BOULDER, Colo. - Nearly every day this week, Nebraska Coach Frank Solich has either sighed or smiled or perked up when conversation has shifted to this topic.
Solich is willing to talk about it. So are his players.
Rumors about it happening have even been confirmed. The laziest news media types have nailed down when and where it will take place.
Husker boosters, large and small, can comment freely, and surely will. It might even be something they agree on.
Heck, it's even going to be televised.
Friday at 11:10 a.m. CST, Nebraska and Colorado will play a football game at Folsom Field. That's the only sure news to come out of the Husker camp this week.
Call it a three-hour escape for Solich and his players, who have been riddled by questions concerning his job status and a coaching staff that's already been overhauled once in the past 12 months.
"As a football team, we have moved on and moved forward, and that's what I hope everybody else does, too," Solich said. "You learn to focus on what's directly ahead of you and not let anything from the outside, any kind of distractions, take you away from your preparation. We've preached that year after year."
The events of the week have made this a rare Nebraska-Colorado game where nobody will care all that much about the Buffaloes. At least until the football is kicked into the air.
Until that point, it's all been about Solich and NU Athletic Director Steve Pederson.
Why won't Pederson say anything, good or bad, about his football coach? Well, that's Pederson's policy while a season is in progress, and the Thanksgiving turkey will drift into the leftover stage before he caves in.
It's been about Husker boosters and fans. They've taken sides, attacked each other, made this crazier than it already is.
But it will also be about a football team that's trying to bring home the 34th nine-win season in the past 35 years. NU players have been thrown in the middle of something they've hardly embraced, and they've given robotic answers about not losing focus on Colorado.
"Even if none of that (Solich) stuff had come out, we'd still need to come out emotionally charged," offensive guard Jake Andersen said. "They're going to bring their best game to us."
Because of the Solich saga, nobody's really been asking if Nebraska can throw the football against the Big 12 Conference's worst pass defense. Or if the Colorado passing game, with a hint of West Coast offense, can succeed against an aggressive Husker defense.
Nobody's really talking about NU, with a win, taking away a possible bowl trip for the hated Buffs.
"I just think it's a great opportunity," cornerback Pat Ricketts said. "It's a big game for both of us, and always is. There's a lot to prove. We can keep Colorado out of a bowl game, and Colorado can knock our shot at going to a better bowl."
The Huskers haven't taken a "Win One for Coach" stance in the press. Ricketts said the best way to do that is just practice and play hard for the sixth-year head coach.
Rush end Trevor Johnson, an NU co-captain, said the Husker veterans probably will wait and assess the situation Friday before deciding if some special pregame message needs to be sent.
"We haven't necessarily talked about that a whole lot," Johnson said. "We just want to go beat Colorado, because it's Colorado and we want to win."
If Nebraska does not, the tension around South Stadium will only rise. Pederson's every move will be monitored closely.
Which is why, both locally and nationally, this game might be watched closer than any other between teams with 8-3 and 5-6 records.
"I don't know. I don't care," Solich said when asked if this game would be played under a microscope. "Every game is scrutinized. That's just the way it works."
With 13 days between games, the Huskers just want to play again. Let those watching form their own opinions.
"All we're worrying about is going out and playing the best we can, and getting a win," offensive guard Brandon Koch said. "Anything outside of that is not a concern right now."
Assistant Coach Ron Brown said he's preached to his receivers this week that such situations test character. That goes for both the players and the staff.
"When people start hurling stuff at you, that's when you've really got to be competitive," Brown said. "Ultimately, if pressure beats you, it's because you were weak inside."
