Husker Football Tickets

Husker ground game is MIA

With a new coaching staff came the promise of seeing a more balanced offense for the Husker football team in 2008.

After five games, fans are starting to wonder where that offense is hiding in the bowels of Memorial Stadium.

Once again, the Nebraska offense had trouble establishing a running game, although it had its best statistical effort of the season in Saturday's 52-17 loss to Missouri. The Huskers put up 201 yards on the ground, averaging almost six yards per carry.

Still, the Nebraska running attack that was supposed to be much improved is still trying to get a foot hold within the Husker offense. As a team, Nebraska averages 140 yards per game, a far cry from the glory days when Nebraska routinely put up 300-plus per game.

It's part of a process for coach Bo Pelini and his staff -- trying to find this team's offensive identity -- as they try to rebuild a once-proud legacy that has recently fallen on challenging times.

"I think we're still trying to find out some about our personnel and what is best for this group as far as giving our guys the best opportunity to have success," he said during his weekly press conference Tuesday. "Some of that is personnel-oriented, some of that is philosophical. You can't always try to pound a square peg into a round hole."

Nebraska did make more of an effort to come out running the ball against Missouri, and Pelini is hoping his team can continue to develop a more physical style of play this season.

"I think the offensive line is very capable," he said. "Maybe the type of runs, that's kind of what we're looking at, what personnel groupings, what formations, where are we at our best. The vision of what you want it to be and what it needs to be at this point, you've got to be willing to adjust as you go along."

The Huskers hope to get their offensive groove back and keep a very talented Texas Tech offense off the field when they head to Lubbock for Saturday's 2 p.m. matchup. You can get your Nebraska vs. Texas Tech tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no game is ever sold out.

Huskers on TV next two weeks

The Husker football team will be on TV each of the next two weeks as they continue play in the Big 12 Conference.

On Saturday, the Huskers hit the road for the first time this season, as they head down to Lubbock, Texas, to take on the seventh-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders. The game will be televised by Fox Sports Net beginning at 2 p.m.

The following week, the Huskers are on the road again, this time traveling east to Ames, Iowa to meet up with longtime foe Iowa State. That game is going to be televised by the Versus network, with kickoff set at 11:30 a.m.

Get your Husker football tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no Husker game is ever sold out.

Next two Husker games on TV

The Husker football team will have their next two games televised as they get ready to begin play in the Big 12 Conference.

The Huskers' conference opener will be a dandy, as they take on fourth-ranked Missouri in a game Saturday at 8 p.m. on ESPN. This is the first appearance of the year for the Huskers on ESPN, and they'll be taking on the undefeated and defending North Division champion Tigers. Missouri has not won in Lincoln since 1978, but have far and away the most talented team they have had in Missouri in a long, long time.

The following week, the Huskers go on the road for the first time as they travel to Lubbock, Texas to take on Texas Tech. It was announced Monday by the University of Nebraska that this game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Net, beginning at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 11.

You don't have to watch the games on TV, though. You can get tickets to both the Missouri and Texas Tech games now at Ticket Express -- where no Husker game is ever sold out.

Former Husker arrested on murder charge

A former Nebraska running back was arrested Wednesday on charge in connection with a murder that took place Tuesday in Omaha.

An arrest warrant was issued for Thunder Collins on first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder and one count of use of a weapon to commit a felony in connection to a shooting that occurred late Tuesday morning in Omaha. Timothy Thomas, 38, of Los Angeles was killed in a house in the 3900 block of N. 70th Circle.

Thomas was one of two people shot at the scene. A friend of Thomas, Marshall Turner, was shot and drove from the scene to a hotel at 72nd and Grover streets. He was taken from there to Nebraska Medical Center and was last listed in critical condition.

A second person was also arrested, Karnell Burton, 20, of Omaha.

Collins played at Nebraska from 1999 to 2002, quitting in the middle of his senior year. He is best known as the go-between in one of Nebraska's most exciting plays in this decade, as he took the handoff from Eric Crouch and flipped it to Mike Stuntz, who threw the ball to Crouch for a touchdown in Nebraska's win over Oklahoma.

Three tough tests await Huskers

Nebraska will see three very tough teams in the next three weeks as they try to continue their rebuilding from last year's 5-7 disaster.

First up is a tough Virginia Tech team that started out the season ranked before being upset in their season opener against East Carolina. The Hokies are the defending ACC champions and have had to battle through injuries and some suspensions, but will bring some new looks that the Husker defense has yet to see this season. The game will be on ABC and will be a night game, so it should be an exciting non-conference finale before the Huskers go into Big 12 play.

And if you're going to go into conference play, why not go in with a big one? The Huskers scheduled their homecoming week activities around their opener with defending North Division champion Missouri, and the Tigers will bring a high-powered offense and a very stout defense to Lincoln in an effort to try to win at Memorial Stadium for the first time since 1978, when they derailed Nebraska's national championship homes with a 35-31 win.

The following week, Nebraska goes on the road for the first of four conference road tests, and they'll head down to Texas to take on another high-flying offensive unit in the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The Red Raiders aren't afraid to throw the ball, but they've had a hard time stopping opposing offensive units in recent years. So far, they look to have a very tough defense to go with that high-powered offense so it will be a tough first road tilt for the Huskers.

