It took longer than some people wanted, but Matt Rhule finally announced Dylan Raiola would be the starter against the University of Texas El Paso on August 31st. He couldn’t put it off any longer. It was time to start game preparation, and the offense needed to know who was going to lead them. I’m sure the announcement came as no surprise to anyone within the program or outside of it. However, it’s that time of year when things start shaking out and the writing on the wall becomes clear. Rhule explained the quarterback room and where each player stood,…
Author: Lyle Harmon
Lyle Harmon
I was 10 years old when Nebraska won their first National Championship. I was 23 when the two-point conversion failed in Miami. I was 34 when Tom Osborne won his first National Championship. And I was 49 when Texas put one more second back on the clock. I’ve been a Cornhusker fan all my life. And at 64 I’m excited to write about Nebraska football. Good things are about to happen.
It’s that time of year. The time they call the ‘Dog Days’ of summer. Those hot, sultry, sluggish days of apathy. Or, in other words, a time in fall camp when things get harder. The players are tired. They’ve been through the arrival of new teammates eager to prove themselves, winter conditioning, more new teammates, self-motivated summer workouts, and finally, the rigors of fall camp and two weeks of living in a dorm. But fall camp is also when all the hard work pays off. It’s when a player can move up the depth chart and get ready for a…
My son-in-law is the sports editor for the Falls City Journal. Yesterday I read his article picking the Husker games for the upcoming season. He has the Huskers going 9-3 and at worst 7-5. I was a little surprised because typically he doesn’t allow himself to get that stoked before the season. Evidently, he likes the Rhule-Aid. But as I reviewed his picks, I realized something. I can’t pick against the Huskers. Do I think they can win them all? I’ll say no, because it’s unrealistic for me to think otherwise. But every game I look at, I tell myself…
My son-in-law and I attended the 1890 Nebraska Big Red Preview Saturday night with approximately 3,500 other fans. I’m glad we did. I haven’t been to a college football practice in over forty years. And while I wasn’t close enough to smell football, that odor that sticks in players pads from day after day of sweat. Nor could I hear the energy being exerted by runners or lineman trying to defeat the man in front of them. My eyes told me what I needed to know. I was watching a group of players, a coaching staff, and a support staff…
Here are my BIG 10 rankings before the season. No detailed breakdowns, just a quick ranking. Think of them as the first 4, the second 4, the next 5, and the last 5. Oregon: The Ducks will win the BIG 10 in their first year in the conference. Dan Lanning is part of the Kirby Smart coaching tree. He brings a toughness to Oregon that will do well in the BIG 10. They are loaded with talent and have brought in Dillion Gabriel at quarterback. Yes, Michigan and Ohio State are on the schedule, but Michigan is down, and Lanning…
If you are like me, you can’t keep from drinking the Rhule-Aid. It’s easy to get sucked in. The man can talk. And I’m convinced great things for Husker football are on the way. Now that I’ve said that I’m going to bring some of you back to earth. Not because I’m Chicken Little and I want to try to convince you the sky is falling but because Husker fans need to have realistic expectations in Matt Rhule’s second year at Nebraska and Dylan Raiola’s first. As fans, it’s easy to compare Rhule to Osborne, but where we make our…
If you follow Nebraska football, then you probably have an opinion on who should get a Blackshirt on defense. In fact, you probably have opinions on who is deserving of a single digit number. So, if I said I was going to create a list like someone’s Top 40 Huskers for 24 or maybe 24 in ’24 Most Indispensable Huskers, you’d be like … what, another list? But if I said, when it’s third and five, what eight Blackshirts will have the biggest impact on the defense trotting to the sideline and the loudspeaker stating, “FOURTH DOWN!” Would that pique…
If you follow Nebraska football, then you probably have an opinion on who should be quarterback one. In fact, you probably have opinions on every position. So, if I said I was going to create a list like someone’s Top 40 Huskers for 24 or maybe 24 in ’24 Most Indispensable Huskers, you’d be like … what, you too? But if I asked, what ten players will have the biggest role in the quarterback trotting down the field as the chains are being moved and the loudspeaker saying, “FIRST AND TEN, NEBRASKA.” Would that pique your interest? If so, then…