Husker Football Tickets

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.

Good news on the injury front

There is good news to report on the injury front for the Husker football team.

The Omaha World-Herald reported Tuesday that offensive lineman Lydon Murtha should be back to practice later this week after being sidelined by an infection.

Murtha injured his left leg earlier, and the infection from the injury has been bad enough to keep him out of the Huskers' first two games this year. His absence on the front line has been duly noted, as the Huskers have struggled to establish a solid ground attack in their season-opening wins over Western Michigan and San Jose State.

Defensively, Ricky Thenarse is back at practice after a shoulder injury suffered during the Western Michigan game. Taking no chances with an already-injury depleted defense, coach Bo Pelini had Thenarse in a green no-contact jersey during practice Monday.

The Huskers are back in action Saturday night as they host New Mexico State in a 6 p.m. matchup at Memorial Stadium. You can get your tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no Husker home game is ever sold out.

Huskers open Pelini era with 47-24 win

The Bo Pelini era officially kicked off Saturday night and the Husker football team didn't disappoint, opening the 2008 season with a 47-24 win over Western Michigan in front of 84,485 fans, the 290th consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium.

The Huskers looked solid on offense and played inspired defense despite giving up some big plays and missing some assignments along the way that helped the visiting Broncos rack up over 350 yards in total offense and make the game a little bit closer on the scoreboard.

The Huskers opened the scoring when Marlon Lucky scampered in from 14 yards out about seven minutes into the game. Quarterback Joe Ganz threw the first of his four touchdown passes late in the first period, hitting Mike McNeill from three yards out to make it 14-0 after one period.

Alex Henery got a lot of practice in hitting 44-yard field goals, and he made good on four tries from that exact distance. He hit two in the second period to help Nebraska to a 34-10 halftime lead, then added kicks in the third and fourth quarter.

Ganz finished with 345 yards on 20-of-36 passing and hit Nate Swift with scoring strikes of 61 and 2 yards, as well as a 19-yard pass to Lucky, to help close out the scoring.

Two concerns that came from Saturday's game was the defense and the lack of a running game.

Nebraska's ground game was expected to be more of a contributing factor this year, yet the Huskers didn't reach the 100-yard mark until the fourth quarter and finished with 138 yards on 31 carries. Part of the problem was injuries to a couple of starters on the line (Lydon Murtha, Jalvorio Burkes), and Western Michigan did a good job of stacking the line and forcing Nebraska to beat them through the air (which, obviously, they did).

Another concern was the defense. There was good effort and a lot of passion, but several missed assignments allowed for Western Michigan to pick up a number of big plays and finish with over 350 yards. On the bright side, the Broncos could only gain eight yards on the ground on the night as the Huskers shut their ground game down completely.

The Huskers are back in action Saturday with an 11:30 a.m. matchup against San Jose State. You can get your tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no Husker home game is ever sold out.