have put a dent in the reputation of our football program. When Lamar Jackson was being interviewed he said that when he tells people he's interested in Nebraska, they look at him like he's crazy. That's not good. I am glad that we finally have in place a group that seems very proactive in its recruiting. Hopefully, that will help, but ultimately we just need to get back to being a top 10 team on a somewhat regular basis. We need to get our swagger back and, even if we lose, leave the other team in shambles. On an unrelated note, saw an interview of Spielman, and the kid comes off as intelligent and humble; two good qualities.
Seems these last 15 years or so
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Well I think you are just pointing out the obvious. It's not a secret that we are not what we used to be nationally. But I get the feeling that kids used have that opinion of N even when they had a better rep. I'm referring to California. We have pulled some great talent from there but as a general rule I think it's more of a geographic thing with Cali kids than national relevance.
Doesn't mean we can't cherry pick a few studs from time to time. The ones that don't care about location. GBR
Doesn't mean we can't cherry pick a few studs from time to time. The ones that don't care about location. GBR
Our success is ancient history to 16-18 year olds.
You are absolutely correct. I have business aquanitences in several states that are 40 years old and younger and when we talk college football, most aren't even aware that we have won a national championship period. A couple Baylor fans come to mind when I had to show it to them on Wikipedia and they saw what year it was, they couldn't quit laughing and they made jokes about it the remainder of the night. At that point, I realized our history is just that - history.
Yes, I was stating the obvious, but I don't buy that location is the main issue. No doubt it is a hurdle, but if we're in the conversation on a regular basis, and being focused on much more by the talking heads, location will magically become less of an issue.
being realistic here, how many winning seasons would it take to get us there again? I am no fan of Bo but he did have 9 wins a year and we haven't exactly fallen off the earth, we have been in multiple conference title games. Just shows even under Bo getting 9 win as a season we still wasn't anything special. Back to the point, would it take a couple conference title wins and Rose bowl visits or a play off berth to turn opinions around? I mean Notre Dame, Michigan, Miami and a few other big time programs haven't done squat just as long or longer then us.
Look up how many California recruits in the 90's and how many last 5 years or so. And I do agree with what you are saying. I think both are factors. But you are down playing location a little bit.IMO. GBR
J
ust ask Baylor fans what years theirs were.
sooner or later Texas will get the crap in line and they will start landing all the top Texas recruits again like they always have and then Baylor will fall back to the Baylor of old. They are banking off the Longhorns issues right now and that will stop once Texas finds a good coach again. Baylor better enjoy this success there having now because Texas will come back to life and take the recruits back from Baylor, TCU and Texas AM.
As I have always said, Bo's wins weren't the issue, his losses were, as in never less than 4 and many times embarrassing. We need seasons with just 2 (or less) sprinkled in the 4 loss seasons. ND was just in a national title game, Michigan just made a huge higher and had a good year, and all three are in better locales
The Nebraska "brand" of the Osborne era is dead. To recruits in places like Florida and California, we are just Iowa in red. We are viewed as a boring, land locked, farm state in the middle of crapville. We have long since lost our identity as a power team, and lack the flash of teams like Oregon. If we get recruits to visit on game day they are usually pleasantly surprised to see the spectacle of NU football. They are also pleasantly surprised by Lincoln. We get some of those recruits but not nearly as many as we used to. This is why our walk on program, our academic support, our strength and conditioning, and winning the 500 mile radius wars are so important. You begin with 18 or so local three star kids and develop the crap out of them. You build a strong system and identity and recruit to that. You then pepper in quality walk-ons. Finally, you find 7 or 8 four star difference makers and recruit them like mad. That was the Osborne formula. I have high hope Riley can do it too.
What I think your saying is this is going to take time. Not the immediate turn around some are complaining Riley isn't doing. No excuses just reality. That being said we should see improvement on and off the field next year. (Look at the offer board for the 2017 class).
Baylor.... They have only been real good the last 5 years....before that they don't have any history too show for it except maybe a couple of Cotton Bowl wins.
Were a good hire away from being a top program I'm afraid but I still have some hope for Riley to get it done quicker rather then later.
Unfortunately for us, it's a "what have you done lately" world, not a "what have you done in the past".
They would be just as impressed as I would be if an Illionois or Minnesta fan started bragging about their national championships.
