1-on-1 with DP – 93.7 The Ticket KNTK - Husker Football Hour with Tom Shatel of the Omaha World Herald, September 16th, 2024

Episode Date: September 17, 2024

Husker Football Hour with Tom Shatel of the Omaha World Herald, September 16th, 2024Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It's time to go one-on-one with D.P. Coming at you live from the couple Chevrolet GMC Studios. Here is your host, Derek Pearson. Brought to you by Mary Ellen's Food for the Soul. On 93-7 The Ticket and the Ticketfm.com. Just kidding. No DP. It's Austin Norman with you for the next hour or so. We'll have NFL football come your way at 630, but for the first half an hour,

we will be live on radio before we switch over just to the stream. Got our anniversary one-year anniversary party going on here at the ticket here, Mary Ellen's. Guess what? They're here. They came through. They catered for us. I'm excited to get a plate of that when I'm done here. Equally as excited, if not more, to talk to Tom Chappelle of the Omaha World. Herald, that's what happens every Monday night here at 6 o'clock. Let's bring them in on our aloe fiber VIP line. Tom, long time, no chat. How are you doing tonight, good sir? Very good. What's up? Oh, you know, just taking in the atmosphere, taking in the buzz, taking in the vibe here in downtown Lincoln.

Tom, it's been exciting, you know, throughout the week for us here one year anniversary. But for Husker football, three weeks. First three and oh start to a season for Nebraska since Mike Riley was here back in 2016. How do you check the vibe? How do you check the pulse of Husker Nation through three games? Very excited. And I think, you know, some people last summer probably thought, that that could happen.

But you're always kind of, when you fall into brass football the last several years, you're always kind of nervous, right? You're always kind of wondering what's going to go wrong or something always happens. And this has been a team that you expect them to play well and they come through for you. They make plays. They score touchdowns. They win games. Hasn't been perfect in the second half the last two weeks.

but they got the W. Tom, some of those moments that you mentioned, right, just feels a little bit different. The one for me was the Ramir Johnson touchdown against Colorado at the end of the first half. Every other Husker team, you know, really from 2015 on, doesn't get that break,

but I was sitting watching the game back here in the studio. And my first reaction was, hate to admit it, this is Nebraska's year. And then I said game, I backtracked it a little bit. But previous Nebraska teams don't get that bounce. What else is different to you through three games from recent years that tells you this

Nebraska team and maybe even this Nebraska program is different this year than years past? Well, that's a very good point. And I would also add in that same half, I don't, Ryola's incredible past. It threw deep while on the run, you know, moving to his right. I threw deep to the end zone. And I was kind of holding my breath like, those Colorado guys turn around. It might be a pick. But the Nebraska receiver, I think it was Lloyd,

made the play, came back and made a great play on it. And it was just one of those amazing, you know, the throw was amazing, so was the catch. Those are things that haven't happened. And there's a lot to be said for, you make your own breaks. I'll let me just see if I can throw out of that under crochet. You know, by preparation equals luck, you know, the teams that are prepared, they kind of make their own lock and breaks.

I'd like this program has these guys prepared. They're coached very well. and they've got more talent than they've had in a long time. I'm trying to remember the rest of the team with this much talent. And I don't think they've had this talent, the quarterback in a long, long, long time. So it's quite a collection. And there's no lot of pressure on them.

I mean, there's people want to win. they want to win the next one. But I think we're also just kind of sit back, kind of wait to see what this bunch is capable of. We've seen it through three games. They've won three games in pretty different ways. UTEP 40 to 7, Colorado, 28 to 10. And then, of course, Northern Iowa, 34 to 3.

Tom, how much of Nebraska looking better on the field is, thanks to the schedule here in the non-conference, and not having to start with a conference game in getting this three-game runway into big games. 10 play all at home in Lincoln. Well, it really helps. And it's all kind of come together. It's a better team.

It's got more talent. And it was also allowed to slow cook, if you will. You know, they had to go on the road and they didn't have to play anybody in the big town on the road to open wood. Able to come, you know, starting a shoot up. And, you know, just kind of find their way. And they did that quickly. And Colorado was okay.

It's a bigger test. A lot of hype, some pressure. So each asset, it's a nice catapult, a nice set of confidence, a boost to, you know, bigger and better things. That's what happened. And then here comes you and I, with sort of a Big Ten style. I'm not even sure what Big Ten style was anymore. I was with Oregon and USC now in the bunch.

