husker_rob

Fair enough, if we had to take the bad with the good, then I would pick someone besides CP. My point is just simply that I couldn't go *pure* talent (which would clearly be Suh for me), because I don't truly believe this team has thought it *should* win the big games in a long time. And I'm desperate for a talented leader to step up and smack his teammates upside the head to remind them that we are friggin Nebraska -- we should win every single game from now until eternity (that mentality). So maybe Trev would be a good replacement for CP. Maybe his brother Jason. Maybe Grant. Someone who leads not only by example, but also by fist.

I tend to think this team has been, and continues to be, a head case and its own worst enemy for the last 10 years or so, one who doesn't truly think it can win a big game. It's painful to watch these games. Even though I'd rather have Suh than anyone in my lifetime for a pure game changer, I'd probably go with Tommie Frazier and Christian Peter (I know, in my perfect world, we'll disregard "off the field" behavior). Tommie's confidence and big game performance changed the course of this program in the 90s. It seemed infectious. And I could have picked from a few (including Jason), but I settled on Christian to bring real team belief and leadership, since I think he was instrumental in developing that "refuse to lose" mentality.

So true. ASU could certainly put up points that year. But given how incredibly bad our offense played that game, and given that (IIRC) ASU scored a TD on their first drive, it was a Herculean effort by our D the rest of the way.

I tend to agree with this. Farley was one of the most electrifying players I've ever seen. It's hard to put into words how big of a hit that was to our team at that time. I thought McBride was very wise to put more speed in his absence, by bringing down Minter to play in his absence -- worked well against the Buffs. But Farley's extra strength against the run, along with the damn flu, really cost us against UT. .... Who knew it would be the beginning of a long-running nightmare against that team?

They had a pretty active defense up front that year, from what I remember, so it's not like we were going to repeat what happened the year before. Looking at their wikipedia page for their 1996 team, they had 3 LBs and a DT taken in following draft, so that's even more stout than I would have remembered. And being stout and deep up front was really your only prayer for matching up against Nebraska in the 90s. But beyond clearly having some good talent on their squad, they were another year older and just had great team chemistry, which goes a long way towards an unforeseen improvement (reminds me of Iowa, who came out of nowhere, a few years back). Lastly, we were simply in disarray that night. It was a horrific game to watch. We had 6 fumbles and 3 safeties. Yes, 3. Friggin. Safeties. .... And IIRC, all of the safeties were self-imposed (a botched option pitch, a snap over Frost's head, and one more that I don't recall). When you think about how bad our backfield played that night (well, center and backfield), I can only imagine that our line was probably in just as much disarray trying to block that defense that night. Mind you, I don't remember that for a fact, but our team was simply not ready to play that night. It ended up being ok, though, as that 1996 team really responded well, and by the end of the year, they were really playing about as good as anyone in the country. It took several games before that squad really meshed, though. tl;dr version: Solid talent up front, great team chemistry, and one horrific, almost-unwatchable offensive game from Nebraska.

Wow! Couldn’t happen to a better player! What an example he set this year!

Seriously. Let’s try a little stability for a change. We need another good offseason of S&C. Future is bright!

Gonna need some more prayers Defense is a bit lost today.

You're technically correct. Like you said, I'm sure the point was essentially, "he played when we were a power team," but yeah..... First year on practice squad (due to transfer) was our last year in Big 8 (1995), then started 2 years in Big 12.

Not sure it would help (of course he SHOULD, but not certain what it will accomplish). This season is about to get really ugly. They’ve just been thoroughly embarrassed. Again. They never seem to recover from these types of losses. No coaching staff I’d feather have, but unfortunately this is going to be a long-term project. Their strength and athleticism was at least 3 weight room years beyond us.

How can we possibly be this bad?

Wow. Just....... wow. This is a grown-ass man, right?

Funny, but true. The Spring Game truly was the best that team would ever look. I was very excited about the possibilities before the regular season train wreck.

I hate to be that guy, but... Alex Smith Tim Tebow Braxton Miller J.T. Barrett Even coached up Cardale Jones to play, and win, the biggest games of the season. I do agree I’d rather play for Frost than Harbaugh, as a QB prospect. But as as of right now, the Big Ten has a QB Whisperer, and he wasn’t listed as a choice in that poll.

