Nebraska Football Tickets

Getting over the rated bump

There was once a time when Nebraska was consistently rated among the top teams in the country and had little trouble beating unranked opponents.

These days, the shoes are on the other foot and the Huskers are having a hard time walking in them -- Nebraska takes an 18-game losing streak against opponents ranked higher than 20th into Saturday's road matchup at Texas Tech and is looking to break what is becoming a very difficult losing streak.

The streak got an ugly start in 2001 when the Huskers, ranked No. 2 at the time, walked into Boulder and got waxed by then-No. 14 Colorado 62-36. At the time, it was the most points a team had scored on Nebraska in its long and storied history, but it started a streak that continued Saturday when No. 4 Missouri beat Nebraska 52-17.

In fact, Nebraska has just one win against a ranked team since that time, a 32-28 win over 20th ranked Michigan in the 2005 Alamo Bowl. Nebraska's struggles against ranked opponents since the Nov. 23, 2001 at Colorado is as follows (team rankings in parenthesis):

Nov. 23, 2001 -- (14) Colorado 62, (2) Nebraska 36
*-Jan. 3, 2002 -- (1) Miami 37, (4) Nebraska 14
Sept. 28, 2002 -- (19) Iowa State 36, (20) Nebraska 14
Nov. 2, 2002 -- (7) Texas 27, Nebraska 24
Nov. 16, 2002 -- (11) Kansas State 49, Nebraska 13
Nov. 29, 2002 -- (13) Colorado 28, Nebraska 13
Nov. 1, 2003 -- (16) Texas 31, (12) Nebraska 7
Nov. 13, 2004 -- (2) Oklahoma 30, Nebraska 3
Oct. 8, 2005 -- (15) Texas Tech 34, Nebraska 31
Sept. 16, 2006 -- (4) USC 28, (19) Nebraska 10
Oct. 21, 2006 -- (5) Texas 22, (17) Nebraska 20
**-Dec. 2, 2006 -- (8) Oklahoma 21, (19) Nebraska 7
#-Jan. 1, 2007 -- (10) Auburn 17, (22) Nebraska 14
Sept. 15, 2007 -- (1) USC 49, (14) Nebraska 31
Oct. 6, 2007 -- (17) Missouri 41, (25) Nebraska 6
Oct. 27, 2007 -- (17) Texas 28, Nebraska 25
Nov. 3, 2007 -- (8) Kansas 76, Nebraska 39
Oct. 4, 2008 -- (4) Missouri 52, Nebraska 17

*--2002 BCS championship at Rose Bowl
**--2006 Big 12 championship game at Kansas City
#--2007 Cotton Bowl at Dallas

Nebraska has at least three games remaining against teams that should be ranked in the top 20 when Nebraska faces them -- Saturday at No. 7 Texas Tech, Nov. 1 at top-ranked Oklahoma and the following week at home against 16th-ranked Kansas.

Nebraska to face Cyclones on Versus network

The Nebraska football team will be on TV each of the next two weeks as they continue play in the Big 12 Conference.

On Saturday, Nebraska takes to the road for the first time this season, as they head down to Lubbock, Texas, to take on the seventh-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders. The game will be televised by Fox Sports Net beginning at 2 p.m.

The following week, the Huskers are on the road again, this time traveling east to Ames, Iowa to meet up with longtime foe Iowa State. That game is going to be televised by the Versus network, with kickoff set at 11:30 a.m.

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

Daniel will test Nebraska's defense

Nebraska's defense has been put through some difficult tests early on, but nothing like what they are about to encounter as they open Big 12 Conference play this weekend.

The undefeated and fourth-ranked Missouri Tigers come to town for Saturday's homecoming matchup at 8 p.m. on ESPN, and to say the Tigers have their best team in a long time would be an understatement. This is a very talented bunch that is on the short list of teams that, at this point, could be playing for the national championship come January.

The Tigers are led by Heisman Trophy candidate Chase McDaniel. The senior quarterback threw for over 4,000 yards last year and tore apart Nebraska's defense in a 41-6 demolishing last year in Columbia. To make matters worse, he compared Nebraska's defense -- in that game -- to a high school outfit.

Nebraska's defense has gotten a lot better since then, but this group still hasn't been tested the way the Tigers are going to this weekend. With Daniel and his seemingly limitless options -- led by sophomore sensation Jeremy Maclin -- the Huskers are going to see an offensive assault that is much more potent and multi-talented than any they saw in their first four games.

The Huskers' first big test came last weekend against Virginia Tech, and it was obvious there are still a lot of holes to fill. The secondary allowed far too many open receivers and the Hokies dominated the time of possession and were able to come away with a 35-30 victory. If the Huskers are unable to rebound, Saturday's result against the Tigers could be an ugly one.

