tmfr15

Agree. This is a fun opportunity to showcase our Nebraska Cornhusker athletes.

These two statements seem at odds to me. I get it. These four years have been tough. That's why I worry that it won't work. Do I want it to work? YES! Do I think Scott and Trev had a great offseason in working towards that? YES! Can I say I am 100 percent confident? No Five years down the road, I am hoping that we will be able to say Scott found his way through this hardship and that we are now winning a decent number of games and blah, blah, blah. I honestly don't know who we would hire if it doesn't pan out. I am still in shock that it hasn't to this point. When Scott came on, I thought, THIS IS IT. WE FINALLY GOT IT RIGHT. Hoping that if the bad happens, there will be somebody who can just grind us back to getting the job done more than we don't.

Watching the staff recruit from the portal has been amazing and they've brought in so many guys to address about every aspect of the team. I know the coaches have been guarded about it saying that high school recruiting is going to be the thing and kind of indicating we won't count on the transfer deal much. Does anybody think that a reliance on the portal might be a thing that happens as the years go by? The top teams seem to over recruit and so guys low on the depth chart are likely to leave. If Scott's staff cultivates that, if feels like we could do some major work there in getting finishing players for the squad. With NIL coming in and our success of being top five in the country, it feels like this could be a big deal for us.

Lucky Charms

Bo over Dabo in the Gator Bowl. Bo over Arizona at the Holiday Bowl. Great memories. We did feel pretty good back then.

It's hard to believe that it has been seven years since ADSE dumped Bo in favor of Mike. It's equally hard to believe that, in those seven years, Nebraska has been bowling just twice and has finished with a winning record just once. Even a pessimist would have given a better forecast for the Huskers seven years removed from Coach Pelini. And in all these years, we have re-lived and re-lived Bo and how it could have been different. These days, I am thinking about the future. And hoping it's a bit better. Surely, we are all doing that. So, in the spirit of looking forward, and not just a few weeks to this season, but five years into the future, what are we thinking NU football will end up looking like? I give Coach Frost and Trev credit for trying to make moves to put Nebraska in better position, but try as I might, I do not see it working out. I thought it would end last year. Buy out expense might have changed that. Five years from now, I see a coach with Big 10 ties leading the program. It's time we actually did embrace that idea. Most of the team's we play, even in the future of super conferences, will have a Big 10 flavor to the way they go about their business. Bo came in and tried Big 12 strategies in the Big 10. Didn't work. Mike came in and tried PAC strategies, didn't work. And Scott has tried Oregon/UCF strategies and it hasn't worked well, at least on the offensive side. Plus, our future in recruiting is in the Big 10 footprint. If/when Scott leaves us, I don't see Nebraska breaking the bank to bring in a super exciting coach. That's just not our style. I think we will get a solid but not flashy coach to lead us to solid seasons and back into regular bowls or to the playoffs assuming that the playoffs grow to be huge and the bowls go away. Maybe I am wrong and Scott's offseason moves will put us in great position and we will be extremely relevant going forward. Then again, Mark is not young, so even that prediction might have a provision for replacing the OC. Thoughts?

Agreed on NW. A dominant win would go a long way towards getting the fans juiced up. A loss would be devastating. Even if the sellout streak remained, the stadium would be soooo empty for ND and GS as to embarrass us all. And we know that NW likes to mess with us. And we're so new on offense....and, as of now, I am turning off my brain. Too much negativity is bad for anybody.

Past pressers. I just read the few quotes on here. And the part about how someone said 12-0 and he just "stared straight ahead." I am happy to hear that he seems comfortable. We are either going to win. Or we aren't. Being defensive won't help and I am glad to hear that he was comfortable.

I agree that words won't change perception. At the same time, I think Scott could look a bit more confident. And speak with confidence. I feel some confidence in looking at all the moves we have made through the transfer portal. The coaches seem like positive additions. But then Scott talks. And I am like... well, maybe I shouldn't be confident.

