Redux
Assistant Coach
The conclusion to be drawn is Mark Dantonio is a better coach than Bo Pelini and even managed to lose a couple games to him.
Revisit this thread in December and see how many Purdue's we lost to this season.
OWH: What Recruiting Says About Husker Offense
- Thread starter Mavric
- Start date
Revisit this thread in December and see how many Purdue's we lost to this season.
SuperBigFan69
Head Coach
Did someone mention Purdue? I am rewatching that instant classic right now...man what a battle!
Redux
Assistant Coach
SuperBigFan69
Head Coach
Ha!
One of my buddies got a free 500 dollar bet from his bookie for referring a few friends, so that morning we are out waiting for the game to start and I think the line was around -8.5 NU. So, he decided to out that 500 dollar bet on NU and it started off great...but we all know how it ended.
I mean, it was a lock. The worst team in the Big Ten with a horrible staff and horrible players.
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84HuskerLaw
All-Conference
I have read through nearly all of the various topics and discussions on this board for the past year that I have been a member and about sxi months prior when I just tuned in to read without commenting.
I think there is a lot more general agreement on the overall state of the program and the players, coaches, administration, etc than most realize or perhaps want to believe. When you shake it all up and down and around a couple times, one will actually have a pretty realistic and accurate portrayal of Husker athletics and football particularly. We are NOT a top 20 program at this time. We have been pretty consistently in the range of number 30 to number 40. Last year, it is difficult to argue we were even that high as we in fact 6-7 and had losses to programs much lower than number 40. We also had wins against a couple that would suggest we are capable of being a top 20 team. We all know that pure luck, officiating, injuries, weather, fate, destiny, God and maybe a dozen other uncontrollables play into the success or lack thereof of a given football team in any given game or season. We have enjoyed some luck breaks and endured a number of unfortunate ones as well. Each have played a role in determining the outcome (win or lose) of many games over the past decade and in fact over the entire history of Nebraska football.
That being said, in my view, one can go back through nearly all the wins and the losses and identify key plays, moments, play choices, officiating calls, etc which were instrumental in determining ultimately the outcome of games. Certainly, with the exception of perhaps a dirty dozen, I could call them, of the ugliest losses in the past half century, the Huskers have been competitive in our games and arguably have a chance to find a way to win.
The difference between being a top 35 level team and being a top 10 level team (I would define as being one that has a reasonable chance to win 'em all in a given season) is a combination of talent in players (1/3rd maybe), and coaches (1/3rd maybe), facilities, scheduling, luck, and myriad other little things being the other 1/3rd. Often the heated discussions / debates / arguments amongst fans on here or in general focus on one or two at any given time or game, but in reality it remains the overall combination.
Therefore, in my view, to get back to top ten level, Nebraska needs to rededicate itself in each and every area from recruiting to coaching to admin to etc. We have less control over our schedule which makes a difference. We need to minimize the risk of early season losses over the next five seasons as we need to get back to regularly winning ten or more games. Avoiding high risk of loss games in September is critical as we already face a number of very difficult opponents in the conference. One 'name' school is more than enough and perhaps ought to be every other year at most. We are not top ten so the last thing we want is to 'schedule' more losses.
Riley and the past staff as well were recruiting hard but had any number of key misses at key positions. It appears our recruiting efforts are being redoubled and redoubled again and we are challenging the elite for seemingly the best identified players and have been reaching out into the out years with offers of some h.s. juniors or even youngers. We will see how successful the outcomes are but the effort and focus seems to be there. We can't force recruits to come but it seems we are luring them to come and visit. That is a big part of it. Now, I am sure past staffs have tried to do the same. We will see what happens.
We have super facilities and while not the nation's best, certainly we'd like to think the Huskers have 'top 15" level overall. We know we have top five fans and game days in Lincoln are as good as it gets. UNL academics are NOT "Harvard of the plains" level but we are top 100 nationally across all schools. That is certainly good enough to allow us to recruit champions. Lincoln is a nice city with most amenities and friendly atmosphere that most student athletes can enjoy. Airport is good and with Omaha just 40 minutes away and KC about three hours, travel in and out for families and friends is reasonable but not ideal. But certainly competitive with Penn State, Alabama, OU, Ohio State, Michigan, etc.
