And if the Huskers are tough enough to be the Big Eight champs, there has always been either Miami or FSU there to administer a clobbering.

Some Nebraska faithful say that Miami should come up to Lincoln in January sometime when it's minus 82 degrees, but that's defeating the purpose.

I want to beat Miami at home, with 60,000 of those Canes fans yelling. I want to see students dressed as Ibises twisting their beaks in front of the camera, and I want it to be 80 degrees with no wind.

It will be on Miami's turf, in Miami's conditions, and with Miami's fans. Then, and only then, can the Huskers triumph.

That is the only way to exorcise the demons of seven years of woe. If we best, say, Florida State at home in late November, no one would pay attention to it.

Everyone would say, "Yeah, but you couldn't beat the Seminoles in Tallahassee."

And so, this January, there is only one team that we can really defeat.

The Friday after Thanksgiving, Nebraska must beat Oklahoma. And a month and a half after that, the Huskers must beat Miami.

Nothing else can happen. This scenario might as well be fated.

At that point, no matter how much Penn State or Alabama or who-ever else complains, we will have earned our bowl victory and our National Tile.

Then, and only then, will the curse of the Nebraska Cornhuskers be lifted.