Red Stripe

I'm with warrior here...thought we were in position most of the time. Inexcusable. They gave up 70 points and 10.8 yards per rush? Even if they were in position, something is systematically wrong to give up those kinds of numbers. Bo is not a darn good coach. He is a poor recruiter who has made buddy hires and has a defensive system that does not work. Don't even get me started on his sideline demeanor and public relations. Bo is not the guy to take NU to great heights (or even a conference championship). If you don't believe me, then how does NU give up over 1,200 yards of rushing offense in 3 losses this year? You can tell me he won 10 games, but it was against a weak schedule in a very weak conference. You people worship this guy and don't dare to question a system that doesn't work and continue to defend incompetence. I don't understand why we should lower our standards as Nebraska fans in order to accomodate a poor coach. The program is much bigger than Pelini and Bo is in way over his head. I can think of 3 million reasons per year we deserve better. What we saw Saturday night, and at Ohio State, and at UCLA as well as against mediocre competition this year was not Husker Football. It was mediocrity. I refuse to lower my standards for the program to placate some punk overpaid hothead coach. Ha, told ya so a year ago.

Allow me to explain. Most people have 20/20 hindsight and can see the havoc wreaked on the program by firing a 9 win coach, since they've seen it happen before. They've also seen the kind of success that the program has had in the past with coaching continuity. Retaining Bo is best for the program. Firing Bo might be worse for the program than the last time we fired a 9 win coach. So if you're honest about your loyalty, you need to switch sides in this debate ASAP. This argument does not hold a lot of water, in my opinion. Your argument assumes constants. 9-4 Frank Solich = 9-4 Bo Pelini. Replacement Coach Callahan = (possible) replacement for Coach Pelini. 2003 does not equal 2013 or 2007. We are talking about people here...an entire football team, with at least 100 different individuals in each of these years. Assuming history repeats itself is not a valid argument when you add in the human element. I might also add that we are discussing 2 different AD's! Speaking of the AD, I don't think the AD is looking at 1 single factor. The questions before the AD are as follows: 1) Is the program improving? 2) Are players graduating? 3) Is the program relevent nationally? 4) Are ticket sales in the same demand? Are boosters having to pony up seats to keep the soldout streak intact (from what I hear, yes)? 5) Are memoribilia sales up or down? 6) Are there behavioral issues or other things (like the tape) that could put the university and the program in a bad light? 7) How is recruiting? 8) What is the quality of assistants? 9) How is the S&C program going? Are players being developed? 10) Is the team / program reaching its potential? There are probably more questions, and I'm sure those of us on each side of the fence could answer some of those more "subjective" questions differently. Most arguments that I see are simple, and are based on one singular point of view. I think you have to look at the whole package and what is best for the program overall.

I disagree. Playing less crappy is still playing crappy.

Chill pill Red Stripe. Its just a game. True... the program has been struggling for a decade or so now. But beating a dead horse is not that valuable either. Again... a few good things were out there... Burch, AA, Cross, SJB, RG, among others. Lets see some of the positives too. The defense, overall, played pretty well... now MSU is not good offensively... but still, NU'd D was not bad at all. And again... enjoy NU football.. it is for entertainment purposes and does not define who we are. Even if NU is not that good, there are still things to be pleased about. 6 years of this crap is enough....wait, more like 14 years. Changes are needed. This type of season would never have been embraced 10 or even 5 years ago. Moral victories are for losers. calm down. your hatred is obvious. Way to not address a single thing I have stated. How does expecting more = hatred? Grow up.

Chill pill Red Stripe. Its just a game. True... the program has been struggling for a decade or so now. But beating a dead horse is not that valuable either. Again... a few good things were out there... Burch, AA, Cross, SJB, RG, among others. Lets see some of the positives too. The defense, overall, played pretty well... now MSU is not good offensively... but still, NU'd D was not bad at all. And again... enjoy NU football.. it is for entertainment purposes and does not define who we are. Even if NU is not that good, there are still things to be pleased about. 6 years of this crap is enough....wait, more like 14 years. Changes are needed. This type of season would never have been embraced 10 or even 5 years ago. Moral victories are for losers.

Entitlement does not equal accountability. The program is not where it should be. We should demand better. If Nebraska was a company and we the fans were stockholder, we wouldn't be embracing the current CEO despite 14 years of poor returns simply because the prior CEO appointed him. The culture of the program is the larger problem and also needs an overhaul.