Thinking back to when Scott was approached after UCF won its conference championship, he acted sore about the media daring to ask him about the Nebraska job saying, "I just want to celebrate with my team." And I brushed that off. Yes, his team had just won the title. Nebraska talk could wait. But he seems to do that every time he is approached by media members. He bristles. He doesn't want to talk. He never talks about his plan or his depth chart and he never wants to discuss injuries. He's always short with the media. He never seems to handle questions well, especially if there is any tension surrounding the situation. Many coaches struggle with the media. But when your team is losing and losing a lot, the way you handle the questions is amplified. Losing coaches are trying to gain the confidence of fans and buy the program the time it needs to turn around. It's hard to have confidence when the coach doesn't look confident. From the first moments of Frost's Nebraska experience, it has looked like the man was out of his depth. And that he realized that. And that he was defensive about it. It continues to look like that now. I think Nebraska has done everything it can to make the most of this situation. Trev really stepped up in making sure that Scott's staying on after last year meant more than just not making a head coaching change. He changed things. We scored some promising coaches, we hit on transfer players. We looked at every aspect of the program. But Scott has to deliver wins in 2022. It would be nice if he could, at some point, look the part of Cornhusker Head Coach and less like the guy who is afraid somebody is going to realize he's not qualified to do the job.

If there were no divisions and the CFP ranking determined the top two, I think Nebraska might still have a chance to make conference championship games in the future. We all get hung up about the national perception of Nebraska and that the Huskers don't get respect. Reality is that we are just not very good right now. If we got through the first nine games of the season this year without taking a loss (and the only really tough opponent in the group is an Oklahoma team with a new QB and new HC) then we would have already earned a very nice national ranking. People want to believe in the Huskers because of our tradition. We wouldn't have to be good long and people would be selling the happy story of how we stuck with Frost and reaped the rewards of a successful program.

It's hard to get into the mentality that Nebraska is ... well, Kansas. Maybe a little better than Kansas. Maybe. Older fans (one speaking here) think of the season and we want to say, "Outside of Oklahoma, Michigan and Wisconsin, who is going to beat us?" The answer is Illinois, Purdue, Minnesota and Iowa. Northwestern beat us in 2020. Rutgers nearly beat us that year too. Oh, Indiana beat us in 2019. Georgia Southern and North Dakota feel like they should be wins. But both have their modest accomplishments of recent years and could be a problem. You would like to say 3-0 to start and then you look at the conference and wonder if there are three more wins on there. Could be as little as one or two.

I watched little of the spring game. It was really bad. I have little hope for next year. And I think this is a last ditch attempt to do something, anything, to make this ship turnaround. We have been awful under Frost. It's funny that our DC was noted as being the weak link on the staff when they all came here from Central Florida. Granted, there were a few pinball like games for UCF on its way to unbeaten. And now EC is our best coach. As for Scott, he can't develop players. He can't get an offense going. And by going, I mean scoring points. Why can't we do anything in the red zone... we are not physical enough. The bad news is that Mark Whipple has little chance of changing that physical side. Our RBs are not all that great. Sorry. And our OL needs massive work. Casey Thompson came here, and these are his words, because he knows Mark is willing to throw the ball as many as 60 times in a game. I think the special teams will improve. I think the defense will be OK, although it's quite possible it might slide a bit due to losses like JoJo. The offense is going to struggle. And Coach Frost will still have problems managing the game decisions and the clock. He might get fired sometime in November. If we are lucky, the whole thing magically clicks in 2022 and we reverse a four-year trend that extended Mike Riley's 4-8 final season. You just deal with it and move on. I love football. I will always love Nebraska. But the fact is...we are a program that used to be good in football. Until we get the next great program building coach... that will likely be our story. It's much harder to build greatness than it is to maintain it.

I have a similar feeling that I did in Scott's first year. And, let's face it, this is a first year of sorts. Yes, we got a boatload from the transfer portal. Yes, we did address the player and coach issues with the offense and the special teams. And, it would seem like a good bet that Eric and the defense are going to be at least serviceable. When you glue all the parts together, what do you have? We'll find out when the games start. And not before. The spring and summer news are always a rainbow ride to Kool Aid town. When Scott took the reins in 2018, I had no expectations and hoped for the best. I ended up being shocked by the worst... 0-7 to start if I am remembering right. Again, I am hoping for the best but not putting a number on it, and, maybe, its the reverse and we get more good than bad. Regardless, it's almost impossible to predict it in February.

