Nebraska Football Tickets

Spring Game has become a must-see event

There was once a day when a Nebraska sports fan could show up at Memorial Stadium for the Red-White Spring Game and witness three sporting events at the same time.

Back in the days before Haymarket Park, the Husker baseball team played their home games at Buck Belzer Field, located just to the west of Memorial Stadium. We can recall one Spring Game where, as the football game was going on, Nebraska was playing Kansas in a baseball doubleheader. And as those events were taking place, the Nebraska track and field teams were competing in the Big Eight Outdoor Championships nearby at the Ed Weir Track.

These days, the baseball team has moved to Haymarket Park, but the growth of the football program has made the Red-White Spring Game a must-see event. In the last few years, near-capacity crowds have watched the Huskers play their annual intra-squad scrimmage and gotten a first glimpse at some of the rising stars within the program, and a sellout crowd is a distinct possibility this year as Husker fans get a first glimpse of the team under new coach Bo Pelini.

This year, the Husker track teams will be out of town competing at the Doane Relays in nearby Crete. Husker fans, however, will get a chance to take in both the football and baseball teams as they play in action Saturday, April 19. The Red-White Spring Game kicks off at 1 p.m. at Memorial Stadium, and immediately after that game is finished, the Nebraska baseball team will host Kansas in a Big 12 matchup at Haymarket Park.

You can get your Red-White Spring Game tickets, as well as your Nebraska-Kansas baseball tickets, at Ticket Express -- where no Husker home game is ever sold out.

Huskers shake rust off with first spring practice

Spring practice is underway, and new Nebraska football coach Bo Pelini put his team through their first workout of the 2008 season on Wednesday at the Hawks Championship Center.

As is expected, a lot of rust needs to be shaken off and mistakes were made along the way, but Pelini said that is to be expected.

"You are not going to be game ready on the first day," he said. "There were a lot of mistakes, but the effort was great. There were a lot of guys flying around and having fun. We will make progress from here."

The Nebraska football team has 12 starters returning, with six coming back on both offense and defense. The team practiced in helmets and shorts on the first day, and were expected to add full pads for Friday's practice.

The Nebraska football team will have its annual Red-White Spring Game on Saturday, April 19, and will kick off the 2008 season Saturday, Aug. 30, against Western Michigan at Memorial Stadium.

Get your Nebraska football tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no Husker home game is ever sold out.

Bad feelings still linger from last season for Huskers

It's a new year with a new coaching staff, but some bad feelings still linger from last year's 5-7 season that some players are only too happy to make known.

In separate stories in the Lincoln Journal-Star, offensive lineman Matt Slauson and running back Cody Glenn both aired their frustration with former coach Bill Callahan and his coaching staff while, at the same time, expressing optimism that things will be different under new coach Bo Pelini and his staff.

Slauson, who played through a shoulder injury, said it was frustrating on a team level, as well as for him individually.

"There was definitely a frustration for the team, one, but for me especially," he told the Journal-Star. "Because I kind of feel like I got jacked around a little bit, switching positions all the time, switching playing time all the time, playing a few plays here, a few plays there. I was really frustrated the whole time."

Slauson said things were so bad that some players didn't know who was going to start until 10 minutes before kickoff.

"I had no idea what was going on the whole year," he said.

Glenn, who was coming off a foot injury suffered late in the 2006 season, looked to be in good shape heading into 2007 and was projected as someone who would compete with Marlon Lucky for starting time in the backfield.

Instead, Glenn saw little action and had 27 carries for 78 yards in five games in 2007. And he couldn't trust the word of running backs coach Randy Jordan.

"The thing about me is, when you tell me you're going to do something, I expect you to do it," he told the Journal-Star. "Once you don't, I just kind of don't have any trust in you. We had a few situations like that, and I never got an explanation for it, where he'd come up to me and say, 'I did it for this reason.' I was like, 'Man, I can't believe anything he says.'"

Both players added that they are happy to be playing for a new staff that is willing to wipe the slate clean and give everybody a chance to show what they have to offer the team.

Huskers get 2008 preparations underway

The spring football season has begun at the University of Nebraska, and the Nebraska football team will be working hard over the next several weeks before showing off their progress at the Red-White Spring Game on Saturday, April 19.

Practices are closed to the public and media and will be held Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays through the Spring Game. The lone exception will be a Thursday practice on April 17 as coach Bo Pelini will give the team a day off before the Red-White Spring Game.

