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How long until we are a Top 10 program once again?

Agree 100%. The difference is now instead of competing with maybe 10 top schools, now we are competing with 20. Other college have caught up and surpassed Nebraska in what they can offer. We don't stand out as much any more. Now we are just another name in a crowded pack. Don't get me wrong, not saying it can't be done. Frost has is much tougher than TO did.

Well, I still think we're Top 10 if you factor in our traditions. Do you really think that Iowa has caught up? Nebraska is a blue blood football school while Iowa is a blue blood... um... uh... guys rasslin' with each other school.
 
Well, I still think we're Top 10 if you factor in our traditions. Do you really think that Iowa has caught up? Nebraska is a blue blood football school while Iowa is a blue blood... um... uh... guys rasslin' with each other school.

I don't get the rasslin' joke. Rasslin' is choreographed entertainment, what the dudes who wrestle do is legit and are some of the toughest SOBs I know. I get it, you are trying to take a jab at Iowa, but that cuts too close to home. I guess I spent too many years in a wrestling room to get the joke. Sorry, off soap box.
 
I don't get the rasslin' joke. Rasslin' is choreographed entertainment, what the dudes who wrestle do is legit and are some of the toughest SOBs I know. I get it, you are trying to take a jab at Iowa, but that cuts too close to home. I guess I spent too many years in a wrestling room to get the joke. Sorry, off soap box.
Agreed, I never wrestled myself but have a son that has wrestled since he was 5 and will be a senior this year. It's amazing the amount of time, dedication and determination it takes to wrestle even at the younger ages.
 
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I did Brazilian Jujitsu(sp) for a while as part of my training program and I have never had to give more effort in any sport or activity and the only thing that came close was morning PT with Navy Seals at NTC G.Lakes.

Wrestling is THE legit sport imho.
 
So if it is all about location, why aren’t Michigan St, Pitt, Illinois, Indiana, West Virginia, Virginia, Purdue, Rutgers, Kentucky, Maryland always in the top 20. They are all within a state or 2 of all this talent?

Why can Oregon and Washington field top 25 teams when Seattle is only 300 miles closer to Los Angeles than Lincoln is. Families aren’t packing up the car on Friday evening to leave Compton and drive up to Seattle. Same with Eugene, LA to Eugene is the same distance, 900 miles, as Houston to Lincoln. No one is driving that 8 times a year to watch all of the home games.

If you have a style of play that attracts athletic players, have a coach(es) who the players can relate to, and win games, you can get the necessary players to compete for titles.

The location argument is tired. As I have said before, you don’t need 10 players from each of the states in recruiting hot beds, you just need 1 from each state. You have to Win a head to head battle for just 1 player.
It isn’t “all” about location. Nobody in this thread has made that claim. So to whom are you responding?
Location is not the only factor... obviously. But if you don’t think it is a BIG factor in where recruits choose to play then you aren’t paying attention. And it isn’t just about distance. It also involves geography and weather and, quite frankly, culture. It is easier for Oregon and Washington to recruit in California because they are in the PAC12, are on the West Coast with all the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, and have drop dead cool cities like Seattle and Portland. They share a cultural ethos with California that Lincoln doesn’t. Sorry, but having lived on the east coast for 30 years I have an up close and personal view of what people out here think of the middle of America. And some of what they think isn’t false. Nebraska’s geography is beyond boring, it’s weather is atrocious, and Lincoln never met a chain restaurant it didn’t love. Lincoln’s culture is also white bread, cracker Republican. Don’t get me wrong... as a native of Lincoln I love and adore my hometown and my home State. But facts are facts. You have hurdles in recruiting to Nebraska other places don’t have. That is why Osborne so emphasized the walkon program. You have to find those 10-20 diamond in the rough kids to offset the fact we just won’t ever be a consistently top ten recruiting factory.

Edit: And the OP was about us being a consistent top ten team, not top 25. Washington and Oregon, of late, have not been consistent top ten teams. My posts were in response to the question of whether or not we can be a consistently top ten team, not top 25. I think we do have the ability to be consistent in the top 20
 
