A Breakdown of the Scott Frost era at Nebraska, and my belief, in hindsight, on why those seasons played out like they did.
2018: 4-8 record. One big question is would the SF era have been any different if we had opened with a win against Akron (as we then fought the winless monkey that rode on our back)? We had Colorado beat and blew it in the 4th. Andrew Bunch performed admirably against Troy, but was not FBS talent (knew an FCS coach at the time that recruited Bunch and was shocked he saw the field at NU). Could have beaten Northwestern. Still managed to finish the season playing like a team that should have gone to a bowl (won 4 of final 6 and nearly won the two we lost).
Martinez was a special player as a freshman, despite the early injury. He came in and was difficult to defend. Frost and company helped develop Ozigbo into a solid RB. The biggest issue with this team was the defense. They could never get off the field when they needed to. Played well on 1st and 2nd down and then somehow would find a way to give up the first. There was still a lot of hype leaving this season, despite the slow start. Most people believed we'd play the following year in the same fashion we finished this season- and that would put us back where we belonged.
2019: 5-7 record. The last time we were ranked in the top 25. Again- should have beaten Colorado and blew it in the 4th. Much hyped game against Ohio State proved we were very far from being back. Right when we hit the part of our schedule that we needed to dominate- Martinez got hurt again, and Vedral couldn't pull us across the finish line to a bowl. There was also a feeling during this season that defenses had figured out how to scheme against our offense better. They had enough tape on Adrian that they could figure out how to put the pieces together to keep him from beating them. It would be a few years before Martinez really made any measurable improvements in his deficiencies, which defenses we not exploiting.
We didn't have any support from the backfield, as Mills was lackluster. Wan'Dale would have some nice touches, but wasn't a featured part of the offense yet. The defense played well enough to not lose us games, but wasn't necessarily winning us games either. Once again, it felt like we were a couple of bad breaks away from being a bowl bound team. Despite some of the concerns that crept up with him during the season, it felt like if Martinez could stay healthy and develop, we could still get back to being a good team. It wasn't time to consider it a lost cause. While there was still plenty of reason for concern, there were somehow still some bright spots.
2020: (COVID season) 3-5 record. The first drive of the season was easily the most fun of the year, as we rolled down the field and scored- silencing an empty Horseshoe. We got trounced by OSU, once again, but we saw some stuff with McCaffery that made everyone wonder what type of magic could be harnessed with him, Martinez, and Wan'Dale. The Wisconsin cancellation was a gut punch, as they had a number of people get COVID, but still potentially had enough to play. That potentially could have been a win against a shorthanded- yet highly touted Badger squad. Go back and look at the Northwestern game team stats and you would assume we won that game- nope. However this game only further stoked the McCaffery vs. Martinez debate. We beat a subpar Penn State team. Losses to Illinois and Minnesota are arguably some of the worst in the Frost era.
We close the season with a win over Rutgers in the Big 10 Crapionship game. We elected to not go play in a bowl, which we could still debate whether or not was the right call. By the end of the year, the promise we felt offensively after the OSU game had completely flipped. Instead, we were now left shaking our heads trying to figure out what this team would be going forward. McCaffery proved he wasn't the answer at QB, but Martinez only narrowly earned his job back. Wan'Dale closed the year being the only person who could seem to give us consistently positive plays on offense, but he was taking an absolute beating (and he would ultimately leave). It was the first time during the Frost era, where it didn't feel like we had made any positive momentum coming out of a season.
