CORN NATION REACTS Survey Results: Huskers Football Fans Are Split on the Streak

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As it turns out, the people claiming to speak for everyone on this issue? They weren’t.

The final tally on the Husker Football sellout streak is in and Husker Nation, or Corn Nation at least, is just not in agreement on this.

The picture above is current – the streak currently sits at 410. And with tickets remaining for Ohio numbering under 2000, it seems all but assured it will reach 411. A night game against Bowling Green will probably increase the chances of #412, and a night game plus a low-end country concert after North Dakota will be the impetus to push it to #413 before the Big 10 games kick in.

The argument isn’t so much to actively keep it alive or dump it – tickets will or will not be purchased. And also remember it’s a “sellout” streak, not an “every seat full” streak. If that was how it worked, then sellouts would be about as rare as perfect games in baseball as there’s always going to be some people who don’t make it – a single ticket not rung in at the turnstiles on game day would eliminate the sellout in that world.

What we’re talking about are the methods of counting tickets as sold such as:

• Bulk corporate purchases
• Bulk booster or donor purchases
• Discount ticket bundles (multiple less desirable games or those games paired with a conference game)
• Charitable donations to groups
• Dumping tickets to secondary market outlets at a 30-50% (or more) discount. (They make money back on the fees.)

Although these are methods used by everyone, college and professional, having to go these routes repeatedly has made many, both Nebraska fans and not, question the validity of the streak,

Cases have been made by both sides as to why the streak should or should not continue and we won’t repeat them again. Instead, let’s just jump to the results. And there’s a couple national polls as well.

I have two final thoughts:

• 1) I’m all for fiddling around to keep it alive. Not as a die on the mountain with my bloody sword sort of thing, but rather I truly enjoy how it annoys opposing fans, especially from blue blood schools who could never dream of approaching our record even if we shut it down now. Continuing to just match them or extend as they rage about the methods gives me the urge to bray like DeNiro at the movie theater in Cape Fear.

• 2) The deciding factor for me will be how long the businesses and boosters will be willing to chip in to keep it alive. And that determining factor will be winning, pure and simple. Yes, we’ve nudged the needle the last two years, but if we can’t get back to a level which keeps the place full on its merits, it’s going to die out on its own. Let’s call that level Pelini or pre-1982 Osborne – 9-10 win seasons without really playing for national titles.

Here’s the result:

• I wasn’t kidding – the vote was knotted tight with the “Keep the Streak going” crowd edging out the win 53% – 47%.
• So be sure to point this out when someone starts the argument on either side with something like, “This is why everyone thinks-” or “Everyone tells me that-” to begin their argument about the streak.
• Or anything else for that matter.
• People say love conquers all, but winning tops that if you ask me. If “WE’RE BACK” ever becomes the rule again, the streak will happily continue and these arguments will become faded memories like that time the Huskers went to Lubbock and got diced 70-10 by Mike Leach and Texas Tech.
• See? You hadn’t thought of that in a while. You’re welcome!!

(AND WHILE WE’RE AT IT, THE SEC.)

In addition to our little ol’ Corn Nation Reacts polls, SB Nation also does weekly national surveys – this week it was conference championships.

• 42% picked Ohio State and while they’re loaded again, they also have arguably the toughest schedule in the conference. It could be a tall order.
• What has a girl got to do to get a little respect around the office?? All Indiana’s done the last two seasons go from 3-9 to 28-2 and a national title. Yet only 13% think they can win the Big 10 again.
• They have a new transfer QB, you say? Hmmm, Kurtis Rourke and Fernando Mendoza sure seemed to work out okay. Josh Hoover now transfers from TCU with higher measurables than either of the other two at the time of their arrival. Gosh, can Curt Cignetti develop him at all?
• Oregon, with 38%, has sort of become early ‘90’s Nebraska rolling up wins but not quite able to get over that hump and win it all. They bring back their QB and an experienced squad. Is this the year they finally break through beginning with a Big 10 title?

• Georgia has won three of the past four title games, and as they return their starting QB Gunner Stockton with an experienced squad, 56% are favoring them to do it again.
• LSU and their shiny new Lane Kiffen toy, plus a Deion-esque 44 transfers, are favored by 31% of the voters. While Kiffen has shown he can win quickly, that many new bodies don’t always click. This will be an interesting team to follow.
• Many scribes and TV folks had a lot of Bevo poop on their face after their 2025 predictions for the Longhorns. Prior to the games actually starting, if the Texas mascot had come to a complete stop, many of their heads would have rammed far enough up his ass to taste the grass on which he was grazing.
• Remember? Texas was gonna win a national championship and Arch Manning, in his only year as a starter, was gonna take home the Heisman, declare for the draft and go #1, yee haw!!!
• Well, they’re tempering it a little but still can’t back away from 2025’s misses. For example, Joel Klatt says they’re gonna finally get over the hump against Georgia and win the SEC title. Arch Manning is still a Top 3 QB nationally (last year was NOT his fault), etc etc
• Fans? Only 7% are drinking that Kool-Aid. Yes, Arch and Texas are still immensely talented, but fans are pretty much in show cause mode.
• No, I don’t like Texas – could you tell? 😁