If you could surgically remove one thing from Nebraska history, what would it be?

[AFhusker]

As for my own choice, I would chose to omit Tom from making any decisions as to who was the HC at NU. Then we wouldn't have had Frank, Bill, or Bo as Byrne would have been able to pretty much pick who he wanted as an successor because we were on top and didn't have the baggage that we had the last two times we hired/fired coaches.

[NUance]

The formation of the Big 12 conference. Just let the Stronghorns go form their own New Southwest Conference instead. And leave the Big 8 intact.

 

I wonder how much longer the Big 8 would've existed, and how it would have done?

[Mavric]

The formation of the Big 12 conference. Just let the Stronghorns go form their own New Southwest Conference instead. And leave the Big 8 intact.

 

I wonder how much longer the Big 8 would've existed, and how it would have done?

There are probably only two options - either we end up in the same spot just a few more years down the road or survive a couple more years then everyone goes separate ways. We definite wouldn't still be at 8 teams so if Texas and Oklahoma go somewhere else (SEC, Pac 10?) there isn't anyone left for the Big 8 to add to expand so everyone would have broken off and gone other directions. Several might have still ended up in the same spot (Nebraska and Colorado in particular) with the biggest change probably being Missouri could have been in the B1G.

[Count 'Bility]

Callahan, hands down. And not just because it made 2004-2007 blow chunks, but also because it made half our fan base so insecure and lowered standards so much that we're content with 6 wins over terrible teams, 3 lucky wins over decent teams, 2 blow out losses, and a couple more close loses to teams we should have beat. Ad infinitum.

 

I think you are still blaming Bill for Frank's shortcomings. The majority of those players were recruited by Frank that Bill had to work with.

That's not even the half of it.

 

Callahan was trying to use french to teach portuguese to a bunch of spanish kids. They may have been Frank's guys, but they were not totally incompetent. Had Callahan has the brains to pare down, or tailor, his system to the skillset his guys had and gradually instituted the transition, instead of coming in shock and awe and blowing the house up, he woulda had lots more success them first couple years, and probably wouldnt have lost the team by the end of 2004. Frank left Callahan no talent. Funny, they won 10 frickin games the year earlier.

[VA Husker Fan]

1. Berringer and the plane. And to whoever says he was a game manager must be thinking of the games where he played hurt. When he was healthy he was very good. And as far as embodying a Husker, he stuck with the program when Frazier started ahead of him and was ready to step in when he was badly needed. He didn't transfer or slack off because he wasn't the starter. I felt awful after some of the losses listed, but nothing hit my gut like hearing that Berringer had been killed in that plane crash.

 

2. Whatever caused Osborne to retire early.

[QMany]

The Bill Callahan era. Also in second place Bo Pelini's tirades acting like a horses ass on the sidelines.

Of the TWO things in the HISTORY of Husker football, you would change Pelini's sideline demeanor? Not sure if serious.

[suh_fan93]

The Bill Callahan era. Also in second place Bo Pelini's tirades acting like a horses ass on the sidelines.

Of the TWO things in the HISTORY of Husker football, you would change Pelini's sideline demeanor? Not sure if serious.

 

100% I'm serious. Most of our ugly losses sure you'd like to remove those but every team has those ugly losses they want to forget. The bottom line is we got beat so for me besides the Callahan era having a coach who is more well known for being a horses ass than he is for winning games isn't something I'm proud of in terms of what people think of when they think of NU these days.

 

 

[StPaulHusker]

Unpopular Opinion Alert--Was Brook Berringer all that great of a QB for NU?

 

Don't get me wrong, he was a great person, citizen, and it was a tragedy that he died so young. I also agree that we probably don't win the national championship in 1994 without him, but let's not make him out to be this amazing QB in Husker history. Go back and check out the games he started in 1994. Other than the CU game, he didn't have a huge impact on those games. He was more of a caretaker/game manager for the last half of the season, and the team rode the defense and LP the last half of the year, until Frazier came back in the OB.