It isn’t “all” about location. Nobody in this thread has made that claim. So to whom are you responding?
Location is not the only factor... obviously. But if you don’t think it is a BIG factor in where recruits choose to play then you aren’t paying attention. And it isn’t just about distance. It also involves geography and weather and, quite frankly, culture. It is easier for Oregon and Washington to recruit in California because they are in the PAC12, are on the West Coast with all the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, and have drop dead cool cities like Seattle and Portland. They share a cultural ethos with California that Lincoln doesn’t. Sorry, but having lived on the east coast for 30 years I have an up close and personal view of what people out here think of the middle of America. And some of what they think isn’t false. Nebraska’s geography is beyond boring, it’s weather is atrocious, and Lincoln never met a chain restaurant it didn’t love. Lincoln’s culture is also white bread, cracker Republican. Don’t get me wrong... as a native of Lincoln I love and adore my hometown and my home State. But facts are facts. You have hurdles in recruiting to Nebraska other places don’t have. That is why Osborne so emphasized the walkon program. You have to find those 10-20 diamond in the rough kids to offset the fact we just won’t ever be a consistently top ten recruiting factory.

Edit: And the OP was about us being a consistent top ten team, not top 25. Washington and Oregon, of late, have not been consistent top ten teams. My posts were in response to the question of whether or not we can be a consistently top ten team, not top 25. I think we do have the ability to be consistent in the top 20

Location is a factor, but it isn't as big a deal as it is made out to be. Players, regardless of location want to play for a winner and a coach that they can relate to. Eugene Oregon is 90% white and about 2% African American. Players aren't going form LA to Eugene because of the demographic similarities. Players from urban LA or SF aren't going there because of the beautiful scenery. They went to Eugene because they had cool uniforms, a coach that was dynamic and they were winning. If Chip Kelly had stayed at Oregon, I doubt very much they would have had the decline that they have.
Seattle is about 7% African American, again players aren't going there because of the the sounds, Mt Ranier or because they can relate to 93% of the community.

Lincoln is about 4% African American.

College kids don't care if the restaurant is a chain, or a mom and pop. The only thing they would get in the Northwest is fresher fish.

Don't confuse what you find interesting and what you would think is important in a community to what a player from inner city America is interested in.

This kids go to play their sport and go to school, everything else is just ancillary. As I said, get a dynamic coach who can relate, a style of play that is attractive and they will come
 
Location is a factor, but it isn't as big a deal as it is made out to be. Players, regardless of location want to play for a winner and a coach that they can relate to. Eugene Oregon is 90% white and about 2% African American. Players aren't going form LA to Eugene because of the demographic similarities. Players from urban LA or SF aren't going there because of the beautiful scenery. They went to Eugene because they had cool uniforms, a coach that was dynamic and they were winning. If Chip Kelly had stayed at Oregon, I doubt very much they would have had the decline that they have.
Seattle is about 7% African American, again players aren't going there because of the the sounds, Mt Ranier or because they can relate to 93% of the community.

Lincoln is about 4% African American.

College kids don't care if the restaurant is a chain, or a mom and pop. The only thing they would get in the Northwest is fresher fish.

Don't confuse what you find interesting and what you would think is important in a community to what a player from inner city America is interested in.

This kids go to play their sport and go to school, everything else is just ancillary. As I said, get a dynamic coach who can relate, a style of play that is attractive and they will come
Good points. Keep talking, you might just convince me. Lol. Seriously. And I want to be convinced because I want to believe what the OP is saying.
But don’t you think though that there is just a different “vibe” in a place like Seattle that would appeal more to an urban kid than Lincoln?
 
I'm a Lincoln-native who moved south (Atlanta area) in 1996. I'm still a huge Nebraska fan, but I've become more and more into my alma mater (University of Georgia) as I've gotten older. I say all of that as a preface to pointing out that your line about the defensive front 7 as it relates to Nebraska is spot on. Say what you will about the SEC, but one thing it has in droves is elite defensive linemen. That's where I see the biggest gap between Nebraska and teams/programs in the top-10/15. Martinez is going to be a freaking star, and Frost is going to get WRs and RBs that shine in his system, but until NEB can step up along the front 7 (particularly the front 3 to 4) I think it's going to be incredibly tough — if not outright impossible — to be a consistent top-10 team.
UCF laid waste to Auburn in the Peach Bowl. Not necessarily disagreeing, just reminding that Frostball tires and plays around big slow areas on the field.
In addition, nebraska's d line this year doesn't look much different to me than then the SEC
 
I don't get the rasslin' joke. Rasslin' is choreographed entertainment, what the dudes who wrestle do is legit and are some of the toughest SOBs I know. I get it, you are trying to take a jab at Iowa, but that cuts too close to home. I guess I spent too many years in a wrestling room to get the joke. Sorry, off soap box.

I like Greco-Roman wrestling.

