Thoughts on the 2017 Season and Nebraska Football

[DudznSudz]

Morning all,

I just thought I'd put down some things I've thought over the weekend, being a crazy, die-hard Nebraska fan. These are just some things I've seen with the addition of some realizations I've settled on after years of thinking about the state of the program that I think are important for everyone who posts here to consider:

1.) The anger and frustration at watching the team struggle, lose, and generally not look dominant:

This has got to be dialed back. People that display anger, resentment, call for firings after two games (or after the third year of a coach who was brought in for very specific reasons), need to relax and would do well to remind themselves that the team they are picturing doesn't exist anymore, and it probably never will again. The days of being able to build a ridiculously dominant program (84.7% winning percentage, they said during the game on Fox Sports, from the 70's to 2001) are long gone. The parity in programs now, which really means "the money involved," has eliminated the ability to grow a dominant program all by yourself exploiting weaknesses in other teams and relying on a unique playing style, as we once did.

The second part of my thought on this is, Riley is a decent coach who was brought in to re-stabilize the program and start building a good system to work with. He isn't a rock star hire, he's a guy who can and has definitely started to build a system and a culture that is more conducive to landing good recruits and moving the program in a progressive direction. That is something that we've sorely needed really since Osborne left. Osborne, by the way, gets a gigantic F for succession planning; the lack of insight into how to continue the program after a great coach with a unique vision like that retires is why we tanked so hard and haven't been back since.

2.) We're in a competitive league now (The Big Ten) with better academics and way less drop-off in teams talent levels than (usually) what was present in the Big 12. Sure, we play in the weaker of the divisions, and Rutgers looks crappy right now, but heck, even Purdue looks much improved. Winning in the Big Ten was tough before we joined, and its going to get even tougher as better coaches and players move into the conference. That's just the league we play in now, accept it.

3.) We have to win recruiting battles as much as is humanly possible. The scheme we use now (pro style balanced offense, Diaco's 3-4 defense which IS successful with proper personnel and coaching) requires excellent skill athletes to be present to execute. That means toning down on the BS yelling about everything, calls for firings, etc, things that freak out the media and coaching staff AND recruits, and more positive outlooks and a slightly more relaxed temperament. By the way, the CB prediction of Bookie to Clemson now? That's probably complete BS because those sports writers have literally nothing else to do but jack themselves off, but we should still think long and hard about how this staff needs to land recruits, and what can be done to improve the recruiting environment here (which has gotten LIGHT YEARS better than it was under the previous staff).

Being able to recruit extremely specific athletes to fit a very unique but successful scheme is not the name of the game for us anymore; getting our hands on the best talent possible and developing the hell out of players is. This takes years, guys. Think about it like this: some programs hire coaches that come in, like Meyer or DABO JIMBO MCREDNECK or Harbaugh to fix a program immediately, and it sometimes truly does work, but if that coach inevitably gets thrown out for breaking too many rules or leaves for the NFL, they frequently crash the school's system on the way out because too much was built on them and them alone. This was our old problem with Osborne, and its exactly what Meyer did to Florida. I don't want to see that happen here again, I want Eichorst to do what his mentor Barry Alvarez did at Wisconsin; slowly build a program with a consistent system in place that can handle some changes and some ups and downs while still being stable enough to put together good seasons.

We aren't there yet, but we are on the way. RELAX. Be supportive. And on to next week's opponent.

 

[LZZOSO]

What we know of college football today, it is going to be damn hard to be dominant for any team. Alabama has done it, but that is about it. I'm not going to get into Alabama, but we need to temper things when we lose. There is a ton of season left, and we just installed a new D. Hopefully we see the progress we made in the 2nd half start to build some confidence. I've still got a ton of optimism, and if we can clean up a few things on D we are going to be alright. This team is still growing and getting better. With how we are recruiting, we are going to get some folks in that will help our upward trend. If you have any doubts of coach Riley's eye for talent, go ahead and look back at a lot of the people that we were recruiting the most aggressively. They are having big time impacts, and Thomas Graham was one of them. We are slowly picking ourselves up from what Bo did to the program.

 

[inWV]

Seeing how productive Tre has been in this offense with a bum knee should attract interest from blue chip RBs.

 

[huskerhooligansdotcom]

this is a great post. everybody is in knee jerk reaction after every game.

 

[grayhairedfreak]

Outside of Saban, Urban, Dabo and Peterson, I think pretty much any new HC hire would be a coin flip in terms of success at Nebraska. The elite coaching pool is pretty shallow. Just the current state of affairs. Hope Riley & Co. get it done.

 

[ridge22]

Outside of Saban, Urban, Dabo and Peterson, I think pretty much any new HC hire would be a coin flip in terms of success at Nebraska. The elite coaching pool is pretty shallow. Just the current state of affairs. Hope Riley & Co. get it done.

I would throw Harbaugh, Franklin and maybe Crist into that group. Crist is a little iffy, but he has kept Wisky rolling along. Jimbo at FSU is pretty salty with the right QB, as is any coach, but FSU has been legit. As much as I hate to admit it, the Mullet has done some great things at Okie State. They have found their spot and he is a great fit for the pokes.

I would say that if I could have any coach come to Nebraska it would be David Shaw. I think his style or play, his personality and his track record would be a slam dunk at Nebraska. I know there is no sure thing in coaching, but for me personally that would be an ideal fit for Nebraska. But there is no use in speculating as we have a coach under contract and he is our coach for the future ahead. Let just hope it is a long tenure.

 

[jimbosc]

I think it is true there is no sure thing and simply firing Riley won't fix anything. There needs to be a clear plan for what we need in a head coach and staff to win the Big 10 conference. I agree "sure thing coaches" are few and far between vs. current competition in conference. So bring the checkbook with the extra zeros in the balance. We have chosen or refused to do that with every hire after Solich. So be it - the behavior of the AD and administration seems to be more about maintaining football revenue than it does about winning. I do not see a high ceiling for Riley and staff - but since we refuse to pay top dollar for a head coach (and maybe we can't financially) we'll ride this out. One sub 500 season and Riley is gone. He'll likely retire in a few seasons regardless. If the moons align - maybe Frosty the Snowman proves out a stud HC at UCF and comes home to Lincoln.

