NU comes up short in big situations

[NUinID]

It's gonna be hard to please you when you say, "NU needs to start WINNING these games under Riley" and "But when do we find the right coach to find our mojo?"

Both of your statements are unfair. We only played one game and your view is we need to start winning. Well, unfortunately, with only one game being played ... we just can't meet your expectation. Second, it appears you had concluded before or after this one game that we have not found the right coach.

You might actually be "spot on" on your view. I hope not. We have fallen so far I don't know with Nebraska's geography and our attachment to the B1G if we will ever find our way to the promise land. However, I think Coach Riley will put a product on the field that I can be happy with. I just don't think we are gonna see near the glory we once enjoyed.

I agree that those statements are probably unfair, and one game is way too early to make a decision on Riley. However, the small things that led to NU's loss are very concerning. Is that a one game blip, or is it something we will continue to see?

Your just completely overacting. I would give MR at least half of the season before I get super concerned.

The big problem is that you have no respect for BYU as a football team. I knew they would be a decent team that played hard physical football. They were actually better than I thought they would be. Lets see how they look over their next three games. They play BSU, Michigan and UCLA on consecutive weekends. After those games they may not be challenged the rest of the year.

If NU loses on a Hail Mary to ASU or Arkansas or S. Carolina you wouldn't be nearly as concerned because you have more respect for those teams.

How do you know I don't have any respect for BYU? I know exactly who they are and who they were before the game. I knew it would be a tough game and it would probably go down to the wire. But, in a big game as Riley's first game as head coach, NU didn't play all that well. Even despite not playing all that well, NU was in position to win, and poor game management/poor coaching left the door open for a loss.

Actually Nebraska did a lot of things well in the game, just not all the time. If you respect BYU than you have to realize that losing was a possibility. It was a fluke play that works about 5% of the time, but it worked that time. I guess you are just a glass half full guy

 

[BigRedBuster]

This isn't new to Nebraska. Up until 1994, Nebraska came up short on a lot of big situations under Osborne. Solich and Callahan had their fair share as well.

Osborne won plenty of "big games" along the way too. I didn't go to include the Solich years, but the Callahan years are shown too.

Considering he didn't win a championship for 22 years, i would say at least one time every year before 1994, he came up short in a big situation.

Yes, but my list showed "multiple" games in numerous situations throughout the year. It wasn't done to show every time NU has come up short in big situations. I lived through the Osborne losses in the 80s and early 90s, but TO had plenty of big wins to go along with those big losses. Recently, the big wins really haven't been there.

Well, just looking at my college years:

85 = 1-3 against ranked teams.

86 = 2-1 against ranked teams and also lost to unranked CU

87 = 3-2 against ranked teams

89 = 0-2 against ranked teams

90 = 0-3 against ranked teams

Between 1980 and 1994, Nebraska was 4-10 in bowl games.

Yes, TO went through a period where he struggled in big situations.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

This isn't new to Nebraska. Up until 1994, Nebraska came up short on a lot of big situations under Osborne. Solich and Callahan had their fair share as well.

Osborne won plenty of "big games" along the way too. I didn't go to include the Solich years, but the Callahan years are shown too.

Considering he didn't win a championship for 22 years, i would say at least one time every year before 1994, he came up short in a big situation.

Yes, but my list showed "multiple" games in numerous situations throughout the year. It wasn't done to show every time NU has come up short in big situations. I lived through the Osborne losses in the 80s and early 90s, but TO had plenty of big wins to go along with those big losses. Recently, the big wins really haven't been there.

Well, just looking at my college years:

85 = 1-3 against ranked teams.

86 = 2-1 against ranked teams and also lost to unranked CU

87 = 3-2 against ranked teams

89 = 0-2 against ranked teams

90 = 0-3 against ranked teams

Between 1980 and 1994, Nebraska was 4-10 in bowl games.

Yes, TO went through a period where he struggled in big situations.