And we may be seeing that sort of changeover as we speak. But it was, you know, and what I like about it was, Doug Gondon, I like the second guess, the officer coordinator, but I haven't been able to do that much. Marcus Sutherfield has been hitting a lot of the right buttons. And what I like was Colorado called for line up and run over them. They can't handle that. And they didn't.

But Colorado could handle it. some of the rest of speed at that receiver. When they threw some of those passes the crossing routes and the quick throw out to the side, Colorado had those covered pretty well.

But when you go up against northern Iowa, they're not going to be able to stop the run. The center field went to the air because they couldn't cover that. Their guys were wide open all night. And, you know, I really liked the way he, okay, this is, this game calls to do this.

And he did two different game plans, two different weeks, and it was the right call of Bluffway. It tells me that this is a personal offense that can do a lot of things. But now we get into Big Ten. We've got Brett Beelma walking in the stadium, and they're going to have to block and tackle. Tom, I'm glad you brought up Marcus Satterfield, because in our postgame on Saturday, personal conversation Sunday,

and then even on my show today, people were kind of confused by Marcus Satterfield and some of the PlayCon. I'm in lockstep with you. I think it's been pretty solid. I think that we've learned who Marcus Satterfield is, and even Matt Ruhl, too, right? Matt Ruhl said we want to be aggressive, right?

playing passive, playing not to lose, is what has costed this program some games in years past. We're going to keep the pedal to the medal. We knew coming in from South Carolina in his previous stops, that Marcus Satterfield wanted to throw the ball. Not that Nebraska had a lot of snaps with Northern Iowa's 10-minute drive, it was 55-45 percentages in terms of passing the ball versus running the ball. I think that we just saw Marcus Satterfield's true colors. I think Matt Ruhl does want to still run the ball in the fourth quarter,

but I would tell fans, hey, Nebraska's going to throw it probably more than you're comfortable, but it's okay because of the weapons they have at quarterback receiver, tight end, and so on. I totally agree. I wrote that a few weeks ago that, you know, my condolences to all the run-the-dam ball people out there. I love your hat.

It's a good hat. It's a good shirt. But that at the offense, it's going to be, they're going to throw it. And by God, this should. I mean, we, you know, Dillard, Raleigh is, I'm trying to figure out, I'm going to get that Raiola going. So, Rayo, you know, Raiola,

going to work on that. I covered his dad. I should know by now. But, and he's a different cat. I don't think I've ever seen a pass, the quarterback with his arm, Nebraska, ever.

I'm trying to. I mean, I've seen, I didn't, you know, Dan Bronson and Taggy were certainly good passers. David Hum, Farragamo. I didn't cover them. I did cover a game with Hum, but the middies, and then you get into the other quarterbacks, all the legends,

The other legends that came after that, we're all running quarterbacks. I mean, you know, you had Brad Brick-Marringer. Certainly, it was a very good proler. I'd like Rayl was a different athlete, a different arm, different touch. We've seen, I saw a screen past the other night. I didn't see one of those because they couldn't run it. They couldn't execute it. They couldn't.

You know, the ball was sail over the guy's head. or it's a real the screen pass is a real timing play. It has to be perfect. And, you know, Dylan looks like he'd been doing it for 80 years. I mean, he's just, okay, here you go, boom. And everything he does

that looks so effortless. And it's just, I've never seen any, I've never seen in the rest quarterback quite like him. I'm not ready to make any kind of statements. But when you have that, you have these big receivers

through making plays You know, the U-Tip game, we saw it. These guys were making, you know, they don't have that. They don't have a game possession or like a basketball player, you know, down on the low post. I can't position on the defensive back. And they're not afraid to make the catch. They will make the catch. They will out, fight the other guy for the ball.

They're hard to tackle. And I've seen some of the other toys come out. Carter Nelson, come on down. Thomas Fedoni, you're come on down. And then, of course, I'm Rick Hartberg. What's that all about? It's fascinating. It's wonderful.

It's all these different options. And, yeah, so, yeah, they're going to throw the ball because they've got a lot of different weapons. Fortunately, they've got a couple of running backs. I think it was the best running back I've seen since Abdullah. I mean, and I like the Zygbo, but these guys, I mean, I really like, I doubt, I mean, he's the hell. I mean, he's got a bowling ball.

