Today, the Big Ten and Pac 12 announced that they are going to start collaborating more on athletic schedules.

With a history of Rose Bowl competition dating back more than a century, the Big Ten Conference and Pac-12 Conference announced today a collaborative effort to enhance long-term scheduling commitments between the two conferences across all sports amongst the 24 institutions.

The new Big Ten-Pac-12 collaboration will feature more games between the two conferences in an effort to enhance the experiences for all student-athletes, fans and alumni while broadening the national scope of both conferences. Details of the new effort will continue to unfold as administrators and conference staff members meet in the coming year.

What does all this mean? Well for the Olympic Sports, you will start to see scheduling changes starting next year. Both conference have (or are starting up) television networks and this will provide a lot of exposure for both conferences on both networks. This is a really fantastic way to "combine" two conferences without actually combining them.

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Each week we will go over Nebraska's non-conference opponents and how they fared against their competition.

Tennessee-Chattanooga (5-6) - Season Over.

Fresno State (4-8) - Last week - San Jose State (L, 24-27). This week @San Diego State

Recap: Fresno State vs. San Jose St - Sacramento Sports - Kings, 49ers, Raiders, High School Sports | Sacramento Bee

Matt Faulkner passed for 363 yards and two second half touchdowns, leading the San Jose State Spartans to a 27-24 win over the Fresno State Bulldogs in Western Athletic Conference action at Bulldog Stadium.

Skipper shines for troubled Bulldogs - Fresno State Football - fresnobee.com

Coach Pat Hill said Sunday that he liked what he was seeing from the defense in the two games since Skipper took over for Randy Stewart, who resigned after a season's worth of struggles and consecutive losses to Nevada, Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State where the Bulldogs allowed an average of 44.7 points and 543.7 yards per game.

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Initial reaction: It could be worse. After digesting it for a few hours, it's really just, meh. I neither like or dislike the trophy. The idea behind the "Heroes Game" is admirable, but i hate that it's called the "Heroes Game". I personally would prefer it to be called the "Nebraska and Iowa Honor the Heroes Game" instead. Why? Well, you can read all about that here.

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I'm at work so, I'll post my thoughts in a story this evening.

Each week we will go over Nebraska's non-conference opponents and how they fared against their competition.

Tennessee-Chattanooga (5-6)- Last week - Wofford (L, 27-28). Season Over.

Huesman feels good about future for Mocs | timesfreepress.com

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga lost to those three teams by a combined four points -- and two of those games were on the road. That's how close the Mocs' 2011 season was to being a memorable one. While the playoff bracket was being released Sunday, coach Russ Huesman was digesting the Mocs' 5-6 season, which ended Saturday with a 28-27 home loss to No. 12 Wofford. UTC went 3-5 in the SoCon, finishing in a tie for sixth, and those five losses were by a total of 12 points.

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The news from the Penn State scandal has slowed down a bit. It's a combination of both lack of any new information and a wait-and-see that people are taking. We've seen some of the allegations, but we don't have all of the evidence for history to come to its conclusion on the legacy's of the people involved. None the less, there is an important issue here that affects Nebraska.

I'm not going to bring up anything else from State College from here out. That is an issue that is being worked out by the authorities. The victims are getting help and will hopefully see the justice that they deserve. It's an issue that is likely happening in your community, too. You can always help with donations to organizations like RAINN or the Penn State chapter of RAINN.

This story is about bullying. Just as younger kids were the victims (of more than just bullying) in Pennsylvania, older "kids" can also become victims at Nebraska. Don't try to draw any connections between this story and the one at State College, PA.

This different kind of bullying revolves around athletes. For the purposes of this story, it revolves around the athletes at the University of Nebraska. We have this wonderful invention called social media. It helps us keep in touch with our friends and informational sources. But it also has created a direct link to athletes that we didn't have five years ago. I can post on an athletes facebook page or send them a message on their Twitter account. As cool as it can be, this also creates a lot of problems for those athletes. Namely, pissed-off fans that take out their frustrations out on these college "kids".

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"Who hates Iowa?"

If you go to a Minnesota game, you're bound to hear that at some point. Yes, that even includes basketball and other sporting events. You can even hear it when Minnesota isn't playing Iowa.

And here we are. It's time for the last game of the season. Iowa was set up as our season ending "rivalry game". We are going to play for the Heroes Trophy or is it the Corn Bowl? The question needs to be asked. Since they are our end-of-year-rivalry game, should we hate them like Minnesota does?

