Frank Solich article - The 1st Husker to run for 200 yards

TGHusker

TGHusker

Heisman Trophy Winner
Good article on Frank Solich. I often wonder what would have happened if we had not fumbled the ball going across the Texas goal line in 1999. Very high chance we would have won the national championship that year going undefeated. As it was, we badly beat a highly ranked Tenn team in the Fiesta Bowl as this article notes. A NC may have bought Frank more time and who knows maybe the Colorado disaster 2 years later may not have occurred - we may have had a better D or a more diverse O. A NC brings better recruits. Just never know
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http://www.knoxnews.com/sports/vols/columnists/john-adams/ohio-coach-solichs-former-identity-was-nebraska-star-3bc79387-a15b-24fb-e053-0100007f2d9c-393308291.html

 
TGHusker said:
Good article on Frank Solich. I often wonder what would have happened if we had not fumbled the ball going across the Texas goal line in 1999. Very high chance we would have won the national championship that year going undefeated. As it was, we badly beat a highly ranked Tenn team in the Fiesta Bowl as this article notes. A NC may have bought Frank more time and who knows maybe the Colorado disaster 2 years later may not have occurred - we may have had a better D or a more diverse O. A NC brings better recruits. Just never know
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http://www.knoxnews.com/sports/vols/columnists/john-adams/ohio-coach-solichs-former-identity-was-nebraska-star-3bc79387-a15b-24fb-e053-0100007f2d9c-393308291.html
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I dont know. It's hard to play a what if based on play. Even with a natty, i think the collapse probably woulda still happened. In fact, a natty may have even caused more complacency, which is probably the main root to the problems that arose late 2001 and 2002. Which is natural when you have that kind of sucess and change coaches. I'm curious to see what happens to Bama when Saban steps away, or even before he does such. Boat loads of success can be a funny thing. Getting to the top is hard. Staying on top is harder.

 
TGHusker said:
Good article on Frank Solich. I often wonder what would have happened if we had not fumbled the ball going across the Texas goal line in 1999. Very high chance we would have won the national championship that year going undefeated. As it was, we badly beat a highly ranked Tenn team in the Fiesta Bowl as this article notes. A NC may have bought Frank more time and who knows maybe the Colorado disaster 2 years later may not have occurred - we may have had a better D or a more diverse O. A NC brings better recruits. Just never know
default_dunno.gif


http://www.knoxnews.com/sports/vols/columnists/john-adams/ohio-coach-solichs-former-identity-was-nebraska-star-3bc79387-a15b-24fb-e053-0100007f2d9c-393308291.html
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Definitely a missed opportunity.

Even with the Texas loss, had we not let Colorado give us a close game, we still had a good chance of getting enough votes to be in the NC game

 
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Frank Solich is a helluva Husker.

I'd say he's behind only Devaney and Osborne in terms of contributions to our program.

 
Count 'Bility said:
TGHusker said:
Good article on Frank Solich. I often wonder what would have happened if we had not fumbled the ball going across the Texas goal line in 1999. Very high chance we would have won the national championship that year going undefeated. As it was, we badly beat a highly ranked Tenn team in the Fiesta Bowl as this article notes. A NC may have bought Frank more time and who knows maybe the Colorado disaster 2 years later may not have occurred - we may have had a better D or a more diverse O. A NC brings better recruits. Just never know
default_dunno.gif


http://www.knoxnews.com/sports/vols/columnists/john-adams/ohio-coach-solichs-former-identity-was-nebraska-star-3bc79387-a15b-24fb-e053-0100007f2d9c-393308291.html
Click to expand...
I dont know. It's hard to play a what if based on play. Even with a natty, i think the collapse probably woulda still happened. In fact, a natty may have even caused more complacency, which is probably the main root to the problems that arose late 2001 and 2002. Which is natural when you have that kind of sucess and change coaches. I'm curious to see what happens to Bama when Saban steps away, or even before he does such. Boat loads of success can be a funny thing. Getting to the top is hard. Staying on top is harder.
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You may be right. I've thought the same thing about Bama or now even Ohio State.

 
As long as P-man hired SPEM, and I believe he would have, or someone like him, since Byrne would have left anyway, Solich was a goner. Results on the football field were not the main cause of his firing, as evidence by Solich's accomplishments, which were on-par with Osborne's and Devaney's results earlier in their careers.