Just when you thought we hit rock bottom, and in the past four years, that’s been frequent, things do in fact get worse. Think what it must have been like for Iowa fans when KF fired his OC and hired his son. Head shaking went on. I am sure of that even in apathetic Iowa. Speaking of Iowa, we all knew Frank “the tanked” was OL coach in Iowa. He is the fill in guy for us, or maybe nothing is quite as permanent as that which is temporary. Ron was an RB coach before. Would he be open to doing it again? I think he would. As for the OC in name at least, and the QB coach, maybe they are young and have “fresh ideas” All are cheap. And assistant coaches and an OC from elsewhere are probably not. And they start coaching immediately and get a “jump start” on next year. What if our next year is like the four from before with the same four who were here already. Crazy? Maybe. Out of the realm of possibility seeing how things have gone? Can’t rule it out.

Listening to a lot of people in the media saying that Nebraska made the right choice with Frost because the team is so competitive and close. Then I watch games and specifically the “good” teams that we competed close against. They look pretty average to me. And then I look at the bad losses we’ve had. If you are going to look at the good losses them you have to look at the bad ones. It all adds up to me being pretty skeptical. And that’s without considering the bad coaching in the losses, the lack of player development and some post retention statements by Frost and then just end of with a deep feeling of disappointment.

This is what I don’t understand. When someone brings in a coach, the usual thought is that they like his ideas on offense and defense and that the coach will hire assistants to implement that vision. If it works, and the OC or DC leave , it’s not a big deal since the offense and defense belong to the head coach. Scott’s defense is to let Chins run it. The offense, which was his specialty (from the Chip Kelly tree) is gone. A completely new offense will be run according to someone else’s vision. So say we land the perfect OC and to go along with Chins at DC and Rocket to the front of the class in the Big 10 only to have both OC and DC leave for other opportunities. Are we then starting from scratch? What is Scott’s role now? Is he becoming an expert on the new offense and on the defense we have at current so he can find replacements later? Quite frankly, what his role in years past as Walters and then Lubik were the real offensive brain trusts and not Scott? This is what causes people to believe that keeping Scott was a mistake. He doesn’t have a plan save for cutting the throats of assistant coaches to buy time for himself.

I have a friend who is a Broncos fan and hates the current HC. He was actively rooting for the other team because he wanted the coach to be fired. I can't do that. I can't be happy when the team is losing. Point is that we all know there will be people wanting three blow out losses because, in that case, 3-9 and they think, "No way can Frost be retained." I am conflicted because in the case that we lose all three, but by seven points or less, it still gives me no hope that things are going to change, but some fear that close losses to those three will be seen as progress. And we have seen progress. It works until it doesn't. Progress should include a rise to victory, not a constant state of losing close to some good and some bad teams. The desired outcome then is clear and decisive wins in the next three where we play complete games (O-D and St). Probably not going to happen, but I can't cheer against Nebraska. Just can't

It looks to be the fifth consecutive non bowl season in Lincoln. And, as a fan, that’s pretty deflating. I know most of us were big fans of Frost. It seemed like a slam dunk. It has been anything but that. None of us fans have any say in who gets fired or hired. So there’s not much point in debating. We have opinions but someone else will make the final call. We do control the level of interest we have in the team. And I am interested and invested or I would not be posting. I have to say my level of interest has gone down. For many years, Husker football was a passion. I enjoyed and supported but was not nearly as invested in basketball or volleyball or baseball. I don’t follow those other programs 365 like I do football. But I am starting to believe that the excitement and investment for football is dropping to be a lot closer to those other Husker sports Its a little hopeless right now. When Bill replaced Solich, we hoped for good. It went bad, TO to the rescue. Bo gave way to Mike, it was bad but we all felt we got the right coach. with Scott. We have little hope that Scott is going to turn it around and about the same faith that the program will rise rapidly under new leadership. when the off season comes, I won’t be wishing away any time to get back to football. I won’t think about it that much until summer. And that’s very different for me. Sometimes I wonder if a day will come where I simply don’t care at all. I am hoping to read about what you all are thinking about this Coaching change or no, the off-season looks like a snore.

Personally, I ain't going anywhere. This is my team. I have seen the best and worst from these guys. After 20-plus years of this, now I am going to quit being a Husker fan. Right? Sure. Are you nuts!? However, if I had the power of the administration of the University of Nebraska and was paying Scott's salary... I would cut him loose. It would end right here. I assume you are fan as I am and, well, we back whatever is there. We backed Bill, Bo, Mike and Scott just the same. Hoped for the best. But as an administrator, are you telling me that you would A) Be happy with the product on the field OR B) Have a reasonable expectation things are going to change in the future. My guess is that it would hard to hold the A or B position and that only leaves you with C as in C-ya Later Scott.

