Traditional spring football games at Nebraska date back to the 1920s. And since 1950, Husker spring football games have been played every year.
But this season, Husker head coach Matt Rhule said no mas. Instead of the Red-White football game, there will be skill competition and 7-on-7 drills.
No football game. Sigh…
Rhule said his main concerns for doing away with the spring football games are the risk of injuries to his players and the possible poaching of his players to other programs.
What I don’t understand is Nebraska will still play its limit of three scrimmages this spring. Practices and scrimmages always pose a threat to injuries. As far as other programs pilfering Husker players, I would think schools with winning traditions would be more appealing for poachers than a program like NU’s with eight consecutive non-winning regular seasons.
As I’ve said, I’ve never coached football and certainly don’t envy any D- head football coach who has to deal with NIL, transfer portal, roster limits and revenue sharing.
I’m sure Rhule’s intentions are honorable.
But what are other football programs doing regarding annual spring games?
Here’s how programs from the two best football conferences in the country are treating spring football.
Big Ten
Of the eighteen Big Ten teams, ten of them have held or will be holding traditional scrimmages for their spring games. Those ten teams include last year’s national champion Ohio State, 2023 NC Michigan, Penn State, Oregon, Washington, UCLA, Indiana and Wisconsin. Teams opting out of spring games include USC, Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska.
SEC
Of the sixteen teams in the conference, only four have opted out of spring football games this spring: LSU, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas.
Those programs continuing spring football games include some storied football programs like Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
So what’s my point?
It seems some of the best and most powerful college football programs in the country are (at least for now) keeping the tradition of having football scrimmages for their spring games. Either they have more than enough great players that they aren’t concerned about losing any of them to the portal or to injuries. Maybe they still want to treat their fans to a football game on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in April.
Will the traditional spring football games ever return to Nebraska?
We can only hope so.
How ‘Bout Them Huskers
This week’s free podcast episode includes highlights of Husker spring practice and Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleavea’s decision to leave the Vols over an NIL dispute. Grandson Will and I also check in with the status of Husker baseball after its big win over ranked Kansas and talk about this year’s Jet Award.
You may email me at HuskerDan@cox.net
Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.
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