"We believe that the people of Iowa and the people of Nebraska are very much alike in many ways.  Both believe in an honest day's work, the importance of community and family, and both love college football and their football heroes.  We also know there are citizens of our states doing exceptional things every day and we think they are deserving of some recognition and we look forward to using this game to do that," said Tom Osborne, director of athletics at the University of Nebraska.

"Who hates Iowa?"

Thanks for the uplifting soundbite Tom, but what the hell does it have to do with playing a football game? We still don't now what this Heroes Trophy is going to look like. We know what the Innocent's Society (Nebraska) and the President's Leadership Society (Iowa) Corn Bowl will look like. I'm kind of shocked that the Heroes Trophy hasn't been leaked onto the intrawebs yet. I think the reason for that is because people only leak things that they care about and the reaction to the Heroes Game announcement was...subpar.

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Each week we will go over Nebraska's non-conference opponents and how they fared against their competition.

Tennessee-Chattanooga (5-5) - Last week - Bye. This week vs. Wofford.

Wofford College Athletics - Football Gameday: Week 11 vs. Chattanooga

Wofford and Chattanooga meet on Saturday with both squads looking to improve their playoff status. Coming off only their second loss of the season last Saturday at Appalachian State, Wofford can still claim a share of the SoCon title with a victory. Despite last week's loss, the Terriers remain atop the NCAA in rushing (312 yds/gm) and atop the SoCon in three defensive categories.

Chattanooga is coming off a 48-14 thumping of Samford and look to make a claim to a playoff berth of their own. The Mocs losses in 2010 are by 1 to App State on Opening Day, 4 to #4 Jacksonville State the following week (a week after Jax State knocked off Ole Miss), 49-35 to Elon and 62-24 at Auburn. The Mocs potent offense averages a league best 440 yards per game. The Mocs are listed in the "others receiving votes" nationally which would put them 28th in the Sports Network poll this week.

The SoCon playoff picture is down to 4 teams with a chance. Appalachian State is in by virtue of the win over Wofford and claming the SoCon's automatic berth. The Mountaineers are at Florida on Saturday. Georgia Southern (#26) has climbed back into the picture as well. The Eagles (6-4, 4-3) need a win at Furman (5-5, 3-4) on Saturday and likely a Chattanooga loss to keep their playoff hopes alive. And then of course there is Saturday's Wofford-Chattanooga showdown which will be the "SoCon Saturday on SportSouth" game of the week at 3:00 pm.

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So we here at Corn Nation have been struggling this week on how to best approach the Penn State game. We've had a lot of ideas for stories (hate week, McCloskey, etc), but they all seem to fall into the "It's too soon" category. So what can we talk about?

There are a lot of questions right now involving this game. Should it be played? Should Joe Paterno be there? Should any of the Penn State coaches be there? Do the fans boycott the game in protest? Do they wear black to support the kids? Do they turn their backs on the coaches if they come out of the tunnel? Should Penn State forfeit? Should Nebraska travel there and play the game?

All of these questions point to one big question for us Nebraska fans.  How do we react to this situation that we are thrown into?

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Each week we will go over Nebraska's non-conference opponents and how they fared against their competition.

Tennessee-Chattanooga - Last week - Samford (W, 24-9). This week vs. Wofford.

Mocs stifle Samford in 24-9 victory | timesfreepress.com

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga defense continued to play like one of the best in the Football Championship Subdivision on Saturday. The Mocs' defense repeatedly made key stops in a 24-9 Southern Conference win over Samford in front of a crowd of 6,522 at Seibert Stadium.

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Yesterday, Carl Pelini handed out 20 blackshirts. They were a reward for a dominating game against Michigan State on Saturday. And, they were well deserved. Nebraska held Kirk Cousins to 87 yards passing and Michigan State's run game to 101 yards. But is the defense "back"? It's easy to forget about the first 7 games and just picture out defense being as good the rest of the way as they were last Saturday. It's what we've grown accustom to the past few years. Is it realistic, though?

An appropriate test is coming up this weekend. Northwestern scored 59 last weekend. Yes, it was against Indiana, but as the season progresses, you expect your team to get better and Northwestern seems to be hitting whatever stride they are going to have for the remainder of the year. Remember that awesome defense we had in 2009? The week after they got their blackshirts, Texas Tech came to town and lit em up, 31-10.

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Nebraska's non-conference opponents went 2-1 this past weekend. Tennessee-Chattanooga laid an egg versus Furman for the only loss. This week bring Oregon to Seattle and TCU to Laramie.

Tennessee-Chattanooga - Last week - Furman (L, 7-14). This week @Samford.

