Pigskin Pursuit

A fifteen year odyssey across the backroads of America during the ultimate College Football roadtrip.

Tag: Big 12 (Page 2 of 9)

Misty’s Steakhouse – A Little Slice of Nebraska Beef

December 9, 2010 / / 0 Comments

While Nebraska might not be renown for a selection of interesting regional fare, one thing they do know is beef. Good old, American corn fed beef. The kind of mustache inspring beef that fed the likes of Wade Boggs, Bob Gibson and Buffalo Bill Cody (all Nebraska natives). The same beef that many of you send away through the mail for a special holiday meal (Omaha Steaks). After a four hour game in the chilly confines of Nebraska’s’ Memorial Stadium I had hankering for the honest simplicity of a slab of beef. Misty’s, I was told, would have the kind of portions needed to quell my carnivorous appetite. Long time College Football announcer Keith Jackson used to come here, and if it’s good enough for the maestro of hyperbole it’s good enough for me.

Stepping into Misty’s is a journey back in time, as the restaurant dates back to 1964 and I doubt has been remodeled since.The interior is cavernously dark, accented by stained wood paneling, exposed oak beams and flanked by deep chocolate leather booths. The walls and display cases are riddled with all manner of Nebraska Cornhusker paraphernalia, and assorted other dusty Big 12 Football artifacts.

I slipped into a spot at the oval shaped bar, sank deep into a plush leather bar chair and promptly ordered up the king cut prime rib with a pint of house made Altbier to wash it down.My wrist thick slab of beef arrived moments later, along with some warm bread and a pile of garlic mashed potatoes.I don’t need to exhaustively describe prime rib, except to say that it was tender, thick, juicy and delicious.I made short work of my meal before getting on the road back to Omaha for an early morning flight to Columbus.

Nebraska is a beef state, and the beauty of steak is that it never goes out of style. It’s timeless. So if you ever find yourself in Lincoln with a hankering for some corn fed cow, then park yourself in a plush leather booth at Misty’s and put the feed bag on.
http://www.mistyslincoln.com

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Runza – A Nebraska Hot Pocket

December 9, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Nebraska isn’t defined by a prevalence of regional or noteworthy cuisines, and outside of a hunk of beef, I couldn’t uncover any must try local delicacies in my research. The closest that I came was a place called Runza, a small regional chain native to Nebraska with about 80 plus locations scattered throughout the state. Founded in 1949, Runza specializes in a unique kind of sandwich, aptly named a “Runza”. The Runza is a bread pocket type sandwich stuffed with spiced beef or pork, cabbage and onions, and owes its’ origins to the Volga Germans that settled in the Great Plains. Though I normally avoid chains, an exclusive sandwich was something I felt compelled to try, so I put my biases aside and ambled in for a bite.

At the fast food style counter, I ordered up the Swiss Mushroom Runza on the recommendation of the cashier. Naturally, this included fries and I felt compelled to give the chocolate milkshake a run as well. The Runza can most appropriately be described as the fast food equivalent of a hot pocket. It was warm, doughy, moist and gooey inside and certainly good filler on a chilly afternoon. While in true fast food fashion the actual contents of the filling remain a bit mysterious, in addition to the cheese, mushrooms and beef I picked up notes of cabbage, onions, and some unidentified spices. The fries were standard variety, though surprisingly crispy, while the thick chocolate shake more closely resembled a Wendy’s Frosty (and hence perfect for dipping the fries).

Runza was an interesting stop, and I was glad to try one of the few foods native to Nebraska. At the end though, the sandwich is hardly remarkable from a hot pocket, and pretty standard fast food fare. It’s deserving of a taste from a curiosity standpoint, but hardly worth going out of your way for. I’d love to unearth a place that had a more inspired home made version of the sandwich. Interestingly, I discovered that they serve Runza’s in Memorial Stadium, and on a cold day in Lincoln they certainly make a better alternative than a hot dog.
http://www.runza.com/

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Texas vs Texas A&M – A Texas Turkey Day Tilt

December 8, 2010 / / 0 Comments

While many of you were lounging around with a five thousand calorie turkey hangover, I was diligently behind the wheel on my way down to see the most heated rivalry in Texas College Football. Unfortunately, all my favorite barbecue haunts were shut down for the day so in lieu of the turkey dinner, I opted for a chicken sandwich at the Whataburger during the three hour jaunt down to Austin. Ah, the untold glamour of the Pigskin Pursuit.

 

 

This was the first game of a three game, three day odyssey during Thanksgiving weekend that would take me to Austin, Texas; Lincoln, Nebraska and Columbus, Ohio. That’s Texas, Nebraska and Ohio State for those of you following at home, not a bad way to spend rivalry weekend. Beats a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

 

Dating back to 1894, the Texas vs Texas A&M matchup is the third longest running rivalry in College Football. Although Texas owns dominance of the series with a 75-36-5 record, this is a heated rivalry that in the state of Texas has undoubtedly caused more than its fair share of family Thanksgiving dinner table squabbles over the last 116 years. In fact, in both school songs “Texas Fight” and the “Aggie War Hymn” each school makes a point to denigrate the other in the lyrics. You may recall our trip down to College Station for this game last year, and you can freshen up on it here:

 

 

http://www.pigskinpursuit.com/2009/12/normal-0-microsoftinternetexplorer4.html

 

 

While the Aggies have struggled against the Longhorns the past couple of years, this year set up to be something different. A&M was ranked in the top 20, held a formidable 8-3 record, and a win would put them in contention for the Big 12 Championship Game. Texas on the other hand, has stumbled this year, hampered by an interception prone quarterback, revolving door at tailback and unusually porous defense. Prior to the matchup they carried dismal 5-6 record into the contest, and a loss would knock the Longhorns out of bowl contention for the first time since 1997. Patience is growing thin with the Burnt Orange faithful in Austin, and fans are quick to forget their team played for a National Championship not even a year ago.

