Direction of program

[GMoose]

My faith lies in two years - 2007 and 2009. We put together a competent offense in 2007. Championship calibler? Hell no. But competent. In 2009, we had the best defense in the nation. Bo has shown the capability to put together an elite defense. Do we have the resources like Florida and Texas schools for elite offense? No. But we had a good one in 2007 with our limited NE recruiting advantages. If you stick 2007 offense with 2009's defense, we're playing four quarters with Bama in the BCS championship. It's still possible. It'll take the right coaching, impeccable timing and a little luck, but it's possible.

[huskerscott]

2 years ago I thought Nebraska was on the verge of being constant national power again. Now, I really have my doubts as to whether we will reach that again. To me we destined to be an 8-4 or 9-3 team every year, with a few 10-2 seasons spinkled in.

[The Duke]

2 years ago I thought Nebraska was on the verge of being constant national power again. Now, I really have my doubts as to whether we will reach that again. To me we destined to be an 8-4 or 9-3 team every year, with a few 10-2 seasons spinkled in.

 

Hey those type of seasons worked out pretty well for Tom Osborne for over 25 years.

 

Tom Osborne's Head Coaching Record at Nebraska:

1973 9-2-1 Won the Cotton Bowl

1974 9-3 Won the Sugar Bowl

1975 10-2 Lost the Fiesta Bowl

1976 9-3-1 Won the Bluebonnet Bowl

1977 9-3 Won the Liberty Bowl

1978 9-3 Lost the Orange Bowl

1979 10-2 Lost the Cotton Bowl

1980 10-2 Won the Sun Bowl

1981 7-0 Lost the Orange Bowl

1982 7-0 Won the Orange Bowl

1983 12-1 Lost the Orange Bowl

1984 10-2 Won the Sugar Bowl

1985 9-3 Lost the Fiesta Bowl

1986 10-2 Won the Sugar Bowl

1987 10-2 Lost the Fiesta Bowl

1988 7-0 Lost the Orange Bowl

1989 10-2 Lost the Fiesta Bowl

1990 9-3 Lost the Citrus Bowl

1991 9-2-1 Lost the Orange Bowl

1992 9-3 Lost the Orange Bowl

1993 11-1 Lost the Orange Bowl

1994 13-0 Won the Orange Bowl--National Champions

1995 12-0 Won the Fiesta Bowl--National Champions

1996 11-2 Won the Orange Bowl

1997 13-0 Won the Orange Bowl--National Champions

[tschu]

We were spoiled in the 90s obviously. No reason we can't be a 9-10 win team every year now, and no reason to consider that a failure. Winning a national title is a rare thing, and I highly doubt we are going to dominate like we did in the 90s again. But there is zero reason we can't continue to be a winning program with a title sprinkled in here and there.

[The Duke]

We were spoiled in the 90s obviously. No reason we can't be a 9-10 win team every year now, and no reason to consider that a failure. Winning a national title is a rare thing, and I highly doubt we are going to dominate like we did in the 90s again. But there is zero reason we can't continue to be a winning program with a title sprinkled in here and there.

 

Exactly! The 90's was a rarity in both collegiate and professional football. I mean during Tom Osborne's last 5 years we went 60-3!

 

As long as Bo keeps this program in the 8-10 win column and going to a bowl game every year, I think we should all be happy with that. Sprinkle in a BCS bowl every 4 years, and hopefully at least one national title. I think that is a very attainable goal.

[HuskerCarter]

Agreed, last nights performance was piss poor. But I believe the reason why so many people are upset is because we are not the precipice of something great, but for whatever reason cannot turn the corner. We are recruiting players that can get the job done, but not all of them are seeing the field. On offense we finally have the coaches and pieces in place to do something great, but we are being handcuffed for whatever reason.

 

While I don't think the kids should be tweeting their angst, they have every bit the reason to be upset. Why Washington, Bell, Mitchell, Cooper, Jackson, and others can't over take Thorell or Cassidy boggles me. Why Whaley can't unseat Fisher boggles me more.

 

While playing good in practice is important, it is just practice. Give some guys who have been on the bench the opportunity to go out there and step up. Maybe their gameday instincts will be ridiculously good. Who knows?