2021: 3-9 record. The first game of the college football season featured the Nebraska Cornhuskers finding unique ways to lose. The beginning of my punt return PTSD began in Champaign. It was a game we should of won and knew we needed to win if we wanted to get to a bowl game. Our schedule was going to be really tough and we couldn't afford to make it any tougher on ourselves. The trip to Norman brought so many different emotions. For the first time in a while, one of those emotions was hope. Our defense showed in that game they were good enough to compete with any team in the nation, we just needed our offense and- most importantly- special teams to find ways to be even average. Michigan State- we literally didn't allow a first down the entire 2nd half and lost.... HOW!?! Michigan game felt like it could have been the momentum shifter for the program. Night game, Memorial rockin', Top 10 team on the ropes. Nope- still found a way to lose. Minnesota was remarkably the least close game of our season, yet we still nearly had a chance to win the game, but we couldn't cover what seemed like the perfect onside kick. With our last hopes of bowl eligibility on the line- we gave Ohio State all the could handle. It never felt like a game we should actually win, but it didn't feel out of place that we were giving them a battle. Wisconsin and Iowa- again we found more creative ways to lose.
From the outside, it seemed like a program on the right track. We were "the best 3-9 team ever". Hoist the banner!
From the inside, it was weekly torture. The season couldn't have been set up any better to rip at our hearts. We took Oklahoma and Ohio State- two top teams to the brink. We had Michigan State- who would fly into the top of the rankings- beat. Michigan felt like a game we had in our hands. All four teams who would be considered among the best. Meanwhile, we'd be stuck crying into a pillow through all of bowl season (that's what we all did, right?).
The defense in the Frost era went from the reason we were bad, to the reason we were nearly great. The offense only seemed to move in reverse (2021 there was drastic improvement, but still had plays that effectively lost us games). When you look at the journey retroactively, there are lots of what ifs, where you could easily see the story being very different. Nonetheless, here we stand. One constant in all four years was Martinez's inability to stay healthy. In each season he got hurt and left us in a bind during critical games. How much of that was his fault is up for debate. But, there is little doubt in my mind that despite the negatives he brought to some games, that we could have been to a bowl game in multiple seasons under Frost if he had remained healthy.
Every new season brings fresh hope, but with each failure the expectations temper.
2022 will be the year that ultimately defines the Frost era. Will Nebraska finally turn the corner and come out on the other side as a team that lives up to the potential that has been there all along? Or will this be the final chapter in the story of what could have been, but never was?
2018: 4-8 record. One big question is would the SF era have been any different if we had opened with a win against Akron (as we then fought the winless monkey that rode on our back)? We had Colorado beat and blew it in the 4th. Andrew Bunch performed admirably against Troy, but was not FBS talent (knew an FCS coach at the time that recruited Bunch and was shocked he saw the field at NU). Could have beaten Northwestern. Still managed to finish the season playing like a team that should have gone to a bowl (won 4 of final 6 and nearly won the two we lost).
Martinez was a special player as a freshman, despite the early injury. He came in and was difficult to defend. Frost and company helped develop Ozigbo into a solid RB. The biggest issue with this team was the defense. They could never get off the field when they needed to. Played well on 1st and 2nd down and then somehow would find a way to give up the first. There was still a lot of hype leaving this season, despite the slow start. Most people believed we'd play the following year in the same fashion we finished this season- and that would put us back where we belonged.
2019: 5-7 record. The last time we were ranked in the top 25. Again- should have beaten Colorado and blew it in the 4th. Much hyped game against Ohio State proved we were very far from being back. Right when we hit the part of our schedule that we needed to dominate- Martinez got hurt again, and Vedral couldn't pull us across the finish line to a bowl. There was also a feeling during this season that defenses had figured out how to scheme against our offense better. They had enough tape on Adrian that they could figure out how to put the pieces together to keep him from beating them. It would be a few years before Martinez really made any measurable improvements in his deficiencies, which defenses we not exploiting.
We didn't have any support from the backfield, as Mills was lackluster. Wan'Dale would have some nice touches, but wasn't a featured part of the offense yet. The defense played well enough to not lose us games, but wasn't necessarily winning us games either. Once again, it felt like we were a couple of bad breaks away from being a bowl bound team. Despite some of the concerns that crept up with him during the season, it felt like if Martinez could stay healthy and develop, we could still get back to being a good team. It wasn't time to consider it a lost cause. While there was still plenty of reason for concern, there were somehow still some bright spots.
