“He which hath no stomach for this fight? Then let him depart.”
The St. Crispin’s Day speech from Shakespeare’s Henry V never had better delivery meets theme music than it did in the 1989 version when Kenneth Branagh announced his presence on the movie stage by not only starring in the production but also making his directing debut. He was also nominated for Oscars in both categories at the age of 29.
So why am I rambling on with a Shakespeare movie lesson? Play the clip above and find out. It stood
tall as the ultimate pre-game speech to rally an outmanned side until Rocky debuted and sports movies made such speeches a staple. Branagh is Kurt Russell as Herb Brooks in Miracle. He is Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday. He is both Billy Bob Thornton and Kyle Chandler in Friday Night Lights.
And, hopefully, Matt Rhule can channel him today before taking the field against 10-2 Utah.
Quite frankly, most bookies would give the British better moneyline odds than they are the Huskers (see below), but odds are only meaningful to gamblers as hypotheticals are to Domer fans. The game will be played today and the final score will be the result
After a season of dramas, the Las Vegas Bowl is finally just about two respected programs who will let the final score be the judge. The Huskers T.J. Lateef is full speed, but did he receive enough full-speed reps to be fully prepared? Can freshmen Isaiah Mozee and/or Mekhi Nelson play at a high enough level to replace All-American Emmett Johnson? Will the O-line sufficiently replace Rocco Spindler? Is a few weeks of Rhule/Ekeler training enough to level up the beleaguered defensive line?
Speaking of Ekeler, can special teams create a few fireworks to give the Huskers an edge? Will Rhule remove Dana Holgorsen’s yoke and let the Holgo-fense fly with Geep Wade’s help to try and match the 40+ point Ute attack? Dasan McCullough has opted out to recover from multiple injuries – can Dylan Rogers match legs with QB’s Devin Dampier and Byrd Ficklin?
So many questions and by the time it’s done, we may not much like the answers. But Utah has opt-out problems of its own as the loss of their two 1st-round draft pick offensive tackles may be just what the Huskers need in their efforts to slow the Utes’ vaunted ground game. At any rate, around four weeks of speculation will end in a few hours.
As for Nebraska? Hopefully, they absorb the wisdom of Dan Fouts:
HOW TO WATCH
Time: 2:30pm CST
Location: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
Surface: Artificial Turf
Wagering Info: Huskers +14 1⁄2 . O/U – 51 1⁄2. Moneyline Nebraska +410 (FanDuel)
Series Record: Nebraska is 4-0 all-time against the Utes. They last played on September 5th, 1992, a 49-22 Huskers victory.
TV: The game can be viewed on ESPN – Play-by-Play: Dave Fleming. Analyst: Brock Osweiler. Sidelines: Dawn Davenport. It is also streaming on the ESPN app.
Radio: The audio can be streamed live for free at Huskers.com or the Huskers App. The crew will be: Play-by-Play: Kyle Crooks. Analysis: Damon Benning. Sidelines: Jessica Coody. Pre/Post-Game: Matt Coatney, Jessica Coody, Ben McLaughlin & Jeremiah Sirles.
Weather: The mid-day weather will be sunny and chilly to mild depending on how much Nebraska you have in you.Temps will be around 52 at kickoff and rising slightly to the around 55-56 by game’s end with WNW winds around 10-20mph.
HUSKERS HAPPY HOUR
Hey, did you know we have Corn Nation podcasts every Monday, Tuesday & Thursday? Mine is every Tuesday night at 8pm CST and is called the Huskers Happy Hour…although it often goes over an hour. You can watch on Corn Nation’s You Tube Live Channel or Corn Nation Facebook or Twitter/X. An article a couple hours before the show will post with a link.
Click on the link above to check out last night’s show. The Vegas Bowl, my road trip and Ryan Leaf all came up.
The watchers and listeners were on point in the comments which powered discussion for a majority of the show. Pour your own cold one – or spiked coffee, we don’t judge – and give it a re-watch. Or just wait till next Tuesday. Or both!