 

[ThrowBones92]

I would throw Harbaugh, Franklin and maybe Crist into that group. Crist is a little iffy, but he has kept Wisky rolling along. Jimbo at FSU is pretty salty with the right QB, as is any coach, but FSU has been legit. As much as I hate to admit it, the Mullet has done some great things at Okie State. They have found their spot and he is a great fit for the pokes.

I would say that if I could have any coach come to Nebraska it would be David Shaw. I think his style or play, his personality and his track record would be a slam dunk at Nebraska. I know there is no sure thing in coaching, but for me personally that would be an ideal fit for Nebraska. But there is no use in speculating as we have a coach under contract and he is our coach for the future ahead. Let just hope it is a long tenure.

This isn't aimed at anyone specifically. If this rant offends you, it may be intended for you. Good. You may need a perspective check.

There aren't many people talking about how we would have folded 5,4,3,2 years ago or even last year. We battled back, our players hung in there, and we had a chance to win the football game even despite a horrible opening 4 minutes.

Look at our two deep! It's full of young guys and guys that are good but not great athletes and players. We ALL knew this rebuilding thing was a project. It's going to take time. Why do people suddenly once games start completely lose this perspective and think we need to be dominating right now? Pelini left us desolate in a number of areas. Look how much better our Oline looks through two games. We've gotten better there. We're better in a number of areas, but we're still not deep. That can only be fixed with recruiting and continuing to develop recruits. We've had two all-star recruiters for one cycle and Riley has a staff put together now that can go toe to toe with the blue bloods for recruits. We couldn't do that when Riley started.

We don't have the guys to go out and dominate good teams right now. Remember we are in the beginning stages of a transition to the 3-4. We've played exactly two games with live bullets with this defense of 4-3 players. Everyone who pays attention even a little bit knows we don't have very good options at the second level right now. Some of them are becoming pretty good (Gifford), but Diaco didn't show up with any prototypical 3-4 linebackers ready to play. Our defense will continue to make mistakes and play slow in certain situations they haven't seen LIVE before. Some people think you make a mistake once, you see it on tape, and you fix it and don't make it twice. There are a few instances like that, but normally, it doesn't work like that. You have to see that situation in front of you a good number of times before you react properly and correctly. Practice can only prepare you so much. But we're going to continue to improve under Diaco. Give the man some time. For people that say spring and fall camp should be long enough...all I can do is shake my head. Those people have clearly lack perspective necessary to see that this is a process. It takes times. There will be bumps, and how the players respond to the bumps will determine how the season goes. So let's let this thing play out, and try to not scare recruits and coaches away in the meantime.

I can't stand Husker Fan sometimes. The loudest are generally the people who understand the least that which is the complex world of playing and coaching college football. They think because they can engineer a #1 recruiting class 10 years in row and win 10 national championships in a row on NCAA College Football that they know what the f*ck they're talking about when it comes to actually coaching and playing the game. They would be completely lost sitting in position meetings. I'm not saying people shouldn't voice their opinions, what I'm saying is people need to be responsible for their voices, and actually learn about the world of college football before they spout off about stuff they have very little knowledge about. Have some self-awareness that you don't know as much as you think you do about college football. There are guys on this message board and other message boards that know and understand the game at this level - it would be wise to identify them and start asking more questions.

End rant

 

[Iwillnotpostdrunk....]

I come in peace, just some things to consider. I cannot name another program that has had a winning record and has fired as many coaches in the last 15 years as Nebraska. If you are a big name coach this is something that would have to be taken into consideration when applying for the HC job. Also, Nebraska as a program focuses A LOT on recruiting. Mainly because you guys donate a TON of money and recruit nationally but with all due respect what enters the program is generally what leaves the program, they don't get a TON better while at the program. If MR is going to stick it isn't about getting more 4 star high school players on the team, it's going to be about turning 4 star high school players into good college players. Just my 2 cents from the outside.

 

[ThrowBones92]

This isn't aimed at anyone specifically. If this rant offends you, it may be intended for you. Good. You may need a perspective check.

There aren't many people talking about how we would have folded 5,4,3,2 years ago or even last year. We battled back, our players hung in there, and we had a chance to win the football game even despite a horrible opening 4 minutes.

Look at our two deep! It's full of young guys and guys that are good but not great athletes and players. We ALL knew this rebuilding thing was a project. It's going to take time. Why do people suddenly once games start completely lose this perspective and think we need to be dominating right now? Pelini left us desolate in a number of areas. Look how much better our Oline looks through two games. We've gotten better there. We're better in a number of areas, but we're still not deep. That can only be fixed with recruiting and continuing to develop recruits. We've had two all-star recruiters for one cycle and Riley has a staff put together now that can go toe to toe with the blue bloods for recruits. We couldn't do that when Riley started.

We don't have the guys to go out and dominate good teams right now. Remember we are in the beginning stages of a transition to the 3-4. We've played exactly two games with live bullets with this defense of 4-3 players. Everyone who pays attention even a little bit knows we don't have very good options at the second level right now. Some of them are becoming pretty good (Gifford), but Diaco didn't show up with any prototypical 3-4 linebackers ready to play. Our defense will continue to make mistakes and play slow in certain situations they haven't seen LIVE before. Some people think you make a mistake once, you see it on tape, and you fix it and don't make it twice. There are a few instances like that, but normally, it doesn't work like that. You have to see that situation in front of you a good number of times before you react properly and correctly. Practice can only prepare you so much. But we're going to continue to improve under Diaco. Give the man some time. For people that say spring and fall camp should be long enough...all I can do is shake my head. Those people have clearly lack perspective necessary to see that this is a process. It takes times. There will be bumps, and how the players respond to the bumps will determine how the season goes. So let's let this thing play out, and try to not scare recruits and coaches away in the meantime.

I can't stand Husker Fan sometimes. The loudest are generally the people who understand the least that which is the complex world of playing and coaching college football. They think because they can engineer a #1 recruiting class 10 years in row and win 10 national championships in a row on NCAA College Football that they know what the f*ck they're talking about when it comes to actually coaching and playing the game. They would be completely lost sitting in position meetings. I'm not saying people shouldn't voice their opinions, what I'm saying is people need to be responsible for their voices, and actually learn about the world of college football before they spout off about stuff they have very little knowledge about. Have some self-awareness that you don't know as much as you think you do about college football. There are guys on this message board and other message boards that know and understand the game at this level - it would be wise to identify them and start asking more questions.

