Baylor, NU and the future

[TGHusker]

What's up wt Baylor and Art Briles?? While I'm glad Baylor clobbered OU :spooners , I'm disappointed to know the reality that they would have beaten NU by more. How can a normally bottom dweller (outside of RG3) end up wt a coach that takes them this far so quickly? I scratch my head and elsewhere thinking we are on year 6 of the Bo experiment and we find ourselves unranked and positioned to possibly loose (based on play thus far - past performance typically predicts future results) 2 or more games. Yet Baylor will probably move up to 3rd after this weekend - I predict they jump OSU. Holy Cow Batman how do we accept this mediocrity ? A drinker will say, we've won 9 games each of Bo's years & we may still win 9 games. I say 'Against who?' How many defining (over highly rated teams) wins have we have in Bo's tenure? (Maybe OU wt Suh and the gang, and then the 33-0 win over ASU - there may be a few more - those are the ones that pop in my head) Our only chance this year to win a significant game is to upset MSU (did we think this would be an upset at the beginning of the year or by year 6?) This is very frustrating to me - a fan since 1970.

 

I was a big fan of Bo and have been - but the last 2 years have not given me hope of the kind of resurgence of the Nebraska Brand that I and I think many others were hoping for. Call me envious - but I'd like to have an Art Briles here at NU - (someone who can make us significant again).

[EbylHusker]

Actually having experienced, proven coordinators would be a better start.

[donesman]

Yeah for real!! I figured after RGIII left they would fall back into oblivion...Out of all the Texas teams, Baylor is the one I don't mind being so successful. Aside from the K-State game they are just destroying their opponents .

[TGHusker]

Actually having experienced, proven coordinators would be a better start.

Who is responsible for that? No one forced Bo to hire inexperienced guys. Since Bo has reminded us a couple of times that 'he hasn't forgotten how to coach D', maybe he didn't want to relinquish control of either D or O by having a proven guy in those slots??

[EbylHusker]

It is Bo's responsibility, but again, this would be a far different, and better, team with good coordinators. And this is what I've been saying for a long while now - if he can't get good coordinators in here and let them do their jobs, he needs to go. I'm not convinced he's incapable of doing that, though. Sometimes people need to be told, "Do it or you're fired." He's certainly at that point now after this season.

[skersfan]

In Texas, it is way easier to recruit to Baylor than Nebraska. He was a Texas high school coach, with many many contacts and friends. I really do not think we are comparing apples to oranges. If we were in the Big 12 we would be more of draw. The move to the Big 10 is going to close a lot of doors to the state of Texas.

 

He has done a great job, where ever he has gone. But if he leaves Baylor it will be to replace Mack Brown is my guess.

[Guy Chamberlin]

I think Nebraska would have had more losses in the Big 12 than the Big 10 the past two seasons, but I know some folks on here differ.

[TGHusker]

I think Nebraska would have had more losses in the Big 12 than the Big 10 the past two seasons, but I know some folks on here differ.

I agree. Can't forget Ok State - has reached a consistent level of competitiveness, TT is better, - if we are still in the Big 12 good chance Mo and A&M are there - look how they are doing. KSU is down this year, but they've done well the last 2.

[QMany]

The sky is falling.

[StPaulHusker]

I think Art Briles is a very good coach and he is going to do some great things. But I have to say that he took over a broken program at the same time as Bo did. His record:

 

4-8

4-8

7-6

10-3

8-5

8-0 so far.

 

Please raise your hand if you think he would have lasted as Nebraska's head coach with 30 losses in his first 5 years and 2 of those seasons being losing seasons. Briles has only lost less than 4 games in his collegiate career 1 time. He is on pace to do it again but let's be honest. If we are unhappy with a coach taking over a program with 20 losses in 5 years, what would we have said about Briles?

[beanman]

I think Art Briles is a very good coach and he is going to do some great things. But I have to say that he took over a broken program at the same time as Bo did. His record:

 

4-8

4-8

7-6

10-3

8-5

8-0 so far.

 

Please raise your hand if you think he would have lasted as Nebraska's head coach with 30 losses in his first 5 years and 2 of those seasons being losing seasons. Briles has only lost less than 4 games in his collegiate career 1 time. He is on pace to do it again but let's be honest. If we are unhappy with a coach taking over a program with 20 losses in 5 years, what would we have said about Briles?

He took over a much more broken program than Nebraska man. We had a big dip after a 30 year run of excellence. Baylor had sucked forever, had zero fan support, etc. How do you sell a program when the high schools have more attendance than your university? His turnaround had to be done over a long period. Bo inherited a lot of talent, all he had to do was coach them up and get them fired up to play Nebraska football again.

[StPaulHusker]

I think Art Briles is a very good coach and he is going to do some great things. But I have to say that he took over a broken program at the same time as Bo did. His record:

 

4-8

4-8

7-6

10-3

8-5

8-0 so far.

 

Please raise your hand if you think he would have lasted as Nebraska's head coach with 30 losses in his first 5 years and 2 of those seasons being losing seasons. Briles has only lost less than 4 games in his collegiate career 1 time. He is on pace to do it again but let's be honest. If we are unhappy with a coach taking over a program with 20 losses in 5 years, what would we have said about Briles?

He took over a much more broken program than Nebraska man. We had a big dip after a 30 year run of excellence. Baylor had sucked forever, had zero fan support, etc. How do you sell a program when the high schools have more attendance than your university? His turnaround had to be done over a long period. Bo inherited a lot of talent, all he had to do was coach them up and get them fired up to play Nebraska football again.

