Outstanding post about Osborne

[Blackshirt]

Discovered this post via a link from a member on here earlier... thought it was worth sharing w/everyone. Its very well thought out and hard to argue with no matter where your allegiance is... and if anyone knows the author, you need to recruit him over here! very talented writer.

 

---------

member: mauxdeverite - from sportsline.com forum

Tom Osborne's program at Nebraska was not "one of the best" in the nation. It was the best, period. The talking heads and teleprompter readers love to rattle off names like Michigan, Ohio State, and USC. Looking back at the last quarter of a century, nobody dominated college football like Nebraska. Osborne won three national titles in four seasons, and came within a single play of winning four straight. His Husker dynasty was without peer, and peaked with the absolute annihilation of Florida by a score of 62-14 in the national championship game. It remains the single most lopsided championship game in modern history. That Husker team is arguably the greatest of all time. Of course all the media stooges picked Florida and laughed about how the Gator speed would befuddle those hicks from Nebraska. Yes, speed was the difference in the game. Nebraska showed Florida speed that they could not have imagined. It was Osborne who fathered the concept of moving safeties to linebacker, and linebackers to the defensive line to achieve more team speed on defense. It was Osborne who developed an offensive playbook that dwarfed most of the so called "offensive" schools. Yes, Nebraska ran the ball, but they did it one hundred different ways, from a myriad of formations. The Nebraska running game was a beautiful thing to behold. It was under Osborne that Nebraska pioneered weight training and took it to the highest level possible. Their offensive linemen were magnificent. Many Nebraska players did not fare well in the NFL, in that there was little room for improvement or growth by the time they left. Osborne literally maxed out his players potentials, almost to the level of burnout. They were that good. It was Osborne who had the courage to go for two in a national championship game instead of settling for a tie. Osborne had another national title stolen from him at State College, PA in 1982, when an official connected to the Penn State program allowed a completion to a tight end who was three yards out of bounds. It remains one of the worst calls in history, second only to Colorado's five downs against Missouri. Under Osborne, players learned to tackle properly. His defenses in the mid 90's were suffocating and punishing.

 

Today, no program has fallen further than Nebraska, not even Notre Dame. This program went from being the very best, to among the very worst, all in about five seasons. Bill Callahan was never right for Nebraska, but neither was Frank Solich. The truth is that there is no way to replace Tom Osborne. Nobody else at any other school ever had anything close to what Tom had. Nobody understood how to run the option like Osborne, and option football is what Nebraska is about. The Huskers made their reputation on recruiting a ton of in state players, maximizing their skills, and sprinkling in some skill players from around the nation as needed. This meant they didn't recruit with only a stopwatch. They recruited heart and desire, which offset pure athleticism. Considering their recruiting base, Nebraska isn't geared to be a west coast, passing offense. They had something that was unique, and threw it away to be just another cookie cutter PAC-10 team that can't tackle nor has any stomach for toughness.

 

Nebraska will never reach the level of absolute dominance of the Osborne era ever again. The eighty five man rule changed football forever. We will no longer see one hundred Huskers dressed for a home game like in bygone days. We won't see Nebraska teams with dozens of redshirts and fifth year seniors. Those days are gone.

 

Where do they go from here? Who knows? One thing is certain. Bill Callahan isn't the answer, and has to follow Pederson out the door. Nebraska has lost their identity. Michigan, for all of their failures and ineptitude since 1948, has at least retained their identity as a slow, plodding, predictable team that can't stop a pass. It's who they are. Give them credit for being consistent. Nebraska doesn't have any idea who they are, and their first step is to reconnect with their past, and reclaim their identity. Losing in Lincoln should never happen, ever.

 

Finally, let's set the record straight on Osborne's "criminal" players. The media bashed Nebraska unmercifully for twenty years because they didn't fit their idea of what a college football team should be. They were a fanatical red state. They were conservative. They were disciplined. They were the left's worst nightmare, and nobody wanted them to win. Phillips and Peter became poster children for the media. In all of Osborne's tenure, if a handful of miscreants is all you can come up with, considering the hundreds who have passed through the program, it's pretty frigging good. Meanwhile the media conveniently looked the other way at Florida State, Miami, Tennessee, when they had scores of players outside the law. Yes, the media loved to hate on those crew cut, corn fed Nebraska players, and many still do.

