A diamond in the rough?

Previewing Nebraska-Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl.

Courtesy Nebraska Athletics

It’s been a good week for Nebraska football. At least it’s looked that way on social media.

The Pinstripe Bowl is not (yet?) one of the storied entries in this sport’s strange postseason history, but even watching from afar, I have to hand it to New York City. Warm weather cities like Tampa and Phoenix have their features—the ability to wear short sleeves in December being high on the list—but if you’re a football player who isn’t bothered by the cold, which should apply to Huskers and Eagles equally, isn’t NYC for the Pinstripe Bowl a more unique experience?

You wouldn’t choose it over the playoff, of course, but the playoff wasn’t on the table for Nebraska. Tampa and Phoenix were.

Not that it matters, but after some “huh?” feelings about the Huskers’ bowl-game assignment, I’ve come around to being glad it’s the Pinstripe Bowl. Like all bowl games, I feel like I have little idea what’s about to happen, to the degree that I even wondered if our traditional game preview made sense given all of the variables.

But it’s another game—a gift in itself—and games deserve the effort to try to understand them even while knowing you never will completely. So, here we go.

Let’s preview the Pinstripe Bowl, sponsored by rebel lawn mowers.¹