Expanding that list a little further

1980 = 3-2 vs. top 20 teams

1981 = 2-2 vs. top 20 teams with a loss to un-ranked Iowa

1982 = 3-1 vs. top 20 teams (the one loss was controversial at Penn State)

1983 = 1-1 vs. top 20 teams

1984 = 3-1 vs. top 20 teams with a loss to un-ranked Syracuse

 

[NebraskaShellback]

Still stuck on the last game.....................................................

...................................................How many threads devoted to the last game? Too F*cken many. Move on to the next game, please.

 

[JJ Husker]

The big question is does anyone see Riley really getting Nebraska back to say even being a team that can regularly finish in the top 15 or at least flirt with being a top 15 team every season? I don't see things changing in terms of where Nebraska ends up at the end of the season other than you won't see our head coach having an aneurysm on national tv on a semi weekly basis during the season.

I actually don't see the BYU game being as big an indicator as some do in terms of where the program is headed given that it is/was obviously Riley's first game with players that he didn't even recruit. At the same time to get the point I see things staying pretty much the same as they were when Pelini was here if not worse except again no snippet on ESPN of our head coaching having a public meltdown every now and then.

Nebraska's been in a rut and I don't see that changing. Not with the current coaches we have in place. Wish I felt differently but I don't.

I can see Riley getting us back to fairly regular top15 finishes. I can easily see him winning at least some of the games that matter too. I can see him bringing home a championship every once in awhile. But I doubt we ever see again the type of run we had in the mid 90's, with Riley or with any coach.

Nebraska has been in a rut. It started when Osborne left and got planted and took root under Frank's watch, the day of the debacle in Boulder. And then we floundered for too many years with bad hires in Callahan and Pelini.

I think a lot of people, maybe you included, want to over simplify the reason so many wanted Pelini gone and the reason so many seem to like Mike Riley. I really could give two squirts about Pelini's outbursts, if he had been winning some games that mattered and if he had shown even a modicum of respect for Nebraska fans and if he had shown any propensity to adjust or change when we were getting train run on us. Problem is he didn't do those things and he was an insufferable a$$hat on top of it so yeah, goodbye and good riddance to him. I think it's great that Riley is a nice guy but that isn't why I'm optimistic about him or why I'm willing to give him a chance. So far, I am very impressed with the things he has to say in his pressers, his openness and honesty, and his apparent knowledge of the game. Pelini gave us curt, smart a$$, coach speak, without telling us anything. Riley explains things in a way that makes sense and makes you believe he and his staff know what they are doing. The problems/issues I saw in that BYU game, he addressed everyone of them in his presser. They know what the issues are and I believe they are experienced enough and good enough teachers to transfer that to the team. I also believe there is huge difference between Corvalis and Lincoln that will allow him to experience much more success than he exhibited for all those years with OSU. I think he over achieved with OSU type resources so I think he can do the same here and by same I mean do as good or better than resources/facilities/tradition would seem to allow. That is why I think he may get the job done here. Not just cause he's a nice guy and Bo was a big ole meanie head. Too many want to simplify it to that shallow rationale.

 

[BigRedBuster]

This isn't new to Nebraska. Up until 1994, Nebraska came up short on a lot of big situations under Osborne. Solich and Callahan had their fair share as well.

Osborne won plenty of "big games" along the way too. I didn't go to include the Solich years, but the Callahan years are shown too.

Considering he didn't win a championship for 22 years, i would say at least one time every year before 1994, he came up short in a big situation.

Yes, but my list showed "multiple" games in numerous situations throughout the year. It wasn't done to show every time NU has come up short in big situations. I lived through the Osborne losses in the 80s and early 90s, but TO had plenty of big wins to go along with those big losses. Recently, the big wins really haven't been there.

Well, just looking at my college years:

85 = 1-3 against ranked teams.

