Nine Biggest Reasons

[Bean]

Nebraska Football’s Purgatory

Your best source for quality Nebraska Cornhuskers news, rumors, analysis, stats and scores from the fan perspective.

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"Nebraska’s most visible sport continues to languish in what is best described as mediocrity. Up a bit from awful. For the last 25 years or so, it’s been bounced around between “OK”, “Meh” or (way too often) “Bleecch”. I’ll term it as Purgatory.
I think the vast majority of fans aren’t expecting a return to the 1990’s. Three national championships in five years would be the pinnacle of accomplish, not the baseline for expectations. But I think everyone, even the most die-hard Husker hater, would have to agree that with all of Nebraska’s resources and tradition, Husker football should be better than it is."

"Nebraska’s biggest enemy is Nebraska."

8-9 wins would be a big improvement IMO! Maybe this coming season!?

 

[Hville]

Two biggest and they go together:

1. NO longer can you get by on a low budget system. Money is everything. This impacts time to develop, player retention, everything.

2. As Cigneti showed, you don't really hire a HC, you hire a system. That is a HC who can bring in his coaches who teach a system that has been proven to win and that all the coaches have bought into and radiate belief in.
This also much enhances the ability to recruit and pick from TP those players that will fit said system and win (note the stay/leave issues in the article).
Bob Devaney had a stable staff and gave it to Dr. Tom and it remained stable: They believed in what they taught and they knew what athletes they were looking for.

Scott Frost brought in a system.

 

[Hville]

Nebraska had their chance to have a great start in the B1G when they came into the it and it didn't happen.

I do agree that the administrative dysfunction, starting with the hiring of Pederson, is the biggest factor. He because he wanted to be the savior of Nebraska football and Harvey Pearlman because he hated the football program.

Nobody expected a newcomer to a conference to dominate. But Bo went close to 70% in B1G play the first 4 years. I’m not gonna figure out what it is since but I’m guessing closer to 30%. I’d argue there is no reason to look back at our start in the B1G as a reason to our present position.

 

[Farmer Jake]

Nebraska Football’s Purgatory

Your best source for quality Nebraska Cornhuskers news, rumors, analysis, stats and scores from the fan perspective.

www.cornnation.com

"Nebraska’s most visible sport continues to languish in what is best described as mediocrity. Up a bit from awful. For the last 25 years or so, it’s been bounced around between “OK”, “Meh” or (way too often) “Bleecch”. I’ll term it as Purgatory.
I think the vast majority of fans aren’t expecting a return to the 1990’s. Three national championships in five years would be the pinnacle of accomplish, not the baseline for expectations. But I think everyone, even the most die-hard Husker hater, would have to agree that with all of Nebraska’s resources and tradition, Husker football should be better than it is."

"Nebraska’s biggest enemy is Nebraska."

9 wins would be a big improvement IMO! Maybe this coming season!?

In my opinion, one of the biggest problems has been the arrogance of the leadership at UNL, whether it be from an AD or coach. From Pederson's "gravitate towards mediocrity", to Eichorst's not wanting to become like Iowa, to Frost's saying the B1G would have to change for him. The arrogance came back to bite each of them.

The rest of us were just along for the ride.

 

[NUinID]

Nobody expected a newcomer to a conference to dominate. But Bo went close to 70% in B1G play the first 4 years. I’m not gonna figure out what it is since but I’m guessing closer to 30%. I’d argue there is no reason to look back at our start in the B1G as a reason to our present position.

For sure it is worse. I would also argue that the B1G is quite a bit better top to bottom than it was when Nebraska first joined the leage. Pelini had a decent record for sure, but it wasn't dominant when it could have been. One week they go out and totally dominate the #7 MSU the next week they can't stop a sub .500 Northwestern and lose. They lost to Minnesota twice when they were really nothing special.

Actually I think a lot of fans expected Nebraska to dominate the B1G when they came into it.

 

[NorthwoodHusker]

For sure it is worse. I would also argue that the B1G is quite a bit better top to bottom than it was when Nebraska first joined the leage. Pelini had a decent record for sure, but it wasn't dominant when it could have been. One week they go out and totally dominate the #7 MSU the next week they can't stop a sub .500 Northwestern and lose. They lost to Minnesota twice when they were really nothing special.

Actually I think a lot of fans expected Nebraska to dominate the B1G when they came into it.

