The Athletic: Did Colorado’s 2001 upset of Nebraska start the dismantling of the Huskers dynasty?

[Saunders]

It wasn’t the 62 points, more than any opponent had scored against Nebraska in 11 decades of playing football.

It wasn’t the 380 rushing yards, either, that Colorado accumulated, more than four times the average figure surrendered by Nebraska’s stout defense.

No, it was the method by which Colorado beat the Cornhuskers on a cool Boulder Black Friday afternoon that sent shockwaves radiating back to Lincoln, in every direction, really, and through the sport’s power structure, ultimately contributing to the changing of the postseason formula.

https://theathletic.com/2578919/2021/05/11/did-colorados-2001-upset-of-nebraska-start-the-dismantling-of-the-huskers-dynasty-it-all-went-downhill-from-there/?source=emp_shared_article

 

[knapplc]

"Did Colorado’s 2001 upset of Nebraska start the dismantling of the Huskers dynasty?"

No.

It was a coaching staff that was unwilling or unable to recruit to the level of the Osborne Era. It was the elimination of Prop 48. It was an offense whose time had passed. It was the slow erosion of a championship attitude in the locker room. It was the fact that Solich wasn't half the coach Osborne was. It was an AD that meddled without understanding. 

It was a thousand little things that led to the demise of Nebraska football. 

But that wouldn't make a compelling narrative so let's pin it on this game for this content I have to produce every week. 

 

[Saunders]

It's really a general thesis, and not necessarily Mitch's point. He did a good job getting insight from players and coaches from the game.

So let’s ask the question as the Huskers, 20 years later, plot their rebound from five losing seasons since 2015: Was the downfall of Nebraska football set in motion on that Friday afternoon in Boulder? 

Darlington: It was a devastating loss. It was a crucial game, but I don’t think it had anything to do with the demise of Nebraska football. I think that’s completely ridiculous. In my mind, it’s ludicrous. I think there are other factors that caused us to be in the situation we’re in now. The next year, the staff was basically fired during the season. That, I think, was a factor in the demise. And the big change with the demise of Nebraska football came after the 2003 season. (Solich) got fired and you brought in (Callahan), who completely dismantled how we practiced and how we prepared.

Barnett: It’s pretty easy to look at it and say, “That’s where it started.” Nebraska people tend to do that. But I don’t think we ever really know. It’s not usually just one thing; it’s a bunch of stuff. That’s another article, I think. You can derive that, but who knows?

 

[knapplc]

It's really a general thesis, and not necessarily Mitch's point. He did a good job getting insight from players and coaches from the game. 

I feel like the need to produce content on a daily and weekly basis is what leads to headlines like this. If it's not the answer, why pose it as the question in the headline?

I don't know if Mitch writes his headlines or an editor. But this has been the narrative for so long that I guess they just roll with it. Like everyone thinks Osborne ran an Option Offense in the 90s. 

 

[knapplc]

This is, sadly, all too believable. 

 

[Saunders]

I feel like the need to produce content on a daily and weekly basis is what leads to headlines like this. If it's not the answer, why pose it as the question in the headline?

I don't know if Mitch writes his headlines or an editor. But this has been the narrative for so long that I guess they just roll with it. Like everyone thinks Osborne ran an Option Offense in the 90s. 

It's part of a series of articles they're doing on huge upsets from the 2001 season. It's also a question they specifically asked the players & coaches involved in the game.

 

[BigRedBuster]

"Did Colorado’s 2001 upset of Nebraska start the dismantling of the Huskers dynasty?"

No.

It was a coaching staff that was unwilling or unable to recruit to the level of the Osborne Era. It was the elimination of Prop 48. It was an offense whose time had passed. It was the slow erosion of a championship attitude in the locker room. It was the fact that Solich wasn't half the coach Osborne was. It was an AD that meddled without understanding. 

It was a thousand little things that led to the demise of Nebraska football. 

But that wouldn't make a compelling narrative so let's pin it on this game for this content I have to produce every week. 

I think that's the biggest issue back then.  I love TO as much as anyone.  But, he sealed Solich's fate when he forced him to keep the old staff.  They had lived off of TO being able to draw in the best talent for years.  Once TO was gone, they didn't understand how to recruit without him.