There is much debate about Mike Riley and staff and capabilities. At this point, I believe we have seen enough to know Riley is capable of being a great coach. His resume' of past positions with pro teams suggests other football people were confident in his abilities to ge the job done. He won championships in Canda and fielded competitive squads in the PAC Ten sufficient to keep his job for a long time. He was hired in reputable programs in college as well. We are getting visits and with a few signees of late it seems he is going toe to toe with some other big name schools for reputed top athletes. Are we there yet? NO, certainly not. Was last year indicative of what the future will be? Hopefully not but there are reasons to remain hopeful. We were about 4 Tds total away from a dam good season in wins/losses despite having a very short list of top ten caliber players. How many of our starters last year could start for Alabama or Ohio State or Oklahoma or Florida State? Not many or maybe even any. But we remain in the hunt. I believe we will see improvement this year, winning no less than 9 and possibly 10. We will give a top team real trouble when we play our best. Can we manage to play our best every week? Not likely but probably more than last year.
We do the little things better and we can move up that level atleast 15 spots quickly. The other 10 places will take years (4 or more). We will be back however. I think Riley can get us to the top ten before he retires. Hopefully a member of his staff can step in to lead us forward and continue the trends.
I think there is a lot more general agreement on the overall state of the program and the players, coaches, administration, etc than most realize or perhaps want to believe. When you shake it all up and down and around a couple times, one will actually have a pretty realistic and accurate portrayal of Husker athletics and football particularly. We are NOT a top 20 program at this time. We have been pretty consistently in the range of number 30 to number 40. Last year, it is difficult to argue we were even that high as we in fact 6-7 and had losses to programs much lower than number 40. We also had wins against a couple that would suggest we are capable of being a top 20 team. We all know that pure luck, officiating, injuries, weather, fate, destiny, God and maybe a dozen other uncontrollables play into the success or lack thereof of a given football team in any given game or season. We have enjoyed some luck breaks and endured a number of unfortunate ones as well. Each have played a role in determining the outcome (win or lose) of many games over the past decade and in fact over the entire history of Nebraska football.
That being said, in my view, one can go back through nearly all the wins and the losses and identify key plays, moments, play choices, officiating calls, etc which were instrumental in determining ultimately the outcome of games. Certainly, with the exception of perhaps a dirty dozen, I could call them, of the ugliest losses in the past half century, the Huskers have been competitive in our games and arguably have a chance to find a way to win.
The difference between being a top 35 level team and being a top 10 level team (I would define as being one that has a reasonable chance to win 'em all in a given season) is a combination of talent in players (1/3rd maybe), and coaches (1/3rd maybe), facilities, scheduling, luck, and myriad other little things being the other 1/3rd. Often the heated discussions / debates / arguments amongst fans on here or in general focus on one or two at any given time or game, but in reality it remains the overall combination.
Therefore, in my view, to get back to top ten level, Nebraska needs to rededicate itself in each and every area from recruiting to coaching to admin to etc. We have less control over our schedule which makes a difference. We need to minimize the risk of early season losses over the next five seasons as we need to get back to regularly winning ten or more games. Avoiding high risk of loss games in September is critical as we already face a number of very difficult opponents in the conference. One 'name' school is more than enough and perhaps ought to be every other year at most. We are not top ten so the last thing we want is to 'schedule' more losses.
Riley and the past staff as well were recruiting hard but had any number of key misses at key positions. It appears our recruiting efforts are being redoubled and redoubled again and we are challenging the elite for seemingly the best identified players and have been reaching out into the out years with offers of some h.s. juniors or even youngers. We will see how successful the outcomes are but the effort and focus seems to be there. We can't force recruits to come but it seems we are luring them to come and visit. That is a big part of it. Now, I am sure past staffs have tried to do the same. We will see what happens.
