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I think the comment that I highlighted is more referring to moving forward. The parity that exists these days makes it much harder for teams to dominate if they're playing by the rules as we did for like 40 years. We haven't really been relevant since 1999 or so unless you're counting the national championship game we backed into. Either way, I'm hopeful for our future and I'm hoping Bo is the guy but I don't think the light at the end of the tunnel is nearing just yet.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf--nebraska-s-bo-pelini-should-not-be-dismissed-as-result-of-leaked-audio-rant--232503407.html This part hit me in the gut: "Here's guessing they won't under almost anyone. Nebraska has wonderful tradition, fans and institutional support but it sits in a remote state with cold weather and few local recruits. It isn't a recipe for sustained greatness."

I hate that mindset. We're content with winning 9 games (against average teams or teams we should beat) and being blown out by teams that are on our level? Hmm, yea, that sounds awesome. I've said this before but it's not about the W/L to me but rather how we handle ourselves when we get down. We just gave up 38 unanswered points to UCLA after having them down 21-3 at home; That isn't something that should be overlooked! When you give up 50/60/70 points and 500/600 yards of offense, something is going wrong in my opinion. We gave up 70 points to Wisconsin in a conference championship. If you're content with winning 9 games a season and getting blown out for 3-4 other games then you've come to the right place! I don't really think Bo should be fired for his comments that were 'leaked' today but rather his inability to have our team in games and feeling like we are supposed to be there. I came home from my 8 year old sons football game on Saturday to see that we were up 21-3 and I thought, holy crap, we are getting it together but then I watched us slowly unravel without any push back to slow UCLA down. We had some bonehead penalties that extended their drives and then we turned into a stale offense never giving our defense a much needed break. Normally I'm screaming at the TV, getting pissed for every blown coverage or missed tackle but on Saturday, I just sat there. I was expecting us to lose and get blown out and with every big play, I watched it unfold. It is crushing to see us lose games like that because at some point, we're just out and we seemingly stop competing. For those reasons, I think Bo needs to either move on or we need to hire some different coordinators to surround Bo so that we can right the ship.

Twitter: Tommie Frazier ‏@TouchdownTommie 1m He's right, he doesn't need me. I'm not the answer but he needs someone to help define success for this program. Nebraska fans deserve more.

My issue over the past few seasons is not that we've lost games but it's how we lost those games. Losing to a good football team on any given night is not an issue but giving up 70 points here, 650 yards to Wyoming there is never a good sign of things to come. The games that we have lost recently have been total meltdown types where we just seem to pack it in and lay down; that worries me the most. I want Bo to be the guy and I want to win conference titles and get back into the overall picture but I'm not sure he's the one to do it. This isn't based off of the UCLA games but rather the past few seasons where we have had games when the wheels fell off. Side note: Even now when I see us being passed over on ESPN for highlights or when we're not a prime time topic, I'm confused. I'm so used to us being in the top 10 and constantly in the big picture but it seems these days...we're just a step behind.

Just ran across this from Twitter: http://www.omaha.com/article/20130102/HUSKERS/701029909/1002#chatelain-nebraska-has-to-find-a-new-edge Sadly, it's spot on in my opinion.

I'm confused. You hoped we'd have a good team, and you think we're good, but we're not where we want to be. So did you hope for a good team (which you admit we had), or something more? Also, a decade ago was 2003. We went 10-3. Or, if you want to count it by seasons and not by actual year, it would have been 2002, when we went 7-7. I guess I poorly worded that. Let me spell it out. We finished 10-4...Oh, by the way, just so you know (from Twitter): Rittenberg/Bennett ‏@ESPN_BigTen Nebraska RT @HuskerExtraBC: Defense gave up average of 53.5 points a game in 4 losses, an amazing number to see written in front of you. When I say good, I mean winning 10-11 or more games and the games that we lost, if any, not being by an average of fifty points. In other words, competitive. We look 'good' by record being 10-4 but we all know that those 10 wins aren't against top tier teams. Also, to clear up my 'decade ago' remark, I was referring to the 90s when we were not only winning championships but when we lost, it wasn't by an average of 53.5 points.

