Do husker fans today have lower expectations?

[Enhance]

Exactly. If people are only expecting us to win 7-8 games they would think it's a pretty good success for us to win 9-10.

Point out where anyone is saying this and that this is all that they ever expect Nebraska football to accomplish.

There are several people who think 7-8 wins would be a decent season with this roster/staff. By extension, it's fair to assume 9-10 wins would be pretty good for this year.

Here's one person using that exact language.

9-10 wins with a decent bowl game (Capital One, Outback) would likely be a pretty good season.

8-5 or 7-6 with at least one win over OSU/PSU/Wisc and a win in the bowl game would also be pretty decent.

 

[Saunders]

I don't see anyone saying 9-10 wins would be lowering expectations. Expecting us to win 7-8 games would be lower than 9-10.

People were mad that Bo "only" won 9 or 10 a season because that wasn't enough, and now if Riley won 9 or 10, it would be viewed as a success.

Exactly. If people are only expecting us to win 7-8 games they would think it's a pretty good success for us to win 9-10.

Point out where anyone is saying this and that this is all that they ever expect Nebraska football to accomplish.

And....thank you for including yourself in the group that you claimed didn't exist.

Here's the disconnect. You're adding the bolded portion to what's being said. The problem is, nobody is really saying that.

1. The prognostications are for Nebraska to win 6-7 games this year (it's documented here).

2. Some fans are then saying "oh, so if we're only expected to win 6-7 games, then 9-10 a good year."

3. Which leads to the OP asking if 6-7 is expected, and 9-10 is considered overachieving, have we lowered expectations.

 

[Mavric]

I don't see anyone saying 9-10 wins would be lowering expectations. Expecting us to win 7-8 games would be lower than 9-10.

People were mad that Bo "only" won 9 or 10 a season because that wasn't enough, and now if Riley won 9 or 10, it would be viewed as a success.

Exactly. If people are only expecting us to win 7-8 games they would think it's a pretty good success for us to win 9-10.

Point out where anyone is saying this and that this is all that they ever expect Nebraska football to accomplish.

And....thank you for including yourself in the group that you claimed didn't exist.

I didn't include myself in any group. I was just speaking to the text you quoted. You quoted a poster saying 9-10 wins isn't viewed the same way it used to be. The fact that it is viewed (by some) to be more of a success now than it used to be would be a pretty good argument for lowering expectations.

I didn't include myself in that group. I have no idea how you come up with that. I'm said repeatedly that I think that 9-10 win range should be a pretty good expectation. Eight wins would be understandable but a bit disappointing. Sever or fewer is pretty bad.

The mental gymnastics you go through are quite impressive.

Soooo....you you just included yourself in the group that you claimed didn't exist.....again......

I don't see anyone saying 9-10 wins would be lowering expectations. Expecting us to win 7-8 games would be lower than 9-10.

What in the world are you talking about?

Where in what I said do you get that I'm saying 9-10 wins would be lowering expectations. That's still what I say should be expected. Others are now expecting 7-8 which is lower than 9-10. No one is saying that people expecting 9-10 have lowered their expectations.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

The replacement of Banker with Diaco gives me hope that he knows that he's gotta get it done, so hopefully year 3 is good season we can build on, and not a 5-6 loss forgettable year.

That's one of my biggest hopes (or projected goals?) for the 2017 season - a clear sense of urgency.

That is my main issue with Riley. Why wasn't there sense of urgency from the first day of his hiring? Either he or Eichorst completely misread the situation, or he doesn't know what it takes to win games on Saturdays.
I understand that it takes time to build a program, but the way Riley brought in his buddies to coach and took until the 3rd year to get some better coaches in at key spots was laughable.

 

[BigRedBuster]

Exactly. If people are only expecting us to win 7-8 games they would think it's a pretty good success for us to win 9-10.

Point out where anyone is saying this and that this is all that they ever expect Nebraska football to accomplish.