Yeah, great loss. What the hell has happened to our program? It's easy to take because you all are used to it and accept mediocrity. It's a team game and the team gave up 41 points. That's horrible! Now Nebraska is not even going to be in the "Others receiving votes" category. This is a poorly coached team that is not conditioned well and is sorely lacking in depth and talent. Today's performance was unacceptable. Quit making excuses and look at the big picture. This program is not in good hands. Losses should sting and they should hurt. They should stay with you throughout the week. Indifference, apathy and back-patting are not traits of a winning football program. I can't believe the drivel I am reading. Nebraska football stands for greatness. A lucky pass over Northwestern and a win eeked out against a horrid Michigan team is not greatness. Nebraska should be dominating this conference and in the top 10-15 every year. I am disgusted at the fans who continue to accept this crap and at the administration who continue to support it. Awful!

What?! But we're the best fans ever! The sign outside the stadium confirms it! Just ask Kevin Cosgove and his family. Ask Bill Callahan too. Every team has crappy fans. Nebraska did 5 years ago, 25 years ago and 5 days ago.

I don't get this "sense of entitlement." Disaproving of lackluster recruiting coupled with poor player development / S&C, bad PR, nepotism, not putting your players in a position to win, and the head coach telling the fans to "f" themselves is not entitlement. My favorite football team is a national laughinstock (mostly due to the 6 year constant soap opera that we have endured), and you're saying I shouldn't expect / demand better. Why is demanding excellence / accountability / professionalism = entitlement? Can you honestly look at the current coaching staff and say that they have achieved any of these? When did accepting mediocrity become acceptable? Some fans have put the perosona / the coach above the program. Nebraska football is much bigger than Bo Pelini.

Coaching is subpar. 595 yards given up today. 70 points given up last game. That's not good coaching, at least on the defensive side of the ball. Watch the game again and count the missed blocks. Also, in the second half there were significant penalties on the O-Line at inopportune times. The team has talent at the skill positions but the offensive line and defense has underperformed. Special teams were less than adequate this season as well. Either schematic changes or bringning in more seasoned assistants are the most obvious answers. Recruiting will help as well, but if the talent cannot be coached up or even retained, then it is a coaching problem.

I'm so sick of the excuses. The conference change, the officials, it's hard to recruit to Nebraska, etc.... The fact is a significant portion of this fan base has embraced mediocrity in the name of....I'm not sure. The team played horribly on defense today and the offensive line made stupid penalties at inopportune times. As fans / consumers, we should demand better. The product of the last 5 years is not acceptable. 9 wins a year is nice, but 4 blowout losses a year are not. The fabled 2007 team gave up 29 points per game and 530 yards per game in all of its losses. The 2012 team in its 4 losses gave up 53 1/2 points per game and 595 yards per game. Finally, i feel sorry for Beck that he is saddled with incompetent offensive coaches like Barney Cotton. 5 years in and NU has not produced an all-conference Offensive lineman. Penalities and mental mistakes are a given every game. Offensive lineman used to be the bread and butter of our football program, now they are glorified walkons So, go ahead and put your head in the sand and tell me that all is well. A moral victory is not giving up 595 yards of offense. Expect more of the same until changes are made.

Might make the product more watchable.

I know it is the night before the bowl game. But I figure i would put this up here now and spare someone the trouble. I hope I eat crow, but know I probably won't.

When the hell did this happen? Oh boy, youre one of them arent you? One of who? Care to elaborate?

Osborne almost left for Colorado in the late 70's because the seat was getting warm and he couldn't beat Oklahoma. Revisionist history and folks thinking the good 'ol days were better. I don't buy it. What I don't appreciate is Bo and Tom constantly coming down on the fans for what ails their football program. The fans are not the problem. Bo's sideline antics, belittling his players, lack of recruiting, buddy hires and poor coaching are the problem. This is yet another smokescreen. Why you people continue to defend Bo is beyond me. The mentality seems to be that Tom can never be questioned for his decisions, and if you do question them you are a bad fan. I refuse to accept mediocrity.

