ReddyRed

Of course not, silly. Just being realistic. I expect the Huskers to have good years, but not necessarily sustained dominant years. That's not quitting... that's expecting to have a pretty good program, one that gets to bowl games most years. That's what Nebraska can be from now on. Sure, there's always hope for greater success (even KU can dream, LOL), but there's no plausible reason to expect it. And what's wrong with being a program that usually goes to a bowl? It sure beats the past few years. The problem on this board is that consistent 9-win seasons weren't good enough. That's completely irrational. My suggestion is that you stop living in the past. NU is no longer a big dog, especially in a conference that isn't intimidated by a newcomer, and there just aren't likely to be any B1G titles in the foreseeable future. A NC? An even more distant long shot. Unfortunately, these ain't the 90s, and they're simply not coming back. Enjoy Frost's improvement of the program. Enjoy game day. Enjoy the coming bowl games. And you will, but you've gotta get realistic.

Top of Form Hmmm, that would seem to be a good point, except that the rankings of Frost's two recruiting classes at, respectively, #18 and #20 by 247 Sports, aren't much different than those of several recent years: 2013 (22nd), 2017 (23rd), 2018 (23rd). And both of Frost's classes were ranked lower than the 2011 class (16th). The current class, ranked 20th, is right up there with the likes of South Carolina (18th), North Carolina (19th) and Kentucky (23rd), which serves my point: This is NU's present-day neighborhood, and I see no reason why it will necessarily change. Now, maybe Frost will show himself to be a great developer of talent (he hasn't yet). If that's the case, then perhaps NU can replicate the K-State model, and that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing at all. KSU is perennially ranked 40-ish in recruiting rankings, but the kids are coached up, and the team usually gets to bowl games and even spends some time in the rankings. They beat OU this year, and even dominated for most of the game. Except for the size of the school (and having another D-1 school in the same state), KSU and NU share the same trait of being a Midwestern, relatively isolated, football-loving school that has few local recruits. There's nothing wrong with adapting to the new landscape of college football. NU has been late in doing so.

Except for #10 ( which is facetious), I can't argue with any of this. There's a new concentration of top programs, and it's clearly in the Southeast (plus Ohio State). And I don't see that changing. I'm afraid NU is now too far from where kids want to be. Never a power in their lifetimes. And certainly forgotten on the national stage. "Weren't they that team in the Midwest that was really good... a long time ago?" Yes, two decades ago. Even within the B1G, NU is still that new member in the far, far western hinterlands – a 2nd- or 3rd-tier program in the eyes of the big dogs, like Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, etc. The 80's & 90's were great, but I just don't see much chance for sustained success in this new era of college football. Too many disadvantages, mostly because of location.

Yeah, but Clemson, Notre Dame, Florida, Miami and USC aren't located in the middle of nowhere. And I don't think the program is dead. Some of us just think there's nothing wrong with 6, 7 or 8 win seasons and that "expecting" more than that, on a consistent basis, is just unrealistic in the new landscape of college football. And don't be surprised by a few 4 or 5 win seasons thrown in there as well.

Yeah, but one-time powers can fall and not come back – Miami, USC, etc. But giving you the benefit of the doubt, the Berlin Wall came down and Kansas State became good in football. So I guess anything's possible.

Sorry for seeming to be a "Debbie Downer," but there's a difference between being optimistic and being realistic. Look, the 90s were a special time. Things have changed in college football, and there's no reason to expect Nebraska, a school that hasn't won anything in two decades and is basically in the middle of nowhere, to regularly compete at the highest levels anymore. Sure, it could happen once in a great while – I mean anything's possible – but it's been nearly a quarter of a century since the last NC and 20 years since even a conference championship. (Heck, even KState – KState – has won 2 conference championships during that span.) Sorry to seem pessimistic, but I'm trying to bring everybody down to earth. I would have thought the past 20 years of no championships would have done that. I guess there was so much outrageous success in the 90s that it made people think Nebraska was some magical place where failure or even mediocrity could never happen. Well, that's obviously been shown to be false and the product of delusional thinking. There's nothing wrong with 6 or 7 wins in most years and maybe a 9-win season every once in a while, especially when you're trying to compete with schools that have the same or even more advantages these days. But there's everything wrong with a track record of firing coaches who win 9 games a year. That's what leads to successive 4-5 win seasons and no bowl games. So I think I actually AM being optimistic. It's just that my optimism isn't irrational. Given location – a lightly populated Midwestern state on the far western edge of the conference – geographic recruiting challenges, and today's overall parity (except for 3-4 perennial national powers), winning an average of 7 or so games a year isn't bad at all. To me, that's being realistically optimistic. And it's a helluva lot more sensible – and fun – than living life as a fan who's infuriated every year. Life is too short for that.