We used to call him bowling balls. He's a big tent back. You know, and I loved his quote, last week. week when they showed Shiloh Sanders and the coin flip saying you know, we're about to roll you all and and

then they they showed Dante Dowdell saying, well, I couldn't wait to run him over. That's what he did. And he put him on the, he put him on the sideline. So that's an old school mentality. You know, the old Husker running back coach

Mike Corgan would have would have cackled at that line. I mean, you know, as Frank Sully, that's how he used to tell those guys run over, you know, or, you know, the McAvica's all that stuff. So it's got opposite to a lot of options, but no, they're not going to line up and run it all day long. But I like that because, you know, look at the schedule. How many defenses in the Big Ten are going to be ready for some of the stuff? I mean, it's going to be interesting.

Now, if you try to rock them, sock on them all over these, some of these defenses, they're going to be working for that. Illinois, I'm sure, we'll know how to play to run. But we start throwing out receivers and tight ends and all this stuff. The quarterback who can absolutely thread the needle every time, it's going to be hard. So, yeah, my idea for a hat, okay, run the damn bowl. I love that hat for that shirt.

My idea is protect the damn ball. So far they have. Yeah, so far or so good. Only one interception for Dylan Raoul and the fumble from Dante Dowdell. I'm glad you went into personnel, Tom, and we can definitely touch on some more of that here in a sec. But I was going to ask you about clock management, how Nebraska's handled, especially, you know, end of half, four-minute drill.

That was one of my concerns coming into the year. With how Nebraska let it slip against Minnesota, against Maryland, against Wisconsin, and then even Iowa at the end of the year, I was worried about how the coaches handled those situations. Now, with an off-season and now three extra data points here to start the 2024 season, I'm getting close to where I'm willing to say, maybe it wasn't coaching last year, maybe it was personnel related,

and the coaches were making the best decisions they code with the more limited personnel they had. Where do you fall in that category of conversation? That's it. You just said a little, I mean, College football is about players. It's always been about players. It's not about smart coaches with schemes and giant playbooks. And the rest has had a few of those guys come through Lincoln, right?

The guy, I'm going to coach a championship. No, you're going to recruit to championships. You know, you're going to put them in the right place on the field, and then you're going to motivate them to go win that championship. but talent wins, not necessarily coaching. So the coaching sets the culture and how you play, how you do your business all the time. And that's what Matt Rule has been doing.

And we're really doing a hell of the job the first two years of that. But it's talent. And yeah, you're able to do that. I'm not going to disparage to quarterbacks last year, but, I mean. It's different. You can tell it's different. my God, the first game, the U-TEP game, the two-minute drill. I don't do much on Twitter, but I wanted to talk to see it.

So I went on Twitter that, you know, they can, with Dylan Raola, they have a two-minute drill offense. And you know, when you got a guy who can, who you're confident in, who's going to make play after play and not panic, I mean, you can have a two-minute offense. And it's a heck of it, ace in the hole. I mean, because, yeah, there's a two-minute warning now. And so you can, yeah, you certainly like to have the ball first and second half,

but heck, with this guy, maybe you take the ball and get yourself a seven-nothing lead, and maybe you try to get that ball back for the two-minute warning, and then you can score at the end. So, you know, don't really, it just changes everything. And a lot of the other people they have that they brought in as well, and especially on defense. We can talk about that a little bit. But, yes, you're absolutely right.

It's talent that has changed this team over the last year and what they're able to do. I mean, you put this offense in there at the end of the Maryland game, when they've worked, they grew kind of like they didn't think that they could run the ball in. So they throw it ill-fated pass, it gets intercepted. In Minnesota, I thought about that in the U-Tip game. Well, a year ago, we threw an interception at the end of the United States, they killed the momentum. This year, it's scored a two-minute drill.

It puts the game away. What a difference the year makes? What a difference the quarterback makes? Tom, the other drive, I think, showed me something that was different. and it wasn't even the two minute, but it was against Utep, was Nebraska gets behind the chains at second and 30. Previous Nebraska quarterbacks, you know, come to mind. Could they convert second and 30?

Sure, it's probably a straight drop back. The offensive line lets someone slip by, and the quarterback is doing it all himself, running for 30 yards and a foot. It feels like a miracle. With Dylan Ryola in charge, he threw two passes. One to Isaiah and to Jamal Banks for 19, then to Isaiah in Aor for 14.

