national championship team.
"We played each other twice in high school, and I was fortunate enough to catch Nebraska's eye when we beat Grant's team as sophomores in St. Joe," Rucker said.
"They cheated that year," Wistrom said, referring to St. Joseph Benton's upset win over his Webb City High School team. "They knew we were faster, so they watered up the field, got the tractors out and took away our speed."
Rucker laughs at the explanation. "Grant never would give us credit for beating his team once," he said. "Of course, we went to Webb City as seniors. They beat us in the state semifinals and won the state championship."
That was an important game because it enhanced Wistrom's football version of a trifecta - two state championships in high school, three national championships in college and a Super Bowl title with the St. Louis Rams.
Wistrom and Rucker, who also started in a Super Bowl with the Panthers, became legendary Husker defensive ends, but they had different opinions about Nebraska before they landed in Lincoln.
Rucker Dreamed of Playing at MU; Wistrom Didn't
Rucker dreamed of playing at Mizzou, and Wistrom never even gave MU a thought in the recruiting process.
"All of my friends wanted to go to Mizzou growing up, and so did I," Rucker said. "If I hadn't had a good game against Webb City as a sophomore, I don't know if I would have even thought about Nebraska. That's when Coach (Ron) Brown and Coach Osborne started recruiting me."
The year before Wistrom and Rucker arrived in Lincoln, Nebraska just missed a national championship when a last-second field goal sailed wide in an 18-16 Orange Bowl loss to Florida State.
In his first three games against Mizzou, Wistrom was a key part of 42-7, 57-0 and 51-7 wins, so there were solid reasons why he and his teammates didn't envision the Tigers rising up and knocking off the Huskers in that '97 overtime thriller.
The year after Wistrom left for the NFL, Missouri gave Nebraska another battle before losing 20-13 in Lincoln. Rucker was a senior that season and remembers how all of his high school friends had remained Mizzou fans but also became accustomed to watching Nebraska dominate the national stage with a close friend in the lineup.
"They always rooted for Mizzou, but they rooted for Nebraska, too," Rucker said.
Both Little Brothers Became All-Americans
There is one more interesting corollary between two Missouri natives who became legendary rush ends at Nebraska as well as in the NFL.
Both Wistrom and Rucker have little brothers who not only followed in their footsteps, but played in sizable spotlights of their own.
Tracey Wistrom, Grant's brother, became a First-Team Academic All-American after becoming Nebraska's all-time tight end receiving yardage leader - a record that coincidentally now belongs to another Missouri native, Mike McNeill.
And Martin Rucker, Mike's younger brother, ended up at Mizzou where he became a First-Team All-America tight end.
"With my brother in Columbia, there was a stretch there where I would root for both Nebraska and Missouri, just like my friends have been doing for years," Mike said, leaving no doubt where his heart will be Saturday when he joins at least a dozen Mizzou friends for a pre-game tailgate party.
"The script could not have been written any better at Nebraska," Rucker said. "I had great coaching and a great experience, and my life before, during and after football could not have gone any better than it did."
Not only that, Rucker said, "but Lincoln was closer to home than Columbia was."
Wistrom Has Only One Small Regret
Wistrom agreed that Lincoln was and still is the most solid decision a student-athlete can make.
"I loved going to Columbia and watching games when I was in high school, and I loved playing there in college, but I never once thought about playing at Mizzou," Wistrom said.
"When I was in high school, Missouri wasn't very good at all, but they're a lot better now," he said. "My mind was set on winning national championships, so once Nebraska started recruiting me, I never wavered. I'm glad I chose Nebraska. It was one of the biggest and best decisions I've ever made."
Wistrom figures there's only one way his Nebraska experience could have turned out better. "I guess," he said, "we could have won four national titles in four years instead of just three."
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