At least if you get blown out 3-4 times, it might be due to lack of talent. When you lose the way we do, you can’t blame it on lack of talent. I don’t know what it is, but damn. I know one thing, if we ran a true option based offense, we wouldn’t be throwing interceptions at the end of a game. We wouldn’t be 5-7 either.

Many won’t want to hear this, especially right now when a crushing 13-10 loss on Tom Osborne Field to archrival Iowa is so fresh, but here it goes anyway:

Nebraska is trending up, and the Black Friday loss doesn’t change that.

I hope he stays too. His first 3 seasons were challenging but he really turned the corner this year. One more year of similar improvements and he'd be a 3rd-5th round pick. Really a reach this year and most like UFA.
I know this season feels disappointing because of how it ended but the roster going into next season seems encouraging, particularly on the lines.

First of all, I like Matt Rhule and I don’t think he’s a horrible coach, in spite of my whining… I DO see some great improvement in lots of areas this year:
* no blowout losses except from the sign stealers
* much better defense generally
* no sense of quit at all
* had a ton of injuries
* AND… and this is big …..we really had chances to do remarkable things late in games… much different.

He seems willing to take responsibility for things. That’s a good sign of leadership .
He appears determined to rebuild state ownership of the Husker brand. He is approachable.

However, it is fair to say , HERE are some things we can do to get better to take the next step.
* our end of game game plans / clock management was atrocious. You can say “ well, the coaches don’t fumble, throw interceptions, false start, etc, but it IS THEIR JOB to teach/ correct/ improve, and our last four games ended badly(almost comically) on their watch.
* our kicking game stinks … our punting was great for one kick today , but often erratic and you saw our field goal efforts.
* I realize injuries played a part but our offensive identity is murky

Anyway, I think we can get back with this regime… it just stinks that we could have taken big steps THIS YEAR.

F&uck Michigan. Hated enemy of Nebraska football...

From Nebraska athletics dept:

Stanford, Calif. - The No. 15 Nebraska soccer team saw one of the best seasons in Husker history come to an end as NU fell to No. 3 Stanford in the NCAA Quarterfinals 2-1 on Friday afternoon.

The Cardinal, who advance to meet the winner of one-seed BYU/three-seed North Carolina next Friday in the NCAA Women’s College Cup semifinals, move to 19-0-4 on the year, while the Huskers finish the season with a 17-4-3 mark.

Junior forward Sarah Weber tied the match in regulation with about three minutes remaining and the teams went into overtime, tied 1-1. Less than five minutes into the first overtime, Stanford regained the lead as Maya Doms scored past NU keeper Sami Hauk. The Cardinal defense held steady in the remaining minutes of the match and held on for the 2-1 victory.

Today’s match, played in front of 1,949 fans at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium, started quickly for the Cardinal as Joelle Jung scored her fifth goal of the season, 11 minutes into the match to take a 1-0 lead.

The Huskers, making their third NCAA quarterfinal appearance in school history, had chances to score the equalizer but were unable to find the back of the net, and Stanford held the 1-0 advantage at the half.

In the second half, both teams were scoreless until late in the 86th minute when Weber evened the score for her 16th finish of the season. Lauryn Anglim passed a free kick to Jordan Zade who sent the ball into the box, which was met by Weber with a header that found the back of the net.

Weber’s goal broke Stanford’s four-match shutout streak, and she is now tied for first in the Husker record books with four finishes in the NCAA Tournament.

The Huskers finish the 2023 season with 17 wins, their most since the 2013 season.

All you drunk couch qb’s need to stfu. It is year one, inherited a roster we all know how they played last year. Short time to recruit. Yes wiffed on transfer qb. Defense was much better. Special teams was better. Less penalties. Way more heart and never quit like in the past. Yes, some dumb calls from staff. Players are bought in. Too bad fans are not. Go ahead, drive this coach away for one year, who do you think you are going to get to replace. Until we win, no great coach is going to look at us. We are a couple of good players away from being a 8, 9 or 10 win team but you can’t see that. There is a reason you are drunk on your couch and not being a coach. Mistakes and bad coaching decisions will always happen. TO made plenty. Saben has made plenty. It happens. Yet you are so smart. Been a die hard Husker fan for over 40 years and will not give up on the players unlike many of you. I get it, you will say not giving up on the players just on the coaches, that is BS, this is a team and the players have proven that, regardless of your shit. Get behind the team at least for another two seasons or go root for Iowa. Fire away, I get it. You are wrong but I get it.