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Good points. Keep talking, you might just convince me. Lol. Seriously. And I want to be convinced because I want to believe what the OP is saying.
But don’t you think though that there is just a different “vibe” in a place like Seattle that would appeal more to an urban kid than Lincoln?

Sorry, I didn't mean to unload on you necessarily, you liked a post by @husker2612 which basically said, we can't compete with Ohio St because their proximity to 4 stars is closer than our proximity to 4 stars. I get that their road is easier, that was never in debate. I just grow tired of the argument that because Nebraska is in the middle of the country or in an isolated area, that they cant get enough talent to land Top 15 classes. They don't need to win 5 out of 10 battles with Ohio St for players that are in Ohio. They just need to win 1. They don't need to win 5 out of ten battles with Texas and Texas A&M, they just need to win 1. etc. etc etc.

Eugene, Pullman, Seattle, none are some sort of draw for great players. They are just a bunch of cracker cities much like Lincoln. Yet they are all playing in bowls and 2 of the 3 are playing in the CFP. There is a precedent, it can be done. People need to quit finding excuses for why shit can't get done. It can get done, and I have no doubt that Frost and company will get it done.

Sort of a p.s. have you ever been to Independence, KS, or El Dorado, KS or Scooba, MS? Those places are horrible. But guess what, if a player is looking to get to the big time, they will go pretty much anywhere to reach that goal. When you have a coach like Scott Frost, facilities like Nebraska, even as "outdated" as they are, and are winning games, you can get top players to come to your school.

Believe dat!!
 
Sorry, I didn't mean to unload on you necessarily, you liked a post by @husker2612 which basically said, we can't compete with Ohio St because their proximity to 4 stars is closer than our proximity to 4 stars. I get that their road is easier, that was never in debate. I just grow tired of the argument that because Nebraska is in the middle of the country or in an isolated area, that they cant get enough talent to land Top 15 classes. They don't need to win 5 out of 10 battles with Ohio St for players that are in Ohio. They just need to win 1. They don't need to win 5 out of ten battles with Texas and Texas A&M, they just need to win 1. etc. etc etc.

Eugene, Pullman, Seattle, none are some sort of draw for great players. They are just a bunch of cracker cities much like Lincoln. Yet they are all playing in bowls and 2 of the 3 are playing in the CFP. There is a precedent, it can be done. People need to quit finding excuses for why shit can't get done. It can get done, and I have no doubt that Frost and company will get it done.

Sort of a p.s. have you ever been to Independence, KS, or El Dorado, KS or Scooba, MS? Those places are horrible. But guess what, if a player is looking to get to the big time, they will go pretty much anywhere to reach that goal. When you have a coach like Scott Frost, facilities like Nebraska, even as "outdated" as they are, and are winning games, you can get top players to come to your school.

Believe dat!!
No problem. I didn’t think you unloaded on me. Just a legit difference of opinion between two guys who care a lot about Husker football.

I think what you say makes a shitload of sense. Really, it does. And I really hope you are right. I agree that Frost is the guy that can pull this off. I have great hope. As I said in one of my posts above, I do think we are capable of breaking into the top ten and even winning a national title. I just worry, given our demographics, if we can be successful consistently and be in the top ten most years.

Damn it, I just can’t shake the gut feeling I have that when people on the coasts and down south hear “Nebraska” they think it is damn near a foreign country in nowheresville. I know that is the perception here on the east coast. So even though I think Frost is a great coach, I do think he has a tough road to climb in the recruiting wars.

Peace
 
Sorry, I didn't mean to unload on you necessarily, you liked a post by @husker2612 which basically said, we can't compete with Ohio St because their proximity to 4 stars is closer than our proximity to 4 stars. I get that their road is easier, that was never in debate. I just grow tired of the argument that because Nebraska is in the middle of the country or in an isolated area, that they cant get enough talent to land Top 15 classes. They don't need to win 5 out of 10 battles with Ohio St for players that are in Ohio. They just need to win 1. They don't need to win 5 out of ten battles with Texas and Texas A&M, they just need to win 1. etc. etc etc.

Eugene, Pullman, Seattle, none are some sort of draw for great players. They are just a bunch of cracker cities much like Lincoln. Yet they are all playing in bowls and 2 of the 3 are playing in the CFP. There is a precedent, it can be done. People need to quit finding excuses for why shit can't get done. It can get done, and I have no doubt that Frost and company will get it done.

