Guy Chamberlin
Well-known member
Riley's one score games:
BYU - L
Miami - L (OT) (although to be fair we were down 27-3 in that game and had no business even being close)
Southern Miss - W
Illinois - L (ugly as it gets)
Wisconsin - L (gut punch)
Northwestern - L
Michigan State - W
Iowa - L
UCLA - W
Oregon - W
Indiana - W
Wisconsin - L
Minnesota - W
Arkansas State - W
Oregon - L
Northern Illinois - L
Purdue - W
Northwestern - L
8-10 overall in one score games, and when you account for the fact that he and his staff just weren't very good coaches, it paints a much different picture than an unshakeable curse.
Fair enough. But if you're a fan feeling the cumulative effect of Nebraska finding ways to lose games both big and small, it definitely stretches back to 2015.
And while that might leave us yearning for the Pelini years, that just wasn't how it felt in the moment. Those were gut punches, too, where the team did well enough to matter before being blown out in all phases of the game when it mattered most, and ending the season irrelevant. Pelini teams didn't look like they belonged on the same field as their supposed peers, and that was distressing in its own way.
Expectations have definitely shifted, and the next 9 win Husker coach will be greeted as a king.
I know it sounds crazy, but I think we are one talented quarterback away. Just like a lot of teams.