Wistrom Disciple

@Toe it was previously announced that all were welcomed back. Nothing new here. My comments that have apparently severely triggered you were that the coaches should have an honest discussion with all the potentially returning seniors and let them know where they stand in the program/depth chart for next year. Not necessarily run players off but coaches should strongly consider playing some of the younger guys who have been developing and will be 2nd or 3rd year guys in the system versus players who have been here 4-5 years and haven't gotten us to a winning record yet. For example, I'd rather get a year of NPG/Farmer/Clark/Newsome versus a sixth year of Dismuke. I'd also prefer to swap out Farniok & Wilson with younger guys on the o-line. If you have evidence that these guys staying in their starter spots will lead us to a division title next year, I encourage you to provide evidence to support your stance.

@Undone I think Bo was building towards knocking off or at least going punch for punch with Wisconsin before he got let go though. He was getting the body types and styles that fit the Big Ten and be competitive in 2015. That year would've had Juniors Armstrong, Westerkamp, Valentine, Collins, Reilly, Newby & Gerry. Also had recruited Stanley Morgan, Davis twins, etc. Obviously all speculative now but we were prepped to be scary the following year or two.

@funhuskerCouldn't agree more. Bo definitively didn't do himself any favors with some of his comments & actions. But I'm not sure any coach would have done well with Eichorst & Perlman trying to control everything. Would've been fun to see Moos & Pelini working together @HilltopTrue, Pelini had some outburts that were clearly crossing a line. The "fair weather fan" comment was justified. I don't understand your last sentence. Both Pelini & Frost despise losing. A key difference is that Frost has a united administration supporting him, Bo did not.

@knapplc I would suggest that the Pelini era had to deal with the dark clouds overhanging the program (thanks to the dynamic duo of Eichorst & Perlman) . As opposed to the Riley era where it felt like players quit midway into the season, Pelini's teams always seemed to fight to win but it was an exhausting time period. Glad to see that we are past that time.

@Lightfighter214 Agreed, but those three Seniors are ones who should be absolutely accepted back if they want to return for some reason. Several others could be helpful another season but not necessarily terrible if they move along. @Toe Farmer’s play this year and the several miscues by Dismuke over the past three years indicate, to me, that Farmer is a suitable replacement. You asked for evidence and I provided an example of evidence. It’s not feelings, it’s from an actual game. Here are some more reasonings for thinking it wouldn’t be devastating if the Senior class decided to move on as planned pre-pandemic: Farniok’s several penalties and blown assignments could be replicated by any number of the younger guys. He hasn’t shown me anything to think he will be all-conference by next year. Stille is turning it on lately and it’s been nice to see. Rogers and Robinson are also playing well and Nash is coming up. Would be good if he came back but not a program ender if he leaves. Three of the four young RBs are playing well in their limited time. Mills is solid but again, wouldn’t be devastating to the team if he moves on. Same goes for Stoll to be replaced by Austin Allen, Vokolek & Fidone next year. Again, my stance is that we should only have Seniors come back if they are clearly outstanding and could raise the level of the team. If it’s marginal why bring back a guy who has had 4-5 years already but is still making frustrating plays frequently? I worry what you would have thought of the ‘21 team had the NCAA not ruled to allow all seniors another year of eligibility... graduations used to happen all the time, programs have to evolve and younger guys step up. I understand your fear of the unknown but I trust that the staff is developing the young guys and look forward to seeing the developments play out next year and beyond.

@Toe, Yes I was not one of those clamoring for Luke as QB1. In fact I hope Adrian comes back and is a four year starter for us. The seniors have been here 4-5 years already and most have not proven to be more valuable than their replacements. From my perspective, an argument can be made for the following: Keeping: Domann, Honas & Jaimes Borderline (solid players, suitable replacements in '21): Mills, Bootle, Stoll, D. Williams & Stille Better off graduating: Farniok, Wilson, Gaylord & Dismuke -- Also better off allowing the following to filter out of the program: Hixson, Schitermann, Bando, Rafdal & Chris Walker at this point Please understand that my stance comes from a place of program development. I am not in favor of getting one more year of Dismuke at the risk of stunting growth or pushing a transfer from NPG, Newsome, Clark or Lynum.

