Huskers' focus squarely on Colorado

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By BRENT C. WAGNER / Lincoln Journal Star

After a loss at Oklahoma on Nov. 1, the Nebraska football team committed to win the final three games of the regular season.

Nebraska has since beaten Kansas and Kansas State but will need to defeat Colorado on Friday to complete the goal.

“We need to win this football game,” NU coach Bo Pelini said Tuesday during the weekly media luncheon. “There is a sense of urgency to get it done, and make sure we keep the ship going in the right direction for this program.”

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While Pelini has seen progress in the team, he’s yet to see this team put four good quarters together.

“We’ve come a long way, and have seen improvement in individuals,” Pelini said. “Is this program where we want to be? No, not yet.

“Friday gives us another opportunity to get better, and we can’t waste that opportunity.”

Ending the season with a three-game winning streak would be a sense of accomplishment, sophomore running back Roy Helu said.

“It means a lot,” Helu said. “Just beating Colorado in itself is an accomplishment, just being a rivalry game.”

Nebraska (7-4, 4-3 Big 12) hosts Colorado (5-6, 2-5 Big 12) on Friday at 2:30 p.m. in the Huskers’ traditional post-Thanksgiving matchup. The game will be broadcast on ABC.

The Huskers will be looking to improve its chances of earning a New Year’s Day bowl game.

Nebraska quarterback Joe Ganz remembers well last year when the Huskers lost a halftime lead against Colorado in a game that kept Nebraska from a bowl. This year a Husker win would keep a 5-6 CU team from a bowl game.

“It’s an absolute redemption game for me, for the seniors, for everyone who was a part of it last year,” Ganz said. “Absolutely, that’s one thing on our mind is to see how they’ll like it sitting at home watching everyone else play like we did last year. That’s one thing on our mind is we have to come out and play our best football because we want to do everything we can to keep them out of a bowl like we did last year.“

Ganz has passed for 21 touchdowns and rushed for five in his first full season as a starter. Pelini has high praise for the senior QB.

“I’m really happy with Joe and the year he’s had,” Pelini said. “He’s really tough. Nothing really rattles Joe. I think he’s had a great year, and we’ll miss him.”

Nebraska will have 21 seniors appearing in their final home game. The class includes 12 players who began their Nebraska career as a scholarship player, and nine who started as walk-ons.

The class includes Nebraska’s all-time leading receiver (Nate Swift), its No. 5 receiver (Todd Peterson), the No. 4 player in all-purpose yards (Marlon Lucky) and No. 4 all-time passer (Ganz).

“(The seniors) have been through a lot,” Pelini said. “A number of them committed before when I was here in 2003 and went through that deal, and going into your senior year and having another coaching change, that’s never easy. They’ve responded well and led our football team. I have a lot of respect for these guys. They’ve come to work every day and have a lot of character.”