86 = 2-1 against ranked teams and also lost to unranked CU

87 = 3-2 against ranked teams

89 = 0-2 against ranked teams

90 = 0-3 against ranked teams

Between 1980 and 1994, Nebraska was 4-10 in bowl games.

Yes, TO went through a period where he struggled in big situations.

Expanding that list a little further

1980 = 3-2 vs. top 20 teams

1981 = 2-2 vs. top 20 teams with a loss to un-ranked Iowa

1982 = 3-1 vs. top 20 teams (the one loss was controversial at Penn State)

1983 = 1-1 vs. top 20 teams

1984 = 3-1 vs. top 20 teams with a loss to un-ranked Syracuse

I didn't say they didn't do that. So what?

You are taking one game with a new coach and all of a sudden all depressed because you think we have the wrong coach and he can't get us to step up in big situations while comparing that one game to the last 10 years of disappointment. I took a 6 year period of what we all believe to be the best college football coach in history and showed that during those 6 years, there were A LOT of disappointments in big situations. Heck, my entire college career was mostly disappointed at the end of the season. We didn't win one bowl game the entire time.

Let's move on to the next game and get excited about the good things we did see in this game that can be built upon.

All we know at this point is that the BYU game was the starting point. NONE of us know how the Riley era will end. So, why are we constantly looking back at AALLLLLLL the disappointments over the last 10 years. Let's dwell in the misery and beat ourselves to death over it.

 

[Saunders]

The term that they used (and I've heard others say) is that Nebraska is snakebitten.

Seriously, Colorado stole our mojo in 2001, and we've been trying to get it back for a decade and a half. It is time...

But when do we find the right coach to find our mojo?

Good Lord....give a guy a more of a chance than one game.

I will give him time. However, this first game puts plenty of doubt in my head.

It's only one game, so that's a bit premature.. At the end of the season if it ends up 5 or 6 games, then I would start entertaining that doubt.

 

[Saunders]

The big question is does anyone see Riley really getting Nebraska back to say even being a team that can regularly finish in the top 15 or at least flirt with being a top 15 team every season? I don't see things changing in terms of where Nebraska ends up at the end of the season other than you won't see our head coach having an aneurysm on national tv on a semi weekly basis during the season.

I actually don't see the BYU game being as big an indicator as some do in terms of where the program is headed given that it is/was obviously Riley's first game with players that he didn't even recruit. At the same time to get the point I see things staying pretty much the same as they were when Pelini was here if not worse except again no snippet on ESPN of our head coaching having a public meltdown every now and then.

Nebraska's been in a rut and I don't see that changing. Not with the current coaches we have in place. Wish I felt differently but I don't.

I think the a big problem is that we Husker fans aren't willing to wait and build are program back up. We want instant gratification. We see MSU, Minnesota, or Arizona and how they are really on an upswing. Kill didn't come in and win at Minnesota right away, neither did Dantonio or Rich Rod at any place he has been. They built those programs over years and are seeing the fruits of their labor.

We want to see instant results.

IDK, it's been 15 seasons since we were a truly relevant time. I'd hardly call that impatient.

 

[BigRedBuster]

The big question is does anyone see Riley really getting Nebraska back to say even being a team that can regularly finish in the top 15 or at least flirt with being a top 15 team every season? I don't see things changing in terms of where Nebraska ends up at the end of the season other than you won't see our head coach having an aneurysm on national tv on a semi weekly basis during the season.

I actually don't see the BYU game being as big an indicator as some do in terms of where the program is headed given that it is/was obviously Riley's first game with players that he didn't even recruit. At the same time to get the point I see things staying pretty much the same as they were when Pelini was here if not worse except again no snippet on ESPN of our head coaching having a public meltdown every now and then.

Nebraska's been in a rut and I don't see that changing. Not with the current coaches we have in place. Wish I felt differently but I don't.