"Michigan State, in the marketplace to replace Mel Tucker since Tucker was fired in September for bringing 'public disrespect, contempt and ridicule' upon the university, has Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith as their top target to take over the Spartans program."

Jonathan Smith

Via Nebraska athletics dept:
MADISON, Wis. - The No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team fell for the first time this season, 25-22, 28-26, 25-16 at No. 5 Wisconsin in front of a crowd of 7,229 at the UW Field House on Friday afternoon.

The Huskers, who wrapped up the outright Big Ten title last weekend, fell to 27-1 overall and 18-1 in Big Ten play. Wisconsin improved to 25-3 and 16-3 in the Big Ten. Nebraska finishes out the regular season on the road at Minnesota on Saturday at 8 p.m.

Nebraska held late leads in both sets one and two before Wisconsin made plays down the stretch to win both. In the third set, the Badgers led most of the way after separating from a 7-7 tie with a 6-2 run.

Harper Murray had 15 kills and hit .257 with eight digs to lead the Huskers. Ally Batenhorst added 11 kills on .409 hitting, and Merritt Beason also posted 11 kills.

Bergen Reilly had 32 assists and 10 digs as the Huskers hit .243 for the match. Lexi Rodriguez had eight digs.

Wisconsin clicked offensively, hitting .357. Anna Smrek had 18 kills, while Sarah Franklin added 16 as the Badgers remained undefeated at home this season.

Set 1: The Huskers controlled the early part of the set, taking a 5-1 lead. After Wisconsin got within 6-4, Batenhorst and Jackson posted kills to keep NU up 8-5. Two Wisconsin hitting errors made it 10-6 Huskers, but Wisconsin scored four of the next five to pull within one, 11-10. Beason got a kill for a sideout, and the teams sided out back and forth for five rallies before a Wisconsin attacking error put the Big Red up 15-12 at the media timeout. Wisconsin got within 16-15, but Beason and Murray stepped up with kills to push the lead back to three, 18-15. But the Badgers answered with a 3-0 run to tie the score at 18-18 for the first time since 0-0. Reilly set Allick for a sideout kill to put the Huskers back in front, 19-18, but the Badgers tied it with a kill by Franklin and won a challenge before an ace serve and another Franklin kill made it 22-19 Wisconsin. The Huskers won a challenge that a Beason shot was deflected on the way out to get within 22-20, but the Badgers got two more kills to take set point at 24-20. Wisconsin served into the net and Batenhorst terminated to force a Wisconsin timeout at 24-22. But the Badgers ended the set, 25-22, on Franklin's eighth kill.

Set 2: Batenhorst scored four straight Husker points with kills before a Wisconsin hitting error gave NU a 7-4 lead. Wisconsin tied it 7-7 before Batenhorst, Murray and Beason pounded three kills in a row to make it 10-7 Huskers. Allick and Murray struck back-to-back kills for a 15-12 NU lead, but the Badgers scored a 7-2 spurt to take a 19-17 lead. After a timeout, Murray stopped a four-point Badger run with a sideout kill, and the freshman came up clutch again to tie the score at 19-19. An ace by Maisie Boesiger gave the Huskers a 20-19 lead, and Murray blasted her ninth kill off a block to make it 21-19. With Boesiger still serving, Allick and Murray then teamed up for a block as the Huskers went up by three, 22-19, via a 5-0 run. But the Badgers answered with the next four points to claim a 23-22 advantage. Murray tied it with her eighth kill of the set, but the Badgers earned set point after a kill by Franklin. Murray answered once again to tie it at 24-24 and then served an ace for a Husker set point. Anna Smrek terminated for Wisconsin to make it 25-25, but Batenhorst answered with her seventh kill of the set for another chance at set point. Franklin kept the Badgers alive, and then a Husker hitting error made it 27-26 Wisconsin. Then a tip by Carter Booth fell to the floor for a 28-26 UW win.

Set 3: Trailing 6-5, Wisconsin scored a 4-1 run to go up 9-7 and then gained separation from the Huskers with a 6-0 spurt that made it 21-12. A kill by Maggie Mendelson ended that run and made it 21-13, but the Badgers closed out the sweep at 25-16, hitting .593 in the final set.

Up Next: The Huskers finish the regular season at Minnesota on Saturday at 8 p.m. That match will be televised on Big Ten Network.