End rant

One other thing - I laugh at programs like Texas where they have let their fans and boosters and everyone without much good knowledge of the game to determine the direction of the program. They're in this weird cycle of sucking because they can't get a program established because the fan base and boosters won't allow it to take root. Honestly, if we do this to Riley and company, we'll be no better than Texas. Three coaching staffs have been run out of town since Osborne left without much to show for it. If we run #4 out because we can't be patient, then we get exactly what we deserve. We'll be just like Texas and fan base and boosters.

 

[jlb321]

Let's see how the next few years play out. But it is clear from the tone of most of the fans that for the foreseeable future this program will be measured against Minnesota, Iowa and northwestern rather than the elite BIG teams. A good season is being redefined as being near the top of the "others participating"
category within the conference.

A lot of resigned posts with the sentiment of if mediocrity is inevitable you might as well lay back and enjoy it.

Hopefully there is steady improvement from here on out so that in a couple of years the bar can be raised just a wee bit north of slightly above average - perhaps even the giant leap to one day being ranked 25th to end the season. I know these are lofty goals - but one has to dare to dream.

 

[DudznSudz]

One other thing - I laugh at programs like Texas where they have let their fans and boosters and everyone without much good knowledge of the game to determine the direction of the program. They're in this weird cycle of sucking because they can't get a program established because the fan base and boosters won't allow it to take root. Honestly, if we do this to Riley and company, we'll be no better than Texas. Three coaching staffs have been run out of town since Osborne left without much to show for it. If we run #4 out because we can't be patient, then we get exactly what we deserve. We'll be just like Texas and fan base and boosters.

The comparison to Texas in this regard is an excellent one. Talk about a spoiled program awash in way too much money that lets said moneyed interests have waaaaaaaay too much say in the program, which equals chaos.

I can't agree with you more; everyone needs to settle the F down, take our licks, and support the massive, years-long system rebuilding effort that Riley is attempting to accomplish here. I don't think he necessarily will retire in a few years, by the way; coaches tend to coach longer now, and I think he wants to move this program as far forward as he can, accept those laurels, and THEN retire. If that takes 5-10 years, expect him to want to coach that long provided his health holds out.

We have hired some darn good position coaches, some great recruiters, and are pouring more money than we ever have into the infrastructure of the program. That HAS to continue. You are also 100% right that if we can Riley after this year or even next, the Nebraska coaching job is going to become radioactive. No major talented coach will come near it for fear of being savaged and then sent packing after 2-3 up and down seasons.

Lastly, about the defense: I don't know that there is much excuse for getting shellacked 42-14 in one half, but they proved themselves to be plenty resilient in sticking it out. I know Oregon's play calling changed (I think in part because we started to use the nickel package more and we started to look more competent, but I also think Oregon felt content to not throw deep balls as much because they didn't feel that they had to), but it is also fair to say Diaco's system may have finally started to click with some of the players. I also can't emphasize enough that one of the reasons why we don't appear to be pressuring QB's enough is that Diaco's system requires that the two OLB's be ELITE level players; while our guys are ok, they aren't that yet. It's going to take a while, but I do believe we snagged a good hire that will pay dividends later.

I said at the beginning of the season, 7-5 looked pretty realistic, and 8-4 would be considered to be a smashing success in my book. Look to 2018 for us to be considered to be an elite, dangerous team, and probably the favorites to win the West. This year is all about learning, developing, and trying to see some growth occur. Next year is about being more dominant.

GBR!

 

[Toms Wife]

This isn't aimed at anyone specifically. If this rant offends you, it may be intended for you. Good. You may need a perspective check.

There aren't many people talking about how we would have folded 5,4,3,2 years ago or even last year. We battled back, our players hung in there, and we had a chance to win the football game even despite a horrible opening 4 minutes.

Look at our two deep! It's full of young guys and guys that are good but not great athletes and players. We ALL knew this rebuilding thing was a project. It's going to take time. Why do people suddenly once games start completely lose this perspective and think we need to be dominating right now? Pelini left us desolate in a number of areas. Look how much better our Oline looks through two games. We've gotten better there. We're better in a number of areas, but we're still not deep. That can only be fixed with recruiting and continuing to develop recruits. We've had two all-star recruiters for one cycle and Riley has a staff put together now that can go toe to toe with the blue bloods for recruits. We couldn't do that when Riley started.

We don't have the guys to go out and dominate good teams right now. Remember we are in the beginning stages of a transition to the 3-4. We've played exactly two games with live bullets with this defense of 4-3 players. Everyone who pays attention even a little bit knows we don't have very good options at the second level right now. Some of them are becoming pretty good (Gifford), but Diaco didn't show up with any prototypical 3-4 linebackers ready to play. Our defense will continue to make mistakes and play slow in certain situations they haven't seen LIVE before. Some people think you make a mistake once, you see it on tape, and you fix it and don't make it twice. There are a few instances like that, but normally, it doesn't work like that. You have to see that situation in front of you a good number of times before you react properly and correctly. Practice can only prepare you so much. But we're going to continue to improve under Diaco. Give the man some time. For people that say spring and fall camp should be long enough...all I can do is shake my head. Those people have clearly lack perspective necessary to see that this is a process. It takes times. There will be bumps, and how the players respond to the bumps will determine how the season goes. So let's let this thing play out, and try to not scare recruits and coaches away in the meantime.

I can't stand Husker Fan sometimes. The loudest are generally the people who understand the least that which is the complex world of playing and coaching college football. They think because they can engineer a #1 recruiting class 10 years in row and win 10 national championships in a row on NCAA College Football that they know what the f*ck they're talking about when it comes to actually coaching and playing the game. They would be completely lost sitting in position meetings. I'm not saying people shouldn't voice their opinions, what I'm saying is people need to be responsible for their voices, and actually learn about the world of college football before they spout off about stuff they have very little knowledge about. Have some self-awareness that you don't know as much as you think you do about college football. There are guys on this message board and other message boards that know and understand the game at this level - it would be wise to identify them and start asking more questions.