Daniel has been dominant so far this season, passing for 1,412 yards and 12 touchdowns while completing 76 percent of his passes. He set a conference record earlier this year by completing 20 consecutive passes against Buffalo. If he gets on a roll Saturday, he could put up numbers similar to last year against a Husker defense that is still working at improving.

Tough stretch ahead for Nebraska

Nebraska was able to get through its first three games in pretty good shape, posting a couple of impressive wins and coming back to win a third.

They take a 3-0 record into what will be a very difficult stretch of games over the next three weeks, and this could very well determine the path the Huskers will travel on the road back to being among the nation's elite.

First up is Saturday's matchup with Virginia Tech, a team that finished in the top 10 and is playing fairly well in spite of a variety of injury and discipline issues. Coach Frank Beamer brings a team in that can mix things up offensively, and this will give Nebraska a different test after facing three teams that feature variances of the spread offense.

Next is the Big 12 opener against Missouri, which will undoubtedly be Nebraska's toughest homecoming game in a long, long time. The Tigers feature 2007 Heisman finalist Chase Daniel and All-American speedster Jeremy Maclin, and the Tigers have been lighting up the scoreboard like a pinball machine early on. They also have a very solid defense, one that absolutely embarrassed Nebraska last year. The only negative working against Missouri is that they haven't won in Lincoln since 1978, and will be looking to end three decades of road frustration when they come to town Oct. 4.

The final game in the trifecta is Nebraska's first road game of the year, and it won't be easy as they'll have to head down to Lubbock, Texas to take on another high-powered offense in the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Coach Mike Leach has developed one of the most potent offensive schemes in all of college football, and Tech knows how to move the ball vertically early and often. Quarterback Graham Harrell has a lot of great targets to throw to, including All-American Michael Crabtree, and they have developed a defense that is doing better at stopping opposing offenses from finding the end zone.

The Huskers do have another tough stretch later in the season with Oklahoma and Kansas in back-to-back weeks, but this three-game run will go a long way to telling us how much this team has improved from last year's train wreck of a 5-7 season. If Nebraska can win one or two games in this stretch, it can position itself for a good finish and a quality bowl game at season's end.

Don't miss out on catching Nebraska football in action. You can get tickets for all Husker games, home and away, with Ticket Express -- where no Husker game is ever sold out.

Huskers a hit on pay-per-view

If you missed seeing the Huksers' first three home games in person, chances are you still got to see them on television.

Early reports from the University of Nebraska's athletic department indicate that Husker fans ordered pay-per-view telecasts of the Huskers' first three home games in record numbers. Fans who missed out on games against Western Michigan, San Jose State and New Mexico State took advantage of opportunities to see the games on television via pay-per-view broadcasts through Fox Sports Network.

Marc Boehm, executive associate athletic director at UNL, told the Lincoln Journal-Star that they have received about one-third of the sales from the opener against Western Michigan and noted that there were almost 50,000 buys of the pay-per-view telecast. Those are amazing numbers considering the Huskers averaged between 35,000 and 40,000 buys for previous pay-per-view broadcasts.

And that means big bucks for the athletic department, the Journal-Star noted. During traditional cable or free TV broadcasts, the host school will get about $275,000. A pay-per-view game with 40,000 buys will bring in about $300,000. Depending on the final numbers -- which won't be known until the end of the season -- the Western Michigan game alone may generate close to $750,000 for the school.

ABC has already picked up Nebraska's matchup with Virginia Tech next week and Colorado at the end of the season, and it's a pretty good bet one of the networks will take games with Missouri, Texas Tech and Oklahoma because those teams are all ranked in or near the top 10. If games with Iowa State, Baylor, Kansas and Kansas State aren't taken by one of the networks, you can probably bet that the university will want to put those games on pay-per-view.

Of course, you can enjoy Nebraska football, both home and away, with tickets from Ticket Express -- where no Husker game is ever sold out.

Huskers to play Virginia Tech on ABC

ABC has announced that it will be carrying the Nebraska-Virginia Tech game as part of a regional package of college football games on Saturday night, Sept. 27.

The Huskers will head into the game with a 3-0 record, while the defending ACC champion Hokies are 2-1 heading into this weekend's game with North Carolina. It should be a good matchup and will be the first between the two schools since Nebraska beat Virginia Tech in the 1996 Orange Bowl.

Tickets for the Nebraska-Virginia Tech game are available at Ticket Express -- where no Husker home game is ever sold out.

How about the Black . . . er . . . defense?

The Nebraska football team is starting to show signs it knows how to play defense again, but don't look for defensive coordinator Carl Pelini to be handing out the old Blackshirts just yet.

Nebraska had by far its best defensive performance of the year Saturday, keeping New Mexico State out of the end zone until the game was well in hand during the Huskers' 38-7 win at Memorial Stadium. The win put Nebraska at 3-0 going into its off week before a Sept. 27 showdown with Virginia Tech.