Here's a breakdown of what the Huskers are looking at coming into the 2008 season:

Quarterback

Joe Ganz came on late in the season after Sam Keller went down with an injury and put up some record-setting numbers, including seven touchdown passes against Kansas State.

Don't look for similar numbers in 2008 as the Huskers move toward a more balanced attack, but Ganz will probably be the man to beat behind center. Other players who will look to show improvement include Zac Lee, Beau Davis, Patrick Witt and Kody Spano.

Running Back

There was some concern that Marlon Lucky would not return for his senior season, but he is back to improve on his 1,019-yard campaign and is the top running back returning in the Big 12 Conference this year.

Lucky accounted for over 1,700 yards in total offense, including 705 yards receiving, but he will be pushed by some solid young talent. Cody Glenn looks to regain some of the form he had before knee injuries sidelined him, and Kenny Wilson could be back after missing last year due to a broken leg.

Also look for Quentin Castille to make an impact here, along with Marcus Mendoza and Roy Helu.

Wide Receiver

The loss of Maurice Purify and Terrence Nunn means somebody will need to step in and fill some big shoes right away.

Nate Swift and Todd Peterson are seniors who will certainly take the bulk of the work. Young players like Niles Paul, Menelik Holt and Will Henry could also step up here.

Tight End

Losing several key players to graduation, the Huskers will look to senior Hunter Teafatiller, who accounted for four scores last year.

Several young players, including sophomores Mike McNeill and Dreu Young, will be expected to step up at the tight end position this year.

Offensive Line

The big heavies up front are the anchor of the Husker offense this year and have a wealth of returning experience back.

Lydon Murtha, Jacob Hickman, Mike Huff and Matt Slauson bring a combined 67 games of starting experience into the season, so they will be counted on to come up big this year. The biggest hole to fill will be at left tackle with the graduation of Carl Nicks.

Defensive Line

A defensive line that was much-maligned last year will look for redemption in 2008.

There is plenty of experience returning here, including Zach Potter and Barry Turner on the ends and Ndamukong Suh and Ty Steinkuhler inside. A number of players could give the defensive line some much-needed depth, including 2007 juco transfers Kevin Dixon and Shukree Barfield.

This is one place where a lot of improvement should be seen. And after a year in which the defensive line recorded a paltry 13 quarterback sacks, there really is noplace to go but up for this group.

Linebacker

A big question mark here for the Huskers, as all three starters graduated from last year. Phillip Dillard is probably the leading candidate for a starting job here, and players like Blake Lawrence, Austin Stafford, Latravis Washington and Tyler Wortman will contend for a starting job as well.

Secondary

Several key losses here, but starters Larry Asante (safety) and Armando Murillo (cornerback) return to provide some experience.  Rickey Thenarse and Prince Amukamara will contend for starting spots here, and it remains to be seen how Anthony Blue fits in here after missing spring ball due to a knee injury.

Special Teams

The kicking game should be solid for Nebraska. Dan Titchener is a solid punter who did a good job kicking the Huskers out of trouble last year, and he will probably handle punting duties this year.

In the placekicking department, Alex Henery was perfect last year, going 45-for-45 on PAT's and 8-for-8 in field goals. He'll be counted on to split the uprights, while the powerful leg of Adi Kunalic will take care of kickoffs.

In the return department, several players will contribute here, including Lucky, Swift and Paul. They will look to replace Cortney Grixby, who set a new Big 12 Conference mark for kickoff return yardage last year.

The Nebraska football team kicks off the 2008 season on Saturday, Aug. 30 with a home game against Western Michigan. Get your Nebraska football tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no Husker home game is ever sold out.

Pelini makes it clear -- Do it my way, or else

As a Husker fan, you may have doubts as to how improved the Nebraska football team will be in 2008.

After all, coming off a dreadful 5-7 season that saw record-setting futility established on almost a game-by-game basis, it may be difficult for even the most passionate Husker fan to get excited about the chances for success this season.

Whatever doubts you may have, though, there is one thing about this team that you can take to the bank -- Bo Pelini will have little tolerance for not being on board with how things are done.

He made that blatantly obvious during Monday's press conference in advance of today's start of spring practice. And those who have a problem with that are cordially invited to not let the door hit them in the backside on the way out.

