It must suck being a Nebraska fan right now

[howeda7]

Nebraska is just a want-be.

Maybe they should move to a weaker conference so they can live up to their expectations!

Can we trade them for Missouri?

 

[MNSpaniel]

I was surprised nobody asked Frost about losing to a team that had as many players missing as the Gophers did. Maybe P.J kept that a secret right up to the start of the game?

 

[#2Gopher]

Comment below is from the Nebraska board (Moos is the AD there and has said as long as he is there Frost will be the coach).

For sure, but Moos screwed up and extended Frost until 2026. We essetially have a $35M buyout which is why the program is screwed.

 

[Dano564]

It's amazing how all these teams have a "great week of practice" and then play like bleep on Saturday.

Just once I want to hear a coach come out and say, "we stunk up the joint this week in practice!"

I had heard the opposite after-the-fact. Forgot when and who said it.

But something about the fact they sucked in practice that week to the point the coach called it off. But on game day they showed up and were sharp as ever.

 

[Whytetale]

On the NE Rivals board, post after post wants Frost gone. RTB!!!

 

[GophersInIowa]

So close

 

[BTChamp]

I heard the MAC is looking to expand

They'd probably rather take St. Thomas......

 

[BilldGopher]

For the record I've been a Gophers fan since Coach Mason was hired. Never experienced the Glory Days or even Lou's short tenure.

Over the time since the day Glen was hired it certainly sucked to be a Gophers fan a time or two (or even three...).

Glad to be where we are but certainly understand how programs ebb and flow.

As Coach Fleck showed in an early press conference, the graph of success is a jagged progression...up years followed by down years...but still an overall trend line toward more winning football.

This is an asterisk year for many reasons. Coach Fleck did not get the chance to test whether it would have been a down year or not. Most GH'ers though thought it would be compared to last year.

Point is that "Yes, it must suck to be a Nebraska fan right now." We're not that far removed from that ourselves but glad we're trending upward overall...even this year.

 

[60's Guy]

I had heard the opposite after-the-fact. Forgot when and who said it.

But something about the fact they sucked in practice that week to the point the coach called it off. But on game day they showed up and were sharp as ever.

As a coach, it works both ways. You are either pleasantly surprised, completely devastated or far less frequently you walk around saying I knew we were gonna play well, I just knew it.

 

[60's Guy]

"Point is that "Yes, it must suck to be a Nebraska fan right now." We're not that far removed from that ourselves but glad we're trending upward overall...even this year."
Not that far removed...as in about 6 hours. We are feeling good about ourselves because we beat that Nebraska team. Had we lost we'd be the fans doing the moaning that we can't even beat stinking Nebraska. Whoa is me.
But we played our best game, overcame some adversity and it hasn't snowed here.

 

[SJUgopher]

"Point is that "Yes, it must suck to be a Nebraska fan right now." We're not that far removed from that ourselves but glad we're trending upward overall...even this year."
Not that far removed...as in about 6 hours. We are feeling good about ourselves because we beat that Nebraska team. Had we lost we'd be the fans doing the moaning that we can't even beat stinking Nebraska. Whoa is me.
But we played our best game, overcame some adversity and it hasn't snowed here.

**woe is me

 

[IceBoxGopher]

It's interesting how perspectives change based on success. Since 2000, they've had seven division titles, seven bowl wins, nine ranked finishes, six seasons with at least 10 wins and 13 winning seasons. Plenty of programs would be fine with that, but coming off what happened in the 90s, I get Husker fans being upset. I'm sure there at least some of them now wanting those consistent nine to 10 win seasons Pelini had.

 

[GopherDog1]

But we played our best game, overcame some adversity and it hasn't snowed here.

The snowblower at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln reflected the Husker's performance. Maybe, as they do at Lambeau, they finished up clearing the field with snow shovels and a Big Red N logo on each.

 

[60's Guy]

**woe is me

So, I knew it wasn't right. I Googled it because I couldn't retrieve the correct version in my head.
And 5 "whoa is me" choices showed up in the Google preview....I figured what the heck? Really? and never clicked any of them haha
I knew you were right as soon as I saw it in print but I had to look anyway. The quote is "Avoid using "Whoa is me like the plague. It hasn't been published in two centuries." lol Whoops
My bad!
Thank you!

 

[SJUgopher]

So, I knew it wasn't right. I Googled it because I couldn't retrieve the correct version in my head.
And 5 "whoa is me" choices showed up in the Google preview....I figured what the heck? Really? and never clicked any of them haha
I knew you were right as soon as I saw it in print but I had to look anyway. The quote is "Avoid using "Whoa is me like the plague. It hasn't been published in two centuries." lol Whoops
My bad!
Thank you!

 

[Gold Rush]

The most frustrating thing for fans is they continually recruit very well - beating Minnesota and other schools for supposedly superior talent overall - then losing to that team the next year. So then you start looking at things like coaching or game planning and wonder where this is going wrong.

