Bring back the option...
- Thread starter ru4nu2win
- Start date
Yep, it was the coaching of Devaney and TO — and talent — not the system. Huskers were great pre-triple option days with QB’s like Jerry Tagge, Dave Humm and Vince Ferragamo, and they were mostly pocket passers who later ran NFL offenses.
OP wants to go back to our roots. Our roots of the Devaney and early TO era was not the triple option. We brought that in when it was apparent that defenses —including ours — didn’t know how to stop other triple option attacks like The Wishbone.
I doubt many Texas and OU fans are clamoring for a return to their very successful triple option days. Of course, the difference is they have managed to hire successful coaches, even though those coaches didn’t run triple option attacks.
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not really
Satt reverted to spread mishmash constantly until HH went out then went full blown pass happy
Doesn't matter much when they ran the ball 90% of the time. Their QB's at least probably knew how to pitch the ball. I don't even know why we're arguing this as going to an option offense at this stage is stupid and isn't going to happen.
He still ran option plays with Humm and Ferragamo just not as often. We also ran the ball a lot more than we passed.
1970 22.5 pass/game 57.9 run/game 72%
1971 23.3 pass/game 58 run/game 71%
1972 27.8 pass/game 55.7 run/game 67%
1973 21.6 pass/game 56.3 run/game 72%
1974 19 pass/game 55.1 run/game 74%
1975 20.3 pass/game 62.9 run/game 75%
1976 23.5 pass/game 52.6 run/game 69%
1977 17.5 pass/game 59.5 run/game 77%
1978 18 pass/game 63.5 run/game 78%
1979 16.7 pass/game 65 run/game 79%
Implementation of his option with a quarterback that was recruited for it
1980 17.4 pass/game 73.9 run/game 81%
1981 18.1 pass/game 66.1 run/game 78 %
1982 19.5 pass/game 69.3 run/game 78%
1983 17.5 pass/game 65.8 run/game 79%
As you can see Osborne always knew you had to run the ball significantly more in Nebraska. As his career went on, he didn't lessen the running game operation , he expanded it. You have people on this site who think if he could live and coach forever, he would have gotten more balanced when the most genius offensive coordinator in the history of the game said precisely this:
https://www.cuatthegame.com/1992/8-nebraska-the-halloween-massacre/#google_vignette
Nebraska head coach Tom Osborne was diplomatic after the game. Discussing the Buffs’ switch to a more pass-oriented offense: “There’s always a temptation to say I told you so …. But for this locale, this climate, I think you’ve got to be able to jam it at people sometimes.”
You can pass the ball at Nebraska and you should. Not as much as modern day offenses and using offenses and concepts that everyone else uses has put the program in the junkyard.
The only thing I think Osborne was average at was as an Athletic Director. And his biggest mistake would be too controversial to speak into existence.
6-7 wins would be considered success by most of the posters on this board.
Indeed but 1994 was the first time we won a NC after 15 years of option as our base offense. We lost a lot of heartbreakers from 1974-94. Many of them hurt worse than this year because we considered ourselves as elite then but we mostly were up to the task against Oklahoma or in the Bowl format of a playoff system back then. I discovered Nebraska football in 1965 at the ripe age of 11. When Dr Tom went exclusive option offense I had already served four years of active duty in the USAF. I have seen a few things in the evolution of Nebraska football since that Wyoming tea totaler took over.
Are you old enough to remember that Dr. Tom Osborne was on the hot seat every year of his career because he could not beat Oklahoma or Florida teams? The one exception was the "going for two" loss vs Miami. He was also constantly criticized for running option plays to the short side of the field. Your past tense view of his Nebraska tenure is much rosier than it actually was.
He was only ever on the hot seat once. And he was informed that either he wins the BlueBonnet bowl against TT or he will be gone. Nebraska was preseason number 1 that season and people were pissed they had an 8-3-1 regular season record with such high expectations. It doesn't surprise me people were critical of his offense. The fools today still think you could run an Air Raid here.Are you old enough to remember that Dr. Tom Osborne was on the hot seat every year of his career because he could not beat Oklahoma or Florida teams? The one exception was the "going for two" loss vs Miami. He was also constantly criticized for running option plays to the short side of the field. Your past tense view of his Nebraska tenure is much rosier than it actually was.
I heard grumblings about the short side of the field, but he ran to both sides because he didn't want the defense to know he never ran it to the short side.