@Toe two plays in the one half of football he got on the field instead of the Senior. I accept your apology. Another Dismuke miscue here today cost us on the long TD. You can keep him all you’d like but I think there are better players coming up over most of the Senior class.

@Toe you must’ve missed the part I mentioned about Farmer with two interceptions in the single half he started against Northwestern. Thanks for playing, bud. You can hang onto the Seniors all you’d like but if we want to develop as a program, we have to let go of some of the older guys at some point.

@Toe We're 1-4 and have been sub .500 since the Senior class arrived... I'd hate to imagine that a majority of the current Seniors are head and shoulders above the players below them on the depth chart in terms of talent. As for evidence? The bulk of these guys haven't gotten on the field in more than special teams roles so far. However, a few have done some solid work in their fill in spots: - Farmer (2 picks against Northwestern) - Rogers had a sack last weekend against Iowa to end the half. - Robinson with solid contributions during his play If I were Frost, I would be very honest with the Seniors who intend to return and if there's a tie in talent/practice grades, go with the younger guys heading into next year.

@bugeater17, I understand but if you're a younger guy, you're potentially asking them to spend another year on the depth chart behind starters that haven't proven to be substantially better than their replacements. Do we want a marginal player staying for a 5/6th year at the expense of possibly losing a younger talent or limiting development? I don't think Stille is our best lineman, I've been more impressed with Robinson, Daniels & Rogers so far. Is Stille staying worth possibly seeing a Wildeman, Newsom and/or Graham take off? Do we run the risk of losing a Pola-Gates, Farmer, Clark and/or Newsome because they lose on seniority to a Bootle, Williams and Dismuke? I like the rotation idea but they're not doing that very much in the secondary and I don't see that changing. Another year of spot duty or mainly special teams roles will be hard to stomach for some of these guys who are already 2 years out from being full-time starters in high school. Yes, the younger players can train hard and become bigger, faster and stronger but it's hard to replicate experience if their duties are in a limited capacity.

I'm going to have to disagree with you, @bugeater17. I think it will be addition by subtraction with Dismuke & Stille. Although both decent contributors, neither are substantially more impactful than those under them on the depth chart currently.

@Mavric, hopefully all those upperclassmen give it a long consideration because some of them will be heavily challenged for their starting spots if the bulk decide to return. I would hate to bring back an average senior for a 5/6th year and stunt the development of younger guys in the program. I can think of several players where it will benefit us to see them graduate and give more time to the younger core.

@bugeater17, I do recall Austin rotating a decent amount so far this season as Pieper & Wilson have been rotating with each other a fair amount. I also thought I remember seeing Corcoran, Bando, Will Farniok, Gaylord & Sichterman make some appearances. One of my biggest frustrations with Cav when he was coaching for Riley's teams was that he did not develop talent whatsoever. He essentially refused to rotate players in and if you started game one, there was a good shot you'd start the rest of the season. Unfortunately, that lack of talent development is still playing out as several of the guys with 3+ years here have never played regularly for us and have now been passed over by the guys who have been here less than a year and a half. Currently, the play has been obviously infuriating. That said, I think we'll be better next fall but really take a leap in 2022.

It does feel baity in here but I'd rather not do work so I'll give it a spin. In some ways, Frost thinks and says things like a lifelong fan or former player but not expected to be spoken by a typical head coach. He's a little too honest with some of his takes which has become rare for coaches and it sets him up to be criticized. Because the media struggles to sell honesty, they don't know how to react as shown by Michael Wilbon & Desmond Howard. His August press conference the day before the Big Ten canceled the season is an example where the national pundits took his 'we want to play no matter what or who' talk into we're bigger than the Big Ten or that we're better off going elsewhere. That sentiment was not expressed, just that they wanted to play. It's plain speaking and the media struggles with those types of people. Coaches get mischaracterized when their programs are losing and quotes get spun as excuses, whining, etc. It doesn't happen very often when the programs are winning or it's chalked up to championship expectations/standards. Saban at Bama and Dabo at Clemson are notorious complainers but since they win a lot, they're rarely criticized to the same extent. Frost is the best man for the job and we'll be just fine.