Boom, boom, two plays Nebraska's back in business. And that to me is another key difference in that it doesn't take a miracle. It just takes making the next right play. Yes. And the more you do it, the more confident you are. And then it helps the play caller. Play caller might have some really good plays, but he doesn't want to,

he doesn't think that that can be executed. He's not going to call him. But you also, the quarterback's eyes are everything in the eyes. The eyes of the offense are in the quarterback. And what he sees, and you know, and you can sometimes you just roll him out. And, you know, there's another guy with, like, you know, similar haircut, similar number, Arrowhead Stadium did the same thing yesterday. You know, the Bengals decided they're going to be really smart and just rush three guys on fourth and whatever, 16.

And, you know, you give him a homes all that time. What happened? Something bad for the Bengals. I'm not saying that's Nebraska, but it's the same sort of concept where give Dylan a little time, and he's going to have guys that are open. I just love that the pass routes are not all these jump ball. There's a couple out there, but all these passes are just the guys are wide open. And he sees them and he get the ball to them.

And it's right. It's an incredible thing. What a concept. This is the way college football is supposed to be. And a generation of us watched Nebraska just march over people with the option. The triple option of the fullback and a quarterback making decisions, reading, you know, using his eyes to read the, the outside and

where are the linebackers and they just marched down the field pound pound pound this is a different deal I mean we watched Zach Taylor it's pretty good wasn't he yeah you know the other

some other guys Adrian Martinez had his moments Tommy Armstrong certainly did but I mean what we're seeing is just different in three games I can already say it's different.

What does that mean? I don't know. I just know that what it means is it gives a chance. Nebraska 3-0 for the first time since 2016. We spent 20 minutes here on the offense. We got to take a break, flip it to NFL football over the air. Tom Chappelle will be back with us on stream. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Allo Channel 961.

We're here. Oscar Extra Hour with Tom Chetell. I'm Austin. Norman. We'll be back in just a minute. Download our app by searching 93.7 a ticket in your App Store, you're listening to One-on-One with DP on 93-7 The Ticket and The Ticketfm.com. You're listening to One-on-One with DP, sponsored by Mary Ellen's Food for the Soul, on 93-7 the ticket and the ticket FM.com.

This is one-on-one, no-DP. Austin Ormond's with you here. We're joined on-stream by Tom Chappelle of the Omaha World. Harold had a good segment last time just talking about the offense. Tom, if the offense is about no. knew what did Nebraska bring in. The defense is about what did Nebraska bring back? No freshman, no sophomores listed on the starters for the defense at the start of the year.

That didn't change until Cam Lennhart started in place of Jamari Butler on Saturday. What are your impressions through three games of this veteran returning defense in year two under Tony White? Well, the first word that I use right for this defense is standard. They brought back a standard. That standard has been in place the first three games. But last week, they didn't meet the standard. And a lot of the, I think they're tackling, or maybe they're trying to make the perfect play or what,

but they weren't tackling as well. But they recognized it. And that's, you know, players were mad. So that's what kind of you want that. You want that kind of a group, older group that knows what has to be done. I love the fact that Tony White came back and they know his system. They know the first year is always about what to expect, what he expects, you know, what you should be doing. and it takes a while

toward the end of they were very good last year but you could see at the end of last year the white was coming on they were starting to get it so the fact that they you know

Ty Robinson and Nash coming back is I've said this before I don't mind using this comparison at all It reminded me of Grant Westram and Jason Peter coming back in 96 to 97. Now, different team, different era, different players. But the idea was, you know, Grant and Jason said, you know, we're not satisfied.

We want to make a difference, you know, during our time here in Nebraska. We want to bring home a championship. They wanted to have a personal impact on the program, and that's why they came back. Same sentiment with Ty and Nash. Okay, they're trying to go to Bull game. That's the impact, right? Different areas, different standard, but they're trying to leave their mark. And I really felt like that's a personal mission.

You know, it becomes personal. And the best college football players, the best seasons are built around something personal, where they are just laser focused every week on doing something to impact the team, make things better. So that is a hell of a thing to have. It's like a rock that you lean on. You know, it's the defense. is that rock.

