Storied rivalry could be what it takes to change Husker narrative

Husker Nation woke up Saturday morning content to celebrate history, and went to bed frustrated yet again, but subtly still celebrating.
Any Nebraska fan age 55ish or older appreciates what a good old Nebraska-Oklahoma showdown feels like. There are highs, lows, mutual tips of the hat for hard hits and great plays, and at the end of the game a hope that our shade of red won the day. We’ve been there, done that so many times over the years, though it’s been a while, a very long while, since the actual game lived up to the rivaled tradition.
After all was said and done we had that familiar feeling Saturday, which came as somewhat of a shock to everyone, mostly notably the No.-3 ranked Sooners. OU may not be as good as advertised, but more importantly NU may be closer than we thought to becoming relevant again in college football. Nebraska looked like they belonged on the field with a top-tier team, and it’s honestly been a decade or more since we could look in the mirror and say that without blinking.
I for one soaked up all the nostalgia last week, with players and coaches from the Game of the Century sharing their thoughts on that epic day and how it literally changed their lives. It was just a football game, but it seemed bigger than life at the time. Though I was only 8 in 1971, I remember where I was, who I was with and how we rode an emotional roller-coaster that Thanksgiving Day until the Huskers won it, 35-31. A lifetime of loyalty was cemented in stone when “Johnny the Jet left em in the aisles” in Norman.
I planned to watch the first half Saturday, catch the half-time flash-back coverage and then decide if I could handle more of what has become a painful routine. But a funny thing happened down in Norman as the Huskers, our beloved Huskers, showed up and then some. 
Our man Austin Allen was a go-to guy all day long, making a tough grab on a critical fourth down play in the early going. He’s catching everything in his grasp and using his length to consistently block well, making him a key ingredient to an offense that’s been missing a few pieces to the puzzle. It’s so much fun to have a little extra skin in the game with Big No. 11 making an impact, and Husker Nation can count on an honest answer from inside the ropes when Oz steps to the microphone. That’s refreshing as well.
Unfortunately, the Huskers’ return to glory days remains a work in progress, which was evident by the bumbling special teams and O-line mistakes on Saturday. Our Big Red came into the game hoping not to be embarrassed, but the reality is we could have actually won that thing but for the same old inexcusable miscues.
But there is hope again in Husker Nation. How fitting that one game, one storied rivalry could be what it finally takes to turn the page, flip the script and change the narrative. 
Kurt Johnson