Agreed, an average team lucks into a few holding calls a season on a fluke play, QB scrambling, slow lineman catching a mistake, etc. I'm not going to go so far as a conspiracy but there must be that mentality of 'Nebraska doesn't rush the passer' or the lines we face are all-conference players every week because to have such disparity is unusual.

Agreed that not everything can be blamed on it being a weird year but you cannot exclude the impact of the virus and restrictions. No spring football and abbreviated fall camp with no nonconference games have obviously had an impact. For instance, how do you judge the work done by Rutledge when he's had all of 2-3 months to work with special teams and the punter he recruited being hurt all year? Yes, Frost should evaluate the whole program but to jump for changes right now may cause more harm than the alternative of letting things play out a little longer, see how the season finishes up and consider how spring football works out.

Nah. I like how you tried to play the part of being a Husker fan with the trolling here though, good effort. Yes this is far below the standards expected by Nebraska fans. However, the interesting part is what has proven to be the ceiling for the Iowa & Wisconsin programs is what got two Nebraska coaches fired. I do believe that the program had sky high, unrealistic expectations but that is what decades of dominance bring and unfortunately, set us up to self-inflict problems on ourselves. Though this season has been a disappointment, this team is vastly different than the pitiful performances in 2017. I believe the future is bright and we have a great opportunity going forward. Do you think that will stop the coronavirus?

I agree with a majority of your post and the lack of a clear cut offensive identity also frustrates me. I would like us to be a little more smash mouth with the run game but I believe the coaches are slowly figuring things out. I disagree that major staff changes will be the answer at this stage. One of the keys for our decades of success was continuity with the bulk of the coaching staff. I think it would be most beneficial if Frost were to keep most, if not all, of the coaches on staff through 2021. Reassess after what will hopefully be a normal calendar year in 2021 (spring football, recruiting, fall camp, etc.) but giving the players some stability after this rocky season. The optimism stems from the team being in several close games the past few years and the defense progressing in development. Yes we have had an annual embarrassing loss (Minnesota blowout last year, Illinois this year) but it is the other games the past couple years against Northwestern, Purdue & Iowa that give me hope that we're not as far away from being relevant as our record would suggest. The losses frustrate me as well but I don't believe we are far off from being a conference contender. With +80% of our most talented players being underclassmen, I believe we should be more optimistic that our future will be better than the present.

Thank you for putting a lot of time and thought into your post. Unfortunately, I will have to disagree with your entire premise and several of your points of argument. First, Scott Frost will not be fired at any point under his current contract. He is the right guy for the job at this stage of our program despite his record. Moos & Frost have been upfront since the beginning that this overhaul of the program will take years, not months, and that is why they have been given such a long runway. NU Administration, Regents, AD and coach are all on the same wavelength and working in cohesion with one another. We haven't had that level of agreement in a long, long time and the results of this harmony will bear fruit soon. No one expected the turnaround to take this much time but no one expected to play games in front of an empty Memorial Stadium either. Next, though some of your criticisms are warranted (redzone inefficiency, penalties, turnovers, etc.), most of the points you make do not add up to firing our coach. Transfers are the new normal in college football, Iowa has had no less than six transfers since the summer began with two of those transfers coming here. Many of the transfers and the attrition have been addition by subtraction for us. With the work ethic, motivation and lifestyle problems that were here prior to Frost's arrival, a jolt of reality was needed in order to get the right types of people to come to the school. Some of those kids turned out to be misses but that's how recruiting is, you don't really know a person until you're around them everyday and they are away from the their parents, HS coaches, etc. Some thrive away while others have problems. It is also surprising that our top RB has under 200 yards, yes. That said, our expected top RB has been hurt for over half the season, his backup has also been fighting injuries. I do agree that we need to utilize our runningbacks more, hopefully they can stay healthy and we can get some flow going. The entire offense frequently looks over to the sidelines before snaps. They had the same system at UCF, worked well there. Several other programs utilize this process and it works for them as well. Nothing surprising about the process, need to get execution of plays better obviously. I understand that you're frustrated, we all are. That said, we've all been fans up to this point, it is not the time to give up hope and start playing the guessing game of who should be the next coach at Nebraska. Texas and Michigan have been playing that game for several years now and they've stuck with the same coaches while only building more of the dark clouds over their programs. We had the same issue in Bo's final years and it negatively impacted the program, coaches, players and fanbase. The solution is obviously to start winning games. We are not too far away from contending to win our division so hopefully these last couple games get us some confidence and look forward to a better 2021.