 

But right now our inefficiencies are glaring, and it is time for the coaches to address it.

 

Throw in Marlowe and why we can't recruit a QB and I'm with you.

 

We can't recruit a QB because we are too critical on them as fans and media. We scare them.

 

But all is not lost. While this season looks a little murky. Next season really isn't. If you look at the potential we have next year, its championship caliber. This year's team came in with a lot questions offensively and defensively in the secondary. We have overcome the doubts offensively, but the defensive secondary has fallen well short of what we thought they would be like this year.

 

But next year breaking it down.

 

QB - B+ We get Taylor back, another year under Brion Carnes, and hopefully several new QBs to compete

IB - A+ Hopefully Burkhead comes back for his senior year (95% likely), we lose Austin Jones and Gilleylen, maybe Okafur, but have 3 talented sophomores at this point that have game time experience

FB - A- We lose Legate sure, but we have a talent with Marrow and I've seen McDermott and Zimmerer out there too

WR - A- Kinnie and Marlowe are gone. But we 3 outstanding players coming back, Turner, Bell, and Enunwa, and im sure some one else will step up too

TE - A If Cotton and Reed come back, no doubt about it we will be sitting pretty good.

OL - A- Losing Jones, Yoshi and Caputo will hurt, in fact it will take the most hits, but its a good thing we are rotating a bunch of guys around this year. Sirles, Choi, Qvale, Long, Rodrigues, Moore. Not to mention the talent behind them.

 

DL - B+ Crick and Moore will be big loses, hopefully we retain Meredith. But with Martin, WIlliams, Ankrah and Carter coming back on the end spot, and Steinkuhler, Randle, and Rome. I expect some new faces out there as well, like Todd Peat

and Jay Guy.

LB - C+ This is the only scary part about next season. We lose David. Compton will be alright, but after that is a mystery. Roach could step up, maybe Slaughter and Santos. Fisher has been a letdown this season, hopefully somewhere along the line he snaps back into it.

CB - B+ For the record, i would rank our CB at a C-, and that's only because of Dennard's presence on the field to keep them out of a F. But i believe in the saying what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. Our secondary may be getting mugged this season, with the Pelini brothers, a vast improvement can be seen on the horizon. It will start to show during this season.

S - B+ Cassidy will be gone. But these names should scare most QB's next year, Stafford, Osborne, Smith, Jackson and Cooper. Yea there will be shifting around, in fact i would be surprised if two of those names moved to CB next year.

P/K - A We already burned Bondi's redshirt, but Maher is a solid kicker/punter. Sure glad he is a junior this year.

 

So while things look bleak this year. Next year looks really good. Considering historically what the Pelini's have done with this program in the past 4 years.

[Ringer02]

Agreed, last nights performance was piss poor. But I believe the reason why so many people are upset is because we are not the precipice of something great, but for whatever reason cannot turn the corner. We are recruiting players that can get the job done, but not all of them are seeing the field. On offense we finally have the coaches and pieces in place to do something great, but we are being handcuffed for whatever reason.

 

While I don't think the kids should be tweeting their angst, they have every bit the reason to be upset. Why Washington, Bell, Mitchell, Cooper, Jackson, and others can't over take Thorell or Cassidy boggles me. Why Whaley can't unseat Fisher boggles me more.

 

While playing good in practice is important, it is just practice. Give some guys who have been on the bench the opportunity to go out there and step up. Maybe their gameday instincts will be ridiculously good. Who knows?

 

But right now our inefficiencies are glaring, and it is time for the coaches to address it.

 

Throw in Marlowe and why we can't recruit a QB and I'm with you.

 

We can't recruit a QB because we are too critical on them as fans and media. We scare them.

 

 

This isn't true, QB's are under just as much scrutiny in the sec, big 12, or wherever fans have expectations for their teams. Most athletes at this level have dreams of playing in the NFL anyway so if you can't handle Nebraska there's no way in hell you'll make it in the NFL.