"There's not room for debate," he was quoted in Tuesday's Omaha World-Herald. "It's going to be done certain ways. If they want to do it another way, there's a lot of other Division I football programs they can play at. There are not a lot of things that are up for discussion as far as how the game's going to be played and how we're going to go about things."

And that isn't limited to what goes on between the lines, in the weight room and in the classroom. That also extends to how they conduct themselves in public.

Recent off-field incidents have led to Pelini declaring several Lincoln-area bars off limits to players. Quarterback Joe Ganz told the World-Herald that it's "a small sacrifice" to help improve the team.

Hopefully, the entire team will take it upon themselves to not only avoid the local bar scene, but take the initiative to police themselves and make sure everybody stays on the same page in the character department.

Eight home games on 2008 Nebraska football docket

If you're looking for Nebraska football tickets for the 2008 season, you can find tickets for all eight home games at Ticket Express.

The Huskers kick off the season Saturday, Aug. 30, as they play host to a young Western Michigan squad. The Broncos are looking to make a move forward this season and will bring a hungry team to Memorial Stadium for the 2008 season opener.

The following two weeks, the Huskers have home dates with San Jose State (Sept. 6) and New Meixco State (Sept. 13) out of the Western Athletic Conference, then take a week off before their big non-conference finale on Saturday, Sept. 27 against Virginia Tech. The Hokies were among the contenders for a national title in 2007, losing to Kansas in the Orange Bowl. They will be one of the preseason teams to watch in the national title race, and a win over Virginia Tech would be a big feather in the cap of a Nebraska team looking to get back among the nation's elite.

There won't be much rest for the Huskers after that, though. They open Big 12 Conference play at home the following week, taking on defending North Division champion Missouri on Saturday, Oct. 4. The Tigers have traditionally had trouble winning in Lincoln, but will bring Heisman Trophy-contending quarterback Chase Daniel to town as they begin defense of their division title.

After road games at Texas Tech and Iowa State, the Huskers return home for homecoming as they face Baylor on Saturday, Oct. 25. The Bears have been a traditional Big 12 doormat, but with a new coach and some good returning talent, they very well could be a tougher task than they have been in previous years.

Nebraska faces a key road test at Oklahoma on Oct. 1, but come back on Oct. 8 looking to extract some revenge against a Kansas team that came within an eyelash of a national title last year. The Jayhawks ran up a record 76 points on the Huskers last year, so Nebraska will be looking to pay back the Jayhawks for last year's embarassing defeat in Lawrence, Kan.

The Huskers' final road test comes Nov. 15 at Kansas State, and they finish up the regular season at home the day after Thanksgiving, facing longtime nemesis Colorado on Friday, Nov. 28. If all goes well, the Huskers could be playing for a division title that day and a chance to play in the Big 12 Championship game, set for Saturday, Dec. 6 in Kansas City, Mo.

Don't wait on ordering your Nebraska football tickets for 2008. You can order single-game tickets or get season tickets to make sure you'll see all eight home games this season. No matter your preference, get your tickets now at Nebraska's number one source for tickets, Ticket Express -- where no Husker home game is ever sold out.

Count on a better Husker defense in 2008

In Nebraska, football fans can count on four things in 2008:

-- Death

-- Taxes

-- Unpredictable weather

-- A better defensive effort from the Nebraska football team.

It certainly can't get much worse than last year, that's for sure. In 2007, the Husker defense was as porous as a spaghetti strainer. The days when Nebraska ran up the score on opponents came home to roost, as teams like Kansas, Oklahoma State and Colorado put up record-setting numbers against the once-feared Husker defense.

Things got so bad that the defensive coordinator stripped the Blackshirts from the defensive starters, saying they were no longer worthy of carrying the tradition that has been the defense's calling card for over four decades.

Last year, the Huskers were last in the Big 12 Conference in total yards, rushing yards allowed and points allowed. The 37.9 points per game average was one of the worst in the country, as was the 232.2 rushing yards allowed and 476.8 total yards per game given up. They set team records for points (455), yards (5,722) and first downs (299) allowed.

Husker fans are quite optimistic, though, that last year's pathetic defensive effort is going to be a thing of the past with the hiring of coach Bo Pelini. Pelini was the Nebraska defensive coordinator in 2003 and turned around a sluggish defense. That team created 47 turnovers, matching the record set by the 1971 national championship team. By comparison, last year's team forced 11 turnovers, the fewest by a Nebraska defense in over 65 years.

