Will NU return to National Dominance again - next 10-15 years

[TGHusker]

After seeing Bama win another championship, it makes me wonder if NU could get back to that kind of dominance. Thus the poll question.

 

My take: No.

1.We were fortunate to have Coach Bob and Coach Tom for such a long period of time. In today's world, it is almost unheard of a young coach staying at someplace like NU for 25 years. Coaches ladder climb to the SEC or to the NFL or to some glamour job like USC. If the head coach sticks around, the assistants are taking on new jobs and rising on their own career ladder. Not too many coaches keep assistants like Tom did. Coach longevity is the key to long term dominance.

2. Recruiting disadvantages: we've talked before about this many times - does NU have natural recruiting disadvantages - yes. Location, location - far away not only from the warmer climates but from the hot recruiting area.

3. Scholarship limits, cultural & demographic shifts all have affected NU negatively over the past 20 years.

 

 

Because of our "brand", I do believe NU can be successful and eventually compete occasionally for and win a national championship. However, there has been a whole new generation that has never experienced the NU that us older guys experienced - when NU was the bama of its day. There has got to be a total cultural shift in the perception of what NU football is. That will only come by winning something of worth, consistently - like conference championships which we haven't done since 1999. We also shouldn't forget that it wasn't just the 1990s in which we were one of the few dominant players - one could easily argue that NU was the team of the decade for the 1970s (2 national championships and high winning %) and even though we did not win a national championship in the 1980s - we were always in the discussion - perhaps more than any team except maybe Miami or Oklahoma.

 

 

 

 

[Redux]

There is no reason we can't be on level with where Ohio State is tight now in the Big Ten. We have plenty of resources at our disposal, we have an extremely passionate fan base and we have people ready to throw money at the program to make it great again.

 

We didn't spend much to get Riley, lets be honest. But that doesn't mean he can't be the catalyst towards us returning to dominance. Hell, if things fell right in 2016 we could be in the discussion. I would wager we are another year away though from truly competing.

[QMany]

There is likely a middle ground between those responses, and the rationale may not be accurate. That being said, I voted No.

[84HuskerLaw]

No team will be on the level of the Huskers of the 1993 to 1998 level as no team will ever accumulate that much talent.

[ColoradoHusk]

I have a feeling we are headed towards the same fate as Univ. of Minnesota. Now, we will always pump money into the football program, but will it really mean anything in the long run?

[Redux]

The real issue with is going from 9-4 seasons to a 6-7 season is that we could always say "Yeah, we won 9 though. We aren't quite back yet, but we will be!".

 

Now that we have taken the first step towards getting back to relevance, it feels unfamiliar. The first step was a hard one, hopefully the next step can be smoother.

[ColoradoHusk]

The real issue with is going from 9-4 seasons to a 6-7 season is that we could always say "Yeah, we won 9 though. We aren't quite back yet, but we will be!".

 

Now that we have taken the first step towards getting back to relevance, it feels unfamiliar. The first step was a hard one, hopefully the next step can be smoother.

I don't see how we have taken the first step towards getting back to relevance. What was that first step?

[Redux]

 

The real issue with is going from 9-4 seasons to a 6-7 season is that we could always say "Yeah, we won 9 though. We aren't quite back yet, but we will be!".

Now that we have taken the first step towards getting back to relevance, it feels unfamiliar. The first step was a hard one, hopefully the next step can be smoother.

 

I don't see how we have taken the first step towards getting back to relevance. What was that first step?

Dumping the staff that couldn't get over the hump. If Riley isn't the gut to get us back in the discussion he can be the catalyst.

[ColoradoHusk]

 

 

The real issue with is going from 9-4 seasons to a 6-7 season is that we could always say "Yeah, we won 9 though. We aren't quite back yet, but we will be!".

Now that we have taken the first step towards getting back to relevance, it feels unfamiliar. The first step was a hard one, hopefully the next step can be smoother.

I don't see how we have taken the first step towards getting back to relevance. What was that first step?

Dumping the staff that couldn't get over the hump. If Riley isn't the gut to get us back in the discussion he can be the catalyst.

 

I agree that Bo and the last staff wasn't going to get us over the hump. But, I don't see how Riley is the "catalyst" at getting NU over the hump. The hiring of the coach after Bo was just as important as firing Bo in the first place. If Riley isn't the guy that gets NU to that next step, we are in the same boat as we were with Bo.

[TGHusker]

Yes, I believe we had to take the step in getting rid of the previous staff to get us beyond 'acceptable'. While this past year was a set back, I hope it will lead to better things going forward. IF MR fails, then I hope the bad taste will force the powers to spend real money to bring in the right coach which allow us to compete year in year out wt Ohio State, MSU in our conference (and finally beat Wisc consistently) and also be competitive wt Bama, and the next up and comer whether it is Auburn, FSU, Clemson or Oregon.

[Redux]

 

 

 

The real issue with is going from 9-4 seasons to a 6-7 season is that we could always say "Yeah, we won 9 though. We aren't quite back yet, but we will be!".

Now that we have taken the first step towards getting back to relevance, it feels unfamiliar. The first step was a hard one, hopefully the next step can be smoother.

 

I don't see how we have taken the first step towards getting back to relevance. What was that first step?

Dumping the staff that couldn't get over the hump. If Riley isn't the gut to get us back in the discussion he can be the catalyst.

I agree that Bo and the last staff wasn't going to get us over the hump. But, I don't see how Riley is the "catalyst" at getting NU over the hump. The hiring of the coach after Bo was just as important as firing Bo in the first place. If Riley isn't the guy that gets NU to that next step, we are in the same boat as we were with Bo.

We are hardly in the same boat.

 

I say he is the catalyst because if he ends up being a success here (compete for conference trophy and win one) before retiring the next guy has an easy task continuing the work. If he fails, we will fire him and finally make that big name hire that turns heads and sparks recruiting (if Riley hasn't already sparked it).

 

Bo made the program complacent. We knew what we were getting year in and out, so did the media. Recruiting was average, just like our win/loss record. He had the passion, just not all the proper skills and personnel. We may have that in Riley but it's still too early to tell.

[Husker Psycho]

No team will be on the level of the Huskers of the 1993 to 1998 level as no team will ever accumulate that much talent.

 

 

That's nonsense.

 

Alabama and Ohio State are doing exactly that right now.

[GBR62]

No team will be on the level of the Huskers of the 1993 to 1998 level as no team will ever accumulate that much talent.

Guess you didn't watch the game last night.

[HuskerShark]

I don't think NU will ever find the dominance we did in the 90s. With that said, I absolutely think that we can catch lightning in a bottle for a season and win a NC.

[JJ Husker]

Had to answer No on the poll question because I don't think we will. We could, but we won't. To say that will happen in the next 10-15 would require different actions within the football program than those we are seeing. i.e. We will never dominate with a Banker defense or Langsdorf offense. Won't happen. Could we pop up and get lucky one season? Sure, but nothing along the lines of current Bama or 90's Husker dominance.