[timberghost]

Outstanding. The Pride one feels reading it is great!!

[GloryDaze]

You, and whoever wrote that post are drunk.

[real'97champs]

a single play from winning four straight? we lost 19-0 to asu and we lost to texas in 1996. I'm pretty sure it took more than one play to lose those two games. Maybe a play from winning three straight not four.

[brotherofalatehusker]

You, and whoever wrote that post are drunk.

 

Ok, new kid on the block... Instead of flaming everyone, how about you STFU or offer some constructive thoughts?? Just a thought.

[junior4949]

Somehow he forgot to include that when NU was in its dominant form, we did recruit using a stopwatch. He also forgot to mention that all those criminals that the media was having a heyday with all seemed to be on the team at one time. It kind of makes a person go hmmm. He also forgets to mention the national outcry for a "zero" tolerance with regards to college student athletes about the time we so dominant. I don't want to take anything away from TO, but he was a sinner just like you and me!

[GloryDaze]

You, and whoever wrote that post are drunk.

 

Ok, new kid on the block... Instead of flaming everyone, how about you STFU or offer some constructive thoughts?? Just a thought.

 

Here's something constructive - you still see NU through a leather helmet. College football has changed but neither NU adminstration, NOR NU fans have changed. Dr. Tom couldn't do what he did if there were equal number of scholarships in his day. KU, MU, KSU, OSU, ISU (well, maybe ISU) would not be the pushovers they were way back when. I know you're proud of your history, and you should be. But it is HISTORY. Schemes are comprehensive now, athletes are stronger, faster and smarter. At one point, 80% of Dr. Tom's roster were Nebraskans. How well would that work today? Sorry for the flame earlier, but it's time to face reality. Your 10 years behind and spinning your wheels. NU is living on fumes from the glory days. Your no more special this decade than CU, MU, KSU, or KU to name just the B12 North teams.

[husker_blitz]

Finally, let's set the record straight on Osborne's "criminal" players. The media bashed Nebraska unmercifully for twenty years because they didn't fit their idea of what a college football team should be. They were a fanatical red state. They were conservative. They were disciplined. They were the left's worst nightmare, and nobody wanted them to win. Phillips and Peter became poster children for the media. In all of Osborne's tenure, if a handful of miscreants is all you can come up with, considering the hundreds who have passed through the program, it's pretty frigging good. Meanwhile the media conveniently looked the other way at Florida State, Miami, Tennessee, when they had scores of players outside the law. Yes, the media loved to hate on those crew cut, corn fed Nebraska players, and many still do.

Most of the last paragraph is crap. The media did look very hard at Florida State and Miami. It was Sports Illustrated that suggested with a famous cover why Miami should drop football. And you tell me that no one covered the Free Shoes University?

 

And of course, the old stand-by "Everyone wants us to lose because everyone hates us". Bull crap. Most of the fans of other teams liked Nebraska because we still embodied what they loved about college football, even though they did not follow Big Red. Nebraska received criticism when they deserved some, even though 95 it did seem to get out of hand. It makes me want to puke whenever I hear that everyone hates Nebraska when most recognized Nebraska and its fans for what it is...100% college football.

[junior4949]

You, and whoever wrote that post are drunk.

 

Ok, new kid on the block... Instead of flaming everyone, how about you STFU or offer some constructive thoughts?? Just a thought.

 

Here's something constructive - you still see NU through a leather helmet. College football has changed but neither NU adminstration, NOR NU fans have changed. Dr. Tom couldn't do what he did if there were equal number of scholarships in his day. KU, MU, KSU, OSU, ISU (well, maybe ISU) would not be the pushovers they were way back when. I know you're proud of your history, and you should be. But it is HISTORY. Schemes are comprehensive now, athletes are stronger, faster and smarter. At one point, 80% of Dr. Tom's roster were Nebraskans. How well would that work today? Sorry for the flame earlier, but it's time to face reality. Your 10 years behind and spinning your wheels. NU is living on fumes from the glory days. Your no more special this decade than CU, MU, KSU, or KU to name just the B12 North teams.

