Bon Voyage, Huskers!

I can’t say that I was ever terribly excited about the creation of the Big 12 conference in the first place. Take the Big 8 – Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Missouri – and add in Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor, and Texas Tech (from the Southwest Conference), and voila you have the Big 12 conference. I had never really been a fan of Big 8 football. Nebraska used to bore me to tears. Oklahoma was about the same, though at least they had the Red River Rivalry with the University of Texas.  Though the conference was created on February 25, 1994, conference play would start on August 31, 1996.

The Big 12 has produced some great football and basketball programs. The Big 12 football championship has been won by Oklahoma 7 times, Texas 3 times, and  Nebraska twice (Texas A&M, Colorado, and Kansas State have all won it once). I think it is pretty safe to say that over that time period, it became readily apparent that the conference just wasn’t big enough for Texas and Nebraska. The Cornhuskers have always been owned by the Horns in football (much to their chagrin), and were certainly no longer the “high profile program” that they may have once been in the Big 8.

So with that in mind, Nebraska moved to the Big 10 conference. They claim that it was a better fit academically, but I suspect that Athletic Director Tom Osborne no longer wanted to play second fiddle to Texas in terms of conference television revenues, among other things. Call that just an educated guess on my part.

The Huskers went into Big 12 play this season with hopes of making a parting shot at the conference, while looking forward to the promised land of 2011 in the Big 10. But it’s not been a bed of roses for the Children of the Corn.

There were plenty of Texas fans that were thrilled by the 20 – 13 victory that the Horns dished up for the Huskers at Lincoln. The game was one of the few good performances by a very average Horns team this season. The Huskers weren’t beaten by one of the great Texas teams of yore this year, but a loss to Texas, at home, is still a loss. Ouch. It was another sweet victory against Nebraska, and it was the first of a few farewell gifts that the Huskers would receive this year.

As luck would have it, this year’s Big 12 championship had none other than Oklahoma and Nebraska. It was a Big 8 dream come true. And the Cornhuskers get to officially check out of the Big 12 with a 23 – 20 loss. A loss to a former Big 8 rival. Double ouch.

But it gets better. Not only will the Huskers’ recruiting in Texas dwindle – have fun with that one, coach Pelini – but they will not be playing North Division opponents Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Colorado, and Missouri. Note that most of those schools are, well, basketball schools – not football schools, at least not on a consistent basis. In the Big 10, they will be grouped with Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa, Minnesota, and Northwestern, They will also draw Penn State. In 2011 and 2012 they will have Ohio State and Wisconsin.

I figure that by the time October 2011 rolls around, Nebraska will be thinking that Colorado and Kansas State sound pretty darn good. Academics? Yeah right. Bon voyage, Huskers. Enjoy those road trips to Penn State in November.

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