 

[knapplc]

About this game in particular, I just remember being mystified at what our linebackers were doing. They were consistently attacking the gaps aggressively, so all the RB had to do was see where the LB was going and hit a different gap. Their O Line was opening so many holes they could pick and choose, and once they got into the defensive backfield it was a footrace. 

We made zero adjustments throughout the game. It was easy for Colorado. One of the most mystifying games I had seen to that point in my life. 

 

[Nebraska55fan]

Frank was an OK HC, a great position coach, not so good OC and a weak CEO> He should have been kept around  after the 2003 season to give the new staff a chance to mature. Then gracefully move him into an admin role once NU found a good replacement. Solich to Bo to Frost would have been a much healthier path than Solich- Callahan- riley- Frost

 

[deedsker]

About this game in particular, I just remember being mystified at what our linebackers were doing. They were consistently attacking the gaps aggressively, so all the RB had to do was see where the LB was going and hit a different gap. Their O Line was opening so many holes they could pick and choose, and once they got into the defensive backfield it was a footrace. 

We made zero adjustments throughout the game. It was easy for Colorado. One of the most mystifying games I had seen to that point in my life. 

I have avoided this game for many years as a beat down that nobody should revisit. I finally got recommended it one too many times and checked it out out of morbid curiosity. Eric Crouch came out too amped/tight and had a quick fumble and missed some easy throws that put us down 21-0 pretty quick. After we pull it together and fix some of the over aggressive defensive calls with all the linebackers at the LOS, we generally shut down Colorado's run game. By the end of the 3rd quarter we fought back into the game and are down by 12 with the momentum, before we had another lapse in defensive assignments (you can pull linemen on aggressive fits? who knew?). Once we had another leak when playing from behind it was over, but the game crushing, we didn't deserve to be on the field, annihilation that I had once remembered was gone. All I saw was a bad start from what was a good player and a defense that took too long to adjust to keep them in it. 28-3 in the first quarter is something that all Nebraska teams have never been able to overcome. 

If they had to do it again, I wouldn't be surprised to see a 2010 Washington/Nebraska scenario playing out between the two teams.

 

[JJ Husker]

Yes, that absolutely was the catalyst for the start of our demise. As much as it pains me to admit that, being the Colorado residing Buff hater that I am. Obviously steps were taken after the debacle in Boulder that further cemented the fall but that one event is what precipitated it. Frank and Bohl let the curtain be pulled back in that travesty of a game. It is why Solich had to go and that led to so many bad decisions that we are all aware of.

 

[BigRedBuster]

Yes, that absolutely was the catalyst for the start of our demise. As much as it pains me to admit that, being the Colorado residing Buff hater that I am. Obviously steps were taken after the debacle in Boulder that further cemented the fall but that one event is what precipitated it. Frank and Bohl let the curtain be pulled back in that travesty of a game. It is why Solich had to go and that led to so many bad decisions that we are all aware of.

The first bad decision when letting him go was who they hired as the AD.

The second bad decision when letting him go was the timing.  He either should have been let go a year earlier, or given at least a year once he replaced his staff.  But, he replaced his staff when the decision was already made and just about anything they did in that first year of the staff, didn't matter.

 

[NUance]

The CU debacle didn't start the dismantling of Huskers dynasty.  It just exposed us for the paper tigers we were that year.  We ranked in the top 5 all season.  But we were not a top 5 team.  We beat a mediocre K-state team in Lincoln by 10 the week before CU.  I think that's about how good we were.  I have no idea how we managed to be #2 Oklahoma earlier in the season.  :shrug:  

 

[jager]

"Did Colorado’s 2001 upset of Nebraska start the dismantling of the Huskers dynasty?"

No.

It was a coaching staff that was unwilling or unable to recruit to the level of the Osborne Era. It was the elimination of Prop 48. It was an offense whose time had passed. It was the slow erosion of a championship attitude in the locker room. It was the fact that Solich wasn't half the coach Osborne was. It was an AD that meddled without understanding. 

It was a thousand little things that led to the demise of Nebraska football. 

But that wouldn't make a compelling narrative so let's pin it on this game for this content I have to produce every week. 

This was ultimately what caused the demise. The coaches didn't know how to recruit fully eligible talent. Everything else just steam rolled from here.

 

[BigRedBuster]

I wonder how far into the future this is going to be debated in the off season.  We are almost at 20 years now.

This was ultimately what caused the demise. The coaches didn't know how to recruit fully eligible talent. Everything else just steam rolled from here.

This was only a few players a year.