Pelini's brother, Carl, will be the defensive coordinator this year, and the two brothers will both be involved in trying to turn around a defense that would have had a hard time stopping some high school programs last year.

The Huskers begin spring practice on Wednesday, and will have their first public showing at the Red-White Spring Game on Saturday, April 19 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. Get your tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no Husker home game is ever sold out.

Return to the running game may be imminent

Remember the days when the Nebraska football team used to run the ball, run the ball and run the ball some more?

Those days seemed to be a distant memory under the leadership of the most recent coaching staff, but it appears the Nebraska offense may be going back to the good ol' days of smashmouth, run-right-atcha football heading into the 2008 season.

New coach Bo Pelini retained Shawn Watson, who served as offensive coordinator under the old coaching staff. While, on the surface, that might be a questionable hire for a new coach, the fact is that Watson is a very talented offensive guru and actually did some good things running the offense last year.

In 2007, Nebraska set passing records by the truckload. Single-game, season and career marks were reached in nearly every category. For example, Joe Ganz threw for 510 yards and seven touchdowns -- in a single game. During the glory days of Husker football, some quarterbacks would be lucky to post those kinds of numbers in a season.

Unfortunately, some of those passing numbers were done out of necessity, since the Huskers were playing from behind for much of the season. This year, though, fans should probably expect to see more of the three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust philosophy than a run-and-gun attack as was seen recently.

In Friday's Omaha World-Herald, Watson said it will be up to what the team has in terms of returning talent to ultimately determine how the offense's run-pass ratio pans out. He does, however, expect to be calling more running plays in 2008.

"You've got to find out what you've got in terms of players," he said in the story. "But I do know this: Philosophically, you've got to rush the football to win championships. It's just a fact of life. I think what that says is we'll spend time developing a run game."

That may be good news for returning I-back Marlon Lucky, who is the only returning running back in the Big 12 to have rushed for over 1,000 yards last year. If the Huskers do run the ball more, expect to see the senior get more opportunities to add to last year's total and be in contention for the leading ground-gainer in the conference this season.

Even Ganz, who started the final few games and put up some amazing numbers, is excited about the opportunity.

"If I throw for zero yards and we win, I don't care," he told the World-Herald. "Whatever we have to do to win is the way I take it."

Husker fans, we're sure, would be more than happy to take that as well. And they'll get their first chance to see the new Husker offense when the Red-White Spring Game takes place on Saturday, April 19. Get your 2008 Nebraska football tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no Husker home game is ever sold out.

Red-White Spring Game to draw huge crowd

Nebraska athletic department officials are optimistic that the 2008 Red-White Spring Game will provide the atmosphere fans usually see on fall Saturday afternoons at Memorial Stadium.

With over 40,000 seats already sold for the Saturday, April 19 intra-squad scrimmage, officials are optimistic that the first sellout crowd ever to see a Red-White Spring Game will be on hand to witness Coach Bo Pelini's first game as the official head coach of the Huskers (he was interim coach during the Alamo Bowl after Frank Solich was fired in 2003). The biggest attendance for a Spring Game came in 2005 when over 65,000 fans were on hand.

It will be a great day of sports activities for the Huskers. In addition to the Red-White Spring Game, the Nebraska baseball team will take on Kansas in a late-afternoon game at Haymarket Park.

You can get tickets for both the Red-White Spring Game and the Nebraska-Kansas baseball game now at Ticket Express -- where no Husker home game is ever sold out.

Some student seating being moved this year

Athletic director Tom Osborne announced recently some change in student seating at Memorial Stadium that is addressing complaints from some season ticket holders.

About 2,000 seats used by students are being moved from the lower half of South Stadium to the upper half. Students in the lower part of sections 14-15 will find new seats at the top of sections 12-14, while fans with tickets in those locations will move to the lower section.

The change is being made because of complaints received by fans who couldn't see the game because students stand on the seats instead of standing in the footwells in front of the seats.

It's a decision that isn't sitting well with the students, but Osborne felt the move was needed to give fans who can't see the game a better view than the back of a student's head.

Students will still have a seat in the stadium, and a pretty good one at that, Osborne said.

The first home game for the Nebraska football team comes Saturday, Aug. 30, when they host Western Michigan. You can get your 2008 Nebraska football tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no Husker home game is ever sold out.