HuskerHipster

I've silently stalked Huskerboard for over seven years now, lazily dropping in to get the pulse of the Husker nation, as it were. Perhaps the forum's not representative, maybe it tilts towards a dissatisfied, cynically-critical cohort of fans, but I believe it to be enthusiastic, insightful, and if nothing else, engaged. It's great for a relatively casual observer-fan to read the opinions and debates of people more knowledgeable than myself. There's no question in my mind that Bo Pelini was a crucial and marked upgrade from Bill Callahan, a man who should never have set foot in Lincoln, let alone have been given free rein to demolish a storied program while demoralizing a loyal fan community along with it. Pelini pulled the program up from absolute disarray, and for that I grant him sincere credit, and thank him. But Bo's successful EMT efforts to stabilize this patient-- to stop the bleeding --have not transitioned into true rehabilitation. A full recovery hasn't happened. Instead, it's one relapse scare after another, with furthering complications like his managing to rack up lots of low-quality wins along with soul-damaging defeats. He's not bad, he has just ascended to his level of incompetence, unable to go any further. Today's game should solidify this reality in many minds. A game that should have been won. Up two scores at home, it's as if Bo Pelini projects his own insecurities and resignations onto opposing coaches and teams, expecting them to melt down as disastrously as his team often has, desperate and grappling. Judging from his expressions and body language alone, it seems almost foreign to him that Wisconsin and Minnesota, down two touchdowns, would actually knuckle down to implement a gameplan to create momentum, seize the lead, and secure victory when his own approach has been panicked, hasty desperation. If you believe the former is what a good coach (and leader) does, then Pelini is simply getting out-coached whenever an important game is on the line. There's certainly no guarantee that Pelini's replacement won't be worse than him-- far from it--but from my perspective it's now certain that this truly is as good as Bo Pelini gets.