Which 'What If' Would Have Caused the Biggest Change?

If Crawford picks football I still think Solich gets fired but it wouldn't have been for at least another few years as you would've had 2 years of Crawford at QB in '02 and '03.  Would've been interesting to see how a Solich/Pelini mix would've worked out.  NU definitely avoids the entire Callahan era...

 
BigRedBuster said:
I think we still leave the Big 12 even if we win in 2009.  The writing was on the wall with how Texas and OU were scheming behind the scenes.  That would not have been any different had we won.

For me, it's clearly the firing of Frank.  If that doesn't happen, we don't hire Callahan.  If we don't hire Callahan, the crappy, lazy, pro mentality isn't instilled into the program that has taken a very long time to get out.
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A team winning the national championship can affect an entire conference’s perspective. Perhaps instead of the PAC looking to expand the BIG 12 is the one that expands. As it was, and very arguably is, the Big 12 was seen as weak and if conferences were going to consolidate into mega conferences then it was the BIG 12 that was threatened. A strong Nebraska may have changed that.

In terms of knock on effects, though, I’d say Frank by a landslide. That’s the modern nexus point of Husker football.

 
1. Bubba was just one player, for a limited time, heart was never in it.  No impact

2 Carl who?

3.  Winner  millions of dollars and decades worth of knowledge lost.  This set in motion 15 years of sideways and backward movement of the program.

4. Maybe 2nd most important option of those listed.  If If's and buts were candy and nuts.

5. Doesn't matter.  Our staff at that time had developed  NO plan B, so our one dimensionalness was going to be exposed anyway.  We treated Tmart like horses are getting treated at Santa Anita

 
Not just firing Solich but who he was replaced with. I think he deserved at least one more year and with Pelini would’ve been here awhile. But firing him could’ve been okay if they’d brought in someone who fit the culture better. 

 
brophog said:
A team winning the national championship can affect an entire conference’s perspective. Perhaps instead of the PAC looking to expand the BIG 12 is the one that expands. As it was, and very arguably is, the Big 12 was seen as weak and if conferences were going to consolidate into mega conferences then it was the BIG 12 that was threatened. A strong Nebraska may have changed that.

In terms of knock on effects, though, I’d say Frank by a landslide. That’s the modern nexus point of Husker football.
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I think it goes more towards Texas and OU wanting out even faster.  They would not be happy with a dominant Nebraska winning championships.  It's very possible the conference would have folded instead of expanded.  

 
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BigRedBuster said:
I think we still leave the Big 12 even if we win in 2009.  The writing was on the wall with how Texas and OU were scheming behind the scenes.  That would not have been any different had we won.
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I don't think it's that simple.  Sure, Nebraska was fed up with the Texas favored crap.  But that wasn't anything new, Nebraska higher ups had been dealing with that since the inception of the Big 12.  What was the final straw that made Nebrask say "....screw this"?

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Take that 1 second away, Nebraska wins.  Nebraska has a conference title for the first time in a decade.  The frustration is subdued a bit for the time being.  It's easy to say we still leave, but I think there's a chance we don't had this^ not happened.

You can make a case for NOT firing Solich, but what happens if we don't?  A few more years of mediocrity before he gets fired?  I don't think there was a big turnaround coming like some think.  He had lost control of the direction, his staff and the team.  If we were happy with 9 wins a season and a Tom Osborne like guy at the helm, then sure make the case for Frank.  But I'm sticking with #4.

 
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Redux said:
I don't think it's that simple.  Sure, Nebraska was fed up with the Texas favored crap.  But that wasn't anything new, Nebraska higher ups had been dealing with that since the inception of the Big 12.  What was the final straw that made Nebrask say "....screw this"?



Take that 1 second away, Nebraska wins.  Nebraska has a conference title for the first time in a decade.  The frustration is subdued a bit for the time being.  It's easy to say we still leave, but I think there's a chance we don't had this^ not happened.
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Not if Texas and OU are still scheming behind the scenes to leave for the Pac 10.  If we win that game, I believe they work harder to make that happen.

 
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In order of significance:

Winning 2009 B1G Title - would have changed the perception and status of the program significantly.  Not only would it have broken the conference title drought, but we would have played a mediocre UConn team in the Fiesta bowl and had a great chance to get both a Conference Championship and a BCS Bowl win on the ledger.  Could have made a lot of things go better in the following years.

Taylor doesn't get hurt against Missouri in 2010 - Kind of similar to the above in that if we have any semblance of an offense in the second half of the CCG we add a title.  If we have that plus any semblance of an offense against aTm we are 12-1 with a conference title and playing in a BCS bowl game.  Changes the entire perception of the program, both for fans and recruits.

