Know Your Foe - Nebraska 2011

He's back! Ladies and gentlemen, it is with a tear in my eye and a lump in my throat that I write these words. That's because today's Know Your Foe was penned by none other than Benny, the creator and originator of Know Your Foe waaaay back in 2006 during The Original MZone (respect).  

For those of you who may be new to the site, Benny was my blogging comrade in arms during MZone 1.0 from 2005 until early 2008.  I continued for a few months after that then stepped away as well.  When I started the blog back up last fall, Benny declined to return in order to have something called a life.  Too many early mornings after a late night of MZone Photoshopping had him burned out.  His keyboard was hung up for good.  

But I did not give up.  Ever since returning to the blogosphere, I have been begging and pleading with Benny to join me.  To once again be bathe in the warm glow and acclaim that comes from putting up pictures of cheerleaders-turned-pornstars and having one's material stolen by Colin Cowherd.  I wanted to get the band back together.  For what was Simon without Garfunkel?  George Michael without the other dude whose name nobody remembers from Wham!?  But, alas, Benny always declined.  

Until today.  

Benny agreed to come back just for the Nebraska Know Your Foe (probably to get me to stop begging and pleading with him).  And while he called me numerous times during the week, bitching and complaining about agreeing to do this because of the time suck, I think he's finally excited to be back judging by the the email below which I got from from him at almost 1 a.m. this morning:

"It's done.

Take a look.  Edit if you like, certainly for any errors.  I have to wash the dishes and take a shower.

I hate you with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns."

Yep.  As you can tell, Benny's excited as hell to be back.  In fact, based on the above, I'm pretty, pretty, pretty sure he's going to tell me any day he's returning to blogging full-time.  I can feel it.

So sit back, relax and enjoy our first Benny-penned KYF since 2008.

Yost

The Wolverines welcome the newest member of the Big 10 11 conference, the Nebraska Cornhuskers to Ann Arbor for the first time since 1962. Michigan has won three of the six meetings (there has been one tie in 1911). This is the first regular-season meeting between Michigan and Nebraska since '62, as they have split their two bowl match ups after that. The teams sport identical 8-2 records and both bounced back from losses with road wins last week. Who are these newcomers, and what should we know about them? To answer these and many other questions, the MZone is proud to present this week's version of KNOW YOUR FOE.

The seal looks like
the wheel from
Wheel of Fortune.

History – The University of Nebraska was created in 1869, two years after Nebraska achieved statehood. The Nebraska legislators elected to create one unified University in the state, unlike their uppity neighbors Iowa and Kansas. That's why we don't have a Nebraska State University. The first two degrees were granted in 1873 and I can't help but wonder if the guy who was second in the class ever admitted to being last in his class. The first 20 years of the school were marked by small classes and lack of funds before a late-century boom took the enrollment to around 1,500 students. Near the end of the 19^th century it was the 15^th biggest school in the country. Growth continued into the 20^th century with the development of the farm campus (seriously), which is now known as East Campus. The school is formally named the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is commonly referred to as UNL, NU (which makes no sense) or simply Nebraska.

Hey look, there's a star above Lincoln!

Location – Lincoln, Nebraska. Lincoln is the second largest city in the state (behind Omaha) and is one of five state capitals that also house Big Ten teams (along with St. Paul, Columbus, Madison and Lansing – it’s close enough). It’s nicknamed the Star City because it’s the capital and state capitals are represented by stars on a map (Know Your Foe is a bit of a map geek and even we find that lame. Not quite the “Big Apple” of the “City of Broad Shoulders” for sure).

There’s a 20 foot statue of a
farmer up there – pretty cool.

The city was obviously named for Abraham Lincoln but that decision was, believe it or not, met with controversy. The village was originally founded as Lancaster in 1856 when the capital of Nebraska territory was in Omaha. Legislators wanted to move the capital closer to more densely populated part of the state so they chose Lancaster as the new capital. However, some legislators who were against the move tried to derail this plan by renaming Lancaster to Lincoln after the recently assassinated President. They knew this would be met with hostility since many residents were sympathetic to the Confederacy in the recently completed Civil War. But the ploy didn’t work and even though Lancaster became Licoln, it was still named the capital upon statehood on March 1, 1867.

Lincoln’s main industry is service, and the economy is driven by the university and the state government. There are virtually no suburbs as most of the land around the city has already been annexed. The town is home to the second tallest capitol building in the U.S. and is the hometown to erudite talk show host Dick Cavett, and current major leaguers Joba Chamberlain and Alex Gordon.

Nickname – Cornhuskers. There's no conference in the country with the variety of excellent nicknames as the Big Ten. With the exception of the Wildcats, and maybe the Spartans, each Big Ten school boasts a nickname that are unique and instantly identify their teams. This might be the best reason to allow Nebraska into the conference. Cornhuskers is absolutely unique and brings to mind only one thing: Nebraska. So much so that the state officially co-opted the nickname in 1945.

