Barfknecht: History says Huskers must get tough at the top

[NUinID]

I've been watching Green and White Days on the Big Ten Network where the cameras are basically there filming fall camp. When you listen to what their coaches preach it reminds me a lot of what our coaches sounded like back when we were winning championships. There's fun involved for sure but the level of excellence expected during practice and in games is definitely an ongoing theme with their coaches every single day. I don't think it's all about toughness. I think for the great teams it's also about what they ask/expect of their players. There is a goal in mind.

That is not really fair. We have no idea what is going on at NU's practice. You can't just say that MSU is doing it right and NU is not based on a one sided view of somthing.

It's not fair in saying that it's not just toughness that defines great teams?

Have you watched Nebraska practice? How do you know their practice doesn't look a lot like what MSU is doing? That was my point.

 

[BRV920]

Actually Saber Harbough play for and won a NFC championship

 

[SABER]

Actually Saber Harbough play for and won a NFC championship

And Riley won a CFL Championship. The Canadian equivalent to our SuperBowl. Neither mean anything in college football. but nice try, do some research next time.

 

[SABER]

Harbaugh was the returning Prodigal Son of Michigan football. He's a Michigan Man. There was a strong feeling in the locker room that Hoke was not the right man for the job. They were ready for a change.

Mike Riley was complete unknown to our locker room and an outsider to the Nebraska Football family. A lot of our guys liked Bo and disagreed strongly with his firing. At least one of the former coaches was communicating with the players after he was fired. Not surprisingly, there's been a mass exodus from that position group one year after the coaching change.

So maybe let's not compare the situations with Harbaugh and Riley. They couldn't have been more different.

True Story!

 

[suh_fan93]

I've been watching Green and White Days on the Big Ten Network where the cameras are basically there filming fall camp. When you listen to what their coaches preach it reminds me a lot of what our coaches sounded like back when we were winning championships. There's fun involved for sure but the level of excellence expected during practice and in games is definitely an ongoing theme with their coaches every single day. I don't think it's all about toughness. I think for the great teams it's also about what they ask/expect of their players. There is a goal in mind.

That is not really fair. We have no idea what is going on at NU's practice. You can't just say that MSU is doing it right and NU is not based on a one sided view of somthing.

It's not fair in saying that it's not just toughness that defines great teams?

Have you watched Nebraska practice? How do you know their practice doesn't look a lot like what MSU is doing? That was my point.

Except I never mentioned Nebraska. I was commenting on toughness being the lone determining factor as it relates to winnning/successful football teams....

 

[NUinID]

I've been watching Green and White Days on the Big Ten Network where the cameras are basically there filming fall camp. When you listen to what their coaches preach it reminds me a lot of what our coaches sounded like back when we were winning championships. There's fun involved for sure but the level of excellence expected during practice and in games is definitely an ongoing theme with their coaches every single day. I don't think it's all about toughness. I think for the great teams it's also about what they ask/expect of their players. There is a goal in mind.

That is not really fair. We have no idea what is going on at NU's practice. You can't just say that MSU is doing it right and NU is not based on a one sided view of somthing.

It's not fair in saying that it's not just toughness that defines great teams?

Have you watched Nebraska practice? How do you know their practice doesn't look a lot like what MSU is doing? That was my point.

Except I never mentioned Nebraska. I was commenting on toughness being the lone determining factor as it relates to winnning/successful football teams....

Well it sure read like you were inferring that MSU is tough like NU was back in the day, not like they are right now.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

Harbaugh was the returning Prodigal Son of Michigan football. He's a Michigan Man. There was a strong feeling in the locker room that Hoke was not the right man for the job. They were ready for a change.

Mike Riley was complete unknown to our locker room and an outsider to the Nebraska Football family. A lot of our guys liked Bo and disagreed strongly with his firing. At least one of the former coaches was communicating with the players after he was fired. Not surprisingly, there's been a mass exodus from that position group one year after the coaching change.

So maybe let's not compare the situations with Harbaugh and Riley. They couldn't have been more different.

Good points all.

