The Wisconsin monkey is finally OFF Nebraska’s back.
NU’s ten-game losing streak to the boys from Madison is over.
The jinx also appears to be off the back of the Nebraska football team.
Saturday’s 44-25 victory over Wisconsin assures Nebraska a bowl bid.
A victory over Iowa this coming Friday night will only raise Nebraska’s stock.
The frosting on Saturday’s cake was the NU volleyball team’s sweep of Wisconsin in Lincoln. It’s been well documented that NU has had trouble beating Whisky in both sports over the past 12 years.
Allowing me to share with you two of my long-ago NU vs. Wisconsin football games. One is a victory; the other was a loss.
On September 29, 1973, I witnessed a nailbiter.
Undefeated Nebraska trailed Wisconsin with five minutes remaining in the game.
Getting a ticket to the game was a challenging as Nebraska claiming victory.
My older brother told me that I could purchase a ticket from one of his high school classmates who now attended UNL.
Mark Caha was a member of the NU freshman football team, and through some scheme, Mark was trying to get me a ticket at no cost. He told me to approach the stadium’s Will-Call window and tell them I was Mark Caha’s brother and needed to pick up my “complimentary” ticket. When the window teller asked me for an ID, I told her I didn’t have one, and she declined my request for a free ticket. Mark encouraged me to try the falsehood with another window teller. I botched the lie when I told the lady I was the brother of Mark Caha of Valparaiso, though, unknown to me, Mark’s address was Ceresco.
Strike two.
Mark eventually went to the window and requested a free ticket for me, but since I didn’t have an ID that proved I was his brother; strike three.
I eventually bought a ticket for face value from a middle-aged gentleman and sprinted inside the stadium. Our dishonest attempts to get me a ticket meant missing the pre-game festivities. I found my seat about a minute before kickoff.
As I watched the contest from Section 15, Row 75 of the South Stadium, Nebraska, trailing 16-14, marched from north to south (toward my seat) in championship fashion.
Flanker Rich Bahe of Fremont, who had replaced Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers, ripped off a 40-yard run, and Tony Davis scored the winning touchdown on a 14-yard sprint with just under three minutes to play.
It was the most exciting game of the 1973 season, and I was able to witness every play.
Nebraska began the 1974 season with a 61-7 victory over Oregon in Lincoln, only to lose at Wisconsin by one point, 21-20, the next week.
The Wisconsin game was televised, and as I viewed the game on our two-year-old color television, the Badgers beat the Cornhuskers by throwing a long TD bomb with about four minutes remaining in the game.
Nebraska QB David Humm suffered a hip pointer and missed most of the game, and the offense slipped into a state of anemia in Humm’s absence.
Nebraska would not meet Wisconsin on the gridiron again until 2011.
Wisconsin pounded Nebraska, 48-17.
In 2012, NU beat the Badgers 30-27 in Lincoln.
As mentioned, Wisconsin would win the next ten straight games. Five of the games were decided by seven points or less.
So, we’re OFF Wisconsin’s dominance and on to Iowa this coming Friday night.
The Hawkeye Wave.
The Hawkeye Wave is the best tradition in college sports. When the Kinnick clock hits zero, at the end of the first quarter, 70,000+ football fans turn their attention from the field to UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital. In unison, they wave to the pediatric patients and their families watching the game. The patients and family members view this genuine act of kindness as life-changing, inspiring wave of hope.
Another Iowa tradition is late-November cold.
At 6:30 pm Iowa City time, the kickoff temperature is predicted to be 20 degrees.