** 2021 Husker Previews: The Athletic - For Nebraska, with high stakes and clear strengths, Year 4 under Scott Frost is time to win **

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Success in the next chapter for coach Scott Frost at Nebraska hinges on two truths about stakes and strengths.

Both appear more well-defined than at any point in the three seasons since the start of this coaching regime.

The stakes? Well, they’re high. Athletic director Bill Moos in April laid out eight or nine wins in 2021 as “realistic” for Nebraska, which has won 12 of 32 games since Frost’s hire after the 2017 season. With restlessness on the rise as the Huskers face a daunting schedule and begin to build a palatial football complex alongside Memorial Stadium, now more than ever for Frost, the pressure is building.

At the same moment, the Huskers’ strengths to enter his fourth season are plain to see.

They have an offense in the midst of a rebuild at key spots, special teams in reset mode and a defense that’s experienced and accomplished at every level.

A handful of evenly matched games could swing on the Huskers’ ability to handle the stakes and manage their strengths.

After a messy 13 months amid the pandemic — its 3-5 finish last fall included — Nebraska experienced a physical spring and return to normalcy ahead of the climb toward preseason camp and the Aug. 28 opener at Illinois.

“We needed it,” Frost said.

The coach arrived in Lincoln with a strong reputation as an offensive guru and developer of quarterbacks. Three years in, Nebraska is treading water at best offensively. Its yards per play has dropped from 6.31 (20th nationally) in 2018 to 5.76 (72nd) and 5.56 (72nd).

Next up, the program needs to win, a task on the minds of many Huskers.

“The identity of this team,” center Cameron Jurgens said, “is to play winning football.”

https://theathletic.com/2626403/2021/06/03/for-nebraska-with-high-stakes-and-clear-strengths-year-4-under-scott-frost-is-time-to-win/