This Is Not What We Expected

[Roundball Shaman]

Think back to all the expressions of joy and happiness and anticipation expressed by the vast majority of Husker Nation when Scott Frost was hired as Head Coach. As would be well expected. Husker football has been in such a drought for so long that any sign of quenching rains out on the horizon was cause for celebration. And Frost was part of the last group of dominating Husker teams that are so beloved. It all looked so right.

 

And then... life happened. Reality happened. Huskers didn’t become great overnight. No magic wand to wave, or the (darn) thing wasn’t working right. Husker problems turned out to be deeper than many thought.  A couple years into it now, and everyone is struggling to find the positives.

 

What’s wrong with this picture? Expectations were out of line with the reality of the Husker situation. Except for trying to hire one or two of the mega-big name coaches (whose names you well know) things were not going to turn around quickly. And those coaches were never coming to Nebraska.

 

So where does that leave things? We can back off of any grand ideas about where the Huskers will be in the near term and center on what the Huskers can be for sure. Huskers can become more united as a team. They can stop with the losing attitude. They can learn to quit making so many mistakes. They can quit trying to live up to a legacy that’s back in the past and continues to haunt instead of inspire. They can be who and what they are, for better or worse. And Husker Nation can reset its expectations for what this team is capable of doing with what they have.

 

Husker football can and will give a better accounting of itself going forward. It can and will be more competitive. It won’t be Alabama or Clemson or Ohio State level caliber anytime soon if ever, but it will be more representative of The Nebraska Way of giving a good effort and representing a great legacy program. These past two years are the lowest point of the overall process.

 

The quickest fix that Frost can make is to help these guys begin to think like winners. The losing attitude has to go. Attitude and dedication doesn’t require a great recruiting class or spending any money. It means to lead with the team passion and sell your vision of giving a winning effort on every single play and not looking frustrated when things go wrong. If the positive message isn’t getting through now then he needs to find a better way to deliver it.

 

Losers look for reasons why they lose. Winners are those who leave the field at the end of a game and know they gave their best effort and had some fun along the way. And hug their teammates because they did the same thing.  It’s sometimes not as hard as some people try to make it.

 

Keep your heads up, Huskers and fans. Husker pride is the way back to the Promised Land.

 

[Head Coach Scott Frost]

Thank you Roundball. Very cool.

[knapplc]

[grandpasknee]

I looked at Scott Frost's 7 year contract as the whole deal.  I'd not be surprised if it takes most, if not all of that time to get us back to being a very good football team.  And I'm not talking about Nattys or Conference Championships every other year...I'm talking 9+ wins per year and not getting blown out in the losses....and looking like what we think Husker football should look like.

[DefenderAO]

1 hour ago, grandpasknee said:

I looked at Scott Frost's 7 year contract as the whole deal.  I'd not be surprised if it takes most, if not all of that time to get us back to being a very good football team.  And I'm not talking about Nattys or Conference Championships every other year...I'm talking 9+ wins per year and not getting blown out in the losses....and looking like what we think Husker football should look like.

Not sure about you but "looking like what we think" should include championships.  It's a phased approach to expectation and deliverable, yes, but I'm not good riding the future out at 9-4 every year.  I'll absolutely take it when it comes; it better not be the ceiling.  

[jassman24]

1 hour ago, grandpasknee said:

I looked at Scott Frost's 7 year contract as the whole deal.  I'd not be surprised if it takes most, if not all of that time to get us back to being a very good football team.  And I'm not talking about Nattys or Conference Championships every other year...I'm talking 9+ wins per year and not getting blown out in the losses....and looking like what we think Husker football should look like.

I agree. This program was driven straight into the ground and will take longer than two years to revive it. 

[grandpasknee]

1 minute ago, DefenderAO said:

Not sure about you but "looking like what we think" should include championships.  It's a phased approach to expectation and deliverable, yes, but ?I'm not good riding the future out at 9-4 every year.  I'll absolutely take it when it comes; it better not be the ceiling.  

Oh, I agree, Championships at both levels are in the "what I think" realm, but occasionally, and a bit in the future.

[Hayseed]

Improve the defense, don't give up so many points so easily, everything looks better. Bitching, whining, and entitlement makes it seem worse than it is. 

[Landlord]

idk man i definitely expected you to make a weird thread pontificating in uninspiring prose after the loss. you do it after every game. 

 

 

seems exactly like what i expected tbh

[teachercd]

Gotta love some Husker fans...thinking that the "fix" to Husker football lies in the hands of 12 year old boys that will be earning a scholarship to play for the Huskers in 6 years...CAN'T WAIT!

[Jason Sitoke]

So many words. So little said. 

[KingBlank]

1 hour ago, teachercd said:

Gotta love some Husker fans...thinking that the "fix" to Husker football lies in the hands of 12 year old boys that will be earning a scholarship to play for the Huskers in 6 years...CAN'T WAIT!

THANK YOU! 

[BigPeterJ]

3 hours ago, grandpasknee said:

I looked at Scott Frost's 7 year contract as the whole deal.  I'd not be surprised if it takes most, if not all of that time to get us back to being a very good football team.  And I'm not talking about Nattys or Conference Championships every other year...I'm talking 9+ wins per year and not getting blown out in the losses....and looking like what we think Husker football should look like.

Basically you (and many others) want us to look like Wisconsin.  Thats reasonable...no reason Iowa, and Minnesota should be better than us.

[FrantzHardySwag]

2 hours ago, teachercd said:

Gotta love some Husker fans...thinking that the "fix" to Husker football lies in the hands of 12 year old boys that will be earning a scholarship to play for the Huskers in 6 years...CAN'T WAIT!

Penn State - 4 year post season ban, loss of 40 Scholarships - Takes 1 year for Bill O'Brien to win 8 games

Baylor - Rhule takes over after rape scandal, arrives in December with 1 recruit committed, wins 9 games in year 3.

Nebraska - Frost takes over for Riley - 7 YEAR REBUILD IF WERE LUCKY

[Mavric]

2 hours ago, BigPeterJ said:

Basically you (and many others) want us to look like Wisconsin.  Thats reasonable...no reason Iowa, and Minnesota should be better than us.

 

Minnesota beat Wisconsin by 22 last year so.....