Before the turn of the 20th century, the Nebraska football teams had a number of nicknames including the Old Gold Knights, the Antelopes, the Tree-Planters, the Rattlesnake Boys, and the Bugeaters, which was their most popular name until 1900. At that time, Lincoln sportswriter Cy Sherman believed that the Nebraska team deserved a more glamorous name. The Iowa teams at that time were sometimes referred to as Cornhuskers and Sherman thought that name was better suited for the Nebraska team. Besides, Iowa fans were partial to one of their other nicknames, the Hawkeyes. The Cornhusker nickname stuck and Sherman went on to a 60-year sportswriting career and is credited (or blamed) for originating the AP football poll that still rues its ugly head over college football to this day.

But what is a Cornhusker? Well, it’s one who shucks corn, something just about all of us have done. Know Your Foe still looks back fondly on the days when our mother would order us outside on a hot summer day to shuck the fresh Michigan corn on the cob.

Mascot – Herbie Husker. The Cornhuskers went through a number of mascots, starting with Corn Cob in the ‘40s and ‘50s. Yes, this was a guy wearing a giant corn cob head. 1962 saw the arrival of Husker Man who looked like Purdue Pete’s alcoholic brother. Husker Man didn’t stick around very long and gave way to another anthromorphic corn cob, Mr. Cornhead, in the mid ‘60s. Harry Husker then took over in 1965. Is there any doubt he was based on numerous boosters who set fire to the NCAA rule book?

The corn cobs are cool - the humans are seedy looking.

Finally, in 1974 Herbie Husker was born. He was the result of the incredible cartoonist Dirk West. Seriously, check out his work – brilliant on so many levels. West created Herbie for the 1974 Cotton Bowl and later refined the character who would then be used as the mascot for all Husker teams since. He underwent a major transformation in 2003, losing the gut and getting quite cut (unlike actual Nebraska fans). He also lost the dye job and is now a brunet. All of this surely helped him win the national mascot of the year in 2006. In 1994 Lil’ Red joined the Nebraska mascot family. The inflatable dude is the nightmare Michigan fans had when Dave Brandon floated the idea of a Wolverine mascot for kids to take pictures with.

I prefer original Herbie - he
had a corn cob in his pocket.

Colors – Scarlet and Cream. One of only eight schools to call their red scarlet, Nebraska is one of three scarlet teams on Michigan’s schedule this year (joining San Diego State and Michigan’s next opponent tOSU).  They’re also one of only three NCAA schools that count their white as cream (along with Indiana and Oklahoma). Know Your Foe has stated our problem with red (or scarlet) over the years here on the MZone. Suffice it to say it’s just too common. No wonder the Huskers gave up so many points to Wisconsin earlier this season – they probably didn’t want to tackle anyone wearing the exact same colors as they were wearing. Besides, scarlet and cream sounds like a delicious ice cream flavor.

The colors haven’t changed in Lincoln for over a century. At one point the team wore gold as evidenced by the Gold Knights nickname in use in the late 19th century. But the scarlet and cream combo has been a Nebraska tradtion since the Cornhusker nickname came into being in 1900. The only slight deviation is the reference to the Nebraska defense as the “Blackshirts.” This nickname is in reference to the black practice jerseys worn by the first team defense in practice and dates back about 50 years when legendary head coach Bob Deveney wanted the defense to wear a contrasting color to the offense’s red scarlet. Thankfully the Huskers haven’t succumbed to the uniform nonsense of late and haven’t gone to a black uniform. Yet.

Looks like something
from Laugh-In.

Logo/Helmet – Since 2004 Nebraska has gone with a simple red block N and for the ten years before that they superimposed a script “Huskers” over the N. Unfortunately these recent logos feed the stereotype about the state – flat and boring. But in doing research for this piece, Know Your Foe was fortunate enough to find HuskerJ’s page of Nebraska’s mascots and logos. Scroll down and check out the absolutely groovy logos from the early ‘70s. Far freakin’ out. How could that possibly come from the same school that’s used the block N for twenty years?

No need to mess with this.

Nebraska’s helmet might not be as flashy as whatever crap Nike’s been pushing on Oregon and Oklahoma State, but it’s solid as hell and has been virtually unchanged for over 40 years. A simple white shell, a scarlet stripe down the middle and a plain but elegant N in the middle. The only change since 1970 was the move to a red facemask for the 1982 Orange Bowl. Nebraska’s helmet history is about as boring (and great) as that of Michigan. Sure, they had NU on there for a a couple of years in the ‘60s and numbers before that. But the current Nebraska helmet is as iconic as any in college football. Let’s hope it stays that way. (As always the helmets are courtesy of the excellent Helmet Project.)

Fight Song – Apparently the Cornhuskers have at least two fight songs. According to this source, they play Hail Varsity after a touchdown, and There’s No Place Like Nebraska (also known as Dear Old Nebraska U) after the extra point. It’s unclear what they play after a field goal or a safety. If There’s No Place Like Nebraska sounds familiar, it should. It’s extremely similar, if not the same, as Florida’s fight song, We Are The Boys of Florida. How could two powerhouse football programs - who met for the national title in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl - have the same fight song? Evidently, they also share the song with the Toledo public school system.