End rant

I don't get the whole "we are now great at recruiting" thing. I must be missing something. I have seen three years where our rankings are very Pelini-esque. (Actually on average it is a tad worse.)

I have seen some of our highest-rated recruits not make it to campus or their first game. That is very Pelini-esque.

I haven't seen freshmen step on the field and dominate over our supposedly inferior talent. That is very Pelini-esque.

I have seen plenty of excuses...we red shirt a lot of guys...it takes a while to learn a new system...we just need 18 months of a new lifting coach...we are getting bigger names to come to campus so we will surely break through "next year." Now we are into Riley's 4th class and we are spewing the wonders of our super-improved recruiting. These excuses are very Pelini-esque.

BTW. We only have 10 recruits and are ranked 50th. If we go by star rankings we still are only a whopping 17th. (Plus, a lot of those teams behind us in star ranking would be ahead of us if they were only counting their top 10 kids. Look at Tennessee who is behind us. They have one five star, nine four stars, and twelve three stars. Let's be honest...that's a heck of a lot better than what we got going.)

I'm probably just dumb. (There are I opened the door for you.)

 

[ThrowBones92]

Let's see how the next few years play out. But it is clear from the tone of most of the fans that for the foreseeable future this program will be measured against Minnesota, Iowa and northwestern rather than the elite BIG teams. A good season is being redefined as being near the top of the "others participating"
category within the conference.

A lot of resigned posts with the sentiment of if mediocrity is inevitable you might as well lay back and enjoy it.

Hopefully there is steady improvement from here on out so that in a couple of years the bar can be raised just a wee bit north of slightly above average - perhaps even the giant leap to one day being ranked 25th to end the season. I know these are lofty goals - but one has to dare to dream.

I'm not sure what else to tell you other than to look at who we put on the field, and look at who perennial top 15 teams put on the field. Not teams that have 1 or 2 good years. Teams that are good for sustained periods. You can only do so much with Xs and Os, and schemes and adjustments. At the end of the day, it comes down to stud players making plays. When you have more studs, you have more plays made. We don't have them all over the field yet. But I think we will.
Riley has improved his staff every year from both a coaching and recruiting standpoint, and I think we're just now getting to the point where we are getting playmakers on the field. Like guys who will be big time playmakers. But we need a bunch of them, and we only have a few. So until then, doesn't make more sense for the sake of sanity to be realistic? I still expect Riley to build a top 10 or top 5 program. If he can't do it, then we need to find someone else. If people just expect him to make this a top 5 program without having multiple classes of top talent evaluation and recruitment, then I don't know what to tell you. I still think a 6-7 year time period is enough time to allow a coach to build the program, course correct as necessary, and show what they can produce. So, right now, to say he can't get it done, it's just ridiculous.
And even then, we aren't going to beat everyone. Look at Ohio State, they have recruited better than anyone save USC and Alabama over the last 5 years, but they have been beaten pretty handily each of the last two games they played against other top teams. Look around. It's not an easy nor short process to get back to being a top 10 team annually.

 

[ThrowBones92]

The comparison to Texas in this regard is an excellent one. Talk about a spoiled program awash in way too much money that lets said moneyed interests have waaaaaaaay too much say in the program, which equals chaos.

I can't agree with you more; everyone needs to settle the F down, take our licks, and support the massive, years-long system rebuilding effort that Riley is attempting to accomplish here. I don't think he necessarily will retire in a few years, by the way; coaches tend to coach longer now, and I think he wants to move this program as far forward as he can, accept those laurels, and THEN retire. If that takes 5-10 years, expect him to want to coach that long provided his health holds out.

We have hired some darn good position coaches, some great recruiters, and are pouring more money than we ever have into the infrastructure of the program. That HAS to continue. You are also 100% right that if we can Riley after this year or even next, the Nebraska coaching job is going to become radioactive. No major talented coach will come near it for fear of being savaged and then sent packing after 2-3 up and down seasons.

Lastly, about the defense: I don't know that there is much excuse for getting shellacked 42-14 in one half, but they proved themselves to be plenty resilient in sticking it out. I know Oregon's play calling changed (I think in part because we started to use the nickel package more and we started to look more competent, but I also think Oregon felt content to not throw deep balls as much because they didn't feel that they had to), but it is also fair to say Diaco's system may have finally started to click with some of the players. I also can't emphasize enough that one of the reasons why we don't appear to be pressuring QB's enough is that Diaco's system requires that the two OLB's be ELITE level players; while our guys are ok, they aren't that yet. It's going to take a while, but I do believe we snagged a good hire that will pay dividends later.

I said at the beginning of the season, 7-5 looked pretty realistic, and 8-4 would be considered to be a smashing success in my book. Look to 2018 for us to be considered to be an elite, dangerous team, and probably the favorites to win the West. This year is all about learning, developing, and trying to see some growth occur. Next year is about being more dominant.

GBR!

Excellent point!

 

[inWV]

They sucked it up and didn't quit when they were down 28. However, they played badly in order to get down 28 points. The chance to win or get to OT was within grasp, but Lee and the offense couldn't get it done.
The team has the potential to be good and to compete with teams in the B1G this year. There are no world beaters this year. For the young guys we are relying on, games=reps=playing with confidence. Let's hope the latter is true by Wisconsin.
I think the Oregon game, while disappointing to watch, will serve as a valuable learning experience for this team.

 

[jflores]

I don't get the whole "we are now great at recruiting" thing. I must be missing something. I have seen three years where our rankings are very Pelini-esque. (Actually on average it is a tad worse.)

I have seen some of our highest-rated recruits not make it to campus or their first game. That is very Pelini-esque.

I haven't seen freshmen step on the field and dominate over our supposedly inferior talent. That is very Pelini-esque.

I have seen plenty of excuses...we red shirt a lot of guys...it takes a while to learn a new system...we just need 18 months of a new lifting coach...we are getting bigger names to come to campus so we will surely break through "next year." Now we are into Riley's 4th class and we are spewing the wonders of our super-improved recruiting. These excuses are very Pelini-esque.

