Props to Steve Pederson for scheduling an attractive matchup with Virginia Tech and the Huskers for 2008 and 2009. I understand that the schedules were rather barren when Pederson took over, and Pederson had to take what was available, but these are the types of matchups fans like. Personally, I'd like to see 2 games like this each season: one in Lincoln and one on the road. It makes games like Troy and Nicholls State a little easier to take.
Some fans will worry that you could play yourself out of a BCS game by playing these types of games, but I think you run a bigger risk by NOT playing these types of games. In 2004, Auburn got shut out of playing for the national championship because their non-conference schedule consisted of Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana Tech, and The Citadel.
The matchup with the Hokies brings back memories of the 2nd 1996 Orange Bowl, played on New Years Eve in a deserted Joe Robbie/Pro Player/Dolphins Stadium. The Hokie fans far outnumbered the 3,000 or so Husker fans there that evening, and certainly weren't friendly either before the game or afterwards. Not that I blame Husker fans for not going to this game; many had already spent money for the anticipated Sugar Bowl and playing for the National Championship. Airfare was obscene for the game; the best price I could find was a $500 flight out of Kansas City that returned at 6 am NewYears morning. (I almost fell asleep driving up I-29 during the early New Years bowl games due to exhaustion; fortunately I didn't hit anybody, unlike Cody Glenn last weekend.)
What the heck is a Hokie? I made the mistake of asking a Tech fan if the gobbling turkey puppet he was holding before the game was a Hokie (an honest question I thought), and he replied with an insulting comment about the state of Nebraska. Afterwards, they weren't much better behaved. Needless to say, I have a suspicion that Husker fans who go to Blacksburg for this game may return calling it "East Boulder".
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