Okay, this is all a crock of crap. Nebraska, with facilities and community support, is better than half the schools listed. If recent winning is the criteria, then I guess the list is right. Recruiting this......coaching staff that.....blah, blah, blah. It comes down to winning sports fans. Pure and simple!
NU has made some suspect hires and we paid the price for it. Solich was an in-house pick and a successor, but he didn't pan out. The Callahan and Pelini decisions cost this program dearly. Callahan was horrible with the Raiders. Anyone that knows football knows that his team that went to the Super Bowl was a hand-me-down. They were lucky to even make it and then there was locker room turmoil the following year. Why would anyone hire him? Pelini was a good DC, but never had a HC job. Why on God's green earth would he get a starter job at NU? Riley is a good hire to lay a foundation. I doubt we will any championships with him, but he's the Scope to wash out the nasty taste in our mouths from almost 2 decades of eating crap.
I'm also tired of hearing NU is out in left field. That's B.S. Lincoln is a college town and the State capitol. Matter of fact, it's a lot nicer and CLEANER than most college towns. Penn State recruits well and College Station is in the boonies of P.A. Ann Arbor is sandwiched between Flint and Detroit. Now that's some fine real estate right there. Tuscaloosa has the football stadium and a small town feel. Yeah, Birmingham is down the road a bit, but it's not like it's the jewel of the South. Gainesville is crappy. Anyone been there? The sun may be out, but look at what it lights up.
This is all some media ploy to wreck the Nebraska legacy. When the media writes about the decline of Nebraska and their football program, these recruits read it. They get the Athlon, Street & Smith or whatever other college football media magazines and get their minds filled with crap. The recruits that do come like the atmosphere, the facility, the fans, the coaching staff and so on. Most 4 and 5 Star recruits expect an avenue to the NFL. NU can provide that, but it has to win games to get those recruits.
We landed one of those Blue Chip young coaches in Diaco. Connecticut didn't work out for him, but let's be real....it's a basketball school. I believe the coaching staff is shaping up. "If you build it, they will come" and I'm a firm believer in that notion. This coaching staff has the ability to make this a national recognized program again that is RELEVANT. I'm patient with what's going on. I wasn't with the last two regimes.