I would rather have a 9 win season and be ranked in the top 25 than have a 7-7 season or a 5-7 season like 2007. Granted, we were not a top 15 team this year, but when 3 of our losses came to teams with 11 wins, I would say a 9-4 season in our first year in the Big Ten isn't too shabby.
I can't speak for everyone, but this Husker fan will continue to keep 9 win seasons as the benchmark. If we go above and beyond 9 wins in a given year...fantastic, and if we don't... then that's when you know something is truly wrong with your team. That's when you know your team is slipping in some area (ex. coaching, talent, recruiting, scheme, or whatever).
Yeah I'm sitting here hoping to go .500 . You can have your face palm back. I'm merely stating that our benchmark needs to be moved to that 10 or 11 wins. 9 wins is great. 4 losses is not great. Show me 10-3 or 11-2 consistently than we have a benchmark. I think a team with 4 losses like Nebraska had should be on the outside looking in.