Wednesday Night Beer: Yes, the Huskers Have a Chance

As Cobby illustrates, yes, Nebraska still has a chance. Certainly the Sooner defense has struggled since linebacker Ryan Reynolds tore his ACL against Texas. That plays well into Nebraska's ball control scheme with the "spread coast offense". But Reynolds absence hasn't affected the other side of the Sooners much, and that's Sam Bradford and the lethal Sooner offense. Some people might point out Bradford only completed 40% of his passes against Kansas State...I prefer to look at the 55 points the Sooners scored in the first half.

Bottom line: Nebraska must play a perfect game offensively, scoring on every possession and eating clock. Then hoping that the defense can somehow get a stop or two at some point during the game. Likely? Nope. But possible...and that's why they play the games.

Since the formation of the Big XII conference, the NU/OU game has become much more of a battle based on respect than hatred. Both programs have gone through their downtimes (Oklahoma in the 90's, and Nebraska from 2002 to the present), so both programs seem to recognize and appreciate the other. (Well, except for a some unfortunate exceptions that we'd prefer never have happened. Right Billy & Darth?) One thing is for sure, the men from Youngstown have the respect thing down.

UNO hockey is undefeated, mostly due to a rather weak non-conference schedule so far. (In fact, it allows for UNO to be ranked #1 in the SiouxSports.com emulation of the Pairwise ratings and RPI for the second week in a row!) That changes this weekend to some extent with the Mavs heading to Bowling Green to play the Perverts. It will be interesting how the improved defense and physical play will translate in conference play. In recent years, UNO has dug a hole with poor play early in the season; this year, they really need to get off to a fast start.

Sarpy County has raised their hotel tax to be comparable to Omaha's, in preparation for their bid to build a stadium. But it's going to be a mere drop in the bucket. The 1.5% increase to a 4% tax will bring the total take from hotel taxes to around $500,000 a year...or $10 million over 20 years. The 1% increase in Omaha's hotel tax alone will bring in over $22 million over 20 years. Bottom line is that Sarpy County needs to find another $30 million or more to build this stadium.