Don't miss out on your chance to see the Huskers in action this season. Get your tickets to see the Huskers, both home and away, at Ticket Express -- where no Husker game is ever sold out.

Huskers making big money with pay-per-view

If you missed seeing the Huksers' first three home games in person, chances are you still got to see them on television.

Early reports from the University of Nebraska's athletic department indicate that Husker fans ordered pay-per-view telecasts of the Huskers' first three home games in record numbers. Fans who missed out on games against Western Michigan, San Jose State and New Mexico State took advantage of opportunities to see the games on television via pay-per-view broadcasts through Fox Sports Network.

Marc Boehm, executive associate athletic director at UNL, told the Lincoln Journal-Star that they have received about one-third of the sales from the opener against Western Michigan and noted that there were almost 50,000 buys of the pay-per-view telecast. Those are amazing numbers considering the Huskers averaged between 35,000 and 40,000 buys for previous pay-per-view broadcasts.

And that means big bucks for the athletic department, the Journal-Star noted. During traditional cable or free TV broadcasts, the host school will get about $275,000. A pay-per-view game with 40,000 buys will bring in about $300,000. Depending on the final numbers -- which won't be known until the end of the season -- the Western Michigan game alone may generate close to $750,000 for the school.

ABC has already picked up Nebraska's matchup with Virginia Tech next week and Colorado at the end of the season, and it's a pretty good bet one of the networks will take games with Missouri, Texas Tech and Oklahoma because those teams are all ranked in or near the top 10. If games with Iowa State, Baylor, Kansas and Kansas State aren't taken by one of the networks, you can probably bet that the university will want to put those games on pay-per-view.

Of course, you can enjoy Nebraska football, both home and away, with tickets from Ticket Express -- where no Husker game is ever sold out.

ABC to carry the NU-Virginia Tech broadcast

ABC has announced that it will be carrying the Nebraska-Virginia Tech game as part of a regional package of college football games on Saturday night, Sept. 27.

The Huskers will head into the game with a 3-0 record, while the defending ACC champion Hokies are 2-1 heading into this weekend's game with North Carolina. It should be a good matchup and will be the first between the two schools since Nebraska beat Virginia Tech in the 1996 Orange Bowl.

Tickets for the Nebraska-Virginia Tech game are available at Ticket Express -- where no Husker home game is ever sold out.

Ground game finally gets going

Husker football fans were starting to get a little worried about the team's rushing attack.

After seeing the traditional ground game scuttled during the Bill Callahan era, new coach Bo Pelini was promising something of a return to the the rushing attack that made Nebraska such an unstoppable force for many years.

The problem, though, was that the ground game just wasn't there during the Huskers' first two games. A program that traditionally averaged over 300 yards a game on the ground had posted barely half that in the first two games combined.

Saturday, the ground game came to life as the Huskers pounded New Mexico State 38-7 in front of the 292nd consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium. Nebraska finished with 330 yards on the ground, 103 coming from senior Marlon Lucky, as the Huskers improved to 3-0 on the season.

It was almost a flashback to the glory days as the Huskers utilized three outstanding I-backs and saw quarterback Joe Ganz run the option brilliantly, including a 33-yard scamper in the second period that gave Nebraska a 21-0 halftime lead.

The Huskers mixed it up as well, as Ganz threw a touchdown pass to Mike McNeill and was on the receiving end of a trick pass from Lucky, becoming just the third Husker to throw, pass and catch a touchdown (the other two, for you trivia buffs out there, were Heisman Trophy winners Johnny Rodgers in the 1973 Orange Bowl and Eric Crouch against Cal in 1999).

The Huskers have a week off to get ready for their final non-conference matchup of the year. They will host Virginia Tech on Saturday, Sept. 27 at Memorial Stadium, and you can get your tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no Husker home game is ever sold out.

Huskers to play Miami in 2014, 2015

Nebraska will be playing a two-year deal with Miami under a contract expected to be signed by officials from both teams.

Jeff Jamrog, NU's assistant athletic director for football, announced Thursday the Huskers will be signing a deal that will bring the Hurricanes to Nebraska for a Sept. 20, 2014 matchup. The Huskers will return the favor the following year, playing at Miami on Sept. 12, 2015.

This is the second of what is expected to be three announcements concerning future Husker football schedules. Earlier this week, Nebraska announced it would host Fresno State in 2011 and 2016 and will play on the road at Fresno in 2014.

This will be the first meeting between the Huskers and Hurricanes since the 2001 championship game, when the Hurricanes beat Nebraska 37-14 in the Rose Bowl to win the national title. The two teams have played 10 times and each has won five. Three of Nebraska' s wins came during regular-season matchups, with the other wins coming in the 1962 Gotham Bowl and the 1995 Orange Bowl. Miami has not visited Nebraska since 1976.

Lawson a scratch for Saturday

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini announced Wednesday that the Huskers will go without Thomas Lawson at fullback for Saturday's matchup with New Mexico State.

Lawson, a senior from Parker, Colo., had his appendix removed, according to a story in the Omaha World-Herald. He is expected to be sidelined for about a week, according to Pelini.

The World-Herald did report that Lydon Murtha, who has been out with an infection in his leg, will be in the starting lineup for Saturday's non-conference matchup.