I think the a big problem is that we Husker fans aren't willing to wait and build are program back up. We want instant gratification. We see MSU, Minnesota, or Arizona and how they are really on an upswing. Kill didn't come in and win at Minnesota right away, neither did Dantonio or Rich Rod at any place he has been. They built those programs over years and are seeing the fruits of their labor.

We want to see instant results.

IDK, it's been 15 seasons since we were a truly relevant time. I'd hardly call that impatient.

We were patient for the last 7 years. It's impatient to be all up in arms and upset and claiming we hired the wrong coach after one game with a completely new staff.

 

[lo country]

NU's biggest opponent is itself. For every "big" loss under Bo, its easy to point to a specific event that sent us spiraling into the "oh sh!t, here it comes...." The roughing the punter against Michigan, the fumble by AA against UGA 1.0, the hail mary at the half by the Gamecocks.......... the list goes on. We have had great comebacks, but each big loss was predicated by some kick to the nuts play. We are a mentally fragile team IMO and that has "seeped onto our culture". It didn't happen over night and it won't be fixed overnight. The old adage still holds true. It's not how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get up.

I think Riley's experience will help. The calm demeanor will instill confidence and the "illusion" that things are going to be ok. I just hope that he is not so married to his system that he can't adjust. I think he is smart enough to know he wasn't hired to simply run a PR campaign to appease fans. He was brought here to win. That's the bottom line and he knows it...... His press conferences are refreshing. Explains in clear detail the issues i.e. penalties, OL push, gap integrity and how it should look etc......

He has his work cut out for him. Limited depth and experience, learning a new conference, new scheme etc.... He also has to get the guys to play with more intensity and discipline. Game one, I really expected our DL to be dominant. Much more than they were. IIRC, their QB's dropped back 55 times and got sacked 3......... OL needs to get much meaner and nasty. Miami will really let us see how tough we are.

 

[San Diego Husker]

I got the idea for this thread from Sam McKewon's and Jon Nyatawa's podcast from this week. I thought it was a pretty good listen, and it's only 40 minutes long, so it moves quickly.

Anyway, they commented how for the past 10+ years (through Callahan, Bo, and now Riley) that Nebraska has seemed to come up short in big situations and not handle prosperity well. Yes, there were times under Bo where the team responded with their backs against the wall to win the division, but when there were games to show the nation that NU is trending upward, NU has fallen flat on it's face.

Here are some of the examples that they pointed out in the past decade plus (along with some of my own):

2005 Texas Tech -- NU starts the season 4-0 under Callahan, and can beat a #15 ranked Texas Tech at home with a 4th quarter stop. LeKevin Smith makes an INT to seal the game, only to fumble it and give the ball back to TTU. Texas Tech scores a winning TD a play or two later. NU then ends up losing 3 of the next 4, before winning the last 3 games to finish 8-4.

2006 Texas -- #17 NU vs. #5 Texas. NU comes roaring back in the 4th quarter, only to lose after Terrance Nunn fumbles after gaining the clinching 1st down in the 4th quarter.

2006 Oklahoma State - NU jumps ahead of Okie State 16-0, only to allow the Cowboys to go on a 41-7 run (21-0 to start the 4th quarter) to win easily.

2006 Oklahoma Big 12 Championship - NU wins the North and faces OU for the conference title. It is a super cold night in KC. NU fumbles the opening kickoff and falls down 7-0 less than a minute into the game. Then NU gives up a long TD pass a couple series later, and never gets closer than 7 points the rest of the way. It was an awful start to a big game.

2007 USC --NU was actually up 10-7 in the 2nd quarter over the #1 Trojans. SC then scores 5 TD's in a 20 minute span in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.

2007 Missouri -- NU manages to win the 2 games after USC, and is still ranked #25 when facing Missouri. NU gets blown out of the water, and this game starts the end for the Callahan era.

2008 Texas Tech--NU gets #7 TTU into OT. The Red Raiders score but NU blocks the extra point. Of course, Ganz gets picked off right away and NU loses.

