Last season was dismal. Or so I thought.
Husker fans had long been accustomed to winning - and winning big. I don't need to summarize the string of success under Devaney, Osborne and even into Solich's tenure. And after Callahan was terminated, it showed us that Husker nation doesn't accept losing for very long. Pelini brought us a sense of stability, notching 9 or 10 wins consistently.
But something else happened. I got complacent. 9 wins was no longer enough, yet 9 wins was somehow enough to overlook the blowout losses to Wisconsin or Texas Tech. For a stretch, the only coaches in FBS to consistenly hit the 9+ win mark each and every seasons were Chip Kelly, Nick Saban and... Bo Pelini. On paper, Nebraska appeared to be headed in the right direction.
With Riley's painful debut, my expectations were reset. Under the past regime, each and every loss was painful. Hard to defend. An ugly scar to be forgotten. Say what you will about coaching, Pelni definitely created a culture at Nebraska. His "Us versus Them" mentality was well-documented and I feel in many ways stretched into the fanbase, even if the fanbase was part of Pelini's "Them." I started to find myself defensive about losses, quick to remind people that he was still winning 10 games and we had great talent like Suh, Helu or Amukamara.
Riley, through a combination of a terrible season and his completely un-terrible demeanor, showed me that football can still be a lot of fun. In 2016, I entered the year with cautious optimism, thinking that maybe we had a chance to make a good bowl game. Maybe we could beat Oregon. And now, seven games later, maybe we could beat Wisconsin, Ohio State or Iowa. Or maybe even the Big Ten East Champ.
We've yet to lose - and likely, a loss or two is still coming - but for now, I'm thoroughly enjoying each and every win, opposed to the past where I dreaded any potential loss.
Thanks, Coach Riley.
Husker fans had long been accustomed to winning - and winning big. I don't need to summarize the string of success under Devaney, Osborne and even into Solich's tenure. And after Callahan was terminated, it showed us that Husker nation doesn't accept losing for very long. Pelini brought us a sense of stability, notching 9 or 10 wins consistently.
But something else happened. I got complacent. 9 wins was no longer enough, yet 9 wins was somehow enough to overlook the blowout losses to Wisconsin or Texas Tech. For a stretch, the only coaches in FBS to consistenly hit the 9+ win mark each and every seasons were Chip Kelly, Nick Saban and... Bo Pelini. On paper, Nebraska appeared to be headed in the right direction.
With Riley's painful debut, my expectations were reset. Under the past regime, each and every loss was painful. Hard to defend. An ugly scar to be forgotten. Say what you will about coaching, Pelni definitely created a culture at Nebraska. His "Us versus Them" mentality was well-documented and I feel in many ways stretched into the fanbase, even if the fanbase was part of Pelini's "Them." I started to find myself defensive about losses, quick to remind people that he was still winning 10 games and we had great talent like Suh, Helu or Amukamara.
Riley, through a combination of a terrible season and his completely un-terrible demeanor, showed me that football can still be a lot of fun. In 2016, I entered the year with cautious optimism, thinking that maybe we had a chance to make a good bowl game. Maybe we could beat Oregon. And now, seven games later, maybe we could beat Wisconsin, Ohio State or Iowa. Or maybe even the Big Ten East Champ.
We've yet to lose - and likely, a loss or two is still coming - but for now, I'm thoroughly enjoying each and every win, opposed to the past where I dreaded any potential loss.
Thanks, Coach Riley.