Since the 1976 Blue Bonnet Bowl:
1977-Liberty (W) 21-17 North Carolina
1979-Orange (L) 31-24 Oklahoma
1980-Cotton (L) 17-14 Houston
1980-Sun (W) 31-17 Mississippi St
1982-Orange (L) 22-15 Clemson
1983-Orange (W) 21-20 LSU
1984-Orange (L) 31-30 Miami
1985-Sugar (W) 28-10 LSU
1986-Fiesta (L) 27-23 Michigan
1987-Sugar (W) 30-15 LSU
After that 5-5 streak (last 3 wins over the same team) Nebraska went on a 0-7 drought. Losing to Georgia Tech, Miami twice (3 pts fielded by Nebraska) and thrice to Florida St. Since the Blue Bonnet Bowl Nebraska and Tom owned a 5-12 bowl game record.
Dr Tom then finished 4-0 with 2 1/2 Nattys and retired from Active Duty with a 9-12 bowl game record after your Blue Bonnet Bowl.
It was not pure bliss over those 20 years. Dr Osborne is an iconic legend of College Football in his own lifetime as he should be but I have heard him paraphrase many times that it hasn't been easy and pleasant for him and his family through the years.
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That isn't really the point of any conversation I was having here. But let's delve into it. Osborne never won less than 9 games in a season. Saban is only half way to his record streak of being ranked in the top 25. 11 of his 49 career losses were to national champions. He won 13 conference titles and topped it off with 3 national titles his last 4 being only the second program to do it while being the first program to win e6 games in 3 years and 60 in 5. Fastest coach to ever reach 250 wins. I'm pretty sure he proved his philosophy for offense in Nebraska right.
So yeaaaaa, I'm pretty sure 99.9 percent of the fanbase would drag their nuts over fiberglass for just a smudge of his consistency right now.
ah, no. Why do you think TO was at practice showing them the belly option and the pass play off of that. I suppose you are going to show us all some film of Satts running the speed option at SC? No, they did all they could to use the ability of HH and it worked at first. Then D coordinators figured out how to stop him and they did. A one dimensional QB is not going to be effective for very long, especially with an average OL and being down so many RBs and OLs. When forced to throw with the run taken away, HH was definitely not in his environment. I like the kid and do think he is a winner and I would want him on my team but he isn't the QB of the present or the future.
I am having fun. I did a bit of research on Big 8 opponents that Dr Tom faced from 1973-1997.
Kansas St (.380) includes the 90's Bill "Old Balls" Snyder glory years
Kansas (.424)
Iowa St (.396) includes the Tommie Frazier upset
Colorado (.583) includes the McCartney/Neuheisel glory years
Okie St (.523)
Zou (.442)
Combined (.459)
I love my Nebraska Football and Dr Tom but let us not lose the perspective that Nebraska and Oklahoma were expected to start the Conference 6-0 and settle the real rat killing when we met in November. A four quarter game against the irrelevant 6 or an occasional upset was no more acceptable than a 5-7 season is today. Another Bowl Game loss would really fire everybody up in the coffee shops, bars or water coolers (no message boards) make no mistake about that. The College football landscape has changed so much since the 90's. Now everyone spends millions on their football team to win and receives millions of advertising dollars to do so. It was not that way during the first 20 years of Dr Tom Osborne's career. Some Nebraska "fans" are struggling to understand that there are no entitlements any more. You have to fight for everything you get.
I was there and I never once wanted Osborne fired nor did I hear anyone ever mention it. There was some disgruntlement. I also always heard how Osborne always had cake schedules and that's a lie. I won't even mention how cake a lot of different conference schedules could be around the country. You had the SEC/PAC 10/SWC/BIG EAST/BIG TEN/ BIG 8 and quite a few major programs were Independent for most of his career. It was so rare for conferences to have a lot of ranked teams that when the Big 8 had four teams finish ranked in the top 10, that was the first time it had happened. Like I said, Osborne had 49 career losses and 11 of them were to national title holders. 7 of those were regular season and 4 of those 7 were out of conference.
1973 1 SOS
1974 32 SOS
1975 12 SOS
1976 24 SOS
1977 7 SOS
1978 16 SOS
1979 53 SOS
1980 12 SOS
1981 4 SOS
1982 38 SOS
1983 37 SOS
1984 53 SOS
1985 32 SOS
1986 36 SOS
1987 17 SOS
1988 54 SOS
1989 67 SOS
1990 31 SOS
1991 19 SOS
1992 20 SOS
1993 23 SOS
1994 40 SOS
1995 24 SOS
1996 5 SOS
1997 41 SOS
To compare fan criticism of Nebraska football now to then is disingenuous. You may have been there. Doesn't mean you or your circle knew wtf they were talking about.
Have a good one.