Sort of a p.s. have you ever been to Independence, KS, or El Dorado, KS or Scooba, MS? Those places are horrible. But guess what, if a player is looking to get to the big time, they will go pretty much anywhere to reach that goal. When you have a coach like Scott Frost, facilities like Nebraska, even as "outdated" as they are, and are winning games, you can get top players to come to your school.

Believe dat!!

Never said we can't compete, said it is harder for us than Ohio St due to the local talent they can get. Which is 100% true. Ask any coach who recruits and they will tell you it is much easier to get local kids to stick around than it is pulling in kids from other states. Facts are facts. Im not making this stuff up.
Never once have I said Frost will never be able to get top 10 recruiting classes. Simply saying he has a much tougher road than Ohio St, Alabama, Fl ect..
 
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Ok, D line.
Iowa, mich and osu, all fine D lines, they often finish top ten in total D.
They get them, we can too.
Iowa runs their pro set, too fickle in todays cfb, but osu and mich even msu finds their way in the top ten often.
There are no excuses for us not to reach a very high level, turn off espn etc, we used to have those lines, we havnt moved the state since, we will get them again.
Our offense is already in the top ten conversation, I have faith our D will follow.
 
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As Tommie Frazier said the other day on the radio,

There is winning and then there is winning titles. He was asked if Nebraska knew how to win when he arrived in Lincoln as a freshman. To paraphrase, he said no. That Nebraska knew how to beat teams they should beat, win 9-10 games per year, but they didn't have the attitude to win titles. He believes that the teams were intimidated by the likes of Florida St and Miami, and that it took getting players from those states, that played with and against those players and who weren't in awe of those teams, to turn the corner. Additionally, he said coaching will only take you so far that if you don't get the players that know how to win and aren't intimidated by other teams, then Nebraska will not get better than the 9-10 win teams between 1973 and 1992.
 
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Tuco- you are right it only takes one win against the "local" big dog to have an impact but that one tends to come with other concerns. The LA kid or Miami kid that is willing to "roll the dice" and take a chance on heading to the midwest, away from friends, family and support system is also more likely to take chances in other areas of life.

These chances are what tend to lead to situations like Lawrence Phillips, Washington and his use of the video, etc. The risk to the program is greater but the reward is also higher. If OSU has 1 of the 9 head to head battles they win "go bad" they have 8 others, Nebraska has none. Iowa has had their struggles with top players from far away, Benny Sapp, Ronnie Harmon, and DJK come to mind and I think every midwest team has had these struggles. This is where the recruiting process and campus/team integration are so critical. This is the piece that remains to be seen with Frost and why other fan bases are skeptical, and the start with all of the incidents this summer makes people think the all of the pieces to the puzzle are not there yet.

I grew up in Omaha in a family that had had season Husker tickets since the 60's and only became a Hawkeye fan after my 4 varsity letters at Iowa and I still follow the Huskers closely and cheer for them every week except one. I don't want this to come across as negative against the Huskers. I just want to point out the downside to "far away" recruits.
 
Tuco- you are right it only takes one win against the "local" big dog to have an impact but that one tends to come with other concerns. The LA kid or Miami kid that is willing to "roll the dice" and take a chance on heading to the midwest, away from friends, family and support system is also more likely to take chances in other areas of life.

These chances are what tend to lead to situations like Lawrence Phillips, Washington and his use of the video, etc. The risk to the program is greater but the reward is also higher. If OSU has 1 of the 9 head to head battles they win "go bad" they have 8 others, Nebraska has none. Iowa has had their struggles with top players from far away, Benny Sapp, Ronnie Harmon, and DJK come to mind and I think every midwest team has had these struggles. This is where the recruiting process and campus/team integration are so critical. This is the piece that remains to be seen with Frost and why other fan bases are skeptical, and the start with all of the incidents this summer makes people think the all of the pieces to the puzzle are not there yet.

I grew up in Omaha in a family that had had season Husker tickets since the 60's and only became a Hawkeye fan after my 4 varsity letters at Iowa and I still follow the Huskers closely and cheer for them every week except one. I don't want this to come across as negative against the Huskers. I just want to point out the downside to "far away" recruits.

There are far more successes than failure, far more Tommie Frazier’s than Lawrence Phillips. Heck we had a couple of local dudes get cited for stealing bikes and something like illegal hunting.
 
I agree 100% Tuco. It is just needing to recognize the risk vs. reward. Frazier is a great example of the reward side of the equation as is Phillips, the thing with Phillips is the "rules" are different today and he most likely would not have been on the field at the end of his career hence the current risk side of the equation.

