LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -Nebraska is having a big party at Memorial Stadium on Saturday night, and the Cornhuskers want everyone except Louisiana-Lafayette to have a good time.
The game against the Ragin’ Cajuns will mark the 300th consecutive sellout at Nebraska since 1962, the longest streak in NCAA football history.
The 25th-ranked Huskers will wear 1962-style uniforms, complete with white helmets with black numbers instead of the traditional ‘N’ on the side. Members of the ’62 team, Hall-of-Fame coach Bob Devaney’s first at Nebraska, will be honored.
“It’s as much a celebration of Nebraska football as a celebration of the fans of Nebraska football,” coach Bo Pelini said.
The Huskers (2-1), coming off last week’s 16-15 loss at Virginia Tech, will be playing an opponent from the Sun Belt Conference for the third time in four games. They outscored Florida Atlantic and Arkansas State by a combined 87-12.
playing its second Big 12 opponent. The Cajuns upset Kansas State 17-15 at home on Sept. 12. Last week, they played in front of 92,00 fans at LSU, losing 31-3.
“I don’t think we were overwhelmed by the environment at LSU,” Cajuns quarterback Chris Masson said. “As far as the crowd being a factor, it didn’t really bother us. We know what it’s going to be like.”
Nebraska is looking for a polished performance before it starts Big 12 play Oct. 8 at Missouri. Against Virginia Tech, the Huskers settled for field goals instead of touchdowns, committed ill-time penalties and had a strong defensive effort marred by a couple busts on the Hokies’ winning drive.
“It’s still kind of frustrating,” center Jacob Hickman said. “But at the same time, a lot of guys and the coaches have addressed it and it’s time to move on. We’ve got a game this weekend and the sun will rise again, so we’ve got to go play.”
Quarterback Zac Lee, who throws right-handed, will play with a fractured left thumb. He completed just 11 of 30 passes, with two interceptions, for 136 yards against Virginia Tech. In his first two games, he completed almost 75 percent of his passes for 553 yards and six touchdowns.
“I just think you learn a little more from mistakes than you do necessarily from doing well and have a bunch of success,” he said. “That’s how you grow and mature.”
ve teammates want to atone for what happened on the last series against the Hokies. The Huskers gave up an 81-yard pass play before Tech’s Tyrod Taylor threw an 11-yard strike for the winning touchdown with 21 seconds left.
The Cajuns’ offense rank 97th nationally with 20.7 points a game. The Huskers are seventh in scoring defense, allowing 9.3 points.
“As long as we don’t make mistakes, you’re not going to get anything,” Suh said. “You’re not going to run the ball on us for one thing. If you think you’re going to pass on us, you have another thing coming.”
Lafayette, 0-13 all-time in road games against Big 12 opponents, is eager for the opportunity to spoil the Huskers’ party.
“The world may be shocked, but we won’t be,” said linebacker Antwyne Zanders. “We come to win every game, in conference or out of conference. A lot of people say the out-of-conference games don’t matter, but they all matter to the players. We’re trying to get respect for our team and program.”
Lafayette is playing the last of three straight games against teams from Bowl Championship Series conferences.
“They’re money games for us,” said coach Rickey Bustle, whose school gets a $700,000 guarantee from Nebraska. “Our kids like to play them. We’ve been fortunate this year that we beat Kansas State. We played really well at LSU. We just didn’t take advantage of some opportunities we had to keep it a close game.”
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On the Net:
University of Nebraska-Lincoln athletics: http://www.huskers.com
Louisiana-Lafayette athletics: http://www.ragincajuns.com/
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