Huskers 17, Tigers 52

Last Saturday was yet another tough pill to swallow for the Husker faithful, as the Missouri Tigers gave Nebraska a good ol' fashion, behind-the-woodshed spanking. It only took Chase Daniel and his band of rogues a mere 58 seconds to get in the end-zone, and they never really looked back. Yup, it was all Missouri as they exorcised the demons that have haunted them at Memorial Stadium since 1978, the last time they won in Lincoln. What the Tigers did to the Huskers is what the Huskers used to do to most other opponents for years and years.

Teams just aren't afraid to come into Memorial Stadium anymore. The aura is gone, at least temporarily. I can only hope that someday the Huskers will get it back, but for now, it seems a long ways away. The defensive game-plan last Saturday never came close to working, as Daniel made the Huskers look silly. I had hoped some of the aforementioned aura would resurrect itself in some form, and get into Daniel's head a little bit. Throw him off his rhythm. He showed why he's a Heisman front-runner, as he was simply brilliant and not the least bit shaken. You know it's bad when the opposing team even got their third-string quarterback a few snaps at the end of the game.

Once again, though, the Huskers never quit fighting, which was very satisfying. We have a long ways to go before we're able to compete with the big boys again, but as long as we don't quit, and as long as we continue to learn from game-to-game, I'm satisfied with where things stand to this point. Next up is seventh-ranked Texas Tech in Lubbock, which is a perfect opportunity to show what we took from last Saturday. You can bet I'll be taking notes come game time.

GO BIG RED!!