Big Red Game Day Nebraska vs. McNeese St. 11:30 AM CST Listen Live Live Webcast HuskersNSide Live Webcast 2 FoxSports October 3, 2002 ON THE HUSKER MENU: McNEESE STATE COWBOYS Huskers in must-win situation against Div. 1-AA #2 McNeese St. By Jim D. Berryman MissingNebraska.com Editor The undefeated and second-ranked team in the country is coming to Lincoln to play Nebraska this Saturday and fans are still able to get a ticket at face value. Even under that. Oh yes, one minor detail. It’s the undefeated and second-ranked team in the country…in Division 1-AA. The McNeese State Cowboys are in Lincoln undefeated at 4-0 and a bit water-logged after escaping Hurricane Lili in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Nebraska is 3-2 after consecutive road losses. The teams square off at Memorial Stadium Saturday at 11:30 a.m. Cool temperatures are in the forecast with mostly cloudy skies and low to mid 50s at kickoff. Streaming video of the game is available online through HuskersNSide and Fox Sports. There is a fee for the service. Check out our link to live audio and video of the Nebraska - McNeese St. game on Saturday on the front page of MissingNebraska.com So it will be a bit cool for the men from McNeese St., but a lot more calm. The team got out before the brunt of Hurricane Lili, however many left friends and family back home. McNeese St. in any other of the past 20 or so Husker seasons would be just another “gimme” Division 1-AA game. A Husker blowout. A kind of game where a smaller team can get a taste of the big time, maybe make things interesting if things go their way. You know, make some noise against a big-name football power. Like Nebraska. Nebraska has played these types of teams before. A few have burned us on big pass plays and such early in the games, but eventually the Husker depth and stamina wears ‘em down. A competitive game becomes a blowout. In any other year, the McNeese St. game would be that type of game. But this ain’t any other year. The Cornhuskers are looking for any kind of respect they can get. After 2 straight losses and dropping out of the Top 25 for the first time since 1981, the Huskers are more than eager to get back to the football they should be playing. On the field. Not in the stands or broadcast booth. It hasn’t been a very easy couple of weeks. As a Husker player, it can’t be easy to pick up a newspaper, watch a TV sports show, or visit an Internet message board. It’s got to get you down after awhile. Or make you mad. The latter is what I hope has been happening to the Husker players. I think they are eager to prove themselves and get back in the winning column. The changes made by NU Coach Solich could be successful. The Huskers need to build a new foundation and McNeese St. allows that opportunity. That’s not to say the Cowboys of McNeese St. will be any kind of a pushover. I’ve even seen predictions that the Cowboys could knock off Nebraska to send the Husker football program spinning into the dungeons of hell. But I think I saw a spark in the Husker football team in the 4th quarter of the Iowa St. game that tells me we aren’t going to have another game like State College or Ames. With the confidence, determination, and leadership of a different quarterback, we may see a whole new team. Then again, we may not. Only time will tell. McNeese St. is coming off a win against Western Kentucky 38-13 and average 35.5 points per game to their opponents’ 16.3. So McNeese St. is talented and dangerous. A number of McNeese St. fans are making the trip up from Louisiana, that is if they can catch a flight out of hurricane-damaged Lake Charles and New Orleans. We’ll see more than one Husker quarterback in the game, according to Solich. Let’s see what happens. Player shuffling happens all the time and all three quarterbacks still have a chance to prove themselves. I think Solich’s secrecy during the week about the quarterback situation was a bit overdramatic. Just tell us coach. Like I saw someone post on the Omaha.com website: “This ain’t ‘The Manhattan Project’ , coach”. Again, in a time when there are few bright spots in being a Husker fan, we have to keep in mind the small victories. Like the fact that in any other year, this would have been a yawner of a game, with thoughts of Big 12 pivotal games to come. Now we don’t know what could happen next. It's a different kind of Husker excitement. This ain’t like other years. I can guarantee you that Husker fans everywhere will have an eye or ear to the goings-on in Lincoln on Saturday. Post Feedback NEBRASKA - McNEESE STATE PREVIEW STORIES, PICS, AND LINKS: 10-05-02: Sense of urgency washes over Husker camp More from Lincoln Journal Star 10-05-02: Game sold out, but some tickets still available More from Omaha World Herald 10-05-02: Another shocker: Lord will start as QB More from Omaha World Herald 10-05-02: Gold & Blue meets Big Red More from American Press (Lake Charles, LA) 10-04-02: Huskers should fill stadium More from Omaha World Herald 10-04-02: Collins returns, will play behind Horne More from Omaha World Herald 10-04-02: Hollowell ready for McNeese St.'s strength - the running game More from Lincoln Journal Star 10-03-02: Huskers expect battle More from G.I. Independent 10-03-02: Cowboys, coach find no safe haven in Nebraska More from Lincoln Journal Star 10-03-02: Breaking down the Cowboys Stats from Lincoln Journal Star 10-03-02: McNeese St. gets out of town ahead of storm More from American Press (Lake Charles, LA) Huskers on ESPN.com Husker Hot Pics Photos from AP Husker Game Watch Locations Nationwide