There are several people who think 7-8 wins would be a decent season with this roster/staff. By extension, it's fair to assume 9-10 wins would be pretty good for this year.

Here's one person using that exact language.

9-10 wins with a decent bowl game (Capital One, Outback) would likely be a pretty good season.

8-5 or 7-6 with at least one win over OSU/PSU/Wisc and a win in the bowl game would also be pretty decent.

Which leads me to ask once again....define "expectations". I have asked 3 times now in this thread and I still don't think I've actually gotten an answer.

To me, expectations of the program is long term. Meaning...more than just one year. What should the program be working towards. Someone can claim that with a current roster, winning 9 to 10 games could be viewed as a good season WITHOUT giving up the expectation that the Huskers should be winning championships.

Now, to me, anytime we win 9-10 games, it's a pretty decent season....but it's not the end goal I have for the program. It obviously was a season with some disappointment too. And...a 9 win season with 3-4 embarassingly bad losses to people we should be competetive with....would be viewed as a very disappointing year. A 9 win season with 3-4 losses to really good teams where we had a chance to win the games at the end....would probably be viewed as a decent season. BUT.....that still doesn't mean that's all I ever expect out of the program.

What people are trying to do is pigeon hole people into groups in this thread based on if they wanted Bo fired (after winning 9-10 games) and now are optimistic with Mike as a coach (winning 9-10 games in the first 3 years -minus the first).....they have somehow lowered all "expectations" of what our program should be doing.......that just flat out is a wrong statement based solely on trying to further an agenda of wanting Mike gone.

 

[jsneb83]

You can have long-term and short-term expectations. You can say Nebraska should be competing for championships every year and say that you expect this team to win 7-10 games this year. Saying the latter doesn't mean that you are lowering the former for the long-term. You are just lowering it for that year. The problem is when that happens year after year.

 

[JJ Husker]

Exactly. If people are only expecting us to win 7-8 games they would think it's a pretty good success for us to win 9-10.

Point out where anyone is saying this and that this is all that they ever expect Nebraska football to accomplish.

There are several people who think 7-8 wins would be a decent season with this roster/staff. By extension, it's fair to assume 9-10 wins would be pretty good for this year.

Here's one person using that exact language.

9-10 wins with a decent bowl game (Capital One, Outback) would likely be a pretty good season.

8-5 or 7-6 with at least one win over OSU/PSU/Wisc and a win in the bowl game would also be pretty decent.

Which leads me to ask once again....define "expectations". I have asked 3 times now in this thread and I still don't think I've actually gotten an answer.

To me, expectations of the program is long term. Meaning...more than just one year. What should the program be working towards. Someone can claim that with a current roster, winning 9 to 10 games could be viewed as a good season WITHOUT giving up the expectation that the Huskers should be winning championships.

Now, to me, anytime we win 9-10 games, it's a pretty decent season....but it's not the end goal I have for the program. It obviously was a season with some disappointment too. And...a 9 win season with 3-4 embarassingly bad losses to people we should be competetive with....would be viewed as a very disappointing year. A 9 win season with 3-4 losses to really good teams where we had a chance to win the games at the end....would probably be viewed as a decent season. BUT.....that still doesn't mean that's all I ever expect out of the program.

What people are trying to do is pigeon hole people into groups in this thread based on if they wanted Bo fired (after winning 9-10 games) and now are optimistic with Mike as a coach (winning 9-10 games in the first 3 years -minus the first).....they have somehow lowered all "expectations" of what our program should be doing.......that just flat out is a wrong statement based solely on trying to further an agenda of wanting Mike gone.

Well stated. +1

 

[zoogs]

At the crux of this is the question of how much meaningfully better that 10-4 team is than the 7-6 team.

It's really not that different, necessarily. 10-4 are not created equal. 2009 or 2010 for example...still somehow, sadly ended up with four losses. 2013, 2014, and 2016 all ended up 9-4 in not the most different ways. 2015 was probably the best season among these and that was a 6-7 season!