BTW. We only have 10 recruits and are ranked 50th. If we go by star rankings we still are only a whopping 17th. (Plus, a lot of those teams behind us in star ranking would be ahead of us if they were only counting their top 10 kids. Look at Tennessee who is behind us. They have one five star, nine four stars, and twelve three stars. Let's be honest...that's a heck of a lot better than what we got going.)

I'm probably just dumb. (There are I opened the door for you.)

I think some of the idea here is meshing "this staff is a joke" proclamations with the reputations of those same guys within coaching circles.

DL has proven to be a pretty good QB coach and recruiter, although some take issue with some of his specific playcalls (what OC doesn't).

KW is widely recognized as one of the top, if not the top, WR coach in the country and a top recruiter.

DW similar platitudes.

Parella doing a pretty damn good job for such a new coach.

Diaco has earned his lunch pail on bigger stages than we've seen in 20 years.

Now if we end up firing everyone next year and bringing in a new staff, so be it, I'll cheer for the next guy as much as I cheer for Riley and all the others.

But at the same time, lets not pretend that guys like DW and KW in particular grow on trees, and get virtually most of the top talent interested in a school like NU. Even if Riley ends up working out here, the guys that follow folks like them will probably end up being downgrades, even if they are pretty darn good.

 

[Toms Wife]

I think some of the idea here is meshing "this staff is a joke" proclamations with the reputations of those same guys within coaching circles.

DL has proven to be a pretty good QB coach and recruiter, although some take issue with some of his specific playcalls (what OC doesn't).

KW is widely recognized as one of the top, if not the top, WR coach in the country and a top recruiter.

DW similar platitudes.

Parella doing a pretty damn good job for such a new coach.

Diaco has earned his lunch pail on bigger stages than we've seen in 20 years.

Now if we end up firing everyone next year and bringing in a new staff, so be it, I'll cheer for the next guy as much as I cheer for Riley and all the others.

But at the same time, lets not pretend that guys like DW and KW in particular grow on trees, and get virtually most of the top talent interested in a school like NU. Even if Riley ends up working out here, the guys that follow folks like them will probably end up being downgrades, even if they are pretty darn good.

I don't want to diss on those guys in particular or the staff as a whole, because I hardly know anything about recruiting, but how come we are not seeing better outcomes?

 

[jlb321]

The comparison to Texas in this regard is an excellent one. Talk about a spoiled program awash in way too much money that lets said moneyed interests have waaaaaaaay too much say in the program, which equals chaos.

I can't agree with you more; everyone needs to settle the F down, take our licks, and support the massive, years-long system rebuilding effort that Riley is attempting to accomplish here. I don't think he necessarily will retire in a few years, by the way; coaches tend to coach longer now, and I think he wants to move this program as far forward as he can, accept those laurels, and THEN retire. If that takes 5-10 years, expect him to want to coach that long provided his health holds out.

We have hired some darn good position coaches, some great recruiters, and are pouring more money than we ever have into the infrastructure of the program. That HAS to continue. You are also 100% right that if we can Riley after this year or even next, the Nebraska coaching job is going to become radioactive. No major talented coach will come near it for fear of being savaged and then sent packing after 2-3 up and down seasons.

Lastly, about the defense: I don't know that there is much excuse for getting shellacked 42-14 in one half, but they proved themselves to be plenty resilient in sticking it out. I know Oregon's play calling changed (I think in part because we started to use the nickel package more and we started to look more competent, but I also think Oregon felt content to not throw deep balls as much because they didn't feel that they had to), but it is also fair to say Diaco's system may have finally started to click with some of the players. I also can't emphasize enough that one of the reasons why we don't appear to be pressuring QB's enough is that Diaco's system requires that the two OLB's be ELITE level players; while our guys are ok, they aren't that yet. It's going to take a while, but I do believe we snagged a good hire that will pay dividends later.

I said at the beginning of the season, 7-5 looked pretty realistic, and 8-4 would be considered to be a smashing success in my book. Look to 2018 for us to be considered to be an elite, dangerous team, and probably the favorites to win the West. This year is all about learning, developing, and trying to see some growth occur. Next year is about being more dominant.

GBR!

8-4 a "smashing success"????

Good grief. 8-4 shouldn't get you fired or even on the hot seat but to define it as a smashing success is ridiculous. 8-4 would be a season that is good enough to keep you off the hot seat and have some optimism for years to come. But no one should be planning any parades for an 8-4, likely unranked season

No one and I mean no one three years ago after Pelini was fired would have come out and declared 8-4 as a smashing success.

8-4 is an average season that now is becoming to be defined as highly successful due in large part to the mismanagement in years 1 and 2.

No one is going to be fired but the truth is we are still - at best - treading water as a program. I cannot say that any progress has been made to date from the Pelini years with the exception of better press conference and sideline behavior. People are going to have to show me more than a single recruiting class that was ranked #20 and the musical chairs at the assistant coach level as definitive proof of progress. Personally I am fine with acknowledging this and looking for evidence of progress in the next few years but I am not going to manufacture sunshine that many seem to be doing.

It is ok to say that things have not gone as planned in years 1 and 2 and we think RILEY has acknowledged this and is trying to make corrections. But to declare 8-4 as a smashing success is way over the top.

 

[inWV]

Longevity in college FB is rare. A big part of NU's dominance from Devaney to TO was longevity in the coaching staff. Same staff, same principles, comparable approach year to year. That allowed for consistency and also the ability to feature interesting wrinkles (plays the defense hadn't prepped for because they had never seen them before). Several of these coaches stayed on when Solich took over. Post-Solich, we've pretty much had total turnovers after a coaching change.

 

[inWV]

8-4 will be mildly disappointing.

 

[DudznSudz]

Nah, you're both wrong. Sorry, but that is more of the out-dated thinking. 8-4 is great considering our schedule, implementing a brand new scheme on D (which clearly needs time and work), and the hiccups along the way with Lee, a very not-deep WR corps, and a relatively young team. We just lost to Oregon, and we will likely lose to Ohio State and Penn State. That leaves us with Wisconsin or Iowa as the next loss, barring no other losses. If we beat both of them, that's amazing. If we don't, 7-5. If we beat one, 8-4.

I think that is both realistic and reasonable to expect.