 

Martinez's problem is that he has no PR skills, he always comes off as cocky and dissinterested in the media so the fans only loved him because he won games. Once that went away he had nothing to fall back on and now the media/fans are eating him up. People were much more reluctant to rip into QB's like Joe Ganz and Zac Taylor because they seemed like genuinely nice guys off the field, neither of them really had that much more success than Martinez yet the fans stuck by them through thick and thin.

[da skers]

Ok....now that I have had a night to sleep on it, and also read "some" of the posts.....especially the ones that contains "facts" and "tweets" from players...... I ask this question.

 

Can this program ever reach the Top 5 "CONSISTANTLY" again. As I ask, please keep in mind that I am 42, and grew up watching the mid-late 70's teams, attended UNL during late 80's and early 90's....traveled and still do to many away games and bowl games, and have had season tickets since 92..... I am not a fair-weather fan, and will wear my husker tatoo and the $$$$$ of memorabilia that decor my house with PRIDE until the day I die...

 

IMO, I am truly beginning to wonder, that in this day and age, NU may be in a little trouble trying to rebuild the program that "once was"... I really worry that the parity and the location of NU is going to prevent NU from becoming the team that we all know and love.

 

Reading the tweets from current players also concerns me. I have coached for 18 years and deal with HS kids daily. It is a shame that kids feel "entitled" to play, and when they get unhappy, they feel as if it is ok to go onto the "social media" and POUT OUT LOUD... for everyone to see.

 

What happened to coming to school, working your a$$ off, paying your dues, learning the system, and making the most when you get the opportunity. *** Granted the players who are playing right now, are NOT playing well....but, can anyone HONESTLY think that if these young guys are better, the coaches would play them???? The staff is putting the best players that we have on the field. Final !!! No one wants to win, worse than the coaches, guaranteed !!!

 

What worries me, is that we fell apart during the BC era....blame the coach..... Bo comes in and we win a decent amount, but nothing for the trophy case (except North title)... some think Bo is real deal (and he may be)... We blame Big 12 for officiating last year...yet continue to get penalized this season.... Last night, I watched a team that played as poorly as the teams under the BC and Cosgrove era.... Players didn't block, throw, cover, or tackle... Now we have young players tweeting about their teammates, and freshman running backs saying "IDK" when told to keep head up, and people posting that Brion won't be back next year.... What is the EXCUSE this time.

 

I am afraid that it is a much bigger problem that may be tough to overcome. I will bleed Husker Red forever, and be at almost every game, but will continue to wonder if we will EVER reach the level that "once was"

Society has changed for the worse in the past 5-6 years. Honestly when was the last time you saw a parent tell their kid to shut up, work hard and wait your turn? Not very often. Parents want to relive their childhood dreams so bad through their kids it isn't funny. I help officiate pee-wee and Jr high games. I've seen parents come out of the crowd and demand that coaches play their kid when he barely has the skills to touch the ball. I've seen kids play on 2 or 3 teams over the course of a few years as mom and dad try to bounce them from club team to club team trying to figure out where the most playing time is. Kids don't have to work for things now days they expect mom and dad or someone, anyone to give it to them regardless of their talent level. Hell even now you read about parents going to a job interview before their kids to make sure the company is "good enough" for their child to work at.

Thats why people gravitate towards a Rex Burkhead because he was raised the right way. I bet the coaches could put him on the 3rd team right now and he wouldn't change a bit from who he is. Its too bad there aren't 5000 able kids like that out there to play sports.

[Paul in WI]

Ok....now that I have had a night to sleep on it, and also read "some" of the posts.....especially the ones that contains "facts" and "tweets" from players...... I ask this question.

 

Can this program ever reach the Top 5 "CONSISTANTLY" again. As I ask, please keep in mind that I am 42, and grew up watching the mid-late 70's teams, attended UNL during late 80's and early 90's....traveled and still do to many away games and bowl games, and have had season tickets since 92..... I am not a fair-weather fan, and will wear my husker tatoo and the $$$$$ of memorabilia that decor my house with PRIDE until the day I die...

 

IMO, I am truly beginning to wonder, that in this day and age, NU may be in a little trouble trying to rebuild the program that "once was"... I really worry that the parity and the location of NU is going to prevent NU from becoming the team that we all know and love.