To me, it's having a run of 1 or 2 loss seasons, I don't consider the magical "9 wins" as all that magical in a 12 or more game season. I would think 3 consecutive years with one or two losses would have us in the hunt again. The harder part is getting to the 1 or 2 loss seasons.
No doubt the past of the Huskers is meaningless to the young bucks. They get a glimpse of it when they get to the stadium and Lincoln but how does that translate to them? How did Tom get kids to come to Lincoln? Winning and all that goes with it. His staff was noted for developing players and they went to the pros, graduated and were well recognized for National Awards. That is what Saban does - he sells recruits on the prospects for the rest of their lives, not just the next 4-5 years. You knew if you played for Tom you were going to be on a winning and likely championship team somewhere along the way. It was almost a guarantee in your career. Say what we want but getting kids to Lincoln is not that easy - easy for us to say but not from a kids perspective when compared to many other opportunities. It is not one thing kids are looking for - they all want to be part of winning - they want to play at the top schools that are playing in the top games. So, in my opinion, just winning the 9 games a year doesn't sell recruits - playing for the marbles does. That is where they want to be. The other stuff is frosting on the cake - even a degree! Why would I want to drive clear across the country and play for an average team? How many of those average teams do I drive by to get to Lincoln?
Yep, the big time recruits want foremost to play for a staff/program that can get them to the pros. That's why I can't believe how Pelini didn't capitalize on the fact that he coached Suh, who was a once-in-a-generation talent. He also coached Glenn Dorsey who was a Top 5 draft pick. No reason we shouldn't have had every 5-star DT in the nation visiting Lincoln after Suh's 2009 season.
Riley has put some guys in the pros, but I'm sure very few recruits can name one Oregon State player in the NFL. Not any superstars. He's known for developing QBs, but it will be at least 4-5 years before we have the possibility of having a QB drafted.
Riley has put some guys in the pros, but I'm sure very few recruits can name one Oregon State player in the NFL. Not any superstars. He's known for developing QBs, but it will be at least 4-5 years before we have the possibility of having a QB drafted.
Here are some links to NFL numbers. some are a year old http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/05/colleges-nfl-players-infographic_n_5772698.html
In this one Iowa has 40, Nebraska has 34, Oregon State 29. Miami leads with 61 followed by Alabama with 59.
http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/stats/number-of-nfl-players-by-college/2015/
I read an article a while back about how Saban has some kind of board that shows all of the players he has sent to the NFL. Yea, the recruits won't know them all but the shear numbers will overwhelm them. That is what he is selling - a chance to play for a winning program that is always in the hunt for championships and one that has a high success rate of getting you to the next level. Hard to argue with that.
In this one Iowa has 40, Nebraska has 34, Oregon State 29. Miami leads with 61 followed by Alabama with 59.
http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/stats/number-of-nfl-players-by-college/2015/
I read an article a while back about how Saban has some kind of board that shows all of the players he has sent to the NFL. Yea, the recruits won't know them all but the shear numbers will overwhelm them. That is what he is selling - a chance to play for a winning program that is always in the hunt for championships and one that has a high success rate of getting you to the next level. Hard to argue with that.
It seems our coaching staff has much better capabilities than the previous regime. In time, maybe we can slowly move up the ranks. The administration clearly is OK with this approach, as long as butts are in seats. We didn't hire a lightning-rod recruiter, so we're just going to have to wait this out. An identity would also be nice. 
I think most older Nebraska fans like myself do live in a bit of a fantasy world about Nebraska's appeal to today's recruits. I try not to, but it is impossible not to remember the glory days.
So we all need to realize that nine win seasons mean nothing. To be successful here on a championship level is going to take time. It ALL boils down to recruiting and player development. Is Riley the guy? I have no idea. He was hired because he can supposedly identify under the radar players and coach them up. We will see.
I did not like the Riley hire for one reason: I thought, and still think, that to recruit big name guys to Lincoln we needed to make a "big splash" hire like MU did with Harbaugh. Riley is not that, obviously. And if we could not get a big splash hire I thought we should at last make an "interesting" hire - - someone like Frost. But Riley is an "under the radar" hire that generated very little excitement.
