Former Nebraska Cornhuskers defensive line coach Rick Kaczenski is not a big fan of Indiana Hoosiers head coach Tom Allen and made sure people know that the Huskers need to beat that “clown” when the two teams meet on Saturday night.
Kaczenski joined Chris Schmidt and Elijah Herbel on the Hail Varsity Radio show this week to preview the Big Ten matchup and didn’t mince words on his feelings about Allen, who is pretty well-liked in Bloomington.
“Let’s be honest. Tom Allen, is there a bigger clown in college football than that guy? For the love of god, we cannot lose to Indiana. We just can’t,” he said.
Kaczenski’s big issue with the fiery Allen, who has taken the Hoosiers to three bowl games since 2016? He leads players out of the tunnel.
Okay.
“Here’s what I don’t like about the guy. The guy likes running out of a tunnel. I don’t like coaches that like running out of tunnels,” said Kaczenski. “Nobody’s there to see me run out the tunnel, OK? I don’t know. This guy’s a frickin’ cheerleader. He’s just not my cup of tea. You can’t lose to that clown. You want some motivation? Put a highlight reel together of that guy. You can’t lose to Indiana.”
There is actual tension between the two programs beyond petty concerns. After Indiana’s 38-31 win over Nebraska in 2019, the school’s AD took shots at the Huskers, saying their “staff had no respect for our program.”
This Saturday’s game will be the first between the two programs since that game. Nebraska certainly has plenty of other things to worry about but we’ll see if these comments add any further fuel to that rivalry.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.