 

Reading the tweets from current players also concerns me. I have coached for 18 years and deal with HS kids daily. It is a shame that kids feel "entitled" to play, and when they get unhappy, they feel as if it is ok to go onto the "social media" and POUT OUT LOUD... for everyone to see.

 

What happened to coming to school, working your a$$ off, paying your dues, learning the system, and making the most when you get the opportunity. *** Granted the players who are playing right now, are NOT playing well....but, can anyone HONESTLY think that if these young guys are better, the coaches would play them???? The staff is putting the best players that we have on the field. Final !!! No one wants to win, worse than the coaches, guaranteed !!!

 

What worries me, is that we fell apart during the BC era....blame the coach..... Bo comes in and we win a decent amount, but nothing for the trophy case (except North title)... some think Bo is real deal (and he may be)... We blame Big 12 for officiating last year...yet continue to get penalized this season.... Last night, I watched a team that played as poorly as the teams under the BC and Cosgrove era.... Players didn't block, throw, cover, or tackle... Now we have young players tweeting about their teammates, and freshman running backs saying "IDK" when told to keep head up, and people posting that Brion won't be back next year.... What is the EXCUSE this time.

 

I am afraid that it is a much bigger problem that may be tough to overcome. I will bleed Husker Red forever, and be at almost every game, but will continue to wonder if we will EVER reach the level that "once was"

 

All we need to do is copy the Wisconsin model. You know.....the model that was patterned after the old Nebraska model of how to build a winning football program with 3 star athletes. You know......the one that "doesn't work anymore, because these are different times." Ask Wisconsin. Evidently they've figured it out. Many of you are so focused on the details of the game that you don't see the fundamental flaw in our football program, and we'll never be great again until we fix what is staring us right in the face. Ask the team that just gave us the old-style, Nebraska beat down what that is.

[Stumpy1]

Ok....now that I have had a night to sleep on it, and also read "some" of the posts.....especially the ones that contains "facts" and "tweets" from players...... I ask this question.

 

Can this program ever reach the Top 5 "CONSISTANTLY" again. As I ask, please keep in mind that I am 42, and grew up watching the mid-late 70's teams, attended UNL during late 80's and early 90's....traveled and still do to many away games and bowl games, and have had season tickets since 92..... I am not a fair-weather fan, and will wear my husker tatoo and the $$$$$ of memorabilia that decor my house with PRIDE until the day I die...

 

IMO, I am truly beginning to wonder, that in this day and age, NU may be in a little trouble trying to rebuild the program that "once was"... I really worry that the parity and the location of NU is going to prevent NU from becoming the team that we all know and love.

 

Reading the tweets from current players also concerns me. I have coached for 18 years and deal with HS kids daily. It is a shame that kids feel "entitled" to play, and when they get unhappy, they feel as if it is ok to go onto the "social media" and POUT OUT LOUD... for everyone to see.

 

What happened to coming to school, working your a$$ off, paying your dues, learning the system, and making the most when you get the opportunity. *** Granted the players who are playing right now, are NOT playing well....but, can anyone HONESTLY think that if these young guys are better, the coaches would play them???? The staff is putting the best players that we have on the field. Final !!! No one wants to win, worse than the coaches, guaranteed !!!

 

What worries me, is that we fell apart during the BC era....blame the coach..... Bo comes in and we win a decent amount, but nothing for the trophy case (except North title)... some think Bo is real deal (and he may be)... We blame Big 12 for officiating last year...yet continue to get penalized this season.... Last night, I watched a team that played as poorly as the teams under the BC and Cosgrove era.... Players didn't block, throw, cover, or tackle... Now we have young players tweeting about their teammates, and freshman running backs saying "IDK" when told to keep head up, and people posting that Brion won't be back next year.... What is the EXCUSE this time.