Sorry. Just how I see it.

Agree. In retrospect, those expectations were way out of whack, and I think will continue to be. College football isn't what it was in the 1990s, and I've now accepted that any expectations of returning to that era of Husker football are a pipe dream. I honestly don't think there's a reasonable chance of winning a NC in the next 20 or 30 years, if ever. Too much has changed, and too much time has passed since the glory days. Too many teams in the Big 10 have as many or more advantages as NU, especially in recruiting areas (geography). I've decided to just enjoy the game for what it is, without dreaming about national, conference or even division titles. Bowl seasons with 6 or 7 wins, with an occasional 9-win season? I'll take it. I don't think anyone should expect more in this new era.

Exactly. I'm not sure what "our brand" is anymore. That brand expired 20 years ago – too long ago to say it's "our brand."

"No Fear of Failure." Apparently that's quite true.

Oh yes. But winning just 9 games was a fireable offense. It was never good enough.

Oh ... okay.

Just not true. Left because record against UT was 1-9. One and nine.

Maybe you're right. Unfortunately, I just don't know who is using the term blue blood with respect to the Huskers anymore. Maybe their parents or grandparents, but I doubt it. The B1G had its own blue bloods way before 2011, and Nebraska's done nothing to join that B1G club. I don't think anyone's "taking it out" on Nebraska anymore. Why would they? To them, it's just another conference game, like playing Minnesota, Indiana, Purdue, etc. Oh well, maybe things will get better (seems like we say that every year now). Cheers.

I think a reasonable question is whether he would still come.

Well, those game results may well be the result of the better team winning most of the time. Maybe neighboring Iowa gets way up. But after 9 years of not doing much in this conference and no conference championship in 20 years, I don't think any of the B1G teams think of Nebraska as ever having been a blue blood.

Not to be argumentative, but I sincerely think that after the inaugural season in the B1G, as season in which NU lost 3 conference games, no team in the league thereafter recognized the Huskers as anything special at all. The B1G already had its own blue bloods.

Sadly, I think it's been a long time since anyone circled the Huskers on their schedule.

I wish.

I'm going to find a better program to root for. Kansas maybe.

Oh, I don't know... Keystone Kops would work.

Can't watch anymore. It's pitch black, but I'm going to go cut the grass.

Be careful what you wish for. 1-9 versus Texas during the Big 12 years.

Guys, I obviously don't post much. More of a lurker. But I've been waiting a long time to say this: I understand the antipathy towards the Big 12, but let's be honest – it's an irrational sentiment. The fact is that Nebraska enjoyed more success in that league (even though after 1999 there no conference championships), and more opportunities to recruit – especially Texas. Nebraska is literally at the western edge of the Big 10 footprint, seemingly forgotten, and with no natural rich recruiting area. The Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan kids have many opportunities to play closer to home. I sense that interest in the program is starting to slowly erode, even with the arrival of favorite son HCSF. We like to think Nebraska is a "traditional power," but after two decades of mediocrity, "traditional" starts to mean just "a helluva long time ago," and it has been. I don't think there's ever going to be any sustained success in the Big 10. Too many natural disadvantages. I know everyone hates UT, but maybe it was because of just total frustration. Maybe it was really because the Huskers beat Texas a grand total of once – just once – in the history of the Big 12. The record was 1-9. ONE AND NINE! To some outsiders that's the reason for why Nebraska bolted. It's not true, but it was a bad look. Seriously, back to the Big 12. The money isn't that much different, and as fans who cares anyway? Start recruiting Texas again. And start winning championships. It's been a long, long time.

Fellas, let's get real. I understand all the pretexts – "UT bullied every one else in the conference," and "UT set up its own network," blah, blah, blah – but the fact is that the Huskers were 1-10 against UT during NU's membership in the Big 12. It just looks petty to use other excuses for leaving the Big 12. The fact is that NU won one single game against UT, and lost 10. Whether true or not, to everyone else it looks like that was the reason. And it's not a good look.