Local kids are always going to get into trouble as well. My feeling (and it is only that as I don't have stats) is the local kids trouble seems to be of the pedestrian variety (drinking, DUI, etc.) and the far away kids trouble more serious (assault, guns, etc.). It happens everywhere in the midwest and is something that will temper enthusiasm around top recruiting classes.
 
I agree 100% Tuco. It is just needing to recognize the risk vs. reward. Frazier is a great example of the reward side of the equation as is Phillips, the thing with Phillips is the "rules" are different today and he most likely would not have been on the field at the end of his career hence the current risk side of the equation.

Local kids are always going to get into trouble as well. My feeling (and it is only that as I don't have stats) is the local kids trouble seems to be of the pedestrian variety (drinking, DUI, etc.) and the far away kids trouble more serious (assault, guns, etc.). It happens everywhere in the midwest and is something that will temper enthusiasm around top recruiting classes.

I don't disagree with you, but a lot of the local kids are from far less urban areas. If you pluck kids out of KC, St. Louis, Chicago and the closer urban areas, imo you are going to run the same risk.
 
I agree 100% Tuco. It is just needing to recognize the risk vs. reward. Frazier is a great example of the reward side of the equation as is Phillips, the thing with Phillips is the "rules" are different today and he most likely would not have been on the field at the end of his career hence the current risk side of the equation.

Local kids are always going to get into trouble as well. My feeling (and it is only that as I don't have stats) is the local kids trouble seems to be of the pedestrian variety (drinking, DUI, etc.) and the far away kids trouble more serious (assault, guns, etc.). It happens everywhere in the midwest and is something that will temper enthusiasm around top recruiting classes.


You are stating your opinion like it is fact. Show me numbers that shows local kids have only “pedestrian” offenses and the talented 4 and 5 stars are shooting guns and beating people up while on campus.

Sounds almost stereotyping to me.

As John Clay Wolfe says when someone inadvertently says something potentially racist.........he’s not a racist, he’s a Texan, he’s the accidental racist.
 
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You are stating your opinion like it is fact. Show me numbers that shows local kids have only “pedestrian” offenses and the talented 4 and 5 stars are shooting guns and beating people up while on campus.

Sounds almost stereotyping to me.

As John Clay Wolfe says when someone inadvertently says something potentially racist.........he’s not a racist, he’s a Texan, he’s the accidental racist.

hawkeye greg louganis triple lindying himself into a pretzel, classic
 
Again I said it was just my perception (feeling actually) and I have no stats to back it up. I also drew no lines around what race the local athletes were, there are plenty of local and far away athletes for midwest programs both black and white. My point was, off the top of my head the far away athletes athletes tended to have more severe crimes. I could be wrong (and stated as much) but in no way was this a race based issue, plenty of non-midwest recruits are white but they have also "rolled the dice" and are far from support systems and as such come at a higher risk.
 
Again I said it was just my perception (feeling actually) and I have no stats to back it up. I also drew no lines around what race the local athletes were, there are plenty of local and far away athletes for midwest programs both black and white. My point was, off the top of my head the far away athletes athletes tended to have more severe crimes. I could be wrong (and stated as much) but in no way was this a race based issue, plenty of non-midwest recruits are white but they have also "rolled the dice" and are far from support systems and as such come at a higher risk.

boy, you really 'dove' headfirst into that one. perhaps you'd gain(er) some wisdom by not giving your feelings a '1/4 twist' and stating them as fact.

really making a 'splash' on this board, hawkeye louganis. maybe step down from the olympic platform and stick to the kiddy pool with these takes.
 
cool your jets (see how easy puns are?). I have been a lifelong fan of the Huskers and cheer for them 364 days a year. I simply wanted to point out there is a risk reward challenge when recruiting nationally and pointed out several examples from both Iowa and Nebraska where the risk did not bring about the reward as an possible reason why not everyone is buying into the thought that the Husker glory days are inevitable just because Frost is in charge. The perennial top ten program may be right around the corner but it is going to take more than recruiting rankings to bring it about.

Trust me, no ill will is coming from me with respect to the Huskers.
 
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And if you don’t take a chance, then you run the bigger risk of being Iowa and Northwestern an Wisconsin. Teams that will have 7 win. seasons and six wins seasons and then a couple of 9 win seasons in row. You may even go on a five-year binge of 10 win seasons but you never win a title.
 
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Exactly my point different programs are more risk averse than others and as a result have to live with the results. Those that are more willing to take the risk have a huge upside potential but also a huge downside potential.