 

I am afraid that it is a much bigger problem that may be tough to overcome. I will bleed Husker Red forever, and be at almost every game, but will continue to wonder if we will EVER reach the level that "once was"

Society has changed for the worse in the past 5-6 years. Honestly when was the last time you saw a parent tell their kid to shut up, work hard and wait your turn? Not very often. Parents want to relive their childhood dreams so bad through their kids it isn't funny. I help officiate pee-wee and Jr high games. I've seen parents come out of the crowd and demand that coaches play their kid when he barely has the skills to touch the ball. I've seen kids play on 2 or 3 teams over the course of a few years as mom and dad try to bounce them from club team to club team trying to figure out where the most playing time is. Kids don't have to work for things now days they expect mom and dad or someone, anyone to give it to them regardless of their talent level. Hell even now you read about parents going to a job interview before their kids to make sure the company is "good enough" for their child to work at.

Thats why people gravitate towards a Rex Burkhead because he was raised the right way. I bet the coaches could put him on the 3rd team right now and he wouldn't change a bit from who he is. Its too bad there aren't 5000 able kids like that out there to play sports.

This is the absolute truth...Kids are pansy asses these days because of everything you have stated and its not going to get any better.

[teachercd]

No, they cant be a top 5 team every single year. I think that is kind of what you were asking.

All teams have sweet weight rooms now

There are no prop 48s

All teams have S&C coaches

There is a scholarship limit

Recruiting to Nebraska will always be an issue.

 

Heck, Bama and LSU have a hard time being a top 5 team each year. They have major advantages over NU in recruiting and location (I think more people like the south than the Nebraska, not everyone but most)

[Landlord]

We were spoiled in the 90s obviously. No reason we can't be a 9-10 win team every year now, and no reason to consider that a failure. Winning a national title is a rare thing, and I highly doubt we are going to dominate like we did in the 90s again. But there is zero reason we can't continue to be a winning program with a title sprinkled in here and there.

 

Exactly! The 90's was a rarity in both collegiate and professional football. I mean during Tom Osborne's last 5 years we went 60-3!

 

As long as Bo keeps this program in the 8-10 win column and going to a bowl game every year, I think we should all be happy with that. Sprinkle in a BCS bowl every 4 years, and hopefully at least one national title. I think that is a very attainable goal.

 

 

Number of wins doesn't really mean jack to me if the only quality teams we play are losses and we aren't competing for at least conference championships. It's not unrealistic to expect to be in the championship game more than 50% of the time (so say, 3 or 4 out of 5 years), winning at least 1 per 5 year period. If we can't maintain that level of success (and 8 wins? Are you kidding? That's mediocre, 9 is the ABSOLUTE minimum in the day and age of 14 game schedules) then there is a serious problem.

[CornHOLIO]

....will continue to wonder if we will EVER reach the level that "once was"

 

I'm not sure we even NEED to be what we once were.

Osborne was a special coach with a memory for detail that was borderline unhuman.

The championships were nice, but the journey to get there and the way we did it..sometimes being unique to the rest of the Football World..That's what I'll always cherish.

[junior4949]

The question is not whether we are in a positive direction or not, obviously we are, the question we should be asking is are we in the right direction and at the right pace as compared with other schools? Think of OU, Alabama, LSU, USC, etc., in the last decade or so when they were mediocre and how long it took their current coaches to get them back on top. In four years time they had all already won a national championship, played for one or were right on the cusp of being elite. In year 4 we are above average but certainly not great and not even close to elite.

 

 

Is this a problem? Part of me thinks so, part of me isn't sure. If we can't get to where we need to be by year 4, then how many years will it take?

 

Very bad examples. Stoops won a NC in his second year at OU. Carroll won a NC his third year at USC. Saban won a NC in year four at LSU. Saban won a NC his third year at Alabama. Les Miles won a NC his third year at LSU. Considering Bo is in his fourth year and we're nowhere even close to winning a NC, I'm not sure how you can put Nebraska in the same category as those schools you mentioned.

[deedsker]

Every once in a while you have all the pieces to put together a special team. I thought last year was the year with Lee returning and the talent we amassed. Alas, it was not. I said long before the season just based on where we were with what was lost and who is stepping up we would lose 3 or 4 games. I still believe this. Everyone who thinks we should be in the national title hunt is crazy. Wisky losses are unacceptable, but you must see the whole picture. We are not what we were last year and we have some people not meeting last year's level.