Small errors doom UTC in loss | timesfreepress.com

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's offensive numbers in Saturday's 14-7 loss to Furman were the Mocs' worst of the season by a wide margin. UTC's passing game was almost nonexistent, while the running game struggled to break free for big yardage. In the end the Mocs (4-5, 2-4 Southern Conference) finished with a season-low 169 yards of offense -- 61 yards less than the 230 they managed at Nebraska in the season opener.

UTC offensive line ‘a sieve’ | timesfreepress.com

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga offensive line had been playing well since Terrell Robinson took over at quarterback against Georgia Southern on Oct. 8. But the problems that plagued the line before B.J. Coleman’s shoulder injury — poor pass protection and little room to run — showed up again Saturday in the Mocs’ 14-7 loss to Furman.

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Each week we will go over Nebraska's non-conference opponents and how they fared against their competition.


This past week Tennessee-Chattanooga looked great, Fresno State blew an opportunity and Washington was blown up by Stanford.

Tennessee-Chattanooga - Last week - Elon (W, 42-18). Next week vs. Furman.

Mocs Spoil Elon Homecoming with 42-18 Win - University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Official Athletics Site

The Mocs ran out to a 28-0 lead in the opening half. Robinson connected on scoring tosses with Joel Bradford (Chattanooga, Tenn.) for 52 yards, Sloan Allison (Ooltewah, Tenn.) for 11 yards and Marlon Anthony (Acworth, Ga.) for six yards, surrounding a 24-yard Gunner Miller (East Ridge, Tenn.) pick-six in the first 30 minutes.

Mocs Win 2nd Straight | win, 2nd, mocs - WTVC NewsChannel 9: Chattanooga News, Weather, Radar, Sports, Lottery

Terrell Robinson threw for three first-half touchdowns as Chattanooga defeated Elon 42-18 in a Southern Conference game Saturday.

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Each week we will go over Nebraska's non-conference opponents and how they fared against their competition.

Well, Nebraska's non-conference opponents had great weekends this past week. They went 4-0 and one of our opponents cracked the Top-25.

Tennessee-Chattanooga - Last week - Western Carolina (W, 51-7). This week @ Elon.

Mocs smooth as Silk in runaway | timesfreepress.com

On the very first play from scrimmage in his first career start, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga quarterback Terrell Robinson took off on a 32-yard run. It was that kind of night for Robinson and the Mocs. "Is that how long it was?" he asked later. "I didn't really know. I just ran the ball, got a big gain and on to the next play." Robinson, whose nickname is "Silk," gave Mocs fans plenty of reason to smile Saturday. The redshirt freshman ran the ball effectively, ran the offense and threw three touchdown passes in the Mocs' 51-7 homecoming rout of Western Carolina.

Reed makes impact in his return for Mocs | timesfreepress.com

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga defensive tackle Keyon Reed returned to the field Saturday for the first time since he was arrested on a domestic assault charge on Sept. 18. Reed started two of UTC's first three games, making seven tackles, including a sack. Saturday, in his first action since the Eastern Kentucky game on Sept. 17, Reed forced a fumble on a sack and later recovered a fumble. "It's just good to play football again," Reed said after UTC's 51-7 win over Western Carolina.

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It was announced today that Jared Crick will miss the rest of his senior season because of a torn pectoral muscle. The official statement from Bo Pelini:

"After further examination on Tuesday, it was determined that Jared Crick has a torn pectoral muscle and he will be out for the remainder of the season.

"I feel extremely bad for Jared. He is a young man who has represented this program in a first-class manner throughout his career. He made an unselfish decision to come back to Nebraska for his senior year and earn his degree, which he did this summer. He has also been a leader on and off the field and a young man who has made a positive impact in our community. Jared has a bright future in front of him on the field at the professional level. I know he will bounce back from this, and become a stronger player and person.

"It is a tough blow for our football team to lose a player of Jared's caliber, but we have players that are capable of stepping up and filling the void."

This is a huge blow for Nebraska as the defense is already struggling this year. Even though his stats haven't been great this year, his presence and leadership will be missed on the field. The Sports Illustrated cover curse has hit again.

Crick is currently 7th on the team in tackles this season with 22 total, 15 assisted and seven unassisted. He had only one sack this season, but will finish his Husker career eighth on the Nebraska career sacks list with 20. Crick recorded 3.5 tackles for loss this season, finishing with 35 career tackles for loss, and 167 total career tackles.

Crick had already had injury problems earlier in the season, missing the Wyoming game due to an injury suffered against the Washington Huskies. He had started 31 straight games previous to Wyoming. 

Crick was a first-team All-Big 12 selection the past two seasons and was selected to 2011 pre-season watch lists for the Outland, Lombardi, Nagurski and Bednark awards for top defensive player. 