There was only one marquee hiring in college football last year. It was Jim Harbaugh, and Michigan was his only college destination.

For all his faults -- the dude manages to irritate a lot of people -- Harbaugh's been a winner everywhere he goes. To say you would have preferred Harbaugh over Riley is as obvious as it is pointless.

But to make this about niceness vs. toughness really misses the point, too. Tom Osborne and Bob Devaney couldn't have been more different personally, but they recruited and coached toughness because.....wait, why wouldn't you coach toughness? It's football.

You would have thought a Bo Pelini team would reflect their coach's toughness and occasional rage, but his teams had some of the biggest meltdowns on the field, and the most lifeless sideline demeanor I've ever seen on a Nebraska team.

Being a bad a$$ means nothing without technique and teamwork. It's easier to be a badass when things are going your way.

Let's get everybody on the same page first.

 

[suh_fan93]

I've been watching Green and White Days on the Big Ten Network where the cameras are basically there filming fall camp. When you listen to what their coaches preach it reminds me a lot of what our coaches sounded like back when we were winning championships. There's fun involved for sure but the level of excellence expected during practice and in games is definitely an ongoing theme with their coaches every single day. I don't think it's all about toughness. I think for the great teams it's also about what they ask/expect of their players. There is a goal in mind.

That is not really fair. We have no idea what is going on at NU's practice. You can't just say that MSU is doing it right and NU is not based on a one sided view of somthing.

It's not fair in saying that it's not just toughness that defines great teams?

Have you watched Nebraska practice? How do you know their practice doesn't look a lot like what MSU is doing? That was my point.

Except I never mentioned Nebraska. I was commenting on toughness being the lone determining factor as it relates to winnning/successful football teams....

Well it sure read like you were inferring that MSU is tough like NU was back in the day, not like they are right now.

Right!

 

[Scratchtown]

In regards to the third longest B10 drought ---that actually isn't accurate. You have to realize that the Big Ten didn't implement a conference championship until 2011. There were many seasons where there was a two-way tie, but both schools were "champions"

We would have tied for the B12 championship in 2010

No.

Spin it how you want but within the rules of the Big12. There were no ties. That's that silver lining bullcrap. C'mon. Be honest. This is accurate within the rules each conference had in place. Quit trying to find something that isn't there.

 

[alwayshusking]

We'd sure look a lot tougher with more talent and less turnovers.

 

[Elf]

I think if Barfy walked onto the practice field and told Cav or Parrella that they don't coach toughness, he might not wake up for a week.

I think both of those coaches are smart enough to not touch Barfy no matter what he said.

 

[SABER]

I think if Barfy walked onto the practice field and told Cav or Parrella that they don't coach toughness, he might not wake up for a week.

I think both of those coaches are smart enough to not touch Barfy no matter what he said.

nothing gets by you

 

[Red Five]

Agree with some of it, disagree with some of it. I also tend to find Lee's commentary interesting and don't get to bent out of shape about what he (or Dirk) writes.

 

[Red Five]

The AD deserves a shot for not demanding greatness. Osborne deserves some criticism for his time as AD, as well.

How do we know sentence 1? Has he said that? Would canning Riley after year 1 been "demanding greatness"? I mean he didn't extend Miles contact this year after 2 mediocre to bad years.

About sentence 2, Osborne the AD was suspiciously absent from any criticism in that article.

 

[RunMickeyRun02]

I liked the article.

I agree that the last 15 or so years haven't been the best but I think too much is made about the lack of conference championships. As I have said in the past, we are in a division that is one team shy of being as Big as the Big 8. To me winning the division is equivalent to winning the conference in the smaller conferences of the past. Now a days even if you win the division you still have to win a championship game. I wonder how many championships we would have won if we had to play Oklahoma twice, like was it the 78 season?

To me winning the conference would be like winning the Orange Bowl which was always the knock on Osbourne, his inability to win that game even though it was usually against a Florida team in Miami.

I'm not trying to make excuses, we still should/could be better. Losing to Purdue/Illinois is NOT okay, but all things being equal the bigger the conference you're in the less likely you are to win it, it's like rolling two dice instead of one.