I personally don't care if he was the worst QB the Huskers ever had. Still would like to have that day back.

[True2tRA]

I don't see what the debate is here. The question in the original post was if you could remove one thing from Nebraska history, what would it be? Brook Berringer is a damn great part of Nebraska history and a part a lot of Huskers are very proud of. Unfortunately his tragic death is also part of that history and boy, if we could erase it, I'd say it would be priority one. I can't understand where how good a player he was would affect that decision a bit.

 

Now to continue the conversation, some directed it more toward an on field, football related issue. Let's not try to combine the two though. Saving Brooks life has nothing to do with how good a football player he was. The two were an entirely separate. Both still fall into the Husker history category though. End of story.

[CheeseHusker]

Brook wins hands down. If my choice was to bring back someone who is no longer alive, or change anything else about the results of a damn football game, it's not even close. A good man died before his life had really started.

 

I went to the spring game that year. It still haunts me.

 

#2 would be Phillips. Some people are never going to forgive us for that one.

[huKSer]

HuskerJenn

[AFhusker]

Callahan, hands down. And not just because it made 2004-2007 blow chunks, but also because it made half our fan base so insecure and lowered standards so much that we're content with 6 wins over terrible teams, 3 lucky wins over decent teams, 2 blow out losses, and a couple more close loses to teams we should have beat. Ad infinitum.

 

I think you are still blaming Bill for Frank's shortcomings. The majority of those players were recruited by Frank that Bill had to work with.

That's not even the half of it.

 

Callahan was trying to use french to teach portuguese to a bunch of spanish kids. They may have been Frank's guys, but they were not totally incompetent. Had Callahan has the brains to pare down, or tailor, his system to the skillset his guys had and gradually instituted the transition, instead of coming in shock and awe and blowing the house up, he woulda had lots more success them first couple years, and probably wouldnt have lost the team by the end of 2004. Frank left Callahan no talent. Funny, they won 10 frickin games the year earlier.

 

I agree to a point with tailoring the offensive system down, but with Joe freaking Daily who is unquestionably the worst QB in recent NU history as your only scholarship QB that shows what he had to work with. Herrian was the only true playmaker on offense and he got hurt midway through the season. On the defensive side the DL talent/depth was laughable. I am not saying that Callahan was even close to a good coach, he was a bad fit here, but he had by far the worst situation talent wise to deal with than Frank (who turned this program into a beat up pinto) and Bo who was given several NFL quality guys by Bill and has yet to show that he can recruit those calibur players.

 

As for that 10 win season, that was a mirage as that schedule was just as easy as this year. They didn't beat a ranked team all year (unless you count oSu the opening game of the year at #24 who ended up unranked) and were blown out by the only two ranked teams that they played (KSU, UT) and one that ended up not ranked Missouri. So I would say that winning 10 games that year, is the equivalent of winning 9 games last year, beat a bunch of schools of the blind deaf and dumb with the usual blowouts against the better teams on the schedule.

[AFhusker]

The formation of the Big 12 conference. Just let the Stronghorns go form their own New Southwest Conference instead. And leave the Big 8 intact.

 

I wonder how much longer the Big 8 would've existed, and how it would have done?

 

That is a good one too as the Big 8 had 4 teams ranked in the top 11 in the final poll of 1995. (NU #1, CU #3, KSU #7, and KU #11) The Big 8 didn't need Texass, they needed us and then we allowed them to take over and ruin thier second conference in less than 20 years.

[grandpasknee]

Take liberty with the question of the post....specifically Nebraska history and what would I remove, and looking out my window on a day when the temp high was 12 degrees:

 

I'd remove the day that people in the westward drive ever thought this place was worth taking away from the Plains Indians! They had to make that decision in the Summer, that's all I"m saying.

[URSS]

Surgically remove Steve Pederson from being hired. His absence would have eliminated Callahan and his era of Husker tradition destruction. Don't know if Solich would have been fired or what another coach might have done. For sure, Husker history would have been gone down a different path.