You can always think of times when you would have liked to have been a fly on the wall, so to speak.
This would've been a good one: Saturday night, as various Nebraska athletic department officials considered the possibility of playing Akron on Sunday morning, there apparently was a moment when Husker athletic director Bill Moos and Zips A.D. Larry Williams hashed out the situation alone in a room.
According to Nebraska deputy A.D. Bob Burton, Husker officials "were working on accommodations as far as what would be needed for them (the Zips) and ourselves to pull (a Sunday game) off. The two biggest things were probably room and board. So we were working on that."
During that period, Burton said, Moos "came back from a meeting with the athletic director of Akron and said, 'We're not playing a game tomorrow.'"
So, that was it. Burton on Sunday evening told the Journal Star that Akron, at that point, balked at a Sunday morning game. Williams later released a statement saying Akron tried to secure accommodations for the team Saturday night within a reasonable distance from Lincoln.
However, "These accommodations were not available or would have required our team to stay in multiple locations, which is not in the best interests of our team and student-athletes," he said.
Reasonable people should be able to understand Williams' concerns.
Moos released a prepared statement addressing the situation, citing Akron's “logistical challenges†as the reason why the game was canceled. Moos didn't answer a text message requesting further comment.
Maybe we'll never know the nature of Moos' discussion with Williams. You wonder: Did Moos press hard for a Sunday game? Or, as a former high-level college player, was Moos empathetic to Williams' plight? Were all possibilities exhausted?
Was Nebraska coach Scott Frost pushing for a Sunday game? What was Akron coach Terry Bowden's stance?
After all, Akron played a Sunday road game last October against fellow Mid-American Conference member Western Michigan, prevailing 14-13 after the teams' Saturday contest was postponed by heavy rain and thunderstorms. That situation had some key differences to what the Zips faced in Lincoln. For one, the Saturday game at Western Michigan was scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. before being officially postponed just more than an hour later.
In other words, Akron had much more time to take care of room and board (i.e., hotel and food accommodations) than it would have had in Lincoln at 9:55 on Saturday, when officials announced the cancellation. At that point, the whole thing would've been a logistical headache, with Akron players likely going to bed around midnight before having to rise very early for a morning kickoff.
Again, reasonable people can agree that that would've been an extreme circumstance and not in players' best interests.
It's also possible that Akron officials weren't thrilled with the experience at Western Michigan and stiff-armed a repeat. After defeating Western Michigan last Oct. 15, the Zips lost 48-21 the next week at Toledo.
As for Nebraska officials' handling of Saturday in totality, it's difficult to be overly critical considering the program had never had a game canceled because of weather. However, I do think it would have made sense for Moos (perhaps with Burton by his side) to hold an impromptu news conference Saturday night to clarify the officials' final decision. Perhaps Moos wouldn't have been able to answer all the media's questions, but some form of explanation was warranted.
Complete silence made zero sense considering thousands of fans (program stakeholders) were impacted.
Chalk it up as a learning experience and hope it doesn't happen again for the sake of most everyone involved — most notably the players who now train essentially year-round for a limited amount of games.
* I thought of my friend Gerry DiNardo as I watched fourth-ranked Wisconsin's rather uninspiring 34-3 win Friday night against Western Kentucky. The Badgers' defense was salty, but their vaunted offensive line was so-so, at least by program standards.
DiNardo, the veteran BTN analyst, told me recently, “I still think Wisconsin's the best team in the West, but I don’t feel that separation in the division I felt a year ago for a couple reasons.â€
He noted Wisconsin lost eight starters from its 2017 defense. What’s more, “When you win 13 games one year, you have some motivation issues, some complacency issues the next year,†he said.
Plus, DiNardo feels Nebraska and Iowa have improved since last season. He also respects Purdue and Northwestern.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the winner of the West had two losses," he said.
I think he could be right.
* Also on Friday night, Utah State's up-tempo offense and athletic quarterback flummoxed Michigan State's defense, which returns nine starters from a unit that ranked seventh nationally in 2017.
File that one away, Husker fans.
* High-five to former Nebraska QB AJ Bush, who's found a home (and starting job) at Illinois. He passed for 190 yards on 23 attempts and rushed for 139 yards on 21 carries in Saturday's 31-24 home win against Kent State.
"Any team that judges us off this game will be in for a rude awakening, I promise you" Bush said after the game.
You have to like the confidence.
Photos: Frost and lightning at rain-besieged Husker opener
Akron vs. Nebraska, college football, 9.1.18
Akron vs. Nebraska, college football, 9.1.18
Akron vs. Nebraska, college football, 9.1.18
Akron vs. Nebraska, college football, 9.1.18
Video: The Memorial Stadium river
The Memorial Stadium river
— Emily Blobaum (@emilyblobaum)
Akron vs. Nebraska, college football, 9.1.18
Akron vs. Nebraska, college football, 9.1.18
Akron vs. Nebraska, college football, 9.1.18
Akron vs. Nebraska, college football, 9.1.18
Akron vs. Nebraska, college football, 9.1.18
Akron vs. Nebraska, college football, 9.1.18
Akron vs. Nebraska, college football, 9.1.18
Akron vs. Nebraska, college football, 9.1.18
Akron vs. Nebraska, college football, 9.1.18
Video: Lightning time-lapse 7:50-8 p.m.
Time lapse video looking over showing the lightning that is causing the delay between the and the . 7:50pm to 8:00pm