And they're really good. And, you know, they're going to be tested. You know, Ohio State and USC are going to be able to, you know, try to do some things on offense. But, you know, I guess Indiana's got an offense. Probably a better one than their basketball team. But that's another story. But they, you know, so they're going to be tested.

but, you know, I love the fact that, you know, we're getting to the point now, thanks to these guys, but we didn't have to worry about when the black shorts were handed up. It was a secondary deal. It was like, oh, yeah, those have come out Monday. Oh, yeah. It was, you know, it was just, you know, usually when defenses haven't been very good, we're worried about when the black shirts are coming out.

Because it's what you have to talk about. have the defense to talk about. I really like these guys, and I think wonderful watching them against Colorado just suffocate. And, you know, John Bullock,

I mean, my goodness, I mean, that game, it just was the kind of stuff the effects was built on. You know, I'll take Travis Hunter out, and Tommy Hill gets the interception. And it's just you know, teamwork. And I think the defensive line is really something.

I mean, they're top to bottom. They're just very, very good. They're coached well. I love having John Butler was a real blessing, getting him and Joe. I mean, there's a guy who's seen everything. He's tried to, he's tried to defend Mahomes, man, just last year. So, He's seen everything in the NFL, so I was really, I'm sure he had a little bit of influence when they played Colorado. So I love this defense. I think it can carry them through. It'll keep them in every game. I'm really excited.

I'll probably eat my words probably because I usually do. But I'm really excited to see them play Ohio State. I think that might be a fun game. I'm not going to make any promises. but I'd like this defense gives you hope in every game. I'd just like to see them, you know, USC, Ohio State. Those are games where, okay, you know, this might go down to the fourth quarter. This might be fun.

Tom, here's the thing. We can tell you're a pro because you gave the caveat of it might be or it could be. So don't worry. No one's going to take that out of context. We'll start up front and then work our way back. I get too many scars from the times I was an idiot. But you know what? For every one of those, I'm sure there's a pat on the back for being right to.

That's how it works in your industry, right? Yeah, I guess. Let's start up front with the defensive line in Ty Robinson specifically. He's already matched his career high in sacks, and he's won off from tying his career high in tackles for loss. What's different with him? Is it just that comfort in year two of a scheme that works for him? Is it the players around him, whereas Ty Robinson improved his game to a point where,

yeah, he's back on the NFL draft radar and boards is a legit prospect? Yeah, all the above. The people around them, the scheme, the confidence, the comfort, you know, playing, not thinking, reacting, not necessarily reading. I mean, Colorado game, or maybe it was a Utah, I can't remember. They all have to come around together. He's always in the backfield, and he just pushes the guy back. And I think one of those games, I think it was Utah. He just kind of smothered the quarterback.

He just kind of, you know, jumped on him. I mean, you know, the first play of the Colorado game, they got back there, you know, I think those guys met at the quarterback. The great big of blinds always have meetings in the other backfield. So it's, yeah, he's, and I just love, he's an incentive. Yeah, he wants, he knows he can help his stock. and everybody's watching. You know, the NFL, they watch winners.

They watch winning teams. They love guys who win. And so that's held Nebraska players back a little bit probably over the years. This is going to be fun. I mean, I think his stock of a rule will really shoot up. Well, else we're on the defensive line, right? We know Nash Huttmacher. We know Jamari Butler, Cam Lenhart got the spot star.

But we've also seen a lot of Kai Wall when you add an impact in a couple games. James Williams, Elijah Judy has played. Vincent Carroll's been in. Matt Ruhl mentioned Sue LaFoto should be coming back. Tom, maybe this is anecdotal, but it feels like it's been a while since Nebraska's had that sort of depth on the defensive line, or at the very least the commitment to using these guys, even early in games to get them not just garbage time reps, but legit heat of the moment, actual bullets flying development. And that strikes me as old Nebraska as well. Absolutely. That's another part of the early schedule. That was so brilliant. And really, you know, that's the way it should be every year. It shouldn't be seen as brilliant. It should be seen as schedule is part of the developmental program. You want to have one game that's going to help you out. But get those guys on the field. And you're right. They've had, you know, the both point in the defects have had some guys.

