When 4-8 isn't the same thing as 4-8

Welp. Here we are again. 4-8, no bowl game, not even remotely ranked.

Just like last year.

Or... is it?

I'm not going to blow sunshine up your behind and tell you that you should be happy with 4-8. But there are many reasons for optimism.

Three more years of Adrian Martinez, three more years of Maurice Washington. JD Spielman will be back and badder than ever. In all, 17 of the 28 players in the offensive 2-deep for the Iowa game and 14 of the defensive 2-deep are back. And we've got some talent waiting in the wings.

But most of all, we've got this coaching staff. And the second half of this season showed that they know how to coach, how to turn a ship around, with a lot of players they didn't recruit and a bunch of guys who resisted the buy-in. Some of those guys left, and we saw the result from the second half of the season.

Against one of the toughest schedules we've faced in years, this staff had these guys ready to play in (nearly) every game.  Michigan was an outlier, and irredeemably ugly. But that was the only such game.

Last year there were five games just like that.

Comparing 4-8 seasons with a bunch of uncommon opponents is tough. But in-conference we played seven of the same teams as last year. And we went 2-5 against that group, same as last year.

But these weren't the same losses.

We scored more against every one of those opponents this year compared to last year, 143 points in 2017 compared to 247 in 2018. That's more than two TDs per game better.

We gave up fewer points to three of those teams, giving up 265 points to them last year compared to 247 this year. Just under 3 fewer points per game - and that's including Illinois who scored 29 MORE points this year thanks to AJ Bush and Purdue scoring 18 more this year thanks to David Blough. Both are seniors, both are gone next year.

Despite playing Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Northwestern on the road, we gave up 40 fewer points to those teams.

So the defense, despite being the weaker of the two sides of the ball, definitely improved. Last year they gave up 50+ points to three of those seven teams. This year - zero.

Last year we finished 1-5, half of those six teams scored 56 points. We weren't even contending to win four of those games.

This year, we finished 4-2. None of those opponents scored more than 36 points. We could have won every one of our final six games.

We also suffered zero soft-tissue injuries this year.

So, yeah. We're 4-8 again. No improvement in the win column from a season that saw a coach fired last year.

But man, there's plenty of improvement to see this year.  It's like a completely different team.

Get ready, Husker fans. Only 281 days until next season kicks off.

Next year Nebraska will  begin to  reap the rewards of  what Frost is trying to do here.Losing games pisses him off and other teams will pay dearly.  Its not always  going to be  perfect  or pretty but for once in a  long time  the future looks bright. GBR 

Oh, yeah. Forgot about schedules.

It gets a bit easier next year.

How do you feel about a Big Ten road schedule featuring Minnesota, Purdue, Illinois and Maryland?

How do you feel about Ohio State, Northwestern, Wisconsin and our rival Iowa at home?

How do you feel about getting another shot at Colorado, with a new coach? Or Northern Illinois with Scott Frost at the helm?  I'm giddy about both of those games.

2019 could be the Husker Vengeance World Tour.

Oh, I am ready for that right now.

knapplc said:

2019 could be the Husker Vengeance World Tour.

Click to expand...

As long as they don't make stupid shirts like Michigan

I decided after we won our first game that I was gonna split the season into two. You have 0-6, then 4-2.

That's the way I'm gonna look at it anyway.

I thought I'd feel better about 4-8 this year as opposed to last year. But that record sucks just as much.

For me, the difference is this:  Last year, I just wanted to be done watching Husker football.  I wanted it to be over with about three games left  Did not want to see any more games.   This year, 4-8 sucks, but I'm bummed about there being no more games.  Really bummed.

I guess that is a pretty significant difference if you think about it.

I was almost embarrassed to wear my Husker gear last season. I'm proud and excited to wear it this year. Attitude, culture, confidence, swagger, unity, intelligence... they are back.

9-3 next year and only up from there.

Last year they quit, this year they fought.

Like Frost said they had to figure it out themselves. Had the team flipped the switch in August instead of after Northwestern, they are bowl bound and may an 8 win team.

But I'm glad they figured it out and finished stronger.

Adrian Martinez was 16 years old the last time he threw a football before this year, and led the nation in yards for a true freshman. He didn't get to play Troy at home and had a schedule as follows:

@ Michigan 

@ Wisconsin

@ Ohio State

@ Northwestern 

@ Iowa

This kid 100% will be getting Heisman votes his JR and SR seasons. He will get some of the head scratchers out of the way and continue to get better. We replace Michigan and Michigan State with Indiana and Maryland with the tough games at home next year. The defense needs improvement, but the turnaround starts next year no doubt. Just have to wait, but it is coming VERY SOON. No doubt about it #GBR

The games were more fun to watch this year. A lot more fun. Even the losses.... because I can see a means to an end.

Competitive again. Get the lines upgraded and it becomes much more than that.

CheeseHusker said:

I decided after we won our first game that I was gonna split the season into two. You have 0-6, then 4-2.

That's the way I'm gonna look at it anyway.

Click to expand...

We were 4-0 on dates ending with a 7 or 0. 

Got it that going for us.  Which is nice. 

knapplc said:

Oh, yeah. Forgot about schedules.

It gets a bit easier next year.

How do you feel about a Big Ten road schedule featuring Minnesota, Purdue, Illinois and Maryland?

How do you feel about Ohio State, Northwestern, Wisconsin and our rival Iowa at home?

How do you feel about getting another shot at Colorado, with a new coach? Or Northern Illinois with Scott Frost at the helm?  I'm giddy about both of those games.

2019 could be the Husker Vengeance World Tour.

Oh, I am ready for that right now.

Click to expand...

On offense:

- The line needs to be retooled. Some returning starters need to be shuffled into new positions, or onto the bench. Newcomers need to step up on day one. 

- Skill positions might be thin next year, at least at the beginning. After Washington, there's nothing at RB. After JD, there's just Warner at WR. Gotta hope that guys like McQuitty and Woodyard take that next step, and that Jones can stay healthy. TEs will be a strength. 

Defense:

- A complete overhaul needs to take place at certain spots. Need to find or create a run stuffing NT that commands double teams. Gotta find some OLBs that can rush the passer. Gotta find another ILB to match Berry. 

Special Teams: 

- Pickering can do all the Kickering for all I care. Lightbourne can probably find a new place to play, as I don't see him taking the job back from Armstrong. 

The only good thing about last season was that we knew the prior staff was going to get canned and it looked like we might get Frost.  Other than that, it was just dismal.  There is reason for hope from the second half of this season.