 

When 80% of the roster was NU kids, we got blasted against the Florida teams in bowl games. A 4.4 40 was a 4.4 then and it's still a 4.4. Explain to me how people got so much faster. Didn't we have a kid tie or break a 40 record at the NFL combines a few years back? CU was once a special team until Nudeheisel Callahanned them making them this sissy finnesse passing team. KState was kind of special as well. They were like one play away in 98' from playing for the whole bag of marbles. Btw, TO did manage to lose to CU when they were special. IMO, TO would be producing his 9+ wins each and every season if he'd have stayed on as coach.

[brotherofalatehusker]

You, and whoever wrote that post are drunk.

 

Ok, new kid on the block... Instead of flaming everyone, how about you STFU or offer some constructive thoughts?? Just a thought.

 

Here's something constructive - you still see NU through a leather helmet. College football has changed but neither NU adminstration, NOR NU fans have changed. Dr. Tom couldn't do what he did if there were equal number of scholarships in his day. KU, MU, KSU, OSU, ISU (well, maybe ISU) would not be the pushovers they were way back when. I know you're proud of your history, and you should be. But it is HISTORY. Schemes are comprehensive now, athletes are stronger, faster and smarter. At one point, 80% of Dr. Tom's roster were Nebraskans. How well would that work today? Sorry for the flame earlier, but it's time to face reality. Your 10 years behind and spinning your wheels. NU is living on fumes from the glory days. Your no more special this decade than CU, MU, KSU, or KU to name just the B12 North teams.

 

Yep, and for 4 of the seven years of this decade Wild Bill C. has been in charge. What's your point? Last year prior to BC's arrival they were 10-3 as I recall. I'd settle for that because sooner or later you'll win those 3.

[GloryDaze]

You, and whoever wrote that post are drunk.

 

Ok, new kid on the block... Instead of flaming everyone, how about you STFU or offer some constructive thoughts?? Just a thought.

 

Here's something constructive - you still see NU through a leather helmet. College football has changed but neither NU adminstration, NOR NU fans have changed. Dr. Tom couldn't do what he did if there were equal number of scholarships in his day. KU, MU, KSU, OSU, ISU (well, maybe ISU) would not be the pushovers they were way back when. I know you're proud of your history, and you should be. But it is HISTORY. Schemes are comprehensive now, athletes are stronger, faster and smarter. At one point, 80% of Dr. Tom's roster were Nebraskans. How well would that work today? Sorry for the flame earlier, but it's time to face reality. Your 10 years behind and spinning your wheels. NU is living on fumes from the glory days. Your no more special this decade than CU, MU, KSU, or KU to name just the B12 North teams.

 

Yep, and for 4 of the seven years of this decade Wild Bill C. has been in charge. What's your point? Last year prior to BC's arrival they were 10-3 as I recall. I'd settle for that because sooner or later you'll win those 3.

 

"Sooner or later you'll win those 3"?!! You gave up an average of 48 points in those three! Still looking backwards - that IS my point.

[junior4949]

LOL, you don't want us looking backward? How about this: next year we will make a bowl game, and we will have a winning season. We will win the Big 12 North next year. How about that for future looking?

[GloryDaze]

You, and whoever wrote that post are drunk.

 

Ok, new kid on the block... Instead of flaming everyone, how about you STFU or offer some constructive thoughts?? Just a thought.

