The long goodbye

Nebraska won't say it hates Texas, but history sure screams it.

Check out this column by CBSSports.com's Dennis Dodd. Spells it out pretty clearly.

But things changed when Texas came in the room back in the mid-1990s and declared that the new Big 12 would not allow partial qualifiers. That's where it started for Nebraska. Osborne had built part of his empire on kids who just needed a chance. They didn't have either the minimum grade-point average or high enough SAT test score. They could achieve initial eligibility with one or other but they were labeled. Prop 48s they called them, a nickname derived from the NCAA legislation.

"I was on the [Big 12] task force," said former Iowa State AD Gene Smith, now with Ohio State. "I'll never forget when [Texas] came in the room.

"Texas would not come into the league unless we eliminated the Prop 48 deal. Nebraska lived on it. Oh my God, it was like heat across the board. The animosity started back then."

And then there's this video, which has been edited since it first came out. The first version had the date of this year's Texas at Nebraska game (10.16.10). You might remember the bitter spill-over from last season's Texas-Nebraska Big 12 title game, when Texas found 1 second on the clock and kicked the winning field goal to knock the Huskers out of BCS bowl contention and secure the Longhorns' spot in the national title game.

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini played it down during the Big 12 media days. He says his team is focused on this year and what's to be gained in the Big 12.

The rest of the Big 12, which will forge ahead with 1o teams and a fat TV contract in 2011, also said no thanks to parting shots on Nebraska, according to this story by Blair Kerkhoff in the Kansas City Star.

Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads, an Ankeny native, is sad to see the series go.

“It's sad because I grew up with that game,” Rhoads said. “People travel from Lincoln to Ames and Ames to Lincoln. It's sad for me to think that the game's not going forward.”

The Cyclones host the Huskers Nov. 6. Nebraska leads the series 85-17-2. It's a home fullhouse ISU will be sad to see go, but the series record speaks for itself.

Meanwhile, look for the Big Ten to staple Iowa-Nebraska together. It's a natural geographical rivalry. It makes perfect sense.

By the way, the Huskers have dominated the Iowa series 12-26-3.

Can't sign off on the word "hate" and football. Sometimes I let it slip through, but still, we're talking about football.

But there will still be plenty of Nebraska rancor -- yeah, that sounds OK -- within Iowa's borders.