Tom Osborne never lost more than 3 games in a season. BC has lost 6, 4, and 5 in his only three seasons. that's an average of five losses a year. TO won 9 or more games every year for 25 straight years. BC only won 9 this year because of Troy and L-Tech. I'm not calling for his head...I just don't like the comparison to TO. There is no comparison. You may be able to find some other coach that started slow during rebuilding and eventually turned things around, and compare BC to him. BUT YOU SHOULD NEVER MENTION that guy in the same breath as Coach Osborne.
Football is a lot different than it was when TO was coaching. Gone are the days of stockpiling players on scholarship and them waiting to play until their senior season. Everyone wants to play as a freshman and 85 scholarships really makes the coaches recruit the right players. I agree there is no comparsion on the records of the coaches, but give Bill some time to change continue changing the system. We were all over Tom once because he couldn't win the "Big" games. I think it's fair to give BC some time given all the changes in college football.
Yes, things are different. And, by the way, I didn't bring up the comparisons between BC and TO. I realize that TO had unlimited scholarships back then, but NU was not the only school that stockpiled players. I seem to recall ND, OU, USC, PSU, OSU, MU, BAMA, etc, etc, doing the same thing...and yet we were competitive. I know we can't play for the national championship every year; hell we didn’t back then either. But I hate when people say "you guys were calling for TO's head in the beginning." I never, ever said that TO should be fired (and by the way, I never said that BC should be fired either). I just think it should be noted these are not parallel situations, as many here seem to insinuate. Sure TO had a two-time national champion handed to him, but he finished in the top 10 for his first 15 consecutive years including several Big 8 championships, and trips to BCS caliber games (pre BCS, but TO had NU in the Orange and Sugar bowls on a pretty regular basis). Also, even though he started off with a winning program, he had to recruit several classes and he also completely revamped the offense in the late `70’s – early `80’s without skipping a beat in his winning ways.
DON'T FIRE BC! He does deserve an opportunity to show what he can do. However, he is not above reproach or criticism. I think he deserves to hear it from us for that ridiculous fake punt call. Sometimes those calls work, sometimes they don't. But there are times and places for them. I heard someone sarcastically say that TO should have been fired for going for 2 in the 1983 Orange Bowl. That play probably cost us a national title, but that was different. TO was going for a win rather than settle for a tie (there were no overtimes back then) and he had no choice except to go Parsegian on us and tie for the title, or go for the two and the win. In yesterday’s game BC was just taking an unnecessary risk at a time when NU should have just punted and played defense. Bad decision, hopefully he won't do it again. Everybody is entitled to mistakes. Sure even TO made a few, but TO was a master at play calling, and I can honestly say that I never, in 25 years, second guessed any of TO's decisions. BC has had me scratching my head way too often. BUT FOR GOD'S SAKE I AGREE!!!! STOP CALLING FOR HIS HEAD!!!!!! My only point is, it is unfair to compare him to TO. It is a ridiculous argument and isn't fair to BC. There is not now, nor will there ever be, any comparison between the two. That's all I was trying to say.