I'm with warrior here...thought we were in position most of the time. Inexcusable. They gave up 70 points and 10.8 yards per rush? Even if they were in position, something is systematically wrong to give up those kinds of numbers. Bo is not a darn good coach. He is a poor recruiter who has made buddy hires and has a defensive system that does not work. Don't even get me started on his sideline demeanor and public relations. Bo is not the guy to take NU to great heights (or even a conference championship). If you don't believe me, then how does NU give up over 1,200 yards of rushing offense in 3 losses this year? You can tell me he won 10 games, but it was against a weak schedule in a very weak conference. You people worship this guy and don't dare to question a system that doesn't work and continue to defend incompetence. I don't understand why we should lower our standards as Nebraska fans in order to accomodate a poor coach. The program is much bigger than Pelini and Bo is in way over his head. I can think of 3 million reasons per year we deserve better. What we saw Saturday night, and at Ohio State, and at UCLA as well as against mediocre competition this year was not Husker Football. It was mediocrity. I refuse to lower my standards for the program to placate some punk overpaid hothead coach.

Nice! He gets $3 million a year, and he can't do his job and show up for the show. Not like he did his job this last week either. Bo laughs all the way to the bank at a lot of you suckers.

Dirk usually backs up his opinions with statistics and facts. Unfortunately, the truth is something most Husker fans are not equipped to mentally handle. Bo ain't the guy!

I remember he left or something to work at the KC Chiefs games I believe. I do remember one time he came to our school in 6th grade for an assembly. His speach ended up being on how America was going down the cultural toilet. I remember he also belittled a fellow 6th grader almost to tears because the kid's dad took him to an R rated movie. Kind of a sanctamonius dick, if you ask me. Good cheerleader, but not a nice guy.

I imagine how Taylor would be if he had an offensive line that followed assignments and didn't back him up so much in 3rd and long with penalties. Imagine how Taylor would be behind some of the lines we had in the 90's.

So you were j/k? Heh yeah, not trying to insult my intelligence or anything... Sorry to come across as a condescending a-hole. But you can explain to me how the information I posted does not demonstrate a downward trend.

9 wins is not the standard. It means less now than when Osborne coached. Why? Because for 2 of the 5 years Pelini has been here, he has had 2 extra games to do it (since the early part of the 2000's teams have played 12 regular season games versus 11 when Osborne coached). Also, he made 2 CCG's.

Per Rivals - 2013 recruiting rankings = #33. 3 4* recruits with 10 total. That is below other Big 10 teams, Illinois, #7 Ohio St. and #3 Michigan. Current and last 3 years: 2012 = #25; 2011 = #15. 2010 = #22. 2009 = #22. If you look at the last 3 years...15, 25, 33. That's a downward trend. Let's look at AP Rankings. Currently = Not Ranked. 2011 = #24. 2010 = #20. 2009 = #14. Last 3 years 14, 20, 24. Now not ranked. That's a downward trend. If you like I can draw you a graph.

I don't consider myself to be deranged. Some of us just think it's better to cut our losses now than toil in mediocrity for another 2 or 3 years and then hit the reset button. Why delay the inevitable? Nebraska is currently outside of the Top 25, where it does not belong. Recruiting is stagnant. Top players have been jumping ship after they get here. 8 games in and the team is still making tons of mistakes and lacks discipline. What's to like? A come from behind victory against a mediocre middle of the pack team from a mediocre middle of the pack conference is not to like. Don't mean to come across as harsh, but this program has been trending downward for over a decade now.

So, many took my first post to be trollish. I guess what i'm interested to know is the answer to these questions from everyone: 1) Why is Nebraska training its coaches on the job? Wouldn't it be more effective to bring in top recruiters and coordinators? This is not a recipe for success. The MAC and Sunbelt are for coaches in training. Agree or disagree? 2) The standard is top 10 and contend for the National Championship every year. Why should that change? It seems as if everyone is more concerned with maintaining and idealized culture than it is to play championship football. Winning is Nebraska culture. If Callahan would have won, he would have been embraced, period. 3) Given the schedule this season and the fact that this is Bo's 5th year, how is not winning at least the Legends division of the B1G not a complete failure? (sorry for the double negative). 4) Everyone seemed to want to fire Callahan for not firing Cosgrove. But Bo everyone loves Bo's loyalty to his assistants even though they don't perform. Doesn't this seem a bit hypocritical? 5) Solich was given 5 years. Callahan was given 5 years. Bo has been given 5. All 3 experiments have yielded about the same results. Record is one measure, but the quality of the losses is the most glaring in all of each coaches' final years. Isn't it time for a reboot?