Tragically, underestimating the egos of P-man and SPEM, and the damage they did to the NU football program is a serious error continuously committed by many NU fans to this day.

 
cm husker said:
Frank Solich is a helluva Husker.

I'd say he's behind only Devaney and Osborne in terms of contributions to our program.
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You may have to throw in Turner Gill and Tommie Frazier into that equation as well. Turner wasn't a HC here but his 3 years as a starter had a big impact on the 80s and really set Tom on the highroad of success. He also was a very popular & capable assistant coach.

Tommie - no other single player had the impact that he had. Without him, there is most likely no Osborne NCs and good chance no opportunity for Frank to follow Tom. While Brook got us to the NC game in 94, he wasn't going to win it. Wtout the 94-95 NC, good chance the 97 team would have been much different.
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TGHusker said:
Good article on Frank Solich. I often wonder what would have happened if we had not fumbled the ball going across the Texas goal line in 1999. Very high chance we would have won the national championship that year going undefeated. As it was, we badly beat a highly ranked Tenn team in the Fiesta Bowl as this article notes. A NC may have bought Frank more time and who knows maybe the Colorado disaster 2 years later may not have occurred - we may have had a better D or a more diverse O. A NC brings better recruits. Just never know
default_dunno.gif


http://www.knoxnews.com/sports/vols/columnists/john-adams/ohio-coach-solichs-former-identity-was-nebraska-star-3bc79387-a15b-24fb-e053-0100007f2d9c-393308291.html
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I like Solich but the issue wasn't being a MNC or couple wins away from securing the needed recruits. The issue was Solich had the wrong recruits on the board at key positions. It was almost like Solich went back to the 80s and didn't learn the "talent upgrade" issue TO went through (especially on D).

Still, Frank was a GREAT Husker!!

 
ColoNoCoHusker said:
TGHusker said:
Good article on Frank Solich. I often wonder what would have happened if we had not fumbled the ball going across the Texas goal line in 1999. Very high chance we would have won the national championship that year going undefeated. As it was, we badly beat a highly ranked Tenn team in the Fiesta Bowl as this article notes. A NC may have bought Frank more time and who knows maybe the Colorado disaster 2 years later may not have occurred - we may have had a better D or a more diverse O. A NC brings better recruits. Just never know
default_dunno.gif


http://www.knoxnews.com/sports/vols/columnists/john-adams/ohio-coach-solichs-former-identity-was-nebraska-star-3bc79387-a15b-24fb-e053-0100007f2d9c-393308291.html
Click to expand...
I like Solich but the issue wasn't being a MNC or couple wins away from securing the needed recruits. The issue was Solich had the wrong recruits on the board at key positions. It was almost like Solich went back to the 80s and didn't learn the "talent upgrade" issue TO went through (especially on D).

Still, Frank was a GREAT Husker!!
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I think we all tend to forget that this was during the same period that the spread styled offenses exploded in the BIG 12. Times were changing, and if Frank made any mistake it was not evolving and adapting to the changing environment quick enough.

However by brining Pelini on who would go on to do a great job shut down the spread during that era was a great move, he updated the defensive scheme and we were better for it.

Idk about Barney, but I imagine we would have found a better OC too.

All in all he shouldn't have been fired, But Peterson and Perlman had their own ideas, and we all saw how that turned out.

 
ColoNoCoHusker said:
TGHusker said:
Good article on Frank Solich. I often wonder what would have happened if we had not fumbled the ball going across the Texas goal line in 1999. Very high chance we would have won the national championship that year going undefeated. As it was, we badly beat a highly ranked Tenn team in the Fiesta Bowl as this article notes. A NC may have bought Frank more time and who knows maybe the Colorado disaster 2 years later may not have occurred - we may have had a better D or a more diverse O. A NC brings better recruits. Just never know
default_dunno.gif


http://www.knoxnews.com/sports/vols/columnists/john-adams/ohio-coach-solichs-former-identity-was-nebraska-star-3bc79387-a15b-24fb-e053-0100007f2d9c-393308291.html
Click to expand...
I like Solich but the issue wasn't being a MNC or couple wins away from securing the needed recruits. The issue was Solich had the wrong recruits on the board at key positions. It was almost like Solich went back to the 80s and didn't learn the "talent upgrade" issue TO went through (especially on D).

Still, Frank was a GREAT Husker!!
Click to expand...
Ummmm, most of the talent on the 03' team was on the defensive side of the ball. We have been in football purgatory ever since the handling of Solich.

 
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