9 Wins, Who Cares

[HuskerBCS]

9 wins with the competition we play against is nothing to be satisfied with but it is also no reason to promote heading down a similar path to the Callahan years.

 

Our competition has been poor. I think you were agreeing with this but Im not sure. Our 9 wins came against.....

 

Chattanooga, Fresno State, Washington, Wyoming, Ohio State, Minnesota, Michigan State, Penn State, Iowa. Not too impressive. 1 of those teams will finish the season ranked in the top 25.

[HuskerBCS]

You can say "who cares" about 9 wins but make it a 6-7 like Ohio St finished with and 9 wins looks a lot better.

 

I completely understand it could be a lot worse. That is why I said that I would be happy if we were more competitive in our losses. I just see a team right now that is beating mediocre competition and getting drubbed by good teams.

[ladyhawke]

Just curious: If tomorrow you had to create a completely new NU coaching staff who would you pick? Hypothetical question but would be interested in who you think would come to NU and change things.

 

Ive had this discussion with several friends and family members. It is not a question that I or anyone else besides our AD can answer. How could I possibly know which coaches are available or interested in Nebraska. Sure I could come up with some fantasy list of coaches but it wouldn't be realistic and would be a waste of time.

 

I will say this. I would want an offensive minded head coach who is in control of his emotions. I would also want a coach who hires established and qualified Offensive and Defensive Coordinators. We might have qualified coordinators already in place but we don't know because they didn't prove themselves before the hire.

What did your family come up with? I'm just curious. For example: I wonder what it would've been like had we hired Mike Stoops as our DC or brought in Ron Zook as our OC. What would we think about hiring somebody like June Jones as a Head Coach?

[Igetbored216]

The people who think that next season is going to be an improvement are either not paying attention or should be seeking out anti-psychotic medications. Two of the three best--and only--gamers on the team are gone. Bye bye, gone. Rex Burkhead, as fantastic as he is, is not an offense. We've seen virtually no quality depth behind anyone in any position at any point this season. You should be sweating bullets heading into next year.

 

I don't know how Bo sells the Nebraska brand to recruits when he brings in Burger King fry cooks to be coordinators for no other reason than he happens to have worked with them before. I am officially fed up with the nepotism in this program. The last thing Bo needs is more of what we have. He needs something radically different, a booster shot that will brings some respectability to an underproven, under qualified staff. Too bad he whiffed on that. Now we're stuck with mediocrity and in mediocrity until he either wises up or his tenure comes to a disastrous end. If I'm a betting man, I take Pelini ousted in disgrace before I see him hoisting a conference championship--let alone a national championship--if the present course is not altered drastically.

 

I would really like to sit in and see how Bo upsells the Nebraska program. Tradition is great, but most kids outside of Nebraska could probably care less about Nebraska tradition. So, maybe it's, "Hey, we have some great fresh, inexperienced coaches that are buddies of mine. Not really sure if they will be able to improve on your talents, but you will just have to wait a few years to see as they are kind of new to this coaching thing and still 'learning on the job.'"

 

And it's almost laughable to think that people think this team will be better next year. Based on what?

 

Who is going to step up to take the place of the two playmakers we are losing on defense? And I'm pretty sure defenses have caught on to "Rex Burkhead run left, Rex Burkhead run right".

 

I guess maybe some are thinking talent will be developed into game changing players or even solid contributors? Possibly, but then I look at the coaches that are in charge of talent development and most of them are very inexperienced. Do they know what it takes to get the job done? No, because they are new to the scene and still learning THEMSELVES. How can we expect them to develop talent when they are still learning their own way around?

 

Next year will be rough, but I am sure there will be plenty of excuses as to why the team isn't performing well.

[knapplc]

9 wins with the competition we play against is nothing to be satisfied with but it is also no reason to promote heading down a similar path to the Callahan years.

 

Our competition has been poor. I think you were agreeing with this but Im not sure. Our 9 wins came against.....

 

Chattanooga, Fresno State, Washington, Wyoming, Ohio State, Minnesota, Michigan State, Penn State, Iowa. Not too impressive. 1 of those teams will finish the season ranked in the top 25.

Kinda like Georgia, who will likely finish ranked but who didn't beat a team that will finish ranked all year. And they had ten wins.

[quitou]

Im tired of all the people on here who are satisfied with 9 win seasons. All the people who say Bo should be our coach as long as he wins 9 games are crazy. Why can't people understand that 9 wins today isn't the same as 9 wins 20 years ago? Combine playing more games each season with also playing more cream puffs in the non conference and a 9 win season becomes a facade for a good season pretty easily.

 

This season we had 1 win which was decent, Michigan State. Even that game has an asterisk beside it because they were coming off a huge win the week before. Yet on the other side we have 4 losses that were absolutely pathetic losses. You also have a win against OSU that was probably the luckiest win Ive ever witnessed as a fan. We lose that game big if Miller doesn't get hurt. Things don't balance out. 1 good win with 4 bad losses? Something isn't right here. That's not a good football team.

 

I would be much more optimistic about Bo and Co. if we were going 9-4 every year and our 4 losses were respectable, where we had a chance of winning the game. Keep your losses close, 7pt ave, not 19.75pts.

 

Every year we get blown out in multiple losses, play a tight game/lose against a team that doesn't deserve to hold our jock strap, beat a handful of crappy teams, and people are always satisfied. "Next year will be our year", yet it never is.

 

Nothing is changing. There is no progress. Same problems since year 1 with Bo. What is there to be excited about?