Lomte David certainly. My old guy here, I can't always remember. Malik. Collins and Valentine. Yeah. We, you know, Randy Gregory, we've had some guys, but you're right as far as depth. This is different. And, you know, getting in them, you know, when you get guys in there to.

play early and then you can call on them later in the season. I mean, when people are banged up and it's November and it's cold and you're able to run a bunch of fresh bodies in there, officers don't like to see that because they are doing that. Their opposite of linemen are, you know, it's not hockey where they're running in and out of lines. You know, they're not doing that necessarily. So it's a big benefit. I'm just excited to see. I have maybe I make no promises, but some of the games down the road,

I think they can get UCLA and Washington, that Wisconsin at Wisconsin at home. I really do. I can't wait to see those games with this team, this defense of this quarterback. So if I'm, if I'm kind of, I'm giving away my future columns, I probably am,

but this is, this is a different team to cover. And so far I'm really enjoying it. Also we're on the defense too, Tom. I want to talk about the linebackers. I was kind of skeptical on that group coming in, right? Former walk-on John Bullock, Mackay-Bayer played last year.

Even have like Vincent Shavers Jr. coming in as a freshman, Stefan Thompson, was kind of hit or miss throughout camp. But I got to tip my cap to Rob DeVorechek. I think he goes kind of under the radar as one of those coaches who's done a really good job with a unit that has it been a group of game breakers and game changers, not necessarily. I mean, Bullock and Bayer both had big stops against Colorado. But for my money, linebacker was the biggest question mark on defense.

I don't know if it's a strength, but they're at least pulling their own weight. And I've been impressed with the job Rob Devorichick has done with that group. Absolutely. And they just cut the Westside kid last week. He mentioned DeVorak, is the reason Mike you wanted to come. I really, I totally agree. I think they're just, they're good football players, and that's what you want.

You want, you know, the Big Ten, you know, you've got to play good football. You've got to be guys that are going to be fundamentally sound, and, you know, helps if they're older. And that's what Nebraska is. They're trying to win in the Big Ten right now, and I think they have a good group that's going to help them do that. I think that they've all benefited from the front four,

the front three or whatever number it is on any given play. But the pass rush, the people up front are doing amazing stuff, and that helps the linebackers run free, you know, run downhill into gaps. I think it's the front seven. is certainly, I think, is going to be formidable. And I think it's just with the guys up front. We got to take one more quick break here on one-on-one with not DP. I'm Moss.

Norman, Tom Chappelle, is our guest. Let's look ahead when we get back. Nebraska versus Illinois first ranked matchup in Memorial Stadium in quite a while. What does that mean for the team? What does that mean for the program? We'll talk about that when we get back with Tom. You're listening to One-on-One with DP, sponsored by Mary Ellen's Food for the Soul on 93-7 the ticket and the ticket FM.com.

We're back here to one-on-one-a-a-a-Austin-Oss Norman, joined by Tom Chattel, leads sports columnist for the Omaha World Herald, diving into Nebraska, Illinois coming up on Friday night. Tom, let's start with that. First non-black Friday conference game for Nebraska in the Big Ten era. The Huskers held out as long as they could. It's finally here. What do you make of it finally coming?

to Lincoln. Yeah, I think it's weird. It'll be weird Friday. It'll be, but I think it's going to be okay. I think everybody's going to survive. I'm my high school dad. I've got a junior daughter is junior in high school and, you know, everybody's still going to go to the game. You know, She goes out courts out. People that are going to go to that game on Friday night are still going to go because they know somebody on the team. They have a kid on the team or in the band or a cheerleader or one of those deals or their kid goes to school there and is going to the game.

That's still going to be the, they're still going to go to the game. People in Lincoln and all over the state are still going to go to their high school games. if they have a stake in it. And a lot of them do, obviously, the people that go to the games, all have a stake in it. The other people will go to their basketball game. The 400 sellout is going to be fine. And, you know, it's not right that Michigan and Ohio State are able to get out of it.

Because they're Michigan and Ohio State. When you get 18 schools in the Big Ten, They're all sharing all this big revenue. Well, they should all share in the pain, too. You know, having to give up Friday night and high school. I mean, I kind of went on and ran on that and my call tomorrow on them, you know. But I think it'll be fine. I think it'll be, I think it's great that there's a sellout anniversary

for a sellout marker, you know, the historic 400. I think that's going to help, you know, make it a special night. And, you know, you'd be thinking about everything that the sellouts have meant. And really, the timing couldn't be better for that in a way, because we're honoring the Rasker fans. And I can't think of a more hardy group that will do whatever it takes to support their program. And that's what they're doing Friday, because they're being asked to do Friday night. So I always have, I told this story before probably too many times, but I got to, I'll share it again.

in 1980, my first year working at the Kansas store, I covered high school sports. And so it was in October, Friday night in October, I was going to Rockhurst High School. The Rockhurst was playing Shawnee Mission West or somebody at their stadium on Warren Parkway just off the plaza. And I'm on the sidelines, charting the plays, the timeout, and all of a sudden a huge roar lets up out of the sand. And I'm going, what the heck was that?