The lyrics to the two songs are quite different. Hail Varsity is pretty standard fight song fare, with a touch of communist march – heavy on loyalty, a politically incorrect sexist bent, and talk of fighting for victory.

Hail to the team!

The stadium rings as everyone sings

The Scarlet and Cream

Cheers for a victory echo our loyalty

So on mighty men!

The eyes of the land upon every hand

Are looking at you

Fight on to victory

Hail to the men of Nebraska U!

There’s No Place Like Nebraska on the other hand is much more charming and unintentionally funny (not to mention a better tune). Any song that mentions that the women are hot, the men are nerds, and the weather sucks is OK with us. The only questionable lyric is the “true blue” mention. That might not fly with Cornhusker fans this week.

There is no place like Nebraska

Dear old Nebraska U

Where the girls are the fairest

The boys are the squarest

Of any old place that I knew

There is no place like Nebraska

Where they're all true blue

We'll all stick together in all kinds of weather

For dear old Nebraska U.

Academics – According to the most recent U. S. News' ranking of America's Best Colleges, Nebraska is 101st, by far the worst rating for any Big Ten school. Even Sparty is ranked 71st. Nebraska's tied in the rankings with such academic powerhouses as Florida State, NC State, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Tennessee. That group might make up a good sports conference, but it’s far from Ivy League in the classroom. Maybe the N on the helmet stands for “knowledge" (I know: an oldie but a goody).

Athletics – Nebraska is in their first year in the Big Ten and was a charter member of the Big 12 Conference (and all its various incarnations) in 1907. It’s too early to tell who the Cornhuskers’ rivals will be. Back in the ‘70s and ‘80s there was none better than Nebraska-Oklahoma on the gridiron. But when the Sooners moved to the South division of the Big 12 they didn’t meet every year. There was an attempt to make Colorado a rival but that never really took.

When this guy's your
all-time leading scorer
you have a bad program.

The Huskers field 21 varsity teams (Michigan has 27), including women’s bowling and women’s rifle. The women’s volleyball team is one of the most storied programs in the country. It must be all the beaches in the state that produce such great players. Nebraska has won three NCAA titles (1995, 2000, and 2006), has been a runner-up three times, and has five other final four appearances. The Cornhuskers are second only to Stanford in titles and winning percentage. The men’s gymnastics teams has won eight national titles, though none since 1994, and the women’s track and field team has two national titles, though none since 1984. The men’s basketball team has been a disgrace. They haven’t won a conference title since they shared the Big Seven title in 1950! Know Your Foe didn’t even know there was a Big Seven. They haven’t won an outright conference title since winning the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletics Association in 1916. They’ve never won an NCAA tournament game, they’ve made only six tournament appearances, and their first trip to the tournament wasn’t until 1986.

When it comes to Nebraska athletics it’s football, football, football. The Huskers began playing football in 1890 and have won 46 conference titles and have won or shared five national championships, including the undeserved share of the 1997 title. Only Michigan and Texas have won more games than Nebraska. Let’s hope the Huskers don’t catch the Longhorns this weekend – Texas has 856 victories, Nebraska has 855. Michigan leads with 892. Only Rutgers has played more football games than Nebraska (who’s tied with Navy and one game ahead of Michigan), and Nebraska’s all-time winning percentage (.704 entering the year) is 8^th best (Michigan’s .733 is tops). Not only has Nebraska had tremendous on-field success, but they’ve sold out every game since November 3, 1962, an incredible streak of 317 games.

Maybe Carnac knows
who will win on Saturday.

Famous alums – The list of Nebraska alumni isn’t all that impressive (with two exceptions). They’ve had their share of academics you’ve never heard of, some legal figures of low to moderate fame, and, of course, plenty of great football players from Heisman winners Johnny Rodgers (1972), Mike Rozier (1983), and Eric Crouch (2001), to great NFL’ers like Roger Craig, Irving Fryar, and the Detroit Lions’ Ndamukong Suh. But what the Nebraska alumni list lacks in volume it makes up for with quality at the top. Other schools may have more well-known business leaders, but Nebraska boasts one of the wealthiest people in the world and one of the most successful investors ever in Warren Buffett (B.S., 1950). I would imagine he has no problem scoring Husker tickets despite the sellout streak. And though other schools can lay claim to plenty of greats in the entertainment field, Nebraska can top them all with alumnus Johnny Carson (1949). For those too young to know, Carson owned late night TV for decades and paved the way for David Letterman and Conan O’Brien, not to mention hundreds of comedians. Good stuff.

Three Nebraska graduates have been U.S. senators, five have been U.S. governors, and one was even the president of Latvia, but, alas, no U.S. Presidents. 

The Game – Michigan might have played their best game of the year last week in Champaign. Hell, it was the best defensive performance for Michigan since probably 2006. Meanwhile the Huskers were also gutting out a tough road win. But they’ve been on a bit of an "on one week off the next" pattern. That bodes well for Michgan if it keeps up. The Wolverines appear to be peaking on D and the offense is still potent if not powerful. The team has played very well at home and Saturday will be no different. MICHIGAN 20, NEBRASKA 13.