It looks like we are legit in pass defense to some degree based on the numbers. My apologies. Total pass defense: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/stats/byteam?cat1=defense&cat2=Passing&conference=I-A_all They are good across the board, however, to my point, the rushing defense is a different story: Total rush defense: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/stats/byteam?cat1=defense&cat2=Rushing&conference=I-A_all In rushing we are right up there with the worst. I guess I'm just frustrated because I'd hoped we'd have a good team this year and while I think we're good, we're not where we want to be or where we were a decade ago. 10-4 looks good but in my opinion, it's an illusion. We didn't beat anybody this year that I felt was a top team in the country and today, while we played it close most of the game, we still didn't do enough to win. We turned the ball over too many times, Taylor looked rattled a few times and out of sorts and we ultimately got beat in the air by UGA. It's a rough stretch for Nebraska fans as we've been close a few years now to getting over the hump but it feels like we're just right below it still. Here's to hoping we have a better season in 2013 and that we can iron out the issues.

I'd tend to agree with that except for UCLA. I think they may beat us again depending on how they recruit and if they lose anybody early. I don't know a lot about their underclassmen but they have had a great season.

What I fail to understand is where you see a very good pass defense? My apologies if I'm offending you but we are NOT as a very good pass defense, in my opinion. We can be ranked high but we play in a running conference and the teams that beat us mostly ran the ball all over us. The 'rankings' are based on numbers but what I'd like to see are the number of attempts we saw in passing versus the number of yards, interceptions and sacks. I'd argue they are not that impressive. Also, base that against the number of rushes against us versus the success of those rushes. Us 'fans' only wish to harp on the team until we win by 35...well, I'd say it's a hell of a lot better than the times we lost by 35 or more this season. Dress it how you'd like but we're an average football team. We played much better today than we did against Wisconsin....or did we? Georgia - Capital One Bowl 589 total yards - 427 passing, 162 rushing - Gave up 6 TDs Wisconsin - Big 10 Championship Game 640 total yards - 101 passing (Wisc QB was 6/8), 539 rushing - Gave up 9 TDs Ohio State game 498 total yards - 127 passing (14 passes attempted), 371 rushing - Gave up 7 TDs Based on the 'numbers', my question would be is our pass defense good or is it because teams don't have to pass it against us to hang 60 on us? UGA decided to and it seemed to work all day long. . All the offense in the world won't lead you to your destination if you continue to turn the ball over and give up 45 points to the opposing team. The odds are not favorable.

I think it was more due to the 500 yards and 5 TDs that Aaron Murray threw on us and our "#1 pass defense in the country!!!". That's a joke because most teams just run up and over us to win. Another 9-10 win season with no significant wins. We meddle in mediocrity.

They are certainly proven winners. Urban won at Utah and Florida so no reason for him not to win at Ohio State.

Exactly. That's the kind of thing you look at and go "Why not us with Bo?". Hell, look at Urban in one year at Ohio State.

If we play LSU in the Outback bowl, we'll end the season 10-4. We will NOT beat LSU or hell, any SEC school aside from maybe Kentucky, Vandy or Tennessee (and UT would probably beat us with an interim coach). I understand those teams are not in the bowl season, it was a joke.

We rarely stunt with our DL. We rarely bring pressure outside of our front 4. We also crowd the line and don't hold contain. Last night we crowded the line so bad that there wasn't much of a 2nd level so if the backs broke the first line, and they did, they had a good chance to get gone. We missed some tackles and looked out of place all night. Whenever I watch SEC teams play it seems they have 14-15 guys on the field and when I watch our D, we seem to have 8 or 9. Our D doesn't seem to have levels or gap assignments. It seems to be a lot of guessing.