 

On an unusually chilly night in Darrel K. Royal stadium, the game lived up to the hype as both teams were embattled in a defensive standoff until late in the second quarter. Aggie running back Cyrus Gray then broke the game open with an explosive 84 yard touchdown run to knot the game at 7-7 heading into halftime. Gray would be a one man highlight reel on the day, as he would later scamper for another 48 yard touchdown run while racking up 223 yards on the ground. Between Gray and injured starter Christine Michael, the Aggie backfield will remain quite formidable for another year. On the Texas side of the ball, the Longhorns struggled to put together any momentum or sustain drives. Predictably, maligned quarterback Garrett Gilbert tossed a pair of interceptions, one of which was a critical game ending pick. Even the Longhorn crowd was discernibly flat on the night, reluctantly cheering meekly for the Horns and routinely being drowned out by the exuberant Maroon faithful and internationally famous Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band.

 

 

This was my second year in a row spending Thanksgiving at the Lonestar Showdown, and I can’t think of a better way to spend it than under the lights of some premier College Football in Texas. Though certainly not as rewarding as sharing the day with family lounging around a crackling fire, you’re never alone surrounded by 100,000 or so other rabid college football fans. It’s what the Pilgrims intended.

Special thanks again to my friends Jared and Kimberly. It’s always a pleasure to meet up with them and their family for Longhorn games, and hopefully next year will be better fortunes for them in Austin.

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Baylor vs Texas A&M – Sic Em’ Bears!

November 17, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Every conference has one. A smaller, private, more academically focused school, that inevitably becomes the beat up little brother to some of the traditional powerhouses in the conference.While they may remain competitive in the Olympic sports, and tend to even out conference graduation rates, in Football these schools are regarded as pencil necked doormats to their larger brethren.In the SEC you have Vanderbilt.Northwestern in the Big Ten, Duke in the ACC, and, until their recent smashmouth revival, Stanford in the Pac 10.In the Big 12 that school is Baylor.

 

This year, however, things have been different. We’ve seen and uprising of sorts from Baylor this year. As recently as two weeks ago they were leading the Big 12 South Conference, staked a claim on a top 25 ranking, and had slapped around Texas (in the Longhorns own backyard) for their first victory against the Burnt Orange in over 13 years. While they don’t traditionally enjoy the same reputation as some of the big state schools, it’s still Big 12 Football in Texas, and I wanted to make the quick 90 mile trip down to Waco to see what all the fuss was about. In town this weekend was one of Baylor’s longest rivals in Texas A&M, with the “Battle of the Brazos” series dating back to 1899. The Brazos, for you geographically challenged readers, refers to the 90 mile stretch of the Brazos River that separates Waco from College Station.

 

After getting the hookup on a ticket from one of my favorite Aggie Alums Allison, I barely found my seat before noticing a yellow commotion forming in the tunnel on the opposite end of Floyd Casey Stadium.I was about to be introduced to the unique tradition known as the “Baylor Line”.

After attending “Line Camp” training in the fall, Baylor Freshman are issued a yellow t-shirt and form the backbone of the spirit squad that leads the players onto the field known as the Baylor Line. Prior to the game, these freshman are corralled in the far tunnel and then unleashed, storming across the field like a pack of yellow clad hyenas. They then form the “line” a human gauntlet through which the Baylor Football team runs onto the field. Following the opening ceremonies, the Baylor Line is then herded into their designated spot in the stands, where they serve as the heart of Baylor Bears spirit. While completely new to me, I think the Baylor line is a fantastic tradition for both students and players alike. It’s a phenomenal example of indoctrinating students into the tradition of their program and making them an integral part of the Football experience with their fellow student athletes.

The game turned out to be a tale of two halves. In the first half Baylor came out roaring, propped up by a surprisingly energetic and loud stadium. Led by phenom dual threat quarterback Robert Griffin, who reeled off a seminal 71 yard touchdown run, the Bears were sitting pretty at halftime with a 30-21 lead. The second half, however, was a different story. The enigmatic Aggies finally came alive, continuously feeding the ball to their workhorse Junior running back Cyrus Gray. Gray would explode in the second half, lumbering for three of his four touchdowns on the day alone. The Aggie defense, plagued by the big play in the first half, stiffened up, holding Baylor scoreless in the second frame. All told, it was a formidable comeback for the Aggies, who walked away with a 42-30 victory and their fourth straight win.

At the end of the day, Baylor was a pleasantly surprising gameday experience. While it certainly doesn’t garner the same reputation as the bigger Texas schools, it’s still a program rich in tradition and bursting with pride. The Baylor Line is an especially excellent tradition, and I wish more schools would involve their students on gameday to this extent. If you’re looking to watch some Big 12 quality football, and don’t feel like the hassle of driving all the way to Austin or College Station, Waco is a mere 90 miles from Dallas and a Baylor game would be well worth the visit.


Special thanks to my Aggie friend Allison for finding me an extra ticket to the game, and making the trip down with her now Aggie brother to bring the 12th man spirit to Baylor.

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