I think people remember the bad, more than the good, and I think BAD losses are a solid indicator of NU fans' current quandary with Bo.
So, using that theory:
Number of 20+ losses in first four years (I did this quickly):
BD -- 2
TO -- 2
FS -- 2
BC -- 8
BP -- 5
I don't think anything is more unpalatable than being uncomepetitive on the field. A loss is fine, if the team is competitive, but big losses are just ugly.
The 2 big losses to WI and MI this year, I think, are the basis for a great deal of the angst in NU fans' minds.
Uuummm.... make that 3 big losses. Even though "just by 17" the loss to SC was about as bad as it gets. The way NU looked in the 2nd half made the 2009 B12C with Zac Lee handing off to Burkhead (only to slam his head into a brick wall play after play for 0 yards)..... look like the NE Patriots and Tom Brady.
The reason for the ANGST in Husker nation is 2 things:
1) No progress. I don't care how you want to slice and dice it but Bo's teams have gotten worse as the season has progressed ever since that 2009 B12C ended. Any coincidence that also happened to be the time that most of BC's players graduated? You can also file this under "lack of player development"
2) BAD recruiting. And I mean B A D! Just ask Cory Raymond.
You can say 'little progress' if you want although I would say some progress, but it is statistically incorrect for you to say that there was no progress. Here are the 2010 stats compared with the 2011 stats. I've bolded the areas where we have shown progress this year. The first number is 2010, second number is 2011:
SCORING....................... 432 379
Points Per Game............. 30.9 29.2
FIRST DOWNS................... 254 265
Rushing..................... 149 143
Passing..................... 95 100
Penalty..................... 10 22
RUSHING YARDAGE.............. 3466 2824
Yards gained rushing........ 3854 2459
Yards lost rushing.......... 388 306
Rushing Attempts............ 634 611
Average Per Rush............ 5.5 4.6
Average Per Game............ 247.6 217.2
TDs Rushing................. 32 31
PASSING YARDAGE............... 2108 2115
Comp-Att-Int................ 163-282-8 164-293-8
Average Per Pass............ 7.5 7.2
Average Per Catch........... 12.9 12.9
Average Per Game............ 150.6 162.7
TDs Passing................. 16 13
TOTAL OFFENSE................. 5574 4939
Total Plays................. 916 904
Average Per Play............ 6.1 5.5
Average Per Game............ 398.1 379.9
KICK RETURNS: #-Yards......... 39-895 45-1146
PUNT RETURNS: #-Yards.........23-297 18-139
INT RETURNS: #-Yards.......... 19-313 10-85
KICK RETURN AVERAGE........... 22.9 25.5
PUNT RETURN AVERAGE...........12.9 7.7
INT RETURN AVERAGE............ 16.5 8.5
FUMBLES-LOST.................. 45-16 32-11
PENALTIES-Yards............... 109-993 86-688
Average Per Game............ 70.9 52.9
PUNTS-Yards................... 69-2982 59-2626
Average Per Punt............ 43.2 44.5
Net punt average............ 37.7 38.3
TIME OF POSSESSION/Game...31:16 28:30
3RD-DOWN Conversions........ 79/192 82/194
3rd-Down Pct................ 41% 42%
4TH-DOWN Conversions.........9/14 9/16
4th-Down Pct................ 64% 56%
SACKS BY-Yards................ 31-242 21-136
MISC YARDS.................... 0 7
TOUCHDOWNS SCORED.............54 46
FIELD GOALS-ATTEMPTS..........18-19 19-23
ON-SIDE KICKS................. 0-1 0-1
RED-ZONE SCORES............... (35-41) 85% (45-52) 87%
RED-ZONE TOUCHDOWNS......(27-41) 66% (33-52) 63%
PAT-ATTEMPTS.................. (54-54) 100% (44-45) 98%