 

Here's something constructive - you still see NU through a leather helmet. College football has changed but neither NU adminstration, NOR NU fans have changed. Dr. Tom couldn't do what he did if there were equal number of scholarships in his day. KU, MU, KSU, OSU, ISU (well, maybe ISU) would not be the pushovers they were way back when. I know you're proud of your history, and you should be. But it is HISTORY. Schemes are comprehensive now, athletes are stronger, faster and smarter. At one point, 80% of Dr. Tom's roster were Nebraskans. How well would that work today? Sorry for the flame earlier, but it's time to face reality. Your 10 years behind and spinning your wheels. NU is living on fumes from the glory days. Your no more special this decade than CU, MU, KSU, or KU to name just the B12 North teams.

 

Yep, and for 4 of the seven years of this decade Wild Bill C. has been in charge. What's your point? Last year prior to BC's arrival they were 10-3 as I recall. I'd settle for that because sooner or later you'll win those 3.

 

"Sooner or later you'll win those 3"?!! You gave up an average of 48 points in those three! Still looking backwards - that IS my point.

 

Game is over. Going to bed. Btw, the Rockies weren't around in the early 90's. Things have sure changed, haven't they?

[Glendower]

You, and whoever wrote that post are drunk.

 

Ok, new kid on the block... Instead of flaming everyone, how about you STFU or offer some constructive thoughts?? Just a thought.

 

Here's something constructive - you still see NU through a leather helmet. College football has changed but neither NU adminstration, NOR NU fans have changed. Dr. Tom couldn't do what he did if there were equal number of scholarships in his day. KU, MU, KSU, OSU, ISU (well, maybe ISU) would not be the pushovers they were way back when. I know you're proud of your history, and you should be. But it is HISTORY. Schemes are comprehensive now, athletes are stronger, faster and smarter. At one point, 80% of Dr. Tom's roster were Nebraskans. How well would that work today? Sorry for the flame earlier, but it's time to face reality. Your 10 years behind and spinning your wheels. NU is living on fumes from the glory days. Your no more special this decade than CU, MU, KSU, or KU to name just the B12 North teams.

 

Yep, and for 4 of the seven years of this decade Wild Bill C. has been in charge. What's your point? Last year prior to BC's arrival they were 10-3 as I recall. I'd settle for that because sooner or later you'll win those 3.

 

"Sooner or later you'll win those 3"?!! You gave up an average of 48 points in those three! Still looking backwards - that IS my point.

 

Game is over. Going to bed. Btw, the Rockies weren't around in the early 90's. Things have sure changed, haven't they?

 

<gasp> A profundity! After you said that, did you turn and walk back to your Harley as the towns folk stood slack-jawed and speechless, unable to respond to your analogous reasoning? I hear the melancholy guitar riff playing wail as "Produced by Aaron Spelling" splashes up on screen. Mr. T pities all them fools.

[walksalone]

You, and whoever wrote that post are drunk.

 

Ok, new kid on the block... Instead of flaming everyone, how about you STFU or offer some constructive thoughts?? Just a thought.

 

Here's something constructive - you still see NU through a leather helmet. College football has changed but neither NU adminstration, NOR NU fans have changed. Dr. Tom couldn't do what he did if there were equal number of scholarships in his day. KU, MU, KSU, OSU, ISU (well, maybe ISU) would not be the pushovers they were way back when. I know you're proud of your history, and you should be. But it is HISTORY. Schemes are comprehensive now, athletes are stronger, faster and smarter. At one point, 80% of Dr. Tom's roster were Nebraskans. How well would that work today? Sorry for the flame earlier, but it's time to face reality. Your 10 years behind and spinning your wheels. NU is living on fumes from the glory days. Your no more special this decade than CU, MU, KSU, or KU to name just the B12 North teams.

 

Back in the mid 90's when NU really had no equal, the majority of those kids were walk on's, to run an "outdated" offense, that won 3 national championships in 4 years. Think about that, if you look at those rosters, you'll see Wayne, Elkhorn, as the hometowns where these players were coming from. How many times did you hear about these O-lineman coming from tiny towns nobodied every heard of (unless you're from Nebraska) who played 9 man football because they're weren't enough kids in the schools.

 

Glory Daze, you sound like Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, and all the other so called experts. I'm glad you took the time to post your misguided "wisdom", but we've had quite enough already....