Nebraska: Our First Chance at a Nationally Relevant Rival Game?

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drew003

Well-Known Member
I think one of the positives of Nebraska to the Big 10 is the chance to establish a nationally relevant rival game. MN, ISU, and Wisconsin do very little on the national stage. But If both programs (IA & NE) continue to be Top 20 programs, I think we got a chance to really increase our publicity.

We still are a bit of an afterthought in the nation's mind; however, if we play a regular game against Nebraska during the end of the season that is always nationally televised we could really raise our national status. Two Midwest, tough, hard-knock football teams playing in November for Big 10 division/conference/bowl implications could really blossom into something. And really help raise our national profile. A key to a good rivalry is to have two good programs competing. ISU and MN just aren't competitive enough to have a great national rivalry and IA-WI just lacks some sex appeal.

To get to the next step program wise, first we need to continue winning obviously. But we also need to raise our national profile. That means BCS games, and marquee games during the season. Iowa-PSU is developing into a national game, hopefully IA-NE can as well.
 
drew003 said:
I think one of the positives of Nebraska to the Big 10 is the chance to establish a nationally relevant rival game. MN, ISU, and Wisconsin do very little on the national stage. But If both programs (IA & NE) continue to be Top 20 programs, I think we got a chance to really increase our publicity.

We still are a bit of an afterthought in the nation's mind; however, if we play a regular game against Nebraska during the end of the season that is always nationally televised we could really raise our national status. Two Midwest, tough, hard-knock football teams playing in November for Big 10 division/conference/bowl implications could really blossom into something. And really help raise our national profile. A key to a good rivalry is to have two good programs competing. ISU and MN just aren't competitive enough to have a great national rivalry and IA-WI just lacks some sex appeal.

To get to the next step program wise, first we need to continue winning obviously. But we also need to raise our national profile. That means BCS games, and marquee games during the season. Iowa-PSU is developing into a national game, hopefully IA-NE can as well.
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I think the media will be more interested in an OSU and PSU rivalry with Nebraska, not Iowa. Iowa and Wisconsin have been top 20 programs for years, and no one cares...because it is Iowa and Wisconsin.

I am starting to get a real vibe that Iowa fans are starting to treat Nebraska the way ISU fans treat us. The Hawkeyenation infatuation with all things big red is...alarming to say the least.

I doubt the biggest topic in Huskerland is the imminent rivalry with Iowa. I imagine it is pretty low on their to do list.
 
GhostofBTT said:
I think the media will be more interested in an OSU and PSU rivalry with Nebraska, not Iowa. Iowa and Wisconsin have been top 20 programs for years, and no one cares...because it is Iowa and Wisconsin.

I am starting to get a real vibe that Iowa fans are starting to treat Nebraska the way ISU fans treat us. The Hawkeyenation infatuation with all things big red is...alarming to say the least.

I doubt the biggest topic in Huskerland is the imminent rivalry with Iowa. I imagine it is pretty low on their to do list.
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And I doubt going winning only around half of their games against Iowa was very high on Penn State's to do list. But, they were brought down a few pegs once they joined and realized that the Big Ten is a downright tough league to compete in. Nebraska is in for the same thing. They'll have success, but it's not going to come easy like a lot of their fans think it will. They aren't going to immediately challenge OSU.
 
Media is already interested in everything Ohio State- Nebraska would never make it through the headlines of everything else.

I think you're crazy to suggest that Penn Sate/Nebraska has a better chance of becoming a sustained rivalry- minus refocusing on the NC that got away every year.

Of course the biggest topic in huskerland isn't their biggest rival right now- they're still adjusting to the new digs- but to say it's low on their list? Nah- they know the Iowa/Nebraska rivalry can be huge.
 
half? ... since PSU joined up we OWN them ... I know the all-time series is tied, but the last decade was ours
 
Most fans I talk to are over looking Iowa for Ohio State and Michigan. I hear very little talk about Penn State and Iowa is mentioned only as an afterthought...so it might be a one-sided rivalry unless Iowa would take the first two or three match-ups...then it could become a rivalry for both sides.
 
GhostofBTT said:
I think the media will be more interested in an OSU and PSU rivalry with Nebraska, not Iowa. Iowa and Wisconsin have been top 20 programs for years, and no one cares...because it is Iowa and Wisconsin.

I am starting to get a real vibe that Iowa fans are starting to treat Nebraska the way ISU fans treat us. The Hawkeyenation infatuation with all things big red is...alarming to say the least.

I doubt the biggest topic in Huskerland is the imminent rivalry with Iowa. I imagine it is pretty low on their to do list.
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I agree somewhat...a lot of it isn't our(fans) fault but moreso the fact that our team is 12-26-3 against them overall. They do however want to play us but for a different reason than we want to play them. They(Nebby fans) feel that they should be able to knock us around a little bit and win at least 4 of every 5 against us. Iowa(fans) on the other side of things wants to prove that Nebby is not the same team they were when we last played them in '00 and before that. If they really do think of us the same way that we think of ISU I think they are making a mistake. I do agree completely that Iowa is looking for a national rival. As much as we would love to become PSU's natural rival they will never accept it and we beat them way too often for anybody outside to really consider it a rivalry IMO. It's a wierd situation we have with PSU. Nebby seems like a good deal for us but I think that they will prefer PSU as a more natural fit. Face it we are just Iowa and the only way to change that is to win every year and force ourselves upon the national media. We have to win and win in a consistant form for anybody to truly recognize us annually.
 
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GhostofBTT said:
I think the media will be more interested in an OSU and PSU rivalry with Nebraska, not Iowa. Iowa and Wisconsin have been top 20 programs for years, and no one cares...because it is Iowa and Wisconsin.