The Huskers kept New Mexico State's unique offense in check for much of the night. The Aggies did have some early success and drove deep into Nebraska territory on its first drive, but the Huskers held and were able to keep New Mexico State off the scoreboard when Zach Potter blocked a field goal.

Later in the first half, the defense came up big when Armando Murillo picked off a pass and returned it 57 yards to the Aggies' 20-yard line. On the very next play, Nebraska used a trick play that saw Marlon Lucky roll right with a pitch from quarterback Joe Ganz, stop and throw back to the left to wide open Ganz, who went 20 yards for the touchdown and a 14-0 Nebraska lead.

The Huskers made another impressive defensive stop in the third quarter in spite of two pass interference calls deep in Husker territory. The first gave New Mexico State the ball at the 2-yard line, but two sacks pushed the ball back to the 20-yard line. Nebraska was hit with a second interference call, but Matt O'Hanlon picked off a pass and kept the Aggies out of the end zone.

Nebraska limited the Aggies to 339 yards in total offense and looked much better than it did during their first two games. It wasn't the kind of effort that will make you think the classic dominating defense is back, but the effort showed that there is improvement being made and should give Husker fans hope that they'll be able to step up big for next week's game with the Hokies.

Wanted: A rushing game

Remember the days of old when the Nebraska football team would pile up the yards on the rushing side of the ledger?

In the old days, the Huskers would roll up 300, 400 or even 500 yards in a game against a poor, helpless defense. To use a well-worn TV sportscasters' line, you couldn't stop the Nebraska ground attack, you could only hope to contain it.

So far this year, the Huskers not only are not averaging 300 yards a game -- they haven't totaled 300 yards ALL SEASON. After two games, the Nebraska rushing attack has accounted for a meager 237 yards in the Huskers' wins over Western Michigan and San Jose State.

Coach Bo Pelini is disappointed with the offensive output on the ground so far, and he's attributing a lot of that to the occasional blown assignment or blocking breakdown.

"It's more of us not executing. Not having 10 or 11 guys doing their job," he was quoted in the Lincoln Journal-Star.

Hopefully those days are going to come back around soon. Lydon Murtha will be back in the lineup after missing the first two games due to an infection. The Huskers are also looking forward to playing a New Mexico State team that not only has a bunch of question marks on defense, but is also playing just its first game of the season after its opener at Nicholls State was cancelled due to Hurricane Gustav.

The Huskers will get a chance to open things up with their ground game Saturday night when the New Mexico State Aggies come to town for a 6 p.m. battle at Memorial Stadium. You can get your tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no Husker home game is ever sold out.

Glenn makes a good first impression at linebacker

The move from offense to defense was not an easy one, but Cody Glenn sure made a great first impression in his first start at linebacker.

The former running back made the switch last spring and had a good first showing in Nebraska's 47-24 win over Western Michigan on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. The senior got in the Broncos' backfield and made a tackle for a loss on Western Michigan's first play, then later forced a fumble that caused further problems for the Western Michigan offense.

In all, Glenn finished the night with a team-high 12 tackles, three of them for losses, and also had three pass breakups. It was part of an effort that saw the Huskers limit Western Michigan to eight yards rushing, but Glenn told the media after the game that it was far from the defense's best effort, noting the 350 yards passing and 24 points given up.

Fortunately, the Nebraska offense more than made up for it as Joe Ganz threw for over 300 yards and four touchdowns and Alex Henery hit four field goals -- all from 44 yards out -- to help the Huskers continue a tradition of winning season openers that dates back to 1986.

The Huskers are back in action Saturday against San Jose State, and tickets for the game are available now at Ticket Express -- where no Husker home game is ever sold out.

Makovicka pipeline continues to produce

Husker fans remember the Mackovicka name with tremendous fondness.

During the 1990's the name helped symbolize the explosive toughness of the Nebraska football team and was part of a storied lineage of great Husker fullbacks that included names like Rathman and Schleisinger. Brothers Joel and Jeff Mackovicka represented East Butler High School quite well and helped lead the Huskers to national titles in 1995 and 1997, respectively.

Now comes the third brother in the family, sophomore Justin Mackovicka, who is listed as a backup to Thomas Lawson on the Nebraska depth chart heading into the 2008 season. Mackovicka is a 6-foot-1, 240-pounder who is expected to help contribute in a Husker offense that should be quite proficient this year.

The fullback position was not used much during the past four seasons, but should see its number called a little more often with Bo Pelini as head coach. Look for Mackovicka to see his name called and he will no doubt get a little extra cheer from fans who recognize the name.

And don't think for one minute that the name is going away anytime soon. Justin has a younger brother, Jordan, who is walking on as a freshman at Nebraska this season. Who knows? Maybe sometime in the next couple of years, we'll see a Mackovicka opening up a hole for another Mackovicka to burst through for big yards.