2020: (COVID season) 3-5 record. The first drive of the season was easily the most fun of the year, as we rolled down the field and scored- silencing an empty Horseshoe. We got trounced by OSU, once again, but we saw some stuff with McCaffery that made everyone wonder what type of magic could be harnessed with him, Martinez, and Wan'Dale. The Wisconsin cancellation was a gut punch, as they had a number of people get COVID, but still potentially had enough to play. That potentially could have been a win against a shorthanded- yet highly touted Badger squad. Go back and look at the Northwestern game team stats and you would assume we won that game- nope. However this game only further stoked the McCaffery vs. Martinez debate. We beat a subpar Penn State team. Losses to Illinois and Minnesota are arguably some of the worst in the Frost era.
We close the season with a win over Rutgers in the Big 10 Crapionship game. We elected to not go play in a bowl, which we could still debate whether or not was the right call. By the end of the year, the promise we felt offensively after the OSU game had completely flipped. Instead, we were now left shaking our heads trying to figure out what this team would be going forward. McCaffery proved he wasn't the answer at QB, but Martinez only narrowly earned his job back. Wan'Dale closed the year being the only person who could seem to give us consistently positive plays on offense, but he was taking an absolute beating (and he would ultimately leave). It was the first time during the Frost era, where it didn't feel like we had made any positive momentum coming out of a season.
2021: 3-9 record. The first game of the college football season featured the Nebraska Cornhuskers finding unique ways to lose. The beginning of my punt return PTSD began in Champaign. It was a game we should of won and knew we needed to win if we wanted to get to a bowl game. Our schedule was going to be really tough and we couldn't afford to make it any tougher on ourselves. The trip to Norman brought so many different emotions. For the first time in a while, one of those emotions was hope. Our defense showed in that game they were good enough to compete with any team in the nation, we just needed our offense and- most importantly- special teams to find ways to be even average. Michigan State- we literally didn't allow a first down the entire 2nd half and lost.... HOW!?! Michigan game felt like it could have been the momentum shifter for the program. Night game, Memorial rockin', Top 10 team on the ropes. Nope- still found a way to lose. Minnesota was remarkably the least close game of our season, yet we still nearly had a chance to win the game, but we couldn't cover what seemed like the perfect onside kick. With our last hopes of bowl eligibility on the line- we gave Ohio State all the could handle. It never felt like a game we should actually win, but it didn't feel out of place that we were giving them a battle. Wisconsin and Iowa- again we found more creative ways to lose.
From the outside, it seemed like a program on the right track. We were "the best 3-9 team ever". Hoist the banner!
From the inside, it was weekly torture. The season couldn't have been set up any better to rip at our hearts. We took Oklahoma and Ohio State- two top teams to the brink. We had Michigan State- who would fly into the top of the rankings- beat. Michigan felt like a game we had in our hands. All four teams who would be considered among the best. Meanwhile, we'd be stuck crying into a pillow through all of bowl season (that's what we all did, right?).
The defense in the Frost era went from the reason we were bad, to the reason we were nearly great. The offense only seemed to move in reverse (2021 there was drastic improvement, but still had plays that effectively lost us games). When you look at the journey retroactively, there are lots of what ifs, where you could easily see the story being very different. Nonetheless, here we stand. One constant in all four years was Martinez's inability to stay healthy. In each season he got hurt and left us in a bind during critical games. How much of that was his fault is up for debate. But, there is little doubt in my mind that despite the negatives he brought to some games, that we could have been to a bowl game in multiple seasons under Frost if he had remained healthy.
Every new season brings fresh hope, but with each failure the expectations temper.
2022 will be the year that ultimately defines the Frost era. Will Nebraska finally turn the corner and come out on the other side as a team that lives up to the potential that has been there all along? Or will this be the final chapter in the story of what could have been, but never was?