It says there's a timeout. Nobody's doing anything. What was that big cheer for? Well, George Brett hit the home run off, Goose Gossage to put the cancer soils in their first World Series. So people have radios. They're at their high school game, but they had the radios. And I can't help but wonder if that's what they're reacted to the Royals on the radio. I can't help but wonder that there'll be some of that Friday night.

Although I guess people don't have transistors radios anymore. They have headphones that listen on and they have their phones. They'll be watching. on their phone. So, maybe throughout, you know, Dylan Ryola throws the winning touchdown pass, you'll hear roars in every high school

stadium around the state. Tom, we don't have enough time to get into my Bobby Witt Jr. and George Brett comparison. So I will skip tapping into your, your Kansas City roots on that one for now. You've got to stay on topic. I'm a big Royals fan. It's been fun to enjoy the ride.

On Illinois, what if your interactions been and your impressions been of Brett Bealema from his time at Wisconsin and now jumping back into the Big Ten at Illinois. He's Mr. Big Ten. Nobody's, you know, nobody loves the Big Ten more than him. Nobody loves the culture, the style of football.

You know, running the ball, handing out bruises, defenses that play rough and downhill. And, you know, that's just who he is. you know, I think it was, I think it was 2019 or no, it was 21. The Rask opened up in Champaign. And that might have been, I might have coach Bielo's first game there. But he looked apart, but he was running a big orange, you know,

pole over. He looked like a giant orange. But he was out there. coached his butt off. His team played hard. It was like, you know, welcome back to the Big Ten, Brett. This is where you belong. They'll be fundamentally.

So this is a good test. Again, everything has been like a stair step for Nebraska's schedule. And this is the next test. I think this is a kid. I think this team is going to be the Brass's best Big Ten team or best equipped to handle the Big Ten. taking care of the ball, playing physical, you know, offensive defensive lines are the best

they've had together in a long time. They play physical up front. They take care of the ball. They've been fundamentally sound. They got a quarterback. I'm not sure how many people in the league have a guy like him. We're going to find out.

I don't think Will Howard in Ohio State is like him. Nothing against Will Howard. The S.A. quarterback is good, you know, and so on and so forth. But this team is really

set up to do well in the Big Ten. Now, are they going to win the Big Ten? No, I don't think so. But, you know, let's just sit back and watch. But I think they're going to have a chance to be in every game and get their share of wins. and that's exciting because with space

the last several years, the program was not built for the Big Ten. Right. And it was just baffling. It's just, you know, I mean, even, you know, I want to go in all that stuff with Frost, but, I mean,

I thought he would build a physical Nebraska and it was just, you know, the special teams. And that's one thing. We're not sure about the special teams. I'm still not sold on them yet. I think they're better. They've been better.

The punting has been better, and that needs to keep up. Not that they're hoping to punt a lot, but I mean, at some point you're going to have to punt, and you don't want to go outside of the foot, you know, 20 yards. You want to be able to do it. But don't go kicking, you know, we're all kind of just sitting back and watching right now. But he's got to be better. But he's capable, but we've certainly seen that. So there's still a lot of work on one of the teams.

And it wasn't supposed to be nine wins this year. I mean, in my mind, it was supposed to be six or seven. And if it's more than that, great. Sign me up. But I think this is still year two. Rules, teams improve. But the big step is a year two to three. But those Temple and Baylor teams didn't have the talent he's gotten right now.

So anything is possible right now. But there's sort of a lot to work on. I think this is the best equipped team to playing the Big Ten that the Brassus had. Maybe he's just joining the Big Ten. Just a couple more for you quickly here, Tom. Appreciate your time as always here. Let's start with the fact that this is the first rank. versus ranked matchup in Lincoln since 2013 when Nebraska welcomed UCLA to town.

Was there ever a point you thought that Nebraska would go 11 years between hosting a ranked team as a ranked team in Memorial Stadium? No, I mean, I covered in Nebraska back in the 80s, and I never thought any of the stuff would happen. I thought it was impossible. I mean, that's, you know, there's no way, you know. But what I learned was that there's no entitlement with the brass of football. You have to earn it.