They were beating us to the edge because our defense was out of position. When they hit the corner and our D runs by them, they have to then turn and catch up to a guy at full speed; not going to happen in big time football. They aren't that much faster if at all but when there is no 2nd and 3rd level, they just have to break through the 1st level and they're gone. We aren't going to catch a guy running full speed from a 5 yard delayed start. Again, this is positioning. The fact that we didn't come out in the 2nd half (like we'd done a few times this season) and slow them down shows they either had our number or we just didn't coach enough to correct the mistakes. I love Taylor Martinez but I've stood by this for a long time, he's not the QB to take us to the next level. He's gotten a lot better but even tonight he under threw a lot of passes to some open receivers and he put the ball on the ground a few times. He's a feast or famine type QB who has a lot of speed. It's good when it's good but it's mostly average to bad. In my opinion, his turnovers outweigh his long runs.

We are 10-3 this season because Michigan wasn't as good as advertised, Michigan State slid a lot further than people thought and Iowa is flat out awful. We lost 3 games and gave up 60+ points twice (and this is football). I think the 10-3 record is deceptive. We beat the teams we should have and the teams that beat us, did just that, beat us. It wasn't like we came up a little short and almost won, we got hammered. I can't recall a single team we played this year that we beat where I can say "Man, we really played up for that game and beat a good football team". If those teams I mentioned in the first line didn't slide, we could easily by 7-5 or 8-4, depending. There is a lot of noise right now saying we're going to fall pretty far in the bowl selection and that maybe even Northwestern gets a nod over us. I think people are calling for Bo's head because we didn't progress over the season or even from last year. We seem to have more than enough offensive talent but our D is often out of position and slow to the ball. I can honestly say, though, that our defense isn't bad enough talent wise to give up 70 points to a Wisconsin team that ran the ball down our throats all night. Over 500-600 yards of rushing is something to be ashamed of when you're not a FCS school or D2 school.

I've shifted from being pissed to feeling sorry for the seniors and players. One of the cameras showed Taylor looking to the sideline for the call and he's still in it. I can see him trying but it's just not enough. Our defense is taking terrible angles and getting beat around the corners. Pelini looked like Chizik (to me) at halftime when Auburn played Bama; It was pure defeat. I'll labor through the 2nd half as long as I can keep the rum at bay but this is awful. I had much higher hopes for this team and our 10-2 record misled me to believe we'd be playing Stanford in the Rose Bowl. GBR...

It's funny you post this but earlier I was thinking that it was incredible that we were a 10 win team. Then I think back at who we beat and well, we should be a 10 win team. The only 2 "good" teams we played we lost two. We don't deserve to be in this game and honestly, we won't win a bowl game either outside of a low tier bowl against a mediocre team. Thats our current motto though, average. I think the big issue is that we still have a lot of turnovers, we aren't showing progression through the season (ie getting better) and we aren't playing better. We're 1 busted play away from being down 35-3 right now in a conference title game. It's humiliating and extremely disheartening.

How far do we fall in the bowl selection? Outback? Outside of a broken play..we're awful.

Nebraska vs Wisconsin- Wisconsin (I want us to win but my pessimistic side won't allow me to pick us) Louisville vs Rutgers- Rutgers Northern Illinois vs Kent State- Kent State UCLA vs Stanford- Stanford Oklahoma vs TCU- OU Oklahoma State vs Baylor- OK State UCF vs Tulsa- UCF Nicholls State vs Oregon State- Oregon State Kansas vs West Virginia- WVU Boise State vs Nevada- Boise State Texas vs Kansas State- Kansas State Florida State vs Georgia Tech- Florida State Alabama vs Georgia- Alabama I really think Bama is going to handle UGA. I think Bama is a lot better on all fronts and I think their D will cause Murray some havoc.

Don't move it from Nawlins! I'm in the panhandle of Florida and don't have many options to see NU play. Last time I saw them play was @Southern Miss in Hattiesburg back in 2003. As a reminder: http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=232682572

Unfortunately that's how I feel. I guess I'm getting used to be mediocre.

What about somebody like Charlie Strong? I'd totally forgotten about him but he could be a great fit.

Kirby Smart would be an excellent choice imo. He'd bring some serious D 'smarts'. Just saying that makes me want him to be the coach now, lol.