2009 Virginia Tech--NU has the Hokies are 90 yards away from a big NU victory on the road, early in Bo's tenure. Ricketts lets a WR get behind him, but still manages to bring him down before the end zone. Then on 4th down, Tyrod Taylor hits a TD pass, after shaking loose from Suh and the other pass rushers. NU laments the fact they had to settle for 5 FG's inside the red zone.

2009 Texas Tech--NU is ranked #15 after winning a division battle against Missouri in the rain the week before. NU falls down 21-0 and never challenges the Red Raiders, losing 31-10.

2009 Iowa State--10 turnovers at home. UGH.

2009 Texas Big 12 Championship game--this is the ONE BIG GAME where NU actually plays well, but NU still loses in controversial fashion

2010 Texas--NU is undefeated and #5 entering this game, and is supposed to get revenge on Texas for the year before. Garrett Gilbert (yes, Garret Gilbert!!!) leads UT to a 17-3 lead, and again NU falls flat on its face in a big game.

2010 Oklahoma Big 12 Championship--NU jumps ahead 17-0 early in the 2nd quarter, but lets OU come back. NU doesn't score in the 2nd half, and loses another chance at a conference championship.

2011 Wisconsin--#7 vs. #8 in NU's first game in the Big Ten. NU starts out well, but Russell Wilson goes nuts, and Martinez turnovers doom NU. NU gets waxed.

2011 Northwestern--NU had just beaten #9 Michigan State with a dominating defense performance, and is still in good shape for the division title. Northwestern takes it to NU from the opening snap and wins.

2012 UCLA--NU goes out west ranked #16 after an opening season butt-whipping of SoMiss. Game is tied 24 at half, but NU manages only 2 FG's in the 2nd half. NU loses 36-30.

2012 Ohio State--A week after NU has an amazing comeback to beat Wisconsin, NU gets absolutely owned by Ohio State in Urban Meyer's first year there. Mistakes at the end of the 2nd quarter allows Ohio State to go from a 24-21 deficit to 35-24 lead in less than 2 minutes. The Blackshirts give up 63 points.

2012 Wisconsin Big Ten Title game--70-31. That's all that needs to be said.

2013 UCLA--NU is up 21-3, but one broken play by Brett Hundley flips the momentum at the end of the 2nd quarter. UCLA romps in the 2nd half.

2013 Michigan State--even with a bad loss to Minnesota, NU still only has 1 loss in the division when it faces Michigan State. This is the de facto division title game. Michigan State capitalizes on 5 NU to win by 2 TD's.

2014 Michigan State--NU is 5-0 against a weak early schedule. NU falls behind 27-3 as the Sparty D dominates. NU does have a nice comeback in the 4th after Michigan State mistakes, but it's too little too late.

2014 Wisconsin--NU can still win the West Division with a win. 408 yards to Melvin Gordon. UGH!!

2015 BYU--A nice 2nd half comeback overcomes a very bad first half by the Blackshirts. But, NU isn't able to finish the game. NU loses the turnover battle, misses 3rd down conversions, and has bad clock management, and NU leaves the door open a crack for the Cougars. BYU slams open that door with a Hail Mary.

I didn't put this list together so people could b!^@h about Callahan or Bo. This list wasn't put together to show why Bo should have been fired. I think the biggest thing that Riley has to change is this culture of falling flat in key games. How do we know that Riley is the type of guy to do that? Yes, Riley did a good job of keeping Oregon State fairly competitive over the past decade, but many of those years still ended up being average to poor. That is why I think many people questioned the hire.

I want Riley to succeed, and the one game isn't enough to judge Riley. However, it only took one game under Riley for NU to lose in a big game which could establish positive momentum for the program. Also, I don't think it's enough to play these games "close". NU needs to start WINNING these games under Riley.