Not a good enough coach and a living in the past cheap admin that was non supportive.
The last of the luster was removed right there.
Then you fire Bo, decent coach, not much left.
We have gotten better under MR, and compare his recruiting model to the old model and its changed quite a bit.
This is a rebuild in knowing what you need. While every school is going through this, many have an edge. I think we have that edge.
I look at last year as a defense coached by capable people that really arent college coaches and too tied up in monies to one player and his uncle.
I think what we have now, if given time, could be the foundation of good things ahead

 

[Hville]

For sure it is worse. I would also argue that the B1G is quite a bit better top to bottom than it was when Nebraska first joined the leage. Pelini had a decent record for sure, but it wasn't dominant when it could have been. One week they go out and totally dominate the #7 MSU the next week they can't stop a sub .500 Northwestern and lose. They lost to Minnesota twice when they were really nothing special.

Actually I think a lot of fans expected Nebraska to dominate the B1G when they came into it.

The only fans that thought we would dominate the B1G were the fans who supported Bo. You seem to put more precedence into him losing to Northwestern then you do beating a top 10 team.

Argue what you want but blaming our present problems on Bo is incredibly stupid.

 

[NUinID]

The only fans that thought we would dominate the B1G were the fans who supported Bo. You seem to put more precedence into him losing to Northwestern then you do beating a top 10 team.

Argue what you want but blaming our present problems on Bo is incredibly stupid.

I am not sure where I am blaming the present state of affairs with Nebraska football on BP. All I have said was he had a chance to do better when he came into the league than he ended up doing. Just my opinion, but BP took certain teams lightly and it rubbed off on his players. He was good at getting them up for the big game, but lost games that he should not have lost.

How Nebraska has done since BP departure has nothing to do with him.

 

[NorthwoodHusker]

I am not sure where I am blaming the present state of affairs with Nebraska football on BP. All I have said was he had a chance to do better when he came into the league than he ended up doing. Just my opinion, but BP took certain teams lightly and it rubbed off on his players. He was good at getting them up for the big game, but lost games that he should not have lost.

How Nebraska has done since BP departure has nothing to do with him.

Agreed, when the players think they're as good as their press clippings, there's trouble. If the coach doesnt get on top of this quickly, and start showing respect, it's over. See SF's attitude to start.

 

[Hville]

I am not sure where I am blaming the present state of affairs with Nebraska football on BP. All I have said was he had a chance to do better when he came into the league than he ended up doing. Just my opinion, but BP took certain teams lightly and it rubbed off on his players. He was good at getting them up for the big game, but lost games that he should not have lost.

How Nebraska has done since BP departure has nothing to do with him.

I’m not sure how you think you are not blaming the current state on Bo since you brought him up in this very topic. How could you possibly believe that he took teams lightly and it rubbed off on his players? Bo was intensely competitive and very irritable at his players for not having that same attitude for every game. You are barking up the wrong tree here. Good time to back away.

 

[Pops]

I would argue recruiting was fine … retention and development are what suffered.

Kind one the other side of a coin but I do think the distinction is notable.

Have said. Give Neb a 4 or 5 star and Rhule will find a way to make them a 2 or 4 star

 

[NUinID]

I’m not sure how you think you are not blaming the current state on Bo since you brought him up in this very topic. How could you possibly believe that he took teams lightly and it rubbed off on his players? Bo was intensely competitive and very irritable at his players for not having that same attitude for every game. You are barking up the wrong tree here. Good time to back away.

Actually if you go back and reread my original post, which is #8 in this thread, I never even mentioned Bo Pelini. Your the one that brought him up yesterday.

 

[gazelle]

I’m not sure how you think you are not blaming the current state on Bo since you brought him up in this very topic. How could you possibly believe that he took teams lightly and it rubbed off on his players? Bo was intensely competitive and very irritable at his players for not having that same attitude for every game. You are barking up the wrong tree here. Good time to back away.

I agree with NUinID. Bo had some good qualities as a coach, but he was very mercurial. His teams played like that too. They would play great one week, and lousy the next. Sometimes even in the same game they would be great in the first half and lousy in the second, or vice versa. His teams were never consistent.

 

[NorthwoodHusker]

Have said. Give Neb a 4 or 5 star and Rhule will find a way to make them a 2 or 4 star

Meanwhile, we recruit better than ever.

 

[Californication]

Regression toward the mean is a common trap that can lead to false conclusions. It is frequently misinterpreted in business, education, and medicine, where people mistakenly attribute the return to average performance to an external intervention.

Credit TO for much of Nebraska's long run of above-average, but recognize that regardless of others who came later with every hope and expectation of sustaining that success, a return to the average was the statistically likely outcome.

I don't think we are talking about normal population.