Man, reading these replies made me reflect on how bad worst loss “runner up” (in my mind) was - 2010 Texas. I remember the video that made the rounds in the off-season, calling for all fans to bring their energy... a “save the date” type video. So much hype. That was the year the curse was coming to an end. Like others said, just laid an absolute egg. I have rarely seen a more lifeless team. No energy whatsoever. No fight. Did Garrett Gilbert EVER looks as good against any other team in his career as he did against us? Yet another example of a frustrating watch of a Pelini defense without Suh. Good coverage, yet zero pressure on QB, zero containment of QB, and wide open swaths of turf for QB to run once he decides to run. Weve allowed way too many horrible QBs have career days against us in the last 15 long years. Brighter days ahead.

I have to go with this one too. 2012 was bad, but by 2014, one would have thought that maybe this coaching staff had SOME sort of inclination to evaluate their defensive philosophies and take a critical look at what was working and what was not. This was the game where I knew they had no interest in ever doing so. This was the game where I knew Bo understood his philosophy was sound, and it was only the players "not executing" that could mess it up. This was the game where I didn't care to ever see Bo coach another game for the Huskers again. And then we got Riley...... sigh. I could not possibly be more excited about the next era of Husker football.

Tough choice between Purdue and Northern Illinois, but I HAVE to go NIU. Purdue was a worse team, no doubt, but it was a transition year and a backup QB. NIU was year 3, and we supposedly had a QB that was made for Riley’s offense. The way our offensive line got manhandled, and the way turnovers were treated, were symbolic of where this Era was going to take us. Like someone else said - it should actually be viewed as the Best Loss, as it finally put an end to that era.

Agreed .... What the hell WERE the points in the article? I'll give him point #1 -- the bowl game reaction. At least it's relevant. But somehow the way Riley fired his friend is going to make us go 7-5? Somehow Wisconsin's appointment of a future AD is going to make us go 7-5? Somehow KJ Jr's smoking weed is going to make us go 7-5? (And, reality check, btw -- it happens on EVERY football team, college or pro ... Just don't get caught). We may very well go 7-5. Tough schedule, we're relatively young, we're not super deep, and we're changing schemes on both offense and defense (more-so defense, but still, offense will be different). Lee, please tell me you were stoned when you wrote this article. At least that would make sense.

To add to the theme of replies... Yes, if we can finally stop the run. Most years, Wisconsin probably isn't going to beat us solely through the air. But we haven't been close to stopping their run most games.

Yeah, poll is missing the "I have absolutely no clue" option. It's almost like we're starting with a brand new team. New QB with skillset that is completely different than that of Riley's first 2 years. Essentially a new defense -- new DC, new scheme. Deeper offensive line, but no one really knows if it will be a more effective offensive line. I could see every single outcome as a possibility this season, which tells me I know nothing about who we are until we take the field a couple times. Ultimately, I'm definitely optimistic, based on better QB and (hopefully) defense. I know the defense will be better coached, that's for sure. But beliefs really aren't based on anything factual. Just hope.

+1. Hopefully he sees more physicality at practice. We shall see.

You know, this was my first reaction, too. The remark is just stupid. It's a nice anonymous attention-getting quote, but that's really all it is. It's nice and printable. First of all, is the job really THAT much different than what it was 3 years ago? Not at all. It's the same job, with the same challenges in acquiring talent. But the team of coaches and administrators seems to understand this much better than even 3 years ago, and I would argue they're handling the challenges better. Lastly, the "and no one in the administration seems to recognize it" part ..... Seriously, what is that supposed to mean? That's the part that makes no sense and is just blowhard-like. What exactly does the administration not understand? Do you REALLY think they're not painfully aware that they don't get to recruit from a state with a population of 10 million?? What exactly are they NOT doing, in the face of that challenge, that would just magically make the job better? Should we just shut up shop, because we don't have the natural advantage of population? Should we instead be happy with 5 win seasons? It's just a dumb remark that is meant to kick us while we're down, under the veil of anonymity.

Like others have said, we'll see. I desperately hope the OL develops the nasty, but we'll see. The coaches are going to have to set the tone. I hope they understand how to do this. We've been soft for waaaaaaaay too many years (something I NEVER thought I'd see this program become).

Couldn't agree more. The nationally-televised blowouts have got to stop. It is imperative. They are killing this program. No one wants to come play for a program where they TOO will undergo this national embarrassment twice a year like clockwork during their time here. Why would you want to put yourself through that if you weren't born into the hysteria like most of us were? The Ohio St game was the worst possible thing that could have happened to us at that point in the year. We were riding good hard-fighting momentum. Can you imagine how different our energy and hope for the future would be right now if we lost a hard-fought game at Ohio St by, say, 7 points? The first move is on this coaching staff. Stop the national embarrassments.