Senior Terrence Moore and redshirt freshman Chase Rome are Crick's backups. Moore has played in all six games this season, starting two. He has three tackles on the season, along with three quarterback hurries. Chase Room has played in four games this season, totaling four tackles, one tackle for loss and a sack. 

Not to worry Husker fans, someone will step up and a new star will emerge.

It was not a good week for Nebraska's non-conference opponents. Their combined record was 0-3 and only one team was should have been on the same field as their opponent. That team was Tennessee-Chattanooga.

Tennessee-Chattanooga - Last week - @Georgia Southern (L, 27-28). This week vs. Western Carolina

Mocs drop out of football polls | timesfreepress.com

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team’s record run in the rankings has ended. The Mocs dropped out of the Football Championship Subdivision coaches' poll and the Sports Network poll, which were released today. Ranked for a school-record six straight weeks, the Mocs (2-4, 0-3 Southern Conference) fell out of the polls following last Saturday’s 28-27 loss at No. 1 Georgia Southern. The Mocs have lost three straight games, by a total of four points.

This drives me NUTS. I do not understand pollster logic like this. A team that goes on the road against the No.1 rated school in their division and loses by 1 point and they drop in the ratings. Sorry, but you lost, therefore, you must drop X amount of spots in the polls. Maybe the Mocs shouldn't be rated (they are 2-4), but they are consistently competitive against their fellow FCS schools.

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Nebraska's non-conference opponents didn't fair too well this past week. Only Washington was able to get a win (and a solid one at that).

Tennessee-Chattanooga - Last week - The Citadel (L, 27-28). This week @Georgia Southern (FCS No.1).

Mocs assess collapse | timesfreepress.com

"You tell me," quarterback B.J. Coleman said after the Mocs' crushing 28-27 loss to The Citadel at Finley Stadium. After taking a 27-0 lead with 9:39 to play in the third, the 17th-ranked Mocs seemed well on their way to their first Southern Conference win of the season -- and a comfortable one, too. What followed was failure in all phases of the game.

Wiedmer: Football Mocs are testing the patience of the UTC fanbase | timesfreepress.com

A) "This year I was hoping for a team with sizzle, but what we have is a team that fizzles." B) "What a complete collapse. Not just the game, the season. I stepped up and bought season tickets this year and I wondered why it was possible to get tickets on the 50-yard line. I think now I understand." Yup, heck has no fury like a disappointed season-ticket holder.

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Each week we will go over Nebraska's non-conference opponents and how they fared against their competition.

Once again, Nebraska's non-conference opponents had a fairly good weekend. If you want to complain about the non-conference schedule, just remember that Nebraska's current Strength-of-Schecule is 69 according to Sagarin's Raitings. Our next opponent Wisconsin? The Badgers are ranked 148 in SoS.

Tennessee-Chattanooga - Last week - Appalachian State (L, 12-14). This week vs. The Citadel.

In Photos: ASU v. Chattanooga, Part One
The Appalachian State University Mountaineers fought a hard battle against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Mocs, but ultimately emerged from the scuffle with a close 14-12 win.The link above has photos of the game.

UTC Mocs drop in football polls | timesfreepress.com

UTC (2-2, 0-1 Southern Conference) fell after losing 14-12 at No. 3 Appalachian State last Saturday. The Mountaineers remained in the third spot in both polls.

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With the PAC-12 releasing a statement saying that they have decided not to expand at this time, what happens next? Does the Big XII just move on, live with it and hope things get better? Oklahoma started making demands yesterday about changes they would like to see if they are to stay in the Big XII. With the Sooners losing their opportunity for the PAC-12, has Oklahoma lost all of it's leverage against Texas? Do they just have to bend over and take it from the Longhorns now?

Things can change in the Texas Conference. They can get better. Stability can be achieved. It's very simple really. Remake the the Texas Conference and call it the "Big XII Conference."

Vote Texas out.

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Each week we will go over Nebraska's non-conference opponents and how they fared against their competition.

All of Nebraska's non-conference opponents (except for Washington) won last weekend. Though the Huskers are looking quite shaky, it's still a good idea to keep an eye on how the opposition is doing in case the final BCS standing comes down to Strength-of-Schedule Remember 2001? Thanks TCU!

Tennessee-Chattanooga - Last week - Eastern Kentucky (W, 23-14). This week @Appalachian State (they are ranked 3rd in FCS).