I'm not really sure the rest even make more than a blip of a difference but:

Crawford picks CFB - I was going to give this more credit but he would have overlapped a lot of Crouch's career so I'm not sure it would have made a significant difference.

Bubba picks football - Same as Crawford in that he would have overlapped Martinez quite a bit so I'm not sure it makes a big difference.

Pederson doesn't fire Solich - It was only a matter of time.  Frank hasn't even won a MAC title.  Not sure why so many people think he would have done any better here.

 
I'm a little flabbergasted that this isn't a clear runaway consensus for #3. Every other option requires what ifs and buts. Bubba Starling, Carl Crawford and Taylor Martinez are individual players that could have made some level of impact.....or may not have. #4 could have had interesting repercussions but still it's only one game and a lot of assumptions have to be made for the longer term affect. But Frank getting canned when and how he did, the results of that are verifiable facts that take no imagination to determine. Just think where this program would be without ever knowing the names Callahan, Pelini or Riley. 

 
Mavric said:
In order of significance:

Winning 2009 B1G Title - would have changed the perception and status of the program significantly.  Not only would it have broken the conference title drought, but we would have played a mediocre UConn team in the Fiesta bowl and had a great chance to get both a Conference Championship and a BCS Bowl win on the ledger.  Could have made a lot of things go better in the following years.

Taylor doesn't get hurt against Missouri in 2010 - Kind of similar to the above in that if we have any semblance of an offense in the second half of the CCG we add a title.  If we have that plus any semblance of an offense against aTm we are 12-1 with a conference title and playing in a BCS bowl game.  Changes the entire perception of the program, both for fans and recruits.

I'm not really sure the rest even make more than a blip of a difference but:

Crawford picks CFB - I was going to give this more credit but he would have overlapped a lot of Crouch's career so I'm not sure it would have made a significant difference.

Bubba picks football - Same as Crawford in that he would have overlapped Martinez quite a bit so I'm not sure it makes a big difference.

Pederson doesn't fire Solich - It was only a matter of time.  Frank hasn't even won a MAC title.  Not sure why so many people think he would have done any better here.
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I love questions like these...I'm higher on Crawford because one of my closest buddies grew up in Houston and he swears that Crawford is the best athlete to ever come out of Houston which is obviously a bold claim.  Although with Crawford's offers coming out of HS I certainly get it.  It's true he only would've been able to start for 2 years as it's hard to imagine he beats out Crouch.  The other fun part would've been seeing what Jamaal Lord would've looked like as a safety which is where he would've played if Crawford comes.  What if Crawford lives up to the hype?  That would've given Frankie 2 All-American QBs in 3 years...would've been interesting to see who he could've recruited.

I do agree that winning the 2009 title is probably the correct answer.

 
Redux said:
I don't think it's that simple.  Sure, Nebraska was fed up with the Texas favored crap.  But that wasn't anything new, Nebraska higher ups had been dealing with that since the inception of the Big 12.  What was the final straw that made Nebrask say "....screw this"?



Take that 1 second away, Nebraska wins.  Nebraska has a conference title for the first time in a decade.  The frustration is subdued a bit for the time being.  It's easy to say we still leave, but I think there's a chance we don't had this^ not happened.

You can make a case for NOT firing Solich, but what happens if we don't?  A few more years of mediocrity before he gets fired?  I don't think there was a big turnaround coming like some think.  He had lost control of the direction, his staff and the team.  If we were happy with 9 wins a season and a Tom Osborne like guy at the helm, then sure make the case for Frank.  But I'm sticking with #4.
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The biggest reason for the move to the Big Ten was the fear of Nebraska being left out of the rapidly moving conference realignment movement at the time. OU and Texas were pining for the Pac 12, and Nebraska was potentially going to be left holding the bag in a dead conference. Osborne and (whether you like it or not) Perlman did the right thing by proactively seeking an alternate home, and it wasn't based on the ending of a single football game. 

 
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JJ Husker said:
I'm a little flabbergasted that this isn't a clear runaway consensus for #3. Every other option requires what ifs and buts. Bubba Starling, Carl Crawford and Taylor Martinez are individual players that could have made some level of impact.....or may not have. #4 could have had interesting repercussions but still it's only one game and a lot of assumptions have to be made for the longer term affect. But Frank getting canned when and how he did, the results of that are verifiable facts that take no imagination to determine. Just think where this program would be without ever knowing the names Callahan, Pelini or Riley. 
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#3 probably has the most what ifs and buts.  What happens if Frank isn't fired then?  Does he right the ship and win something of significance?  Do we stagger along being good but not great?  Do we totally tank in another year or two?  If Frank is fired a few more years down the line, the next coaches change but to whom and what does that look like?

 
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