And there's a formula, and there's a reason why they've won, and that reason is the formula. So kind of way from that. The UCLA game, I remember it well. I think it was an early game. It was like 11 a.m. Jim Moore was the coach of the Bruins. Raster got the early lead, and then UCLA just kept coming on common.

And it kind of got ugly there, ugly there at the end. But I nearly as ugly as it did on Monday and Tuesday after that game. I don't know if I need to remind you or your listeners what happened Monday and Tuesday. But, you know, it was an interesting week for Coach Bo Polini that week. You remember that? I have vague recollections, but fill me in just in case I get it wrong. There was Tommy Frazier, we came out and it was critical of our coach Bo. And at the Monday press conference, Bo was like, I don't care what Tommy Frazier thinks.

That's right. So that was a little back and forth that probably didn't need to happen at coach's standpoint. And then the next night, I'll never, ever forget this where I was when it came out. Tuesday night, the famous off-the-record radio comments. Remember those? Yeah. Billetka. He attacked Dirk and he attacked me and so on and so forth.

And, you know, we became national stories overnight. and it was just wild. That's what I think of that you see like. It might think it would happen after. An eventful week in a series of them near the end of Bo Pellini's tenure, but I'm glad you brought up the head coach. Let's finish with this, Tom. Matt Ruhle is very process-oriented.

We've heard that from day one at Nebraska. So he's not going to make this week, you know, smaller than it needs to be. He also not going to make it bigger than it needs to be. but the number speak for themselves. He's two and 19 against ranked teams in his career. Like you said, at Temple, at Baylor, different talent levels. Do you think there's a part of Matt Rule that knows that record in the back of his mind and this one might have a little more juice for him just to prove he's not the same coach he was

that he has grown? Absolutely. I hadn't thought of that. That's a great point. I think he knows these guys know everything. They know the records. They know what people say. And with that rule, it's mostly positive.

things that people say. But yeah, any little thing to give him incentive. And this is the first big 10. You know, they started out last year. I think 0 and 2 in the league. Minnesota and the Michigan, I think,

was their first through that big. So, yeah, I mean, this one's big for all those reasons. It's ranked. You are a ranked team. And that's a great measuring stick of a second year. in a program that's being built is if you're ranked and you can hold onto it.

And, yeah, and then, you know, Illinois is a standard in the Big Ten. You beat them. You know, you're going to be in the mix. All that stuff. Yeah, I think so. And, yeah, he'll play it down, but he's going to be playing it up inside the locker room. You'll have them ready. And, you know, in a way that game was, might have.

help that defense. I'm sure the leadership in that defense is going to speak up. I'm sure Tony White had already spoke up. And what they did was not the way they want to play on Saturday night.

But I just think the atmosphere, 400 sellout, crown will be up, the lights will be red. They'll probably have drones. You don't know how the drones from Northville, Nebraska will be high in the sky. And we hope that in one of those poor drones,

when they kind of fizzle out or they don't work, they have to fall to the ground. We hope those guys don't have to fall to the ground Friday night. But we'll be watching for sellout streak drones, red lights, ACDC. And I'm sure if Travis Hunter, could come back and watch you would. And I'm sure he would.

I'm sure at least catch the highlights and talk about him on his show. So Tom, I appreciate it. I have officially taken up an hour of your time. Thanks, as always, for spending an hour of your Monday nights with us here on the ticket. Enjoy a Friday night in Memorial Stadium this week. It's college football. Wherever they tell me to go, I'll go. So I'll see you there and I'll be back next Monday.

Thank you. There you. That's Tom Chappelle of the Omaha World. Herald. He's their lead sports columnist with us on our Alofibirte VIP line. Alifibers where they understand the importance of exceptional service with local card. Make sure you don't miss anything that Tom tweets, follow him on Twitter. And of course, don't miss anything that he writes. He teased a column going at Michigan and Ohio State.

If you know some Wolverines, you know some Buckeyes, make sure you check out Tom's column, whether it's in your local physical handheld Omaha World Herald or, of course, online at Omaha.com. It's a great hour. Appreciate Tom's time. Appreciate you for listening. Appreciate your thoughts and comments all show long as well. I'm going to dip out of here.

A party's calling my name. We got Rico and Dormorne-Pierrecentel coming up next for the Don't Fun Hour.