Things I think I'm thinking about the Alamo Bowl while wondering if a Southern Miss-Arkansas State game can legally mark the start of "bowl season"....
1) Optimistic Nation is loving the Huskers coming off a shellacking of Colorado to end the regular season. Nothing like blasting the Buffs to gain some momentum to head into the bowl game.
2) Pessimistic Nation loves to point out that not so long ago this team was shellacked itself by the Kansas Jayhaws and barely pulled out a home win over K-State, whose pads have been packed away. for almost a month now. This team showed up much more than the Boulder-version of the Huskers, and it is more likely to show up against Michigan, accoring to this Nation.
3) It's easy to appreciate things when they are taken away. You could tell that about a bowl trip during the Husker press conference last week. Everyone was exuding a genuine enthusiasm about the trip. If possible, I dare say football players seemed giddy about something.
4) Sure, this isn't where Michigan wanted to be. But as everyone's pointing out, the Wolverines were 17 points away from being 11-0. They still have something to prove.
5) So, did that CU win make this a little less controversy-filled trip than when the Huskers last headed down to San Antonio?
6) Interesting to hear Callahan at the press conference say he has to win and win now. That's part of the coaching profession. The pressure is never really off, sometimes it just lets up a bit. If NU can down Michigan, I'd say the coaching staff would have a much lighter load on its shoulders this offseason than at any other time in the past two years.