Nebraska’s official radio account asked readers if the Big Ten rules would apply to the Huskers

2020 has been an odd year for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who have repeatedly protested the Big Ten’s initial decision not to play this fall, had head coach Scott Frost (seen above) suggest to speak at the Ohio State cornerback Sevyn Banks on Saturday) that they could join another conference for a year (not actually possible), saw the players sue the conference, and then complained about their schedule once the Big Ten turned the tide. And it gets even stranger.This week’s Wisconsin-Nebraska game was officially called off on Wednesday thanks to six Badgers players (including first-string quarterback Graham Mertz and substitute Chase Wolf) and six staff (including head coach Paul Chryst) tested positive for COVID-19 and the Badgers put their entire football schedule on hiatus as a result. This cancellation results in a result without competition, in accordance with the rules of the Big Ten. But the official Nebraska radio account (@HuskerSports) released a poll Wednesday night asking Husker fans if they thought the game would be called off if the situation was reversed. (Update: After a few hours, they removed the poll. Below is a screenshot with the results at 9 p.m. EST.)

It sounds like a messaging choice from the official Nebraska radio account, leaning on conspiracy theories that the conference is ready to get them. It seems pretty hard to imagine that the Huskers would have been forced into play following a similar wave of positive tests, especially as conference protocols allow cancellation at team player positivity rates. between 2% and 5% and team population positivity rates between 3.5% and 7.5%, and require it if these rates exceed 5% and 7.5%, respectively (which badgers were approaching) .

And that doesn’t make Wisconsin look like it’s dodging Nebraska. Badgers head coach Chryst was “confident about the future” as recently as Monday. And even if the Badgers had lost their best two quarterbacks, they might still have beaten the Huskers (Wisconsin won a 45-7 win over Illinois last week, while Nebraska looked terrible in a 52-17 loss to Ohio State). So it is certainly an interesting choice for Nebraska Radio to publish a poll giving fans the chance to vote that this is still a supposed conspiracy against them, rather than a reasonable precaution. after the Wisconsin tests. (Oh, and the state of Nebraska currently has 21.8 percent positivity rate on their COVID-19 tests, so it may become a problem for their team for too long.) And it’s interesting how much that contrasts with the message from the sports department account, which the most recent tweet promotes. a t-shirt promoting the wearing of masks:

? Stop the spread
? Go big red

Our official 2020 tee is on sale now.

Available anywhere in Lincoln + online. ⤵️

– Huskers du Nebraska (@Huskers) October 27, 2020

And that has led a lot of people to poke fun at the @HuskerSports account and Huskers in general:

Thanks for joining the Big Ten so that we always have someone to refer to and to laugh at.

– Fermier Jones (@thefarmerjones) October 29, 2020

pic.twitter.com/npliWyrwgs

– SLAIN KIFFIN (@peterberkes) October 29, 2020

pic.twitter.com/Yendq8SLvW

– Danny Noonan (@dkviper) October 29, 2020

Leave the Big Ten. It’s embarassing

– Sean O’Leary (@stholeary) October 29, 2020

Is nebraska okay https://t.co/R5ciGVE38Y

– Matt Brown (@MattBrownEP) October 29, 2020

Life as a Football Victim, Vol. 232: https://t.co/52cVA53a45

– Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) October 29, 2020

It’s good to see Nebraska continue to take the L even after games are canceled. https://t.co/kFDUa8CWP9

– You (@ ben_hamin12) October 29, 2020

So all is well for them.

[Photo from Joseph Maiorana/USA Today Sports]