So we all need to realize that nine win seasons mean nothing. To be successful here on a championship level is going to take time. It ALL boils down to recruiting and player development. Is Riley the guy? I have no idea. He was hired because he can supposedly identify under the radar players and coach them up. We will see.
I did not like the Riley hire for one reason: I thought, and still think, that to recruit big name guys to Lincoln we needed to make a "big splash" hire like MU did with Harbaugh. Riley is not that, obviously. And if we could not get a big splash hire I thought we should at last make an "interesting" hire - - someone like Frost. But Riley is an "under the radar" hire that generated very little excitement.
And I know this is water under the bridge and I don't want to dredge up a tired and pointless debate, but dammit, we should never have fired Solich and then replaced him with a pro style coach. Even if firing Solich was necessary (and I am not sure it was), a hire "from within" should have been made with promises to keep our offensive scheme in continuity with the Osborne style, even if it was tweaked. Heck, even Osborne was constantly tweaking his base offense. But whoever was hired should have kept some version of that offense. In my view, Nebraska football as a relevant national power died the day we hired Callahan.
I hear you. Callahan was a huge gamble. I actually liked his offense at the end of his time here. Heck, if he had the guts to fire Cosgrove, he may still be here.
We're approaching 20 years without a conference title. Recruits are 17-18 years old. We're basically Minnesota.
That's also why we keep hearing over and over and over again from recruiting visits how "blown away" each kid is with our facilities, trophies, history, etc. Because they have no clue. Which is also why those articles almost always have a coach excerpt stating something like, "we just need to get them here, if we can get them here, we open their eyes to what Nebraska is about."
I think it is going to be very difficult, if not impossible, to be as good again as we once were. The Devaney/Osborne empire is truly dead. Its outer shell remains, but it has been internally gutted. Pederson killed it.
Can Riley return us to greatness? Well, he started 6-7, hired a questionable defensive staff (outside of Bray), and has us proudly parked in the 40's for our recruiting ranking with one month to go. And worse, his recruiting is lagging in our two greatest areas of need: offensive and defensive tackles. You won't win crap if you are weak in the trenches.
So count me as one who thinks we are still a long, long way off from where we want to be.
Can Riley return us to greatness? Well, he started 6-7, hired a questionable defensive staff (outside of Bray), and has us proudly parked in the 40's for our recruiting ranking with one month to go. And worse, his recruiting is lagging in our two greatest areas of need: offensive and defensive tackles. You won't win crap if you are weak in the trenches.
So count me as one who thinks we are still a long, long way off from where we want to be.
Tag this thread and send it to the AD office. It's a great summary of the current state of affairs of NU football. Trying to be patient with a new staff when we are in a place where we can't be patient (due to the last 15 yrs of meaninglessness). You think this feel's mediocre, wait another 10 yrs with similar results...then we'll truly be off of the map as a has been.
Fan apathy has 100% set in. Example A: Most fans don't expect to win all games (new coach or not). That was never the case for ANY game, let alone season from 1970-2000. It looks like Riley is having the same recruiting issues Pelini did...at least as far as actual results are concerned (you know, what actually matters...the players that actually come here). I will say that recruiting has changed and is a lot trickier today than even 20 years ago. Outside of Callahan and a couple of Bo's classes, we've wiffed big here. We fired a 9 win coach for god's sake. Even if he was a meanie/media & fan bully, at least he won. Now we lose to Illinois and Purdue (puke!!!!) and have to accept the fact that even if an experienced coach completely botches late game management and costs us victories, that it's somehow justifiable and OK (which of course is untrue for any school that considers itself elite).
Again, Riley isn't going anywhere for at least one more season (likely two). No matter what anyone says/writes/yells/whispers that will not change. I support this team and certainly hope for the best. That's a lot different than demanding/expecting the best like I used to in the past...
GBR
Fan apathy has 100% set in. Example A: Most fans don't expect to win all games (new coach or not). That was never the case for ANY game, let alone season from 1970-2000. It looks like Riley is having the same recruiting issues Pelini did...at least as far as actual results are concerned (you know, what actually matters...the players that actually come here). I will say that recruiting has changed and is a lot trickier today than even 20 years ago. Outside of Callahan and a couple of Bo's classes, we've wiffed big here. We fired a 9 win coach for god's sake. Even if he was a meanie/media & fan bully, at least he won. Now we lose to Illinois and Purdue (puke!!!!) and have to accept the fact that even if an experienced coach completely botches late game management and costs us victories, that it's somehow justifiable and OK (which of course is untrue for any school that considers itself elite).