But as Husker fans, we are used to it. From the 0-2 start, then go 5-1 and finish 0-4, it has been a wild ride. Yes, we’re disappointed, upset, mad and even calling for total change already. It’s that time of year, where we vent.
I’m disappointed, and thought at 5-3, a bowl game was inevitable. It wasn’t. Time to regroup and move on with the positives of this season. And there was plenty of positives. A solid culture started, a rebirth of the Blackshirts, physical football and plenty of young players gaining valuable experience.
Now with Rhule’s mantra of building day by day, this is where I believe this team needs to go to build on the successes of the season.
1. Move Satt to TE coach, get a QB coach and make them co OC’s.
2. Must get a QB, OT, WR, LB and CB out of the portal.
3. Continue to let Campbell and strength staff work these young men. It is amazing how they have reshaped so many bad bodies.
4. PAY TONY WHITE
5. Continue a consistency of work and discipline. The discipline Rhule has brought, as changed this team as much as anything.
6. Finish out recruiting with a bang.
7. Never be satisfied.

These are my observations and suggestions. To think we are not close to turning a corner is wrong. Rhule has us close, just a few remaining pieces left. Getting the offense on par with the defense is the last remaining step to get there. And with that day by day attitude Rhule has installed, he will make the tough decisions on the necessary changes to get there. Happy Holidays
GO BIG RED

Over the last ten Games, Rhule was having to play QBs who had not started a single game on the collegiate level. His team went 5-5 with decimated RB and WR units. I'd say that was pretty darn good. And I'd say Trev feels the same way.

-Nick Saban

That could be extrapolated to include 3rd down situations and playing the game in general.

Off-season roster priorities

2 transfer QBs to compete with Purdy… turnovers need to be single digits from this position next year
2 transfer RBs … will Johnson or Ervin be the same?
1 transfer TE… ended up being a weakness of the team ..24 never really made it as a receiver or blocker..87 regressed…assume 10 also ends up here
1 transfer OL..depth
1 transfer kicker … Alvano needs competition…with the defenses in the BIG we need more dependability here …. Every 3 points makes a HUGE difference …would have made a difference yesterday and the week before
1 transfer punter… just too inconsistent here when we want win close games
1 transfer LB.- thin in experience here with 3 departing …lots of young talent

What a turn around in effort, attitude and results. Truly, a helluva job done coaching, evaluating (moving folks to other positions), developing and motivating the players.

Better players don't fumble or throw as many INT's.

Better coaches teach better ball security.

Better coaching calls plays that don't lead to turnovers.

It's contagious.

We are cursed.

It all starts with the big Uglies and they were ugly today. Out of 28 rushing plays (to include a sack or two) only 4 plays generated over 5 yards. One of those was on the first drive by Johnson and the other three were by Purdy (7, 14 and 9 yards). I believe only one of those was a called play, and the other two he was running for his life. There were 5 carries of 4 yards. I could accept that, but that only brings to total of 9 plays of 4 yards or better. The big uglies did not do their job today.

Lose all 3 loser QBs and find two in the portal while developing DK. This is an 8 win team without the QB clown show!!

Dipshit express. Losers lose

Funny thought, but a lot of us were ripping old man Whipple when he was pushing hard for Purdy last year. I was on the side that Purdy couldn’t hit the side of a barn and I wasn’t the biggest fan of Whipple. But after this past week(s), it sure looks like Whipple saw something in him and ended up being right about this one. Not saying he’s the future starter, just saying he seems to have more potential than I thought.

Oline Dline and QB play is the key
Put Nebraska players on those 3 facets of those 2 teams what does it look like?

I know this is likely his last season, and I know he waited a helluva long time to get his shot. I wanted to give him a shout out and tell him he lived the Nebraska kids' best dream when he played like a Blackshirt yesterday...

4 of the 10 teams with the longest bowl droughts in CFB entering this season have already secured bowl berths and a 5th has a chance to do so later today. In case you're a masochist, here's a look at Nebraska among the other 10:

I got a very nice antelope (for this year anyway. Numbers are way down cause of winter kill), my son in law got a GREAT mule deer, and my brother in law got his Bighorn ram. My cousion is reporting not much deer movement in NE Nebraska. Lots of standing corn yet. We will be back for pheasants next weekend...how you guys doin?

DM me if ya want pics

Just saw ESPN say it was 1st attempt of the year.

So they pulled they guy we blocked twice?

To win the game! Dang.