I am starting to get a real vibe that Iowa fans are starting to treat Nebraska the way ISU fans treat us. The Hawkeyenation infatuation with all things big red is...alarming to say the least.

I doubt the biggest topic in Huskerland is the imminent rivalry with Iowa. I imagine it is pretty low on their to do list.
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Ohio St. already plays in the biggest rivalry game in the country. Hard to sustain another rival at the level you suggest.
 
agreed ... I know plenty of PSU fans (my inlaws are Pennsylvanians) and they couldn't care less about Iowa a decade ago ... guess what, they circle us on the schedule now!
 
OSU/Nebraska ... how is that a rivalry? It's just two good programs, a la Texas/Nebraska, nothing more
 
Yes, a Nebraska/Iowa rivalry game could get some National attention. Two winning football programs playing for the corn bowl (or whatever trophy they come up with) annually is going to be fun to watch.
 
GhostofBTT said:
I think the media will be more interested in an OSU and PSU rivalry with Nebraska, not Iowa. Iowa and Wisconsin have been top 20 programs for years, and no one cares...because it is Iowa and Wisconsin.

I am starting to get a real vibe that Iowa fans are starting to treat Nebraska the way ISU fans treat us. The Hawkeyenation infatuation with all things big red is...alarming to say the least.

I doubt the biggest topic in Huskerland is the imminent rivalry with Iowa. I imagine it is pretty low on their to do list.
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I don't see anyone unduely infatuated with Nebraska here. What I see are people that understand Nebraska comming to the B10 gives Iowa a chance for something that we really don't have now... namely a rivalry game against a border state that has the chance to become something more than just regional rivalry. I love Wisky v Iowa, but not too many people outside our two states really care. It's not close to fOSU scUM. I'm not saying Nebby Iowa will be that big, but it's got the potential to be up there with the likes of Miami v FSU and Oklahoma v Texas.

Both schools bring something to the table. Nebraska has a lot of tradition, and if you look at the Iowa program from Hayden on we have been one of the more consistent programs in the nation. If that game is positioned properly and finds a home on Thanksgiving weekend I think it has a chance to be HUGE.

People that think fOSU v Neb or PSU v Neb is going to be bigger are kidding themselves. They have zero chance of being in the same divisions and will be lucky to play each other more than every other year or so. Will those games be intriguing when played? Sure. But they aren't going to develop into a true rivalry like Iowa v Nebby has the potential to do.
 
The Hawkeye rivals board has been swarming with Husker fans forever. So it does seem like they care about Iowa.
 
That is a big reason why the B10 wanted Nebraska. You can put Nebraska against any of the top B10 teams and it will get national attention. Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio State, or Penn State vs Nebraska would be great games for TV.
 
Perception of a program's past performance die hard.

Take Notre Dame for example. This program is not nearly as good as they were years ago. But for whatever reason the national media and so-called experts on football continue to look to the past and not the present in judging this program. They keep thinking Notre Dame will come around and be like the Notre Dame of old. Well, it hasn't happened and it may not happen for a long time. Likewise with Nebraska but to a lesser degree.

Likewise with Wisconsin and Iowa, but in the opposite sense. The national experts keep thinking these programs will revert back to the days when both were losing big; a perception that dies hard.

Seems like a lot of folks are stuck on the past and cannot grasp the fact that things change. There's a saying, "you can never really go back". Inspite of what some may think, this is a true statement.
 
TheNebraskaHawk said:
Most fans I talk to are over looking Iowa for Ohio State and Michigan. I hear very little talk about Penn State and Iowa is mentioned only as an afterthought...so it might be a one-sided rivalry unless Iowa would take the first two or three match-ups...then it could become a rivalry for both sides.
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Its going to be hard for Nebraska to have a significant with OSU or MU for 2 reasons. First both those schools are already in one of the biggest rivalries in the nation. And second they Nebraska will most likely be in a different division than OSU and MU, which means they will not play every year.

I agree that many Husker fans may not see Iowa as a rival at this time. But if they are in the same division, and Iowa wins a couple games early, a good rivalry could develop.
 
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I think Nebraska-Iowa will naturally turn into a rivalry...because I really see us taking some of the early match-ups with them. And I see OSU beating them pretty well. so I think it will get to the point where Nebraska circles us almost to the point of PSU...but the thing is we have to deal with each other being border states...all year long giving it a chance to really fester.
 
HawkForce said:
I think Nebraska-Iowa will naturally turn into a rivalry...because I really see us taking some of the early match-ups with them. And I see OSU beating them pretty well. so I think it will get to the point where Nebraska circles us almost to the point of PSU...but the thing is we have to deal with each other being border states...all year long giving it a chance to really fester.
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You know you've arrived when you're getting circled on the schedule by Penn State.
 
GhostofBTT said:
I think the media will be more interested in an OSU and PSU rivalry with Nebraska, not Iowa. Iowa and Wisconsin have been top 20 programs for years, and no one cares...because it is Iowa and Wisconsin.

I am starting to get a real vibe that Iowa fans are starting to treat Nebraska the way ISU fans treat us. The Hawkeyenation infatuation with all things big red is...alarming to say the least.

I doubt the biggest topic in Huskerland is the imminent rivalry with Iowa. I imagine it is pretty low on their to do list.
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I think you are very wrong. But that is usual for you in my eyes :p

I've seen a lot of Nebraska posters on different forums already look at Iowa as a big rival game. To say just fans of Iowa have an infatuation with NU like ISU is dumb. Lots of fans from all over the B16 Ten are excited to have Nebraska. This is just a start in what is about to change the landscape of College Football and that is why they are getting so much attention. Don't get attention and infatuation mixed up Ghost.
 
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