"So why should two bad losses and one close one to a bad team mean that Pelini can't be successful at Nebraska? It doesn't have to. Not to slander the departing seniors, but look at the class that's about to leave. Lavonte David and Alfonzo Dennard will be missed. Jared Crick is already missed. Beyond that, there's also a handful of nice contributors. But relative to what other schools are about to lose, it's really not that much. With so much coming back from an 8, 9, or 10-win team (against one of the toughest schedules in the country) plus some new talent coming off their first spring in the program, next season could be a very strong one. It will be another tough schedule to navigate, but in some ways it will be kinder. Wisconsin (without Russell Wilson), Michigan, and Penn State all must come to Lincoln. Do this year's games in Madison or Ann Arbor really have any bearing on what will happen next season?"
This is the point I have been trying to make the whole time after the Michigan loss (just couldn't put it into words as well as he did). He does his work and sets it right out on the table. People need to stop panicking. If we go 10-3 with the current team we have, that is quite impressive seeing how many young athletes we have as starters. For the first time this season, I will say the cliche statement, THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT.
I like your enthusiasm. The future bright....
Yes, NU returns a lot of the starters that are on the offense. And Taylor should improve. As should the line. All the WR'ers come back except one. OK sounds good.
The defense, however, loses Crick, Dennerd, and David... that is big.
The problems holding NU from being competitive are
a) lack of player fundamentals (blocking, shedding blocks, defensive assignment execution, tackling, dropping passes) --- this may improve with experience... but this is more a coaching problem than anything else (though the coaching in this realm may improve)
and
b) lack of fire, lack of physicality, lack of focus and effort throughout a game --- playing 4 quarters, irrespective of score with passion and focus has been missing --- this is a problem that is likely not a function of player experience and is not likely to change (or, if it does, the change will be attitudinal and not connected to experience). So, improvement in this area is an unknown
Will NU be better next year than this year? I am not sure. Perhaps. But improvement over this season has not be evident --- or in going from last season to this one. So.... I am not certain..
A bright future, I suppose, is in part dependent upon how you define bright. For me, I see NU again, as has been the case the past few years --- next year ending up somewhere between #3 and #5 in the conference and finish again somewhere between #20 and #30 nationally. Any prediction substantially more "bright" than that seems somewhat unwarranted.
That said, if NU coaches can motivate these players and get them to play to their potential... then improvement could be marked. So... it all depends upon the coaching. Get these kids prepared and fired up and a finish much better than I stated earlier is possible. It is just that no evidence that this staff can do that exists as of yet. That is why I'd, generally and this far in advance, predict much the same for NU as this and past years.
