Guy Chamberlin

Absolutely. We got used to beating the Big 8 on sheer strength. Then when we played those Florida teams (or Oklahoma or Georgia Tech) we got burned by teams who were just as strong and a lot faster. Starting in 1990, Osborne started recruiting for defensive speed.

I don't think anyone really knows how Nebraskan fortunes would have changed for better or worse had Frank Solich been retained. Hard to imagine the Huskers getting back to the unprecedented run Frank inherited, so some downfall is in order. But it's hard to imagine Frank posting Callahan numbers either. Most coaches have some roller coaster to their careers and 15 years of Frank Solich would likely have had at least as many ups as we've had with the three subsequent coaches. I think Husker football just hit the reality that every other football dynasty has had to live with. But for those who think the Solich firing was pure Pederson agenda, keep in mind how many Husker fans considered that 7-7 season something no Nebraska team should abide.

I wouldn't read too much in our most experienced running back, who averaged 5.2 yards a carry along with excellent ball security, getting the starting nod for the first game of his Senior year. I believe Devine Ozigbo is a Mike Riley recruit and I don't think Mike is going to withhold Ozigbo as part of his nefarious plan to undermine the rushing game. There were plenty of years in the Husker past where a platoon of RBs competed for playing time, although the season typically ended with a single featured back. That could just as easily be Tre Bryant as Newby or Ozigbo.

The biggest changes Osborne made in his run to glory were on defense. Defense, turnovers, penalties and even special teams have had a bigger impact on Nebraska's success than individual play calling. Actually, 3rd and 4th down efficiency have been among Nebraska's best offensive categories in recent years.

Team Feit. There is nothing in Barfknecht's premise that is supported in any meaningful way.

I'd like to think I know the player backing up Jordan Westerkamp, especially if he's a Junior. But I've never heard of Gabe Rahn.

If you go by All-Conference, All-Americans and Lombardi and Outland Award winners than yeah, Osborne had a pretty good run with dominating offensive lines. It also showed in their dominating run offense, which was not achieved simply by running the ball a lot, but by recruiting specifically for a rushing offense. Nebraska was a destination for offensive linemen. But it hardly happened overnight. Really not sure what you're disagreeing with here. And "average defense?" Don't know about that, either. Nebraska's defense made a huge difference during our 40 year run of excellence. I'm not sure what teams you are choosing to remember, but great Nebraska defenses gave up only 8.0 points a game while the lesser Nebraska defenses still gave up only 14 points a game. Compare that to the 26+ ppg Nebraska defenses have given up in recent years and you can appreciate the difference that makes in the offense you run and the games you don't win.

Good points all. There was only one marquee hiring in college football last year. It was Jim Harbaugh, and Michigan was his only college destination. For all his faults -- the dude manages to irritate a lot of people -- Harbaugh's been a winner everywhere he goes. To say you would have preferred Harbaugh over Riley is as obvious as it is pointless. But to make this about niceness vs. toughness really misses the point, too. Tom Osborne and Bob Devaney couldn't have been more different personally, but they recruited and coached toughness because.....wait, why wouldn't you coach toughness? It's football. You would have thought a Bo Pelini team would reflect their coach's toughness and occasional rage, but his teams had some of the biggest meltdowns on the field, and the most lifeless sideline demeanor I've ever seen on a Nebraska team. Being a bad ass means nothing without technique and teamwork. It's easier to be a badass when things are going your way. Let's get everybody on the same page first.

I have yet to find anyone who wants to keep losing to Purdue and Illinois. Osborne's offense -- like most other offenses -- benefitted from consistently superior offensive lines. When you announce your intention to run, that line better be among the best in the nation. Saying "pound the rock!" is always easier said than done. The best teams in college football today still run the ball plenty and will do so as much as they can, but since good defenses stop the run first, these teams still pass the ball around 30 times a game. It's good football. And we might not be fretting about the offense at all if the Nebraska defense was giving up 12 points a game as opposed to 27. Osborne's offense looked a lot better when Osborne's defense kept getting them the ball back.

This worked very well for Osborne at least 7 games a year, when Nebraska could physically dominate lesser teams who already knew they had to stack the box. I'm sure a few couldn't have stopped Nebraska even if they had our playbook. We simply aren't that team any more, and college football has changed a bit. A lot of teams play "stop-the-run-first" defense, and it shows. I think some people remember the "too cute" plays -- perhaps passing on a third and two, or on first down, or on three consecutive plays -- but they don't remember the running plays that got stuffed. There were plenty of games between Watson, Beck, Langsdorf and even Osborne where defenses made the proper adjustments, and the running plays that worked in the first quarter weren't working in the second. Between going "too cute" and going "too conservative" you are guaranteed to be second guessed. Some of those cute plays actually worked pretty well. Winning cures everything.