 

[Shermski77]

I don't need a multi-decade period again where our winning percentage is 84%. I just want a season or two every decade where we can go 11-2ish, be competitive in every game, and be nationally relevant.

 

[DudznSudz]

I don't need a multi-decade period again where our winning percentage is 84%. I just want a season or two every decade where we can go 11-2ish, be competitive in every game, and be nationally relevant.

Yep! That is the definition of a successful program now; be ranked every year, have a good winning percentage, and every few years be in the discussion for the playoff. Win the league championship 3 or more times per decade, and stop getting your ass kicked by teams that you should view as your peers.

We're not there yet, but we're getting better.

 

[timnsun]

Let's see how the next few years play out. But it is clear from the tone of most of the fans that for the foreseeable future this program will be measured against Minnesota, Iowa and northwestern rather than the elite BIG teams. A good season is being redefined as being near the top of the "others participating"
category within the conference.

A lot of resigned posts with the sentiment of if mediocrity is inevitable you might as well lay back and enjoy it.

Hopefully there is steady improvement from here on out so that in a couple of years the bar can be raised just a wee bit north of slightly above average - perhaps even the giant leap to one day being ranked 25th to end the season. I know these are lofty goals - but one has to dare to dream.

I don't see a single poster saying let's just sit back and enjoy it. Not even hinting at that. Where are you getting this sentiment? Have you just made some assumptions?

This is kind of a sucky post that speaks for no one I have read about on this board. The sentiment is that it will take time, but no one is saying we are sitting back and enjoying the possibility of 7-5 or 8-4...

It's funny, because people want to know how we expect the season to play out, and if someone says 7-5, they are settling for that, or in its newest form, they are sitting back and enjoying it.

Good grief.

 

[Toms Wife]

8-4 is reasonable to expect? Is this what we hired Riley for in December 2014? Was the idea that in year 3 we should hope for 8-4 and call wins over Iowa and Wisconsin "amazing"?

 

[jlb321]

8-4 a "smashing success"????

Good grief. 8-4 shouldn't get you fired or even on the hot seat but to define it as a smashing success is ridiculous. 8-4 would be a season that is good enough to keep you off the hot seat and have some optimism for years to come. But no one should be planning any parades for an 8-4, likely unranked season

No one and I mean no one three years ago after Pelini was fired would have come out and declared 8-4 as a smashing success.

8-4 is an average season that now is becoming to be defined as highly successful due in large part to the mismanagement in years 1 and 2.

No one is going to be fired but the truth is we are still - at best - treading water as a program. I cannot say that any progress has been made to date from the Pelini years with the exception of better press conference and sideline behavior. People are going to have to show me more than a single recruiting class that was ranked #20 and the musical chairs at the assistant coach level as definitive proof of progress. Personally I am fine with acknowledging this and looking for evidence of progress in the next few years but I am not going to manufacture sunshine that many seem to be doing.

It is ok to say that things have not gone as planned in years 1 and 2 and we think RILEY has acknowledged this and is trying to make corrections. But to declare 8-4 as a smashing success is way over the top.

I don't see a single poster saying let's just sit back and enjoy it. Not even hinting at that. Where are you getting this sentiment? Have you just made some assumptions?

This is kind of a sucky post that speaks for no one I have read about on this board. The sentiment is that it will take time, but no one is saying we are sitting back and enjoying the possibility of 7-5 or 8-4...

It's funny, because people want to know how we expect the season to play out, and if someone says 7-5, they are settling for that, or in its newest form, they are sitting back and enjoying it.

Good grief.

We have one poster above defining 8-4 as a "smashing success".

 

[DudznSudz]

We have one poster above defining 8-4 as a "smashing success".

For this year, based on what the team is working on/implementing, 8-4 means the players are playing well and the wheels are not coming off at all.

I'm not saying 8-4 forever is good. I'm saying, 8-4 this YEAR is good.

 

[jlb321]

We have one poster above defining 8-4 as a "smashing success".

Further more our own head coach has pretty much come out and said the performance against Oregon was shit but if anyone on this message board says so they aren't being realistic

 

[SnohomishRed]

good god no one expects a return to dominance anymore so using that as a focal point on why we should accept bad play needs to stop.

NU fans just want a well coached team on the field - many teams that we can match talent wise do it why cant we. If we won 8 or 9 games but didnt have the WTF moments we have had to endure for almost a decade I think most fans would be happy

 

[timnsun]

We have one poster above defining 8-4 as a "smashing success".

Take into consideration what we have. Dudz laid it out for you. He is talking about this year with the transitioning to a new defensive scheme. He's not throwing a parade, but he is attempting to be realistic, which is what I thought most of you anti-Riley type posters wanted.

I guess I was wrong.

 

[Toms Wife]

I never thought I would say this but at this point I would just like to be Okie Lite. 5 of the last 7 years they have won 10+ games (the two years before that the had nine wins and this year they are expected to get there again.)

They contended for a national title once (getting screwed when Alabama and LSU had a stupid rematch that no one cared about).

They have beaten 6 top 10 teams in that stretch.

They have won 5 of 7 bowl games in this time.

 

[jflores]

8-4 is reasonable to expect? Is this what we hired Riley for in December 2014? Was the idea that in year 3 we should hope for 8-4 and call wins over Iowa and Wisconsin "amazing"?

I think for the fan bases own health, they really have to get off this "Year 3" kick. Guys were given shots who didn't work out, those mistakes were corrected. This is basically Year 1 with "the dudes". If in your heart of hearts, you can't forgive Riley for making the initial hires, then we need to fire him and be done. There's no sense in giving Riley mad props for doing what Bo and Cally didn't, and fire some of his friends for the betterment of NU, if you aren't going to give those new hires time to show what they can do and not backdating their performance to 2 years before they stepped on campus. On the same token, Riley and Riley's supporters know that replacing basically all of his defensive staff isn't going to give Riley 7 or 8 years like Bo. He's going to get to 4 probably (which is 2 under the "new staff") and we should able to see pretty well by then what the verdict will be. (Edit: Firing Riley and staff is a valid course of action. But spending nearly a million and a half bucks on DW and Diaco and then not giving them any chance to recruit will probably be ridiculed on the national stage unless this team goes 3-9).

