Disrespek'

Written by Gideon | 08 October 2009

Vegas opened the Tigers as 1 point dogs at home for tonight's showdown. The public gave the Nubs a nice collective hand job and jerked the line to as high as 4. Experts from Scouts Inc. to ESPN's Tim Griffin to Dr. Saturday are taking the Huskers in the 'Zou. In a game that is almost universally projected to be close, we can forgive a certain amount of disrespect, but a near consensus? Has Mizzou not won 23 of 27 at home? Have the Tigers not beaten Nebraska soundly the past three times the Huskers traveled to CoMo? Has Nebraska not lost seven straight and 14 of last 15 on the road vs ranked opponents? Why don't more pundits like the Thursday night home underdog here? Dignified anger after the jump.

I'll tell you why: DISRESPEK'

Tiger fans have been frustrated in the past when opponents have played the Disrespect Card against the home team (Stoops, Bob). Is it time for Pinkel to rally the troops around the angsty little fuel of being dismissed, ignored and written off a bit too soon?

D-Wash thinks so (per Griffin, per the Trib):

We’re going in as the underdog,” tailback Derrick Washington told the Columbia Tribune. “A lot of people didn’t think we would be 4-0 going into this game.

“Those guys are still ranked. Everybody’s doubting us. I’m hearing people on the news say we don’t have a chance … So we just want to come in and prove people wrong.”

I hope that Pinkel slipped that card up his sleeve at some point during these two weeks of preparation and I'd pay to be a fly on the wall for his pregame speech to see if he unleashes it. The Tigers should be sky high and thirsty for blood (and respect).

Update (5 PM): Add the inestimable Phil Steele's to the pile of Husker picks. I know he's a genius and all but C'MON!