So when you say "he would keep calling the same plays until the opposing teams could stop it" you simply mean he continued to run the ball instead of passing it. Because a fullback counter, a short side sweep and a triple option are very different plays. Although of course Tom Osborne always spread a few passes throughout the game to keep defenses honest. Probably more passes than some choose to remember. I honestly don't know why some people think the forward pass is some kind of gadget play. It's just as much a part of football as anything.

I have no idea what you're talking about.

Yeah, that's not a very accurate depiction of either Osborne or Beck. Tom Osborne was actually very innovative with a broad assortment of offensive weapons. That's why Devaney promoted him, wanting to get away from the more predictable run first offense. Ten seasons later when Osborne adapted the Wishbone offense to his own devices, it came with a lot of different looks and sets and indeed "options" that he mixed up to keep defenses off balance. When Nebraska ran the ball 65 times a game, it was hardly the same play over and over. The suggestion that the Huskers simply pounded the ball at will doesn't respect the actual sophistication and difficulty of running Tom's offense. Osborne often passed the ball more frequently against better opponents, and was actually the master of the trick play. We seem to have different and selective memories of Tim Beck's offense. If you think we could or should have just kept handing the ball to Ameer Abdullah, there are plenty of games where that was attempted and defenses made the proper adjustment.

Totally agree. I understand some fans wanting to rekindle the rivalry with CU, but on the hierarchy of importance in modern college football, the SEC is at the top and Colorado is closer to the bottom. Someone like Oregon will jump on this. What rivalry? Say what you will, in the last 20 years of the Big 8/10, the Nebraska/CU game was generally good TV. Even when CU came in with a lousy record -- especially when they did -- we had our share of white knuckle games. Even Bill Callahan's relative thrashing of CU in 2006 when a huge chunk of student fans got kicked out of the game was rivalry material.

I agree that Nebraska was a bit pass-happy last year. But do you know who was even more pass happy? Virtually every team we played. 10 of our 13 opponents threw the ball more often in the game than we did. 9 of our opponents had 40+ attempts against Nebraska. MSU came in just under at 39. Rushing powerhouse Wisconsin had 50 pass attempts against Nebraska in a winning effort. In that same horrible windy day at Illinois, the Illini actually out-passed Nebraska 45 attempts to 31. Conservative Minnesota out-pased Nebraska 40 attempts to our 26. But honestly, this doesn't tell us as much about our offense — or any winning ratio — as it does about the weak link in our defense. You don't have to be a pass-happy team to exploit a vulnerable pass defense.

Thanks for doing that. Again, you can also tack on the one season Riley had with RBs Stevan Jackson and Ken Simonton where they were fully utilized in the offense. Riley is on record as saying he perhaps leaned too much on Sean Mannion during his last few seasons at OSU, but since he had a QB who was indeed NFL caliber, he went in that direction.

Enjoy Stockton, my homesick young friend. Rest assured you won't be lured away by NFL scouts.

fwiw: Mike Riley was actually calling plays at that time. Mike Riley is no longer calling plays. Are you suggesting that a team would run an offense counter to its head coach's preferences? Its offensive minded head coach?

Riley has had four 4* RB at his disposal here, I'm guessing more than he ever had at OSU. I believe Riley had three running backs at OSU with 3,600+ career rushing yards, which would have put them in Nebraska's all-time Top 6. He also recruited career 5,000 yard rusher Ken Simonton away from USC and made him the first Pac 10 Freshman to rush for over 1,000 yards. When he had future NFL starters Derek Anderson and Stevan Jackson as QB & RB on the same offense, they both got a lot of calls. Jackson had 350 carries in his season with Riley. I don't remember the fans being all that wowed by the post-Abdullah stable of running backs at Nebraska, but maybe I'm wrong. Riley did inherit what was widely considered the best WR unit in the Big 10, so I'm not sure 2015 was exactly a "pound the rock!" year.

Defense wins championships.

Transferring to the San Joaquin Delta Mustangs is definitely bustin' the homesick move.

fwiw: Mike Riley actually has a history of running the ball when he has a good running back.

fwiw: Despite its sunny California location, Stockton is an aesthetic and cultural wasteland compared to Lincoln, Nebraska

When is this administration going to step up and find local girlfriends for these young recruits? Or "girlfriends" if need be?

I was going to say Texas out of reflex. Then I realized I honestly don't care about Texas. Beating a middling Texas team in a different conference would mean almost nothing beyond the standard W.