OWH: Telltale signs gathered in offseason suggest Nebraska football will travel bumpy road

Saunders

Saunders

Heisman Trophy Winner
Hi, Husker fans. Long time no football.

Fortunately, that ends this week, which makes it time for my Big Ten prediction column focused more on Nebraska than my usual conference-wide observations.

With The World-Herald’s extensive coverage of Husker football, there isn’t a lot left unreported. So every year I “gather string” — tidbits, observations and impressions through the offseason — to weave into a preseason column without getting in the way of our beat writers.

As you saw in our Sunday football spectacular, I’ve pegged Nebraska fourth in the West Division and seventh overall in the 14-team league with records of 7-5 and 5-4. No profanity, please, as you respond.

What follows isn’t a direct explanation of why I picked those records. A lot of that was in the special section. But this look back offers big-picture clues as to why Year 3 under Mike Riley — and it is Year 3, not some bogus reset to a first-year situation as some try to claim — won’t be easy.

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/football/barfknecht-telltale-signs-gathered-in-offseason-suggest-nebraska-football-will/article_9b5721b5-05c5-5c69-9abc-e98d9eb1186d.html
Click to expand...


On one hand, it's Lee, but on the other, he does bring up some points.

 
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I guess this should not be all that new.  Vegas basically has NU at 6.5 (again) for wins.  Most magazines have NU at around 7ish?

 
This seems to be a bad case of "old-timer angry that players don't act anguished enough for him after a loss" married with "how can I spin an article out of this, as is my job?"

Everything else -- from the necessary firing of a DC who didn't cut it, to the hiring of a Diaco whose qualities you'd otherwise think were pretty good, to even the naming of Lee as a starting QB. Honestly. 

What else is here? ASU's coach quips "They're beatable". A freshman recruit doesn't make it to the fall roster. Four "paragraphs" aghast at Keyshawn Sr's casual acceptance of weed-smoking among adults. A rival school grooms an administrator for their AD job (to be fair, I can't believe Wisconsin thought of this. Devastating for Husker fans, probably. What will we do now?). The Huskers AD does something with money that causes teeth-gnashing among fans. 

You'd think at this point Lee is going to tie this summary of events back together with his thesis somehow, but nah. The article just ends. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

 
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It's a crap article...   What else would a head coach say "Oh well I hope we don't get our butts kicked." He's going to say things to hopefully make his team feel and hope they can win.

 
"You might think getting your butt kicked and tumbling out of the polls would demand some quiet reflection.

Not for some Nebraska players.

Hollering, laughter and clowning around were noticeable. During an interview with receiver De’Mornay Pierson-El, a teammate — I’ll save him the embarrassment this time by not identifying him — began messing with Pierson-El, then grabbed a TV cameraman’s microphone and asked goofy questions between bursts of laughter."

Yeesh

 
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