Steven M. Sipple: Nebraska once broke down barriers in Bricktown; another chance arrives

Nebraska head coach Darin Erstad (left) watches from the dugout as the Huskers play Kansas State at Haymarket Park last month. The Huskers play at Northwestern this weekend, and Erstad says "going on the road in the Big Ten is no joke."

It's essentially where the program arrived as a force nationally under former Nebraska coach Dave Van Horn, himself a force of nature. Then-NU athletic director Bill Byrne in 1998 plucked Van Horn out of Northwestern State in Natchitoches, Louisiana, one of the best coaching hires you'll ever encounter in any sport.