Not sure if even Bo has made that happen save for one season.

 

I know. I get it. I just wonder how many of us would have been willing to stick with him if his process took the same route here as it did down there. I am willing to bet not many.

[TGHusker]

I think Art Briles is a very good coach and he is going to do some great things. But I have to say that he took over a broken program at the same time as Bo did. His record:

 

4-8

4-8

7-6

10-3

8-5

8-0 so far.

 

Please raise your hand if you think he would have lasted as Nebraska's head coach with 30 losses in his first 5 years and 2 of those seasons being losing seasons. Briles has only lost less than 4 games in his collegiate career 1 time. He is on pace to do it again but let's be honest. If we are unhappy with a coach taking over a program with 20 losses in 5 years, what would we have said about Briles?

He took over a much more broken program than Nebraska man. We had a big dip after a 30 year run of excellence. Baylor had sucked forever, had zero fan support, etc. How do you sell a program when the high schools have more attendance than your university? His turnaround had to be done over a long period. Bo inherited a lot of talent, all he had to do was coach them up and get them fired up to play Nebraska football again.

Not sure if even Bo has made that happen save for one season.

 

I know. I get it. I just wonder how many of us would have been willing to stick with him if his process took the same route here as it did down there. I am willing to bet not many.

Going back to beeman's point - Art took over a much worse program - a program wt no tradition. A much deeper hole. I would venture to say, if he was coaching here, he would have had a much better record than he does at Baylor. His 1st 3 years aren't bad when you consider where they were - Baylor was everyone's homecoming game. Also consider that the big 12 was a pretty good conf then as well. OU, Tx, OSU, TT, NU, MO were all doing fine during those early years.

[Mavric]

It is Bo's responsibility, but again, this would be a far different, and better, team with good coordinators. And this is what I've been saying for a long while now - if he can't get good coordinators in here and let them do their jobs, he needs to go. I'm not convinced he's incapable of doing that, though. Sometimes people need to be told, "Do it or you're fired." He's certainly at that point now after this season.

You mean like Michigan? It's working really well for them.

[TheKiD]

Bo's "signature" wins:

 

2008 - maybe the win over clemson in the bowl game

2009 - MIzzou #24, OU #20, Arizona #22 (shutout). However; If we consider ourselves a top 25 team, then wins against rank 25-20 teams shouldn't be 'signature', although the shutout was impressive.

2010 - Okie State #17, Mizzou #7.

2011 - Mich St. #9, Penn St. #12

2012 - Michigan #20. again not sure win over #20 should be 'signature'.

2013 - none so far

 

So 2010-2011 were the best in terms of quality wins. 2009 we had a dominant defense but no offense. 2010 we still had a decent defense with a new explosive offense w/ freshman Martinez. Of course we all remember what happened at A&M, then against OU and Washington to finish off that season. I think the conclusion to the 2010 season was the turning point in Bo's career here (so far). We had been in the top 10 most of the year and then that A&M game kinda broke our backs. Sure we picked up a couple of quality wins against Mich St. and Penn St. in 2011, but wasn't the Penn St. win right after the whole Sandusky thing? The Mich St. game was certainly quality though. Regardless I think our confidence took a big hit with the way we finished off 2010, and our defense has been on a steep and steady decline since.

 

It is a bit hard to see some of our former Big 12 competition having a lot of success... A&M, Mizzou, Baylor, Texas Tech, Oklahoma St, Oklahoma are all currently ranked. I dunno what that says other than that since 2010 they've gotten better and we've gotten worse.

 

So.. where are we at now? Haven't seen a signature win since 2011. Michigan State is our only shot left this year during the regular season... post-season could provide chance(s). A win over a quality opponent in a bowl game would be good.. and if we somehow win out and made it to the B10 championship game and somehow beat Ohio State that would be the kind of win that could turn everything around (and likely save coaches jobs). I'm not very optimistic though, I see us losing a couple more games, and getting a mediocre bowl opponent.

 

Assuming we don't have a miraculous conclusion to the season.. where do we go from here? That would be 3 years in a row without a 'signature' win whilst racking up a few 'signature' losses. I think Bo's non-coaching successes may buy him another year to turn things around (probably with a mandate of a new coordinator or two), looking a bit like Solich's 2005-2006. But, maybe he'll be gone at the end of this year. I think that will depend on the nature of Shawn Eichorst who is still somewhat of an unknown quantity. I don't think Eichorst is the type to pay much attention to the short bursts of fans' calling for Bo's job or to be eager to put his own signature on the program (ala Pederson). But, I also think that with the way this season has gone that there almost surely have been some feelers sent out to gauge interest. So it may come down to that. Does Eichorst feel the right guy is out there and available this year? Where does he fall in preference for a new coach? A nebraska guy through and through? A proven commodity looking for a place with a higher ceiling? A young up and comer from the lower ranks? A proven NFL guy wanting to take a stab at the college game?

 

Okay I've typed way more than I meant to lol. I'll leave you with this: we are still currently a 2 loss (1 loss conference) team. The rest of our schedule is still nowhere near as tough as we've seen in the past. How we finish is likely to have a pretty big impact on what happens. We could win out, I don't think there's much chance of losing out... but here's the key: 4 losses. We get there with 2 more losses + a bowl win, 1 loss and a bowl loss, or winning out and losing CCG and Bowl.