But yet knowing that and doing something about it early on is something we didn't do. It also would have been typical for the Big 12 Conference this season. Home teams have won 18 of 28 conference games so far and made most of the other 10 dogfights. Kansas State, bushwhacked at both Iowa State and Oklahoma State, had to fight back from 21 points down to win each of those games. Until then, Nebraska looked outnumbered by about 45,000 people clad in blue.
Kids are more comfortable, more relaxed in that setting.
And if your team is not playing well early, your crowd can pull you out of it. Home teams, even when they are not favored, are making nearly every Big 12 game interesting this season and some not so interesting. In all six of the above games, the home team won convincingly even though it was either supposed to lose or, at best, have a tough game on its hands. But it really has been a big deal this year. I've never noticed that to this extent since I've been coaching.