 

 

gonna disagree with this... i think some people are forgetting how easy our big 8 schedule was

 

DING! Seriously, the Big 8 of the 80's and 90's was like the SEC today... two powerhouses fighting for top spot while everyone else fought for scraps. The only difference is that the Big 8 recruited back when it was unlimited, and the SEC nowadays just overbooks scholerships and sends kids packing that don't make the cut. The Big 12 wasn't like that anymore, and the Big 10 is even less so. Stop thinking NE's always gonna be at the top anymore... the situation has changed several times now, so should your expectations.

[tschu]

The first half itself was great, except that there were mindless lapses in judgement that cost us what amounted to 10 points.

 

How can you possibly say this? Those lapses in judgements are exactly why we are and have been a mediocre football team for a long time.

 

The last 10 seasons have been great too, except for all those losses.

You were ignoring the context. My point was that it didn't feel like we were down at all, because we were winning both sides of the ball, ASIDE from the 2 silly mistakes. Based on the play of both teams, Nebraska should have been up 17-7 at half or so. The mistakes are what cost the lead.

[HuskerBCS]

9 wins with the competition we play against is nothing to be satisfied with but it is also no reason to promote heading down a similar path to the Callahan years.

 

Our competition has been poor. I think you were agreeing with this but Im not sure. Our 9 wins came against.....

 

Chattanooga, Fresno State, Washington, Wyoming, Ohio State, Minnesota, Michigan State, Penn State, Iowa. Not too impressive. 1 of those teams will finish the season ranked in the top 25.

Kinda like Georgia, who will likely finish ranked but who didn't beat a team that will finish ranked all year. And they had ten wins.

 

Well Auburn will finish in the top 25 so I guess they are in a similar situation as we are. If I was a Georgia fan, I might feel the same way I feel about the Huskers. I would say their 10 wins are very unimpressive too.

[husker_99]

9 wins with the competition we play against is nothing to be satisfied with but it is also no reason to promote heading down a similar path to the Callahan years.

 

Our competition has been poor. I think you were agreeing with this but Im not sure. Our 9 wins came against.....

 

Chattanooga, Fresno State, Washington, Wyoming, Ohio State, Minnesota, Michigan State, Penn State, Iowa. Not too impressive. 1 of those teams will finish the season ranked in the top 25.

Kinda like Georgia, who will likely finish ranked but who didn't beat a team that will finish ranked all year. And they had ten wins.

 

They beat Auburn which won their bowl and was ranked.

[TJ Alum Husker]

Just curious: If tomorrow you had to create a completely new NU coaching staff who would you pick? Hypothetical question but would be interested in who you think would come to NU and change things.

 

Ive had this discussion with several friends and family members. It is not a question that I or anyone else besides our AD can answer. How could I possibly know which coaches are available or interested in Nebraska. Sure I could come up with some fantasy list of coaches but it wouldn't be realistic and would be a waste of time.

 

I will say this. I would want an offensive minded head coach who is in control of his emotions. I would also want a coach who hires established and qualified Offensive and Defensive Coordinators. We might have qualified coordinators already in place but we don't know because they didn't prove themselves before the hire.

 

this is the biggest issue IMHO. The team fell apart when Bo lost his cool. You could even tell he was losing it when he spoke to the sideline reporter at the half. I had a bad feeling from that point on, because we have seen it before. Teams take on the personality of their coaches. If you are the boss and you completely lose your composure, how can you expect those that work (or play) for you to keep theirs?!

[HuskerBCS]

The first half itself was great, except that there were mindless lapses in judgement that cost us what amounted to 10 points.

 

How can you possibly say this? Those lapses in judgements are exactly why we are and have been a mediocre football team for a long time.

 

The last 10 seasons have been great too, except for all those losses.

You were ignoring the context. My point was that it didn't feel like we were down at all, because we were winning both sides of the ball, ASIDE from the 2 silly mistakes. Based on the play of both teams, Nebraska should have been up 17-7 at half or so. The mistakes are what cost the lead.

 

The mistakes are why you lose. If every football team played mistake free football and executed perfectly on every play, in every game, every team would be undefeated.

[melscott62]

9 wins with the competition we play against is nothing to be satisfied with but it is also no reason to promote heading down a similar path to the Callahan years.

 

Our competition has been poor. I think you were agreeing with this but Im not sure. Our 9 wins came against.....

 

Chattanooga, Fresno State, Washington, Wyoming, Ohio State, Minnesota, Michigan State, Penn State, Iowa. Not too impressive. 1 of those teams will finish the season ranked in the top 25.

Kinda like Georgia, who will likely finish ranked but who didn't beat a team that will finish ranked all year. And they had ten wins.

 

They beat Auburn which won their bowl and was ranked.

kind of like mich state?

[gobiggergoredder]

I think the OP is simplifying it a little too much. It's tough to watch teams year in and year out that are they own worst enemy. After watching the season and today's game, I think this team could beat or lose to any team in the country. Impossible to predict the beat/lose.

 

How am I simplifying it too much? We had 9 wins and not one of them was very impressive but we had 4 losses which were pathetic. I guess maybe I am simplifying it because it seems pretty cut and dry to me that we aren't very good. We haven't been very good under Bo Pelini and Im not sure what is going to change.

 

My mistake...have since corrected

[Redmusky]

People are not happy with 9 win seasons they just don't want less

[gobiggergoredder]

After watching the season and today's game, I think this team could beat or lose to any team in the country.

 

How's that fantasy land working out for you?

 

We sucked out loud today. A 17 point loss can't just get chalked up to bad breaks that could have gone either way. We were nowhere near good enough to beat the Gamecocks.

 

Did you watch it? A fumble in the redzone which would have likely made it first and goal and a hail mary prayer touchdown?....Fantasy? Ok....I guess.