SI Mailbag: What Are Realistic Short-Term Expectations for Nebraska?

[Xmas32]

The difference is (I hope anyway) that Nebraska has much better talent starting off than UCF.  And plus with Adrian Martinez coming in, we should be much farther advanced in year one than UCF was.  I'm saying this team has the potential to go 12-0.  Will they?  Realistically I don't think so but anything is possible.  But I do think 8-4 or 9-3 is an extremely achievable goal.  Been saying this for a LONG time: Nebraska has far better talent than they've shown.  It comes down to effort and want.  Can Coach Frost get that great effort out of them in year one?  We're going to find out.

I fully understand the nature of off season message boards but man, we need to pump the brakes on Adrian Martinez, dude didn't even play his Sr year of high school.  Let's see how things at least shake out in spring ball.

 

[Mierin]

I fully understand the nature of off season message boards but man, we need to pump the brakes on Adrian Martinez, dude didn't even play his Sr year of high school.  Let's see how things at least shake out in spring ball.

Heismadrian

 

[Vince R.]

The difference is (I hope anyway) that Nebraska has much better talent starting off than UCF.  And plus with Adrian Martinez coming in, we should be much farther advanced in year one than UCF was.  I'm saying this team has the potential to go 12-0.  Will they?  Realistically I don't think so but anything is possible.  But I do think 8-4 or 9-3 is an extremely achievable goal.  Been saying this for a LONG time: Nebraska has far better talent than they've shown.  It comes down to effort and want.  Can Coach Frost get that great effort out of them in year one?  We're going to find out.

I've always believed that a positive mindset change could put Nebraska ahead of Wisconsin and Iowa in one year. Nebraska is much more talented than both teams. 

 

[MichiganDad3]

Trust me when i say i hated to make the comparison, but -- their gripes about SF were our exact same gripes about MR.  The thing i think going for SF now is that HE has learned from some bad decisions early on, whereas I think MR never did and likely never will.  (His first year at UCF, could have easily been a 9 win season - they got 6)

I don't see how people can complain about winning 6 games when you won none the year before, but UCF fans couldn't even sellout the stadium for an undefeated team.  MR may have run the team into the ground, but I will have much more patience now. If Frost had taken over for Bo I would have been very upset with 8 wins in year 1. Now I will be happy with 8 wins, and satisfied with 6 wins as long as the team is aggressive. I hate passive football. I never understood bend but don't break. Our team should be bending and breaking opponents on both sides of the ball. Just moving from near worst to near first in the turnover margin should get us to 8 wins next year.

 

[GSG]

Heismadrian

 

[Scarlet Overkill]

I don't see how people can complain about winning 6 games when you won none the year before, but UCF fans couldn't even sellout the stadium for an undefeated team.  MR may have run the team into the ground, but I will have much more patience now. If Frost had taken over for Bo I would have been very upset with 8 wins in year 1. Now I will be happy with 8 wins, and satisfied with 6 wins as long as the team is aggressive. I hate passive football. I never understood bend but don't break. Our team should be bending and breaking opponents on both sides of the ball. Just moving from near worst to near first in the turnover margin should get us to 8 wins next year.

If we had big leads in 3 games and lost those games, and wound up with 6 wins, we would lose our collective crap around here.  If they didnt blow leads, and lost those 3 because they just weren't quite there yet with development, that's one thing, but in one game they had like a 21 point lead, and lost.  It's going to be about context.

 

[Mierin]

If we had big leads in 3 games and lost those games, and wound up with 6 wins, we would lose our collective crap around here.  If they didnt blow leads, and lost those 3 because they just weren't quite there yet with development, that's one thing, but in one game they had like a 21 point lead, and lost.  It's going to be about context.

In year 1, if we go 7-5 and blew 3 big leads which would've made us 10-2, I'll be extemely happy and excited for year 2.

Speaking of context, we're talking about a season after UCF won 0 games, and a season after Nebraska won 4 games.

 

[MichiganDad3]

In year 1, if we go 7-5 and blew 3 big leads which would've made us 10-2, I'll be extemely happy.

Speaking of context, we're talking about a season after UCF won 0 games, and a season after Nebraska won 4 games.

We won four, and received some historic beat downs from slightly above average teams. I will not be too upset about blowing leads either. I never want to turn off a Husker game to mow the grass again in my life. It was nearly a weekly occurrence last season. We need to build depth, and that will take time. Frost had a lot of first and second year starters at UCF. I assume the same will happen here, but I m hopeful that we have good players, but MR and his accomplices chose not to let them play, or failed to develop them. Blown leads in 2018 become close wins in 2019, and blowout wins in 2020.

 

[jsneb83]

Trust me when i say i hated to make the comparison, but -- their gripes about SF were our exact same gripes about MR.  The thing i think going for SF now is that HE has learned from some bad decisions early on, whereas I think MR never did and likely never will.  (His first year at UCF, could have easily been a 9 win season - they got 6)

The difference is Frost found ways to lose with a team that won 0 games the year before and Riley found ways to lose with a team that won 9 the year before.

 

[1994 Husker]

..I’m  not going to define or answer this question with a subjective W-L number as many aspects go into the final scoreboard..we in baby steps here..I think a huge tangible, and observable metric is seeing a properly aligned, assigned football team..that breaks down and tac properly, correct angles are once again taken..just seeing a fundamentally sound team take field is a huge step..and the scoreboard will eventually reflect how well the preceding things listed  took place ..

 

[dvdcrr]

The point being he did not take over a historic losing program.  Do I think anyone else could have done the job he did.  Most likely there are a few, but not many.  I think there were kids there that wanted to win, and he lit a fire under the ones that were just coming along.  I am very happy we got Coach Frost, think he is one of the best college coaches around.  I just don't compare it to what Snyder did at Kansas State.  I think he has a lot of work to do to be on the same curve as the last two years.  He has shown he is capable, the question is, is there enough talent on the shelves to compete with the top of the Big every week.  

I already know the answers that are coming, I was here when we were going to run right thru the Big 10, show Wisconsin who the real Big Red was.  I would much rather see results, and personally wait for them to happen.  

Now that Moos and Frost are here Wiscy is gonna find out ( and Alvarez will be reminded) who the real big red is.  In three years Wisconsin coaches are going to be down at Lincoln in the offseason for coaching clinic.

 

[Making Chimichangas]

Yikes! I understand your point, but please never put Frost on the same level as MR. Frost inherited a 0-12 team, and was a first time HC. Winning 6 games was very good. MR would have found a way to have a record worse than 0-12. I believe it will take time to recover from the mess MR, SE and their accomplices left behind, maybe all we get is six wins this year, but it will be a momentum building year ... I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

The bolded.... :laughpound