A lot was wrapped up in the firing of Frank Solich back to 2003. It signaled a new era at NU in the way we look at coaches and their tenures. Don't like them? Not doing well enough W-L? Fire 'em. But that wasn't the only thing. NU had a formula of power football that Frank was building upon. When we went away from that, we were almost guaranteed to spin into a down period of adjustment to a pass-oriented attack. We fired Bill, then Bo and Mike. Here we are with Scott. What's different this time? First off, we don't have some time honored way of playing the game. We hardly have an identity at all. Secondly, Scott doesn't come here if we are committed to the idea of sticking with a guy through the hard times Lastly, times have not been harder in 50-plus years. Scott seems lost. He seems like he wasn't ready for this job. We are staring straight down the barrel of 3-9 and the reality that things will not get better. We tried a plan that seemed destined to succeed and it fell flat. In the end, we learn from this. We fire Scott. We find a coach that will be a teacher of fundamentals and who will bring physical football back to our school, because 1. It worked here in the past. 2. It's the formula for success in the Big 10. We need recruiters to make this work. We need top assistants, not the coach's buddies. Coaches that can recruit the Big 10 and mold us into a team that can win the league. We can't be what we once were by recruiting the south, Texas in particular. We have to find a new way with a seemingly familiar brand of ball. Everyone is saying how hard this choice is when it's not hard at all. 4-8, then 5-7, then turn down a bowl when one is given to you 3-5 and then three more wins when you don't have eight chances to garner victory.... you got 12. Next season isn't going to be easier because we are fresh off losses to Purdue, Minnesota and Illinois. The tough teams in this division are Wisconsin and Iowa. And if we lose to them too, I am wondering how next year will be easier. Are we changing leagues? We still play all those teams next year too. And maybe Northwestern improves and they kick us too. A 1-5 or 2-4 division record would not be a surprise. And we play Oklahoma in the non-con. So 2-5 not counting cross over or other non-cons. Count me out of that. This ends here. It ends with Frost leaving.

Apathy is real. Indeed. But I continue to be amazed by our fan base. They fill up the stadium and cheer any positive play. At some point, I am going to turn up to the stadium and find it half empty…at least that’s what I keep thinking. We keep losing but the fans aren’t giving up. Any fan who needs to take a break because the games are really hard to watch shouldn’t be hard on themselves for it. Fans have been patient for over two decades now. The athletic department needs to fix it. Either help Scott fix it or find another coach who can fix it.

Nebraska is so far removed from glory that resurrection isn’t possible. If Nebraska gets to be good again, that program will be new and will be it’s own thing. The new Nebraska would have no closer relationship to Bob and Tom than Glassford did with the Husker program we all grew to love.

I feel the frustration from all around as well. It’s almost impossible to avoid now. After Buffalo, OU, MSU, NW and MU, I felt it turning and was very excited. I sometimes listen to the game on radio archive because Matt says what I feel a lot of the time. After losses and disappointment, that gave me some solace because Matt was right there like a fan in the booth suffering along with me. After NW, he was freaking going crazy and it was so fun to hear his enthusiasm. Then Minny. It all came down. We feel like a 4-8 or even a 3-9 team. Hope is lost. Fire Frost and suffer in another transition. Keep him and a bowl seems unlikely for the sixth straight year. I couldn’t even listen to the game on archive. Pulled from the site. No game coverage. Maybe I should be happy with that since I was miserable enough without the radio version to possibly aggravate my mind.

As a fan, I am frustrated. As someone standing on the outside and looking at the deal without emotion clouding judgements, you would have to say that Nebraska’s season has been extremely productive. I remember a time that losses suffered by Nebraska were to teams with impressive resumes. After the opener, Nebraska has fought hard against three such teams. They haven’t laid off or suffered a hang over yet. We continue to develop. I am saying wins are locked in for the next two. I had us winning against MU in a very tight one. We lost in that fashion but we continue to bring it. No predictions of a grand finish here. We lost one we should have had to open. And to get to a bowl, we will probably need to win a game we should not. Best case that’s Wisky, but we know Camp Randall is no joke and they have our number. Just wait and see at this point. Not ready to talk off-season moves. Get through this season first.