Lincoln. Neb. ? Montana State’s surprising victory over Colorado last week was another reminder that games matching I-AA teams against BCS members aren’t always just about the money.
“Absolutely it gives us some inspiration,” said Nicholls State coach Jay Thomas, whose Colonels visit No. 21 Nebraska today.
Inspiration alone won’t be enough to carry the Colonels against the Big 12 North favorite. Regardless of what happens, Nicholls State gladly will accept the $350,000 guarantee it receives for serving as the Cornhuskers’ tuneup for their Sept. 16 game at Southern California.
“It’s a tough situation when you go in there,” Thomas said. “We just want to put a good product on the field and be competitive with Nebraska.”
Mike Kramer, the pride of I-AA after coaching Montana State to its 19-10 win over the defending Big 12 North champion Buffaloes, said he doubts Nicholls State’s players would be content to just make a good showing. He suspects they want to win, perhaps buoyed by computer technology.
“Everybody plays X-Box and PlayStation, and they sit down and play College Football 2007,” Kramer said. “Every Nicholls State kid has played Nebraska 100 times virtually on their computer. Every time they can tweak the computer enough to where Nicholls State beats Nebraska.
“So they go into the game not only thinking they can win, they’ve already proved it on the computer.”
That’s what happened before Montana State went to Boulder, Colo., last week.
Kramer told 20 of his charges to play a video game pitting Montana State against Colorado and then report the results to him.
“We won all 20 times,” Kramer said. “We put a pretty confident team on the field.”
Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor, who passed for three touchdowns in last week’s 49-10 win over Louisiana Tech, said he and his teammates are approaching Nicholls State with caution. The Colonels opened with a 35-0 win over Division II Southern Arkansas.
“Nicholls State is trying to make a name for themselves,” Taylor said. “They come in here and beat Nebraska, the whole world is going to know who they are. … Colorado got beat by Montana State and Kansas State had a scare from Illinois State, so those are two I-AA schools that really put up fights against Big 12 North teams. We have to come ready to play.”
Though the Cornhuskers had a self-imposed gag order regarding talk about USC this week, offensive lineman Greg Austin said what surely everybody in the land of Big Red was thinking after the win over Louisiana Tech.
“I’m not looking past Nicholls State at all, but I think our first test is going to be USC,” Austin said.