We have super facilities and while not the nation's best, certainly we'd like to think the Huskers have 'top 15" level overall. We know we have top five fans and game days in Lincoln are as good as it gets. UNL academics are NOT "Harvard of the plains" level but we are top 100 nationally across all schools. That is certainly good enough to allow us to recruit champions. Lincoln is a nice city with most amenities and friendly atmosphere that most student athletes can enjoy. Airport is good and with Omaha just 40 minutes away and KC about three hours, travel in and out for families and friends is reasonable but not ideal. But certainly competitive with Penn State, Alabama, OU, Ohio State, Michigan, etc.
There is much debate about Mike Riley and staff and capabilities. At this point, I believe we have seen enough to know Riley is capable of being a great coach. His resume' of past positions with pro teams suggests other football people were confident in his abilities to ge the job done. He won championships in Canda and fielded competitive squads in the PAC Ten sufficient to keep his job for a long time. He was hired in reputable programs in college as well. We are getting visits and with a few signees of late it seems he is going toe to toe with some other big name schools for reputed top athletes. Are we there yet? NO, certainly not. Was last year indicative of what the future will be? Hopefully not but there are reasons to remain hopeful. We were about 4 Tds total away from a dam good season in wins/losses despite having a very short list of top ten caliber players. How many of our starters last year could start for Alabama or Ohio State or Oklahoma or Florida State? Not many or maybe even any. But we remain in the hunt. I believe we will see improvement this year, winning no less than 9 and possibly 10. We will give a top team real trouble when we play our best. Can we manage to play our best every week? Not likely but probably more than last year.
We do the little things better and we can move up that level atleast 15 spots quickly. The other 10 places will take years (4 or more). We will be back however. I think Riley can get us to the top ten before he retires. Hopefully a member of his staff can step in to lead us forward and continue the trends.
That's all people say, that we need better talent across the board if we are going to consistently compete for championships, both conference and national. The same people insist on twisting that to mean we have awful talent or no talent at all. /shrug
Based on historical results and last year, we need a coaching upgrade more than a talent upgrade.
I thought the same when Bo was here, but I though he had the potential to grow into a championship coach. Granted, he needed guidance, which I thought TO provided and that's why it was unfortunate he was pushed out and Pelini was left to twist.
Who knows, maybe Riley will reinvent himself and win a championship, which would be his first as a coach at any level in the U.S.
I thought the same when Bo was here, but I though he had the potential to grow into a championship coach. Granted, he needed guidance, which I thought TO provided and that's why it was unfortunate he was pushed out and Pelini was left to twist.
Who knows, maybe Riley will reinvent himself and win a championship, which would be his first as a coach at any level in the U.S.
ColoradoHusk
Heisman Trophy Winner
I am not saying we don't need a coaching upgrade, but I don't know how you can look at last year's roster and think that was a roster of championship material. The whole program needs an upgrade. I liked Bo at first, and thought he was headed in the right direction, but the program plateaued and stagnated in his leadership.
It was the "then current" 22nd ranked roster in the country and had the talent to beat the eventual conference winner. It also had the talent to be within a score of every team it lost to, except, shockingly, Purdue.
Was it "walk off championship talent"? No. But pieces were there for a serious run. They were just squandered.
Your comments sounds so much like perlmans "the program just seems tired" statement in '03, which I thought revealed a fundamental misunderstanding about the nature of developing a program. It's rarely perfectly linear. '13 had a massive amount of injuries that derailed a high potential season, for example.
Was it "walk off championship talent"? No. But pieces were there for a serious run. They were just squandered.
Your comments sounds so much like perlmans "the program just seems tired" statement in '03, which I thought revealed a fundamental misunderstanding about the nature of developing a program. It's rarely perfectly linear. '13 had a massive amount of injuries that derailed a high potential season, for example.
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ColoradoHusk
Heisman Trophy Winner
I don't want the "22nd ranked roster" that will be lucky to produce 2 or 3 NFL draft picks this year. I want a team that is oozing with talent all over the field like I saw in the 90s. Whether it's done by recruiting or development the overall talent and depth needs to be better than it has been the past few years.
SuperBigFan69
Head Coach
We all want better results. The question is who and what strategy puts is in position for those. I think we had the talent to win a conf champ this year and failed to do so. If you want the talent to win an NC, I agree that there needs to be overal "upgrades."