All I'm saying on the Riley era, he'll be a bigger on-field success than Bo if by the time he's several years into the program it's not gasping to maintain a 9-4 pace. If he's a similar or worse on-field success, I still don't mind seeing him get a really long time because it's already quite clear he won't be constructing the same bizarre and unhealthy complex around the team that Bo did.

Elite runs are hard to come by. Hopefully we'll get back there. If we never do I'm happy as long as we have good people and a healthy atmosphere here. It seems really, really clear that we have both of those right now in spades. So this should be a time of optimism, celebration, and contentment as we see how things unfold.

 

[JJ Husker]

Personally, I don't see much difference between winning 9 games or 5 or 6, if both seasons culminate with no CCG appearance, no wins over good teams and ranked outside the top 20. What have those 3 extra wins garnered you? Nothing, that is what. Now take the same two seasons and with one coach it has been the same story for multiple years and that coach is outspoken about unrealistic expectations for the program and he shows no inclination to change and another coach, who has been at it for only two years publically acknowledges that it isn't where the program wants to be, makes coaching and coordinator changes in years one and two and is recruiting better than the first guy. Are you going to still say that it's obvious we are in worse shape than we were before? I sure wouldn't.

As someone said earlier, the key here is a sense of urgency. IMO, HCMR has one and the last fellow didn't. One fellow had ample time to prove he wasn't moving the program forward and was showing clear signs of being disgruntled with higher expectations the other has been making changes and saying the right things. Sure it remains to be seen if he'll pull it off but at least we all know he wants to and is trying to. I'll take that guy everyday and twice on Saturday and I think it is counter to the POV that HCMR supporters have lowered expectations. I would say that anyone who constantly throws out 9 meaningless wins as some kind of standard are the ones who are short on expectations.

 

[Dagerow]

Exactly. If people are only expecting us to win 7-8 games they would think it's a pretty good success for us to win 9-10.

Point out where anyone is saying this and that this is all that they ever expect Nebraska football to accomplish.

There are several people who think 7-8 wins would be a decent season with this roster/staff. By extension, it's fair to assume 9-10 wins would be pretty good for this year.

Here's one person using that exact language.

9-10 wins with a decent bowl game (Capital One, Outback) would likely be a pretty good season.

8-5 or 7-6 with at least one win over OSU/PSU/Wisc and a win in the bowl game would also be pretty decent.

Which leads me to ask once again....define "expectations". I have asked 3 times now in this thread and I still don't think I've actually gotten an answer.
To me, expectations of the program is long term. Meaning...more than just one year. What should the program be working towards. Someone can claim that with a current roster, winning 9 to 10 games could be viewed as a good season WITHOUT giving up the expectation that the Huskers should be winning championships.

Now, to me, anytime we win 9-10 games, it's a pretty decent season....but it's not the end goal I have for the program. It obviously was a season with some disappointment too. And...a 9 win season with 3-4 embarassingly bad losses to people we should be competetive with....would be viewed as a very disappointing year. A 9 win season with 3-4 losses to really good teams where we had a chance to win the games at the end....would probably be viewed as a decent season. BUT.....that still doesn't mean that's all I ever expect out of the program.

What people are trying to do is pigeon hole people into groups in this thread based on if they wanted Bo fired (after winning 9-10 games) and now are optimistic with Mike as a coach (winning 9-10 games in the first 3 years -minus the first).....they have somehow lowered all "expectations" of what our program should be doing.......that just flat out is a wrong statement based solely on trying to further an agenda of wanting Mike gone.

Good response. I might have been to harsh in my initial post because of my frustration with how Nebraska's being viewed this year (what the pundits are saying) and not being able to drink the kool aid that I love drinking right before the season begins (this summer has sucked in that regard).
But my point was with the expectations that people have expressed here this preseason. I strongly dislike the idea of NU being viewed as lesser than or equal to Northwestern, Iowa, Wisconsin, Penn State, Minnesota, etc., and it pisses me off (and yes, I'm including Wisconsin and Penn State in that list). I want Nebraska to be better then those teams almost always, and it just doesn't sit right with me that NU being viewed as 3rd in the west (especially when I think that assessment is not far off).