I don't want to diss on those guys in particular or the staff as a whole, because I hardly know anything about recruiting, but how come we are not seeing better outcomes?

I think my main beef with NU fans is that they are too easily sold on how easily *consistency* will come. If we get the slightest glimpse of "the defense had a great day(s) of practice" you get folks on here thinking the 85 Bears are rolling out of the Tunnel. Sure, in the old days, when TO had the guys, you might show someone a couple times, and boom, its not a problem anymore. The other 120 teams in college football didn't have that then, CFB has changed alot over the years, but we basically are in those 120 teams now and Bama has taken the spot of having a plug and play system of envy. Or sometimes, pure ignornance of the facts at hand, there are still folks 2 games in, that seemingly had no idea that Diaco doesn't play a Jim Johnson style defense. I think they expect he's a big name, he gets the tradition, and somehow he's just going to watch a bunch of old McBride film and attempt to re-institute that, instead of the system he is known for.

NU doesn't have any elite pass rush talent in individual players, nor does it have enough experience in the given scheme to just send "this guy" or "those guys" on a myriad of exotic blitzes and reasonably expect the back end to be locked down on a consistent basis (the so-called "schematic" answer that people are pining for since we spent 825k). So you either have to give more time for recruiters to recruit, or players to get experience to expect more *consistent* results. (same argument on the lockdown secondary side of things but probably more slanted to just pure experience). If there were a magic scheme that allowed DC's to have little pass rush and not great coverage on the back end, but end up with a pretty damn good defense in totality, there'd be a lot more awesome defenses in CFB than there are.

We started getting all excited about these new hires Riley made since Parella was brought on board for last season. Parella's first recruits are just now on campus (and looking good I might add). DW hasn't even been here a whole year, and none of his recruits will be here for another season. Diaco just got here, same story. DL's guys are just now coming off of transfer time and redshirts. Yes we are all excited about these young freshman and the guys who aren't on campus yet, or aren't signed yet, or in some cases, haven't even verbaled yet...but we're expecting the success now based on the excitement of what is to come....and not later when we actually have a team full of these guys having been in the system a minute. It is entirely possible that NU manages to create a team of All Conference caliber players out of a bunch of pretty good rated underclassmen...but that'd be a historical abnormality even for the Bama's and LSU's and OSU's of the world.

 

[little a]

Morning all,

I just thought I'd put down some things I've thought over the weekend, being a crazy, die-hard Nebraska fan. These are just some things I've seen with the addition of some realizations I've settled on after years of thinking about the state of the program that I think are important for everyone who posts here to consider:

1.) The anger and frustration at watching the team struggle, lose, and generally not look dominant:

This has got to be dialed back. People that display anger, resentment, call for firings after two games (or after the third year of a coach who was brought in for very specific reasons), need to relax and would do well to remind themselves that the team they are picturing doesn't exist anymore, and it probably never will again. The days of being able to build a ridiculously dominant program (84.7% winning percentage, they said during the game on Fox Sports, from the 70's to 2001) are long gone. The parity in programs now, which really means "the money involved," has eliminated the ability to grow a dominant program all by yourself exploiting weaknesses in other teams and relying on a unique playing style, as we once did.

The second part of my thought on this is, Riley is a decent coach who was brought in to re-stabilize the program and start building a good system to work with. He isn't a rock star hire, he's a guy who can and has definitely started to build a system and a culture that is more conducive to landing good recruits and moving the program in a progressive direction. That is something that we've sorely needed really since Osborne left. Osborne, by the way, gets a gigantic F for succession planning; the lack of insight into how to continue the program after a great coach with a unique vision like that retires is why we tanked so hard and haven't been back since.

2.) We're in a competitive league now (The Big Ten) with better academics and way less drop-off in teams talent levels than (usually) what was present in the Big 12. Sure, we play in the weaker of the divisions, and Rutgers looks crappy right now, but heck, even Purdue looks much improved. Winning in the Big Ten was tough before we joined, and its going to get even tougher as better coaches and players move into the conference. That's just the league we play in now, accept it.

3.) We have to win recruiting battles as much as is humanly possible. The scheme we use now (pro style balanced offense, Diaco's 3-4 defense which IS successful with proper personnel and coaching) requires excellent skill athletes to be present to execute. That means toning down on the BS yelling about everything, calls for firings, etc, things that freak out the media and coaching staff AND recruits, and more positive outlooks and a slightly more relaxed temperament. By the way, the CB prediction of Bookie to Clemson now? That's probably complete BS because those sports writers have literally nothing else to do but jack themselves off, but we should still think long and hard about how this staff needs to land recruits, and what can be done to improve the recruiting environment here (which has gotten LIGHT YEARS better than it was under the previous staff).

Being able to recruit extremely specific athletes to fit a very unique but successful scheme is not the name of the game for us anymore; getting our hands on the best talent possible and developing the hell out of players is. This takes years, guys. Think about it like this: some programs hire coaches that come in, like Meyer or DABO JIMBO MCREDNECK or Harbaugh to fix a program immediately, and it sometimes truly does work, but if that coach inevitably gets thrown out for breaking too many rules or leaves for the NFL, they frequently crash the school's system on the way out because too much was built on them and them alone. This was our old problem with Osborne, and its exactly what Meyer did to Florida. I don't want to see that happen here again, I want Eichorst to do what his mentor Barry Alvarez did at Wisconsin; slowly build a program with a consistent system in place that can handle some changes and some ups and downs while still being stable enough to put together good seasons.

We aren't there yet, but we are on the way. RELAX. Be supportive. And on to next week's opponent.

You had me right until you said the days of being a dominant program are "long gone". Nebraska fans should expect to have a dominant program--- smh

 

[bigboxes]

Morning all,

I just thought I'd put down some things I've thought over the weekend, being a crazy, die-hard Nebraska fan. These are just some things I've seen with the addition of some realizations I've settled on after years of thinking about the state of the program that I think are important for everyone who posts here to consider:

1.) The anger and frustration at watching the team struggle, lose, and generally not look dominant:

This has got to be dialed back. People that display anger, resentment, call for firings after two games (or after the third year of a coach who was brought in for very specific reasons), need to relax and would do well to remind themselves that the team they are picturing doesn't exist anymore, and it probably never will again. The days of being able to build a ridiculously dominant program (84.7% winning percentage, they said during the game on Fox Sports, from the 70's to 2001) are long gone. The parity in programs now, which really means "the money involved," has eliminated the ability to grow a dominant program all by yourself exploiting weaknesses in other teams and relying on a unique playing style, as we once did.

