Pitchin' with Pritch: An end to one and start of another
Green Bay Packers Coach Vince Lombardi once repeated a quote of a college football coach, Red Saunders, when he said that “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”
So what does a college team do when the last game they won was on Oct. 26, 2013 and that did set a record for Division 3 NCAA teams of 53 straight losses. The interim president of Earlham College decided the team would take some time off from playing and shoot for 2020 to return to the playing field.
A year off for any college football program is a difficult decision to make, and at the lower levels of football, it comes with more doubt about the potential return of a program. There has been, however, a school that decided to drop their program for good, only to reverse course and bring it back after a very brief hiatus.
I am not sure this would be a great move to make and recruiting, which apparently had been difficult during the losing streak, may even be a little more difficult if players are not sure how the administration will react when there may be a few more losing seasons when you start from scratch. Novel approach I think, and it will be interesting to see if it works.
Husker Football Winding Down
By the time this goes to press, the Huskers football season will just have one game left. Michigan State will have visited Lincoln and gone home. The last Michigan-based team the Huskers faced pretty much spanked us big time.
I don’t think that will happen with Michigan State, but you never know. I am pretty sure the Huskers are a better team now than when they played Michigan earlier in the season and at that time Michigan State was struggling a little.
I think they have improved and so have the Huskers. Nebraska has the ability to score and they have very impressive season stats on offense. They have been very consistent in Big 10 games and my opinion is that if we use our option to play good defense, then the Huskers have a chance.
The defense has not been as consistent as the offense so the Huskers are going to have to hope that both sides of the ball are on the top of their game. It would be really nice to win out to end the season on a high note.
Husker Basketball Off and Running
Last Wednesday, the Husker men’s basketball got what is hoped will be a quality win come NCAA Tournament selection time. Traditionally speaking, Seton Hall is a quality basketball program and it has made the NCAA Tournament the past three years, so the Huskers 80-57 victory should be a bonus win later in the season.
The Huskers had their hands full for most of the game and held a 6-point lead at half-time. James Palmer, the Husker’s All-Big Ten guard a year ago, started kind of slow, going 0-8 from the field on his first eight attempts, but ended up with 29 for the game.
Palmer got the Huskers started on a couple of runs that made the difference in the game. The first run came after Isaiah Roby got his fourth foul, which I might add with as much bias as possible, a poor call. I never did figure out just who got a technical, and it might have me because they may have heard me in Lincoln. Seton Hall cut the lead to two and then Palmer hit a 3-pointer and started a mini run of 9-2 and eventually the lead went to over 20 for the Huskers.
The Huskers out rebounded the taller Seton Hall team and even though at times the defense looked weak, they stayed after it and I think wore down their opponents. Palmer also got to the line enough to shoot 18 free throws hitting 13 of them.
One sports writer for Seton Hall did compliment the Huskers saying that he thought Nebraska was a top 25 team with one of the best home courts in the Big Ten. The Huskers flexed their muscles and the game got real ugly over the last 12 minutes and was due to the outstanding play of Nebraska. You don’t hear that type of statements about a Husker men’s basketball squad too often.
It was entertaining to watch the game and I would have liked to be there, but sometimes things happen that you have no control of and you stay with the family but I am certainly glad there is a BTN network. The Huskers are going to have to improve because the Big 10 has some good teams. Go Big Red!