When I was at Iowa the President of the University decided he wanted the school to be very risk averse and wanted to institute Ivy League qualifications for all athletic recruits. Coaches in all sports and AD staff went nuts and the fight went all the way to the board of regents and the AD won. The president left shortly thereafter for an Ivy League school. It was where he was comfortable on the risk scale.

Today Iowa is still on the conservative side and that is what the regents, president, etc. expect and it explains the KF tenure. Do fans want more? Yes. Would KF want to take more risks? Probably. Do either get to write the rules? No. The result is we support the program and are happy during those breakthrough years and bitch during the bad ones.

The question, long term is where will Nebraska fall on the risk spectrum. It is a new ballgame now with Frost and Moos but there is always the regents looking down and with the conservative nature of the state I have to imagine that too many risks gone bad will not sit well with those ultimately in charge. They love the championships, everyone does, but we are yet to see where that line in the sand may be. Things may work great and there never is a line in the sand because there doesn't need to be and the championships come again but it could go the other way if too many risks don't pay off.
 
All this football talk has got me pumped up more than I have been in years. I can see that Frost is serious about recruiting. He knows how to sell the program to recruits. I think we are going to see better results this year do to our schedule. Although we will have a tougher schedule after that, I envision us better than this year. The depth will come. The competition for those spots will make us better.

I'm guessing Year 4 when it all comes together. We'll be ranked Top 10 and hold the ranking all year long. The playoffs will be nice. I hope the NCAA expands to an 8 team playoff. I say we make it even if stays at 4 teams. Frost parlays his success and this becomes a regular thing for as long as he coaches.

How long do you think it will take for us to return to Top 10 program? I'm not talking about getting a team ranked in the Top 10. Riley did that. I mean when NU is always in the discussion for making the playoffs.

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boy, you really 'dove' headfirst into that one. perhaps you'd gain(er) some wisdom by not giving your feelings a '1/4 twist' and stating them as fact.

really making a 'splash' on this board, hawkeye louganis. maybe step down from the olympic platform and stick to the kiddy pool with these takes.
 
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Exactly my point different programs are more risk averse than others and as a result have to live with the results. Those that are more willing to take the risk have a huge upside potential but also a huge downside potential.

When I was at Iowa the President of the University decided he wanted the school to be very risk averse and wanted to institute Ivy League qualifications for all athletic recruits. Coaches in all sports and AD staff went nuts and the fight went all the way to the board of regents and the AD won. The president left shortly thereafter for an Ivy League school. It was where he was comfortable on the risk scale.

Today Iowa is still on the conservative side and that is what the regents, president, etc. expect and it explains the KF tenure. Do fans want more? Yes. Would KF want to take more risks? Probably. Do either get to write the rules? No. The result is we support the program and are happy during those breakthrough years and bitch during the bad ones.

The question, long term is where will Nebraska fall on the risk spectrum. It is a new ballgame now with Frost and Moos but there is always the regents looking down and with the conservative nature of the state I have to imagine that too many risks gone bad will not sit well with those ultimately in charge. They love the championships, everyone does, but we are yet to see where that line in the sand may be. Things may work great and there never is a line in the sand because there doesn't need to be and the championships come again but it could go the other way if too many risks don't pay off.


And that is the difference between Nebraska and Iowa and why Nebraska has won national titles and Iowa has not. Iowa is the guy who at 21 puts all his money in CDs and annuities and never changes. He is good retiring with $1 mil in his 401k and the teams that are in the top 10 are the guys that invested some of their money in some risky investments while they were younger and after 30 years have realized more interest income and are retiring with $5-7 million. Have fun with the 6-9 wins year after year and never winning a title. I’ll take my chances with the way Nebraska has done it in the past
 
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Agreed 100% we are saying the same thing. I just know things change over time. Hayden Fry could take a lot of chances early at Iowa because they were desperate to get beyond decades of struggles, he had the keys to the kingdom and had Iowa at #1 for a time and in the mix nationally. Once problems started to arise (a player throwing a rose bowl due to organized crime and an assault of a female athlete the most notable) the rules were changed and we have been stuck with them for 30 years. There is nothing the fan base or booster can do about that. I just wonder (fear?) that the same may happen at Nebraska should a few risks go badly.

I was Osborne's biggest defender during the Phillips ordeal and him playing in the bowl game. My defense was Osborne's contract involved winning games with players available from the university and if the university says he can play Osborne was obligated to play him, it was in his job description. Times have changed and coaches contracts have changed and university involvement has changed so risks have become riskier for schools and coaches and there is less margin for error.
 
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