SI.com: What's your program's brand?

[Saunders]

Every program has its own brand for better or worse. For some, those brands are clearly defined and integral to their success. For others, they're more muddled and perhaps explain why the team has failed to break through. Here's a look at each program's current brand—and what it should be.

 

Nebraska

The brand: It’s probably going to change under Mike Riley, but under Bo Pelini it was nine or 10 wins and four losses a year and few surprises—pleasant or otherwise.

What it should be: I’ve written this before and I stand by it. Nebraska needs to go back to a pure option offense. A school in such an isolated location will have the toughest time recruiting elite quarterbacks and NFL-prototype linemen, so why not run an offense that eliminates the need for such players? There are plenty of great athletes at those positions who don’t quite fit the profile of the better Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC teams in their home states. They’d love to play before sellout crowds in Lincoln. Florida and Florida State wanted Tommie Frazier to play defense, so he went to Nebraska to play quarterback. In the current environment, the next Tommie Frazier will play for Georgia Tech. Nebraska could become a brutally tough out by embracing its roots, but the administration doesn’t seem interested in that. It will be interesting to see how Riley handles his stewardship of the brand. His decision to not play mind games with the Blackshirts seems like a good start.

 

http://www.si.com/college-football/2015/07/01/college-football-teams-brand

 

[NUance]

What it should be: I’ve written this before and I stand by it. Nebraska needs to go back to a pure option offense. A school in such an isolated location will have the toughest time recruiting elite quarterbacks and NFL-prototype linemen, so why not run an offense that eliminates the need for such players? There are plenty of great athletes at those positions who don’t quite fit the profile of the better Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC teams in their home states. They’d love to play before sellout crowds in Lincoln. Florida and Florida State wanted Tommie Frazier to play defense, so he went to Nebraska to play quarterback. In the current environment, the next Tommie Frazier will play for Georgia Tech. Nebraska could become a brutally tough out by embracing its roots, but the administration doesn’t seem interested in that. It will be interesting to see how Riley handles his stewardship of the brand. His decision to not play mind games with the Blackshirts seems like a good start.

 

We've debated this for years. And I have to admit that I've always thought it does make some sense. OTOH, offense is only half the equation. Seems like a lot of folks solely credit Tommie and our triple option offense with our dynasty of the 90s. But I've always thought that McBride's aggressive Blackshirt defenses had as much, perhaps more, to do with our 90s MNC than the triple option. /jmho

[zoogs]

In the current environment, the next Tommie Frazier will play for Oregon, or Texas, or Auburn. Sure, an option Nebraska might get him. And when they don't?...

 

For all the nostalgia, it makes a lot more sense to me to not limit the types of players we can recruit. That's far more likely to actually turn us into Georgia Tech, than to propel us back to the top stage.

[Landlord]

We can't go back to a true triple option offense if we never were a true triple option offense.

[Red Five]

When did we ever run a "pure option offense"? In the 90s we ran option, but our identity was more of a power running game. I think in the 80s we may have run it bit more, but we were never a "pure option offense".

 

I see the same thing when people talk about Paul Johnson. We never ran the Paul Johnson offense. Not even close to it.

 

Anytime I see a national writer talk triple option as a "base offense" for Nebraska I immediately know they are idiots.

 

This is a big pet peeve of mine...

 

 

edited to add: This was written by Andy Staples? I like him. He should know better. IIRC, he was on the 95 Florida team that we destroyed.

[Red Five]

Anyways, Nebraska's brand is "the sea of red". Not only all the sellouts, but fans filling the stadiums when we are the visiting team (see Notre Dame, or any KSU/KU/ISU away game).

[Mavric]