I do think, however, that those who wanted Bo gone are more will to accept the lower expectations then those who wanted Bo. So, yo can take issue with me on that.

 

[zoogs]

I'd take issue with that. Those who wanted Bo don't all fall into this camp, but a number of them clearly felt those #23-NR '12, '13, and '14 teams in Year 5-6-7 were something for the program to hang its hat on. If those are standards, they're not very high. Perhaps instead of bickering, we should just unite in our contentment with being a ranked second-tier B1G team.

Though I will emphasize one big difference: even substantially better on-the-field performance wouldn't be a reason to tolerate a boorish, cornered and defensive culture for me. Class should be the expectation. And "More than winning" is a phrase that doesn't refer to the 9-4, 23-NR kind of winning we were seeing.

 

[Toe]

Does anyone else keep hearing that jingle every time they see this thread?

 

[Landlord]

But my point was with the expectations that people have expressed here this preseason. I strongly dislike the idea of NU being viewed as lesser than or equal to Northwestern, Iowa, Wisconsin, Penn State, Minnesota, etc., and it pisses me off (and yes, I'm including Wisconsin and Penn State in that list). I want Nebraska to be better then those teams almost always, and it just doesn't sit right with me that NU being viewed as 3rd in the west (especially when I think that assessment is not far off).

Sounds like you just don't like reality. We're 1-5 vs Wisconsin, 3-3 vs Iowa, 4-2 vs Northwestern, 4-2 vs Minnesota and 3-0 vs Penn State since joining. If we're not less than or equal to some of those teams, we're at least in the same conversation.

We've finished 3rd in our division (or worse) every single season since we joined the B1G except for one.

It'd be really rad if that wasn't the state of things, but it is. I guess we all have a choice to let that affect our mood/joy/happiness/what have you, or to hold success with an open hand and realize sometimes it's not easy to obtain. We are just fans, after all.

 

[marko polo]

No.....

Your comment makes it sound like if they win 9-10 games, then there are lots of fans that would be perfectly content and happy and not crave a championship.

That flat out is wrong.

If there are fans like that, they are such an extreme minority it's not worth mentioning.

You jumped to this statement to go nothing more than further your agenda of wanting Riley gone. It helps if you actually use true facts to back it up.

What he's getting at is that there was a common sentiment amongst Nebraska internet fans that if Bo could do it every year, with his inexperienced promotions, his resentment towards recruiting, his blinding rage, his standoffs with the media, etc., then any blind monkey could get us to 9/10 wins.

That is true. And it is also true that it seems one of two things is also true. Either we were wrong, and Bo was quite better than we gave him credit for and that isn't easy, or that Mike Riley is just not a very good coach.

ding ding give the man a ceegar!

 

[zoogs]

'11, '13, '14, '15, '16. Mediocre is where Nebraska has been for a looooooong time. The question is how to lay the groundwork to crawl out of it. Pick your path:

A: The four-year '11-'14 run was Nebraska out of the woods of mediocrity, and by golly we gotta hang onto this, and screw you if you're not happy! You're hurting the program, you fans!

B: Nebraska's a destination program for the top coaches and recruits to come to and seasons like '15 and '16 are not where we want to be.

We can discuss better options like C and D when they present themselves. Right now I think we should be pretty happy that we've escaped the pit that A can be. Honestly I think most of us were pretty high on Bo still after '10, or at least willing to see where it was going to go. Had he adopted the Riley posture in the intervening years a lot more of us would likely have wanted to see him get more time, because hey, ish happens and it's not that easy to win 11 games. But he didn't. Quite the opposite. Bo made his bed, and for those of us who LOVED how quickly he turned around the culture and the defense '08 to '09, it was a stunning disappointment in the end.