The second part of my thought on this is, Riley is a decent coach who was brought in to re-stabilize the program and start building a good system to work with. He isn't a rock star hire, he's a guy who can and has definitely started to build a system and a culture that is more conducive to landing good recruits and moving the program in a progressive direction. That is something that we've sorely needed really since Osborne left. Osborne, by the way, gets a gigantic F for succession planning; the lack of insight into how to continue the program after a great coach with a unique vision like that retires is why we tanked so hard and haven't been back since.

2.) We're in a competitive league now (The Big Ten) with better academics and way less drop-off in teams talent levels than (usually) what was present in the Big 12. Sure, we play in the weaker of the divisions, and Rutgers looks crappy right now, but heck, even Purdue looks much improved. Winning in the Big Ten was tough before we joined, and its going to get even tougher as better coaches and players move into the conference. That's just the league we play in now, accept it.

3.) We have to win recruiting battles as much as is humanly possible. The scheme we use now (pro style balanced offense, Diaco's 3-4 defense which IS successful with proper personnel and coaching) requires excellent skill athletes to be present to execute. That means toning down on the BS yelling about everything, calls for firings, etc, things that freak out the media and coaching staff AND recruits, and more positive outlooks and a slightly more relaxed temperament. By the way, the CB prediction of Bookie to Clemson now? That's probably complete BS because those sports writers have literally nothing else to do but jack themselves off, but we should still think long and hard about how this staff needs to land recruits, and what can be done to improve the recruiting environment here (which has gotten LIGHT YEARS better than it was under the previous staff).

Being able to recruit extremely specific athletes to fit a very unique but successful scheme is not the name of the game for us anymore; getting our hands on the best talent possible and developing the hell out of players is. This takes years, guys. Think about it like this: some programs hire coaches that come in, like Meyer or DABO JIMBO MCREDNECK or Harbaugh to fix a program immediately, and it sometimes truly does work, but if that coach inevitably gets thrown out for breaking too many rules or leaves for the NFL, they frequently crash the school's system on the way out because too much was built on them and them alone. This was our old problem with Osborne, and its exactly what Meyer did to Florida. I don't want to see that happen here again, I want Eichorst to do what his mentor Barry Alvarez did at Wisconsin; slowly build a program with a consistent system in place that can handle some changes and some ups and downs while still being stable enough to put together good seasons.

We aren't there yet, but we are on the way. RELAX. Be supportive. And on to next week's opponent.

You just said what I haven't had the time to say. I was not happy with the loss. I was not happy with Oregon hanging 42 by halftime. However, I saw so much good in that game. As our talent and depth improves, we should be able to hang with anyone. Lee had an off day, but the O looked lethal at times. I know we didn't complete the comeback and that is too bad. That's to be expected when you are down by so much so early. The sky is not falling. Patience needs to be practiced.

 

[jflores]

I think really, to summarize, the fan base can be separated into two camps quite easily based on your answer to this question.

1. Is it reasonable to expect a team where a RFrosh in Gebbia, Micah Parsons, KW's frosh WR's and Lindsey, and DW's entire Secondary class as freshman, win the B1G West next year?

There's a whole lot of talent in the mix for significant if not starting playing time, but it remains to be seen that we can be dominant early on in so many careers like that compared to historical norms.

 

[DudznSudz]

You had me right until you said the days of being a dominant program are "long gone". Nebraska fans should expect to have a dominant program--- smh

I mean the ridiculously dominant program Nebraska used to have. Not that we can't one day soon become a winning, kick-ass program again, we absolutely should and I think we will. What I mean, specifically is this:

We got dominant through the Devaney and then Osborne years because we poured money, TV exposure, a cutting edge conditioning program, and a very unique offensive identity into a program that was able to go out and pound most teams into the ground in a really, really crazy way, but that won't happen in that particular way again. You can't really win that way anymore.

 

[Toms Wife]

I think for the fan bases own health, they really have to get off this "Year 3" kick. Guys were given shots who didn't work out, those mistakes were corrected. This is basically Year 1 with "the dudes".

I'm guessing you felt the same way about Frank? That's not a slam it is just exactly what happened in 2003.

I see what you are talking about in the fact that our stud recruiters don't have their guys on the field yet. However, how come our classes were rated any better if we have studs waiting to take the field? I don't buy we really had the #42 class if you factor in who never made it, however at absolute best we were #20. If the guys are stud recruiters, why weren't we ranked hire then and why aren't we ranked higher this year even if you consider "avg. stars"?

 

[Tuco Salamanca]

This has been written before and will be written again, but the average Nebraska fan believes that 1994-1997 was the norm between 1968-1997. The problem is that far more of the seasons in that era were 3 loss or 2 loss and a tie seasons. Sometimes losses were to opponents we had no business losing to and sometimes ugly losses to elite teams. 1994-1997 was dominant, the rest of the time was good to very good but not dominant.

 

[jlb321]

Take into consideration what we have. Dudz laid it out for you. He is talking about this year with the transitioning to a new defensive scheme. He's not throwing a parade, but he is attempting to be realistic, which is what I thought most of you anti-Riley type posters wanted.

I guess I was wrong.

there is a difference between acknowledging the missteps that took place in the 1st 2 years and given those accepting 8-4 as reasonable vs declaring 8-4 a "smashing success"

a surgeon who screws up the original surgery - has the patient spend 2 days in the ICU and on day 3 goes back to the OR and fixes things doesn't declare the care of that patient as a "smashing success".

I completely agree that 8-4, given the situation we currently find ourselves in, is reasonable. I do not, however, agree with declaring 8-4 year as wildly successful for this year. I never, not once, argued for Riley to be fired - I just don't agree that we have enough information to declare that we are on the right path. I think we need another 2 years to determine if, as a program, the arrow is pointing up, down or horizontal versus the baseline of regular 9 wins seasons that had been established prior to this hire.