Good job, only add I would make is that they should have gone further back to at least 2002 when NU finished 500 or 2003 when the three loses were blowouts (even if the score was close). NU has been on the decline for some time now.

 

[84HuskerLaw]

The most critical element missing from Nebraska football at this point is pure, raw talent. We lack a substantial amount of it necessary to seriously compete at a top ten level nationally. We are not talented enough at this point across numerous areas of the team. Here is my assessment of the talent deficits we need to fill in 2016 and 2017 classes conservatively in order to compete at high level by 2018 and 2019.

O line - needs 5; D Line needs 3 or more 4 star DEs and 2 DTs; LBs - need 4; Secondary needs 3 or more 4 star level additions; QB - we need 2; WR - we need 4;

RBs - 3; special teams 3. That is roughly 27 4 star caliber players and of course the remainder would 3 star or better of the approximate 42 total, plus another 30 or so D! level 2 star or better walk ons across the board by position, with perhaps extras in OLine and DLIne primarily.

 

[Saunders]

The big question is does anyone see Riley really getting Nebraska back to say even being a team that can regularly finish in the top 15 or at least flirt with being a top 15 team every season? I don't see things changing in terms of where Nebraska ends up at the end of the season other than you won't see our head coach having an aneurysm on national tv on a semi weekly basis during the season.

I actually don't see the BYU game being as big an indicator as some do in terms of where the program is headed given that it is/was obviously Riley's first game with players that he didn't even recruit. At the same time to get the point I see things staying pretty much the same as they were when Pelini was here if not worse except again no snippet on ESPN of our head coaching having a public meltdown every now and then.

Nebraska's been in a rut and I don't see that changing. Not with the current coaches we have in place. Wish I felt differently but I don't.

I think the a big problem is that we Husker fans aren't willing to wait and build are program back up. We want instant gratification. We see MSU, Minnesota, or Arizona and how they are really on an upswing. Kill didn't come in and win at Minnesota right away, neither did Dantonio or Rich Rod at any place he has been. They built those programs over years and are seeing the fruits of their labor.

We want to see instant results.

IDK, it's been 15 seasons since we were a truly relevant time. I'd hardly call that impatient.

We were patient for the last 7 years. It's impatient to be all up in arms and upset and claiming we hired the wrong coach after one game with a completely new staff.

Is anyone really doing that? Sure there's griping, but has anyone on here said outright that hiring Riley was a mistake?

 

[suh_fan93]

The big question is does anyone see Riley really getting Nebraska back to say even being a team that can regularly finish in the top 15 or at least flirt with being a top 15 team every season? I don't see things changing in terms of where Nebraska ends up at the end of the season other than you won't see our head coach having an aneurysm on national tv on a semi weekly basis during the season.

I actually don't see the BYU game being as big an indicator as some do in terms of where the program is headed given that it is/was obviously Riley's first game with players that he didn't even recruit. At the same time to get the point I see things staying pretty much the same as they were when Pelini was here if not worse except again no snippet on ESPN of our head coaching having a public meltdown every now and then.

Nebraska's been in a rut and I don't see that changing. Not with the current coaches we have in place. Wish I felt differently but I don't.

I think the a big problem is that we Husker fans aren't willing to wait and build are program back up. We want instant gratification. We see MSU, Minnesota, or Arizona and how they are really on an upswing. Kill didn't come in and win at Minnesota right away, neither did Dantonio or Rich Rod at any place he has been. They built those programs over years and are seeing the fruits of their labor.

We want to see instant results.

IDK, it's been 15 seasons since we were a truly relevant time. I'd hardly call that impatient.

Yes it is partly what saunders said. I can't expect Riley to win right off the bat. That would be totally unfair. I was commenting on the future not this season.

If Riley turned out to have a storybook ending to his own personal career I think that would be amazing and I would love to eat crow. I just don't see it.

 

[CheeseHusker]

See also: Oklahoma; 1972-1977, 1979-1980, 1984-1987