A lot of their talk is to garner clicks and doesn't take in the bigger picture. I'm also pretty sure Forde has a sexual attraction to trying to rip apart Nebraska at any opportunity. It is not that surprising as he played high school football for Gary Barnett and went to Missouri in the 80s. Being a perpetual loser is his calling. These talking heads aren't paid to read interview transcripts or closely examine individual programs. They look at final scores, Twitter and try to guess the way the wind blows for fanbase appeal in order to get the attention they crave. For instance, Harbaugh at Michigan hasn't won anything meaningful but until this year they were winning a lot of games they should win but losing to teams above their level (similar to the Bo Pelini era). Until this year he was 47-18 as Head Coach in his five years. In the five years prior to his arrival, Michigan was 38-26. They way social media and the pundits talk about Harbaugh, you would've guessed he hadn't had a winning season since he arrived. We're the target for the time being because we also garner enough attention nationally to still make headlines. Unfortunately, this will continue until we start winning consistently again and beat teams we aren't expected to beat. Only then will the tune change and we won't hear from the Fordes of the world.

Agreed, without a typical college experience, being that far from home, and playing scout team for a team that is 1-4 cannot be the easiest transition. I don't like the transferring but I can understand it. Hoping for the best for them and for us.

* Bo Pelini recruits - Stanley Morgan, Foster, Mick Stoltenberg, Gifford, DPE, Kalu, Davis twins & Dedrick Young were all from Bo's staff. Riley recruits have been largely disappointing with a few exceptions: JD, Jameis, Bootle & Ozigbo come to mind. Agreed, the offense has been the most disappointing part of his tenure. I do think we've got a good foundation building but that foundation is young. Hoping the rest of this season and spring football will help get us set straight for the future.

Agreed that it's similar to the Bo argument. One factor I would include is that Bo went to three conference title games in his seven years across the two conferences. Admittedly, Wisconsin did wipe the floor with us in the one we went to in the Big Ten but we were there and I believed we were on the cusp of a return before his firing. The talent argument is certainly justified as they've had highly regarded players and classes for years but haven't been able to get over the hump. In a sense, it reminds me of an LSU situation at QB. Enough talent on the team to play some big time games but just can't seem to solve the QB puzzle. If I'm Michigan though, I would be very careful on letting him go.

Penn State is ranked fourth in total yards per game in the conference while Ohio State is at seventh in the conference... Penn State is 1-5 and Ohio State is 4-0. I wouldn't get yourself wrapped up in rankings as they can be misleading. The bigger issue we are continuing to face is an offense that is not firing on all cylinders consistently. If you're expecting our defense to be pitching shutouts, I'm sorry to disappoint you but that is not going to happen with our current system. If we are hoping to hold teams under 10-15 points a game, we're going to need to change our offensive system and become a ball control, time of possession-focused program. Since that is not currently the direction we're heading, the offense needs to start putting up at least 30-35 points a game.

Just read the ESPN story about Ferentz and the clapping. For staying around one school for so long and being a B-level coach, he has quite an ego. His deflecting, to me, shows that they were clearly intentional. I’m fine with the gamesmanship but it indicates to me that he isn’t confident in his program to win without the gimmicks. What I find interesting is that Iowa has the best decade in their history with our worst in 60+ years but still can barely beat our team with Frost as HC. I’m looking forward to next year already... just hope the corner is turned in that time.