"The parameters, I think, were fairly clearly spelled out, " Osborne said Saturday.
Nebraska was 4-4 when Osborne met with Nebraska coaches a week after replacing fired Athletic Director Steve Pederson. The staff wanted to know some benchmarks as far as what they had to do.
Osborne said go 4-0 and get to 8-4 and things would be fine. Play well, win three of four, get to 7-5 and — although no guarantees — maybe it could still work.
Then came the bottom line in a cold business.
"If it's two out of four, " Osborne told them, "it's going to be pretty tough, because now you're breaking even (6-6) and we haven't had many break-even seasons around here. And I said if we have a losing season, I don't think there's any way that this will work."
Nebraska was 4-4 when Osborne met with Nebraska coaches a week after replacing fired Athletic Director Steve Pederson. The staff wanted to know some benchmarks as far as what they had to do.
Osborne said go 4-0 and get to 8-4 and things would be fine. Play well, win three of four, get to 7-5 and — although no guarantees — maybe it could still work.
Then came the bottom line in a cold business.
"If it's two out of four, " Osborne told them, "it's going to be pretty tough, because now you're breaking even (6-6) and we haven't had many break-even seasons around here. And I said if we have a losing season, I don't think there's any way that this will work."