Again, Riley isn't going anywhere for at least one more season (likely two). No matter what anyone says/writes/yells/whispers that will not change. I support this team and certainly hope for the best. That's a lot different than demanding/expecting the best like I used to in the past...
GBR
been attending games since 1970. A few misconceptions...most fans then did expect to win every game - until proven otherwise. That still exists today for the most part.
However the old big 8, hada comfortable, romantic, familiar feel to it - but it sucked from a game in, game out ball-buster of a conference. We don't have that right now.
We were bummed and a bit sad when OU ripped our heart out nearly every year for a decade, and we lost almost a decades worth of bowl games in a row. There were a lot of close games from 1970 to 1997, and not all to OU, and we played more bad ones.However, as a fan base we don't remember that, we only remember a glorious 4-5 year run.
Talent wise, partial qualifiers certainly helped us- particularly when pulling kids out of california. Was it really the fast, smart californians that were choosing to come to Nebraska rather than UCLA, USC, Washington, Stanford, Cal in those days?
Nebraska is still a good program, however now plays every year against Wisc, Iowa, OSU, Mich, PSU, and MSU that are just as well financed, have just as nice of facilities, and with formidable reputations - that did not exist then.
This isn't apologetic, rather I don't think we've changed much....minus TO's winter of his career.
We used to lose an occasional recruit out of Omaha. But rarely did we lose lincoln or greater Nebraska kids.
Exactly. We have to have a 90% success rate with the three or four D-1 caliber Nebraska kids that come out every year. And remember who some of those Nebaska kids were: Johnny Rodgers, Eric Crouch, Ahman Green, and so on. And we need to be above 75% successful with kids we really want in that 500 mile radius. Kids like Roger Craig and Grant Wistrom come to mind. We have to win those battles or we are toast
There are a lot of things that killed Nebraska football. Pedersen helped, but it isn't the same game anymore. While I don't disagree that a better hire might have helped the train keep rolling, you just never know. It's going to be tough to get back to the top unless we catch lighting in a bottle with an up and comer or hire a monster name. Hopefully Riley can get it started in the right direction and get us rolling again, but man...
You're right. In the last few years we've lost a few Lincoln kids to Iowa, K-State and even Arizona State. Crazy to think about that.
I think the demise of NU football is greatly exagerated - will we wina MNC in the next 20 years - doubtful - Conference title we shouldWhat we have seen in the last 15 years is a gross mismanagement of this program by a number of people top on down
- Perlman - for someone posters on here think is great - Drama sures follows this guy around quite a bit - His duty of building an environment of cooperation and having everyone pulling together has been marred by in-fighting, public remarks ( he has no business making) questionable hires and a general petty AD
- Osborne - great coach - but very bad at picking coaches but because Harvey has his head up his arse - he hires TO back at AD giving him the charge of hiring another coach after his first choice failed and was fired
- SP - bungled the firing and hiring of Solich so badly it hurt the program deeply - not just a bad hire of Callahan but how the fire/hire went down was done extremely poorly
- Eichorst - Hired by Harvey for a considerable sum of money - his main charge was to fire Bo - which he does however he was completely unprepared to hire a replacement and just shot from the hip. A broken clock is correct twice a day so I am hoping for a bit of luck on the Riley hire but the process and decision making was very poor
I'd say that our fan base has been humbled, a lot, in the last 15 years.
We're insecure about losing more future football games...or at least we should be.
GBR
We're insecure about losing more future football games...or at least we should be.
GBR
Wait a second, he won 9 games? What were we thinking!! And you are mistaken, there is more pressure on Riley to get us a championship because of your boy and BC. Their failures are making everyone that much more hungry and impatient.
Did he elaborate?
Well, when's the last time Nebraska pulled a highly touted recruit out of California, that also had USC after him, even a month before signing day? We're not in the PAC, there's no guarantee we'll play in California during his time in Lincoln - Oregon is the closest we'd play to his home - so I'm not sure why anyone would be surprised that people look at him like he's crazy.
