To leave or not to leave? Nebraska’s flirtatious look at sticking it to the Big Ten

Just before and after the Big Ten’s decision to postpone the football season to spring, Nebraska got a little too big for its britches.

There’s no way else to put it. The last week or so of the college football world was one we’ll never forget. The Big Ten and Pac-12 both made the expected decisions to postpone the fall football seasons, and that set off a chain reaction of emotion and reported animosity within the league.

While most schools toed the company line and sent out statements in support of the league’s decision to be ultra-conservative amid the coronavirus pandemic, there are two schools in particular that flirted with going out on an island to find somewhere else to play in the fall.

The Cornhuskers were the first to thumb its nose up at the league before the decision to postpone the season was even announced. Like an independent and stubborn foster child, Huskers’ coach Scott Frost got up in front of the media and vowed to play in the fall no matter what.

“We want to play no matter who it is or where it is, so we’ll see how those chips fall. We certainly hope it’s in the Big Ten, if it isn’t, I think we’re prepared to look for other options.”

And while many applauded the spectacle of disdain from Lincoln, others heavily criticized Nebraska as a program still hanging on to the past and trying to throw around some weight that is a few pounds lighter than it used to be.

Following the comments by Frost, many analysts, including Michigan star Desmond Howard, had choice words for the program even though the Wolverine outfit looks a lot like Nebraska’s these days, only in shades of Maize and Blue.

After the Big Ten made it official, Nebraska then came out with yet another stubborn push back statement filled with disappointment. In it, Chancellor Ronnie Green, President Ted Carter, AD Bill Moos, and Frost made it clear the program would still look to play in the fall. They made it sound like they’d call up the local YMCA or travel to American Somoa to do so.

Oh boy. That led to some quotes from Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren to Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports indicating the Cornhuskers were on shaky ground.

In other words, go to your room, put all the electronics away, turn out the light, and go to bed Nebraska. Oh, and you’ve lost the right to use the car. Give me those keys.

But hey, all of this has an amicable ending — or so we think. Who knows who called who first, or if there were threats of the mob getting involved, but there must have been some pretty difficult conversations that resulted in a come to Jesus moment. That’s because Nebraska issued a statement just a couple of days later that appeared to diffuse the situation.

That sure sounds like Nebraska has quit shucking corn aggressively and is now ready to see this whole spring season thing out.

Whew.

You know, it’s good to see everyone trying to play in the sandbox together now, but part of me was rooting for some of that sand to be slung around as mud pies. We are left to wonder what would have truly happened if Nebraska would have followed through with trying to play this fall somewhere on the dark side of the moon, presumably with intelligent life somewhere outside the Milky Way Galaxy.

And before you get to critical of Nebraska, remember Ohio State had it’s own less stern look at playing in the fall before Gene Smith “got sent for.”

Oh well. Back to reality and a boring wait for a spring schedule that’ll never happen I suppose.

 

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