Mocs top Colonels | timesfreepress.com

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team has proven in back-to-back weeks that it is, or would be, the class of the Ohio Valley Conference this season. A week after thumping Jacksonville State, the No. 17-ranked Mocs edged Eastern Kentucky on Saturday night in front of a crowd of 10,100 at Roy Kidd Stadium. UTC's defense produced one big third-down stop after another, and two true freshmen scored rushing touchdowns in the second half to lift the Mocs to a 23-14 win.

Mocs freshmen deliver at EKU | timesfreepress.com

One true freshman scored the go-ahead touchdown and another sealed the win with a couple of hard runs in the final minutes. All over the field Saturday, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga freshmen were making a difference in the No. 17 Mocs’ 23-14 win at Eastern Kentucky. The Mocs (2-1), who visit No. 3 Appalachian State (2-1) this week, started four freshmen on offense and three on defense. Of the 48 UTC players that saw action in the game, 18 were freshmen — including six true freshmen.

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This weekend it gets real for the Nebraska volleyball team. So much so that the athletic department is encouraging fans to wear red. What's with all these redouts and blackouts all the sudden? I find this a little weird. Don't we always we red to the games? Maybe they want me to break out my red pants and red socks and red shoes and red face paint all while dying my hair red and painting my fingernails red.

But anyway, that's beside the point. Nebraska plays a team this weekend that they could very well lose to. Yes, it's hard to believe that the ladies could be beaten by a former Big XII team that they dominated, but things are different this year. This isn't quite the all powerful Nebraska Volleyball team of past years. And, of course, there is this whole Big Ten thing going on now.

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Each week we will go over Nebraska's non-conference opponents and how they fared against their competition.

A lot of strong showings from our non-conference opponents last week. All four schools looked better this week than they did in the previous week. They all won (except for Fresno State), too.

Tennessee Chattanooga - Last week - Jacksonville State (W, 38-17). This week @ Eastern Kentucky.

Mocs climb to No. 14 | timesfreepress.com

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team moved up nine spots to No. 14 in the Sports Network Top 25 poll, released today, following the Mocs’ 38-17 win over then-No. 10 Jacksonville State on Saturday.

9/12/2011 - Mocs' Bradford, Dothard Earn SoCon Honors - Sports - Chattanoogan.com

Fresh off its first win over a top-10 team since 2000, two members of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team garnered Southern Conference Player of the Week honors today. Senior receiver Joel Bradford earned the offensive award while sophomore linebacker Wes Dothard was the defensive honoree. Bradford tied a career high with 15 receptions as the Mocs knocked off No. 10 Jacksonville State, 38-17. He finished with 162 receiving yards and one touchdown, the yardage being a single-game high in the FCS this season.

And if you interested in making the road trip this weekend to support the Mocs',

Seats Available for the Eastern Kentucky Bus Trip - University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Official Athletics Site

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Athletics Department is planning a bus trip to the football game at Eastern Kentucky this weekend. Chattanooga is coming off its first win over a top-10 team since 2000 after defeating No. 10 Jacksonville State 38-17 on Saturday.

It should be a barn-burner. The Colonels took Kansas State to the wire a few weeks ago. If nothing else, it should serve as a good comparison for Nebraska-Kansas State this year (for all of you that have to deal with Wildcat fans regularly).

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Rumors, rumors, rumors. Always take em with a grain of salt. This entire story is based upon rumors so keep that in mind. Piecing together rumors and comments of what people say usually leads to a false conclusion, but it's fun to do. With that in mind, let's have a little fun with the Notre Dame and Texas to the Big Ten rumors.

Also, I don't really like the idea of the Big Ten expanding again. People say that the Big Ten will have to keep up with everyone else if other conferences go to 14 or 16. Why? Why do they have to expand just because everyone else is doing it? It took 20 years to go from 11 schools to 12. I trust the Big Ten leaders on expansion for the right reasons.

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Apparently everyone in the Big XII now hates everyone else and everyone is going to sue everyone else. It's like reading Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" only the capitalists are going at each other throats instead of the socialists. Part of me feels really bad but I can't help but laugh. It really sounds like an awful break up. All the crap that has come out on twitter and the national media yesterday/today paints a picture of everyone taking shots at everyone else.

How can they possibly mend the fences this time around? Even yesterday morning, with all the super conference rumors that have been floating lately, I still believed that the only move that would happen this time around would be A&M leaving and the Big XII holding together.  Maybe they pick up another school, but that would be about it. I just can't see that happening this time around.

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Typically during the regular season, we post the Cob of the Week on Sunday, but we delayed it because of the holiday. Each week we gather the worst performances in College Football and vote on which one is best (or worst?). We've got some great candidates this week and, as always, if you think you can do better, leave a comment.

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