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Nebraska Football And The Expectations Game
The Nebraska football team is coming into their game against the Indiana Hoosiers ranked in the top 10 for the first time in years.
It should not come as a surprise then that there are plenty of people who think the “pressure” of that ranking is going to cause the Huskers to take a step backwards. Some national networks have even decided the Nebraska football team is the one most likely to get upset in the Big Ten this week.
Those who are still doubting what Mike Riley is building aren’t crazy. This team lost games to Illinois and Purdue last year. The Huskers have a tendency to play some of their worst football against opponents that just aren’t that good.
Some are touting the Hoosiers as the best team the Nebraska football team has played so far this year. It’s possible that’s even true, considering the Oregon Ducks have bottomed out, Illinois lost last week to Purdue and Fresno State is now 1-5 on the year.
On the other hand, Northwestern scored a big victory over Iowa right after the Huskers took them down. Wyoming, oddly enough might be the best team we’ve faced so far based by record alone. After losing a rather embarrassing game against Eastern Michigan, the Cowboys have gone 2-0 in the Mountain West and are 4-2 on the season.
So are the Huskers worthy of the ranking they’ve achieved? We’re going to get a pretty good read on that Saturday afternoon. The team has looked both good and bad in just about every game it’s played so far.
The argument could be made that the dominance this team has showed in the fourth quarter certainly points to a squad worthy of a top 10 ranking. There is also the problem with starting off looking really dominant.
The Huskers trailed the Illini last week 16-10 for more of the game than anyone was comfortable with. The Nebraska football team finds itself in the enviable position where it should be able to get to 7-0, but fans are both expecting the Huskers to accomplish that goal and not to accomplish it at the same time.
There are plenty of fans out there who have made comments like “the Cornhuskers better get to 7-0 if they expect to convince me they’re for real.” Those same fans are talking about how they don’t expect the Huskers to go 7-0.
It is this expectations game the Huskers find themselves smack dab in the middle of as the season continues to roll on. At some point, if the Huskers do continue to win games like the ones coming up on Saturday, that expectations game will change.
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