Joining the Big Ten has been a disaster for Nebraska in football, where I am sure they looked at the opponents as a guarantee of going at least 10-2 every year. Just hasn't worked out very well for them.

I think where Nebraska went wrong was firing guys like Solich and Pellini who were much more successful than what they have right now. Firing the coach is the easiest thing to do but it isn't always the best or smartest thing to do. Nebraska does have a lot of talent on their roster and is loaded with 4-5 star talent so that does make them a dangerous team if they figure out a way to put it all together. They could very well be making ANOTHER mistake in sticking with Frost INSTEAD of firing him.

Last but not least, their QB Martinez should probably be playing RB or WR - he has no NFL future as someone trying to throw a football.

 

[harley_gopher]

I was just reading the Lincoln newspaper. The writers constantly refer to their team as "Blackshirts" over and over again. I really do not 'get' this...they do not wear black...it is not a 'school-color'. Last year at TCF...the Nebraska fans kept shouting "go blackshirts". The Minnesota fans were thinking...WTF is wrong with these people. Meanwhile we were winning 28-7 (something like that).

It Blackshirt thing seems like another example of their issues. The Nebraska fans are still proudly living in the 90's. The Nebraska fans that i know are very arrogant and look down on Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois etc.

They need to clean-house and start over. Scott Frost is not their answer. And THEN maybe provide THERAPY for their fans...they need it.

 

[fmlizard]

It's interesting how perspectives change based on success. Since 2000, they've had seven division titles, seven bowl wins, nine ranked finishes, six seasons with at least 10 wins and 13 winning seasons. Plenty of programs would be fine with that, but coming off what happened in the 90s, I get Husker fans being upset. I'm sure there at least some of them now wanting those consistent nine to 10 win seasons Pelini had.

The thing about those numbers is that almost all of the good stuff since 2000 happened in the '00s before starting the Big Ten in 2011. They had 3 years of 9 and 10 win seasons in the Legends Division but the Big Ten West (and irrationally dumping Bo Pelini) truly did stop this program cold. The Huskers have now fallen into a deeply bearish downtrend that hasn't yet found a bottom.

 

[fmlizard]

I was just reading the Lincoln newspaper. The writers constantly refer to their team as "Blackshirts" over and over again. I really do not 'get' this...they do not wear black...it is not a 'school-color'. Last year at TCF...the Nebraska fans kept shouting "go blackshirts". The Minnesota fans were thinking...WTF is wrong with these people. Meanwhile we were winning 28-7 (something like that).

It Blackshirt thing seems like another example of their issues. The Nebraska fans are still proudly living in the 90's. The Nebraska fans that i know are very arrogant and look down on Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois etc.

They need to clean-house and start over. Scott Frost is not their answer. And THEN maybe provide THERAPY for their fans...they need it.

The "Blackshirts" refers to their defense. I grew up near Lincoln (as a Gopher fan) in the 80s and all my friends had Blackshirts t-shirts. It's a long running tradition at Nebraska. And yes, they long ago reached the point of coaches taking away the Blackshirts, etc. Apparently when the Gophers rolled them in 2013 the Blackshirts were suspended.

Blackshirts (American football) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Some guy]

It's interesting how perspectives change based on success. Since 2000, they've had seven division titles, seven bowl wins, nine ranked finishes, six seasons with at least 10 wins and 13 winning seasons. Plenty of programs would be fine with that, but coming off what happened in the 90s, I get Husker fans being upset. I'm sure there at least some of them now wanting those consistent nine to 10 win seasons Pelini had.

I’m sure they did. Pelini wasn’t fired for losses though. He was fired because 9 wins wasn’t good enough to overcome that he was a pain in the ass.
If he was 9-4 every year and had Paul Chrysts personality I suspect he wouldn’t have been fired

 

[MplsGopher]

This is the postgamer...
The 2nd question got 'em.


Wow.

Wow. Thank you for posting this. Had never bothered to take the time to listen to this man speak.

There should be zero question why he is failing at Nebraska. He's appears to be as talented of an inspirational leader of young men as a pan of casserole.

Wild guess: he won big at UCF (the second year, out of two) because he had head-and-shoulders better talent that every other team. That's not hard to do. So strategy has basically been: win the games before they're even played, by out-recruiting the other teams.



It's one thing to have too much salesman and "talk-your-way-out-of-it" in you. I think Fleck passes that threshold at times. But this guy .... sheesh .... he has way too little.

Neb boosters were dazzled by a native son and champion returning home, with a big time season at a top G5 school. He'll be able to recruit the players we need to bring a natty back home to Lincoln!

Maybe he was just depressed after this game. Don't know because I haven't watched a single other presser of his, and don't plan to.

 

[MplsGopher]

These must be the most depressing fan bases to be, right now, based on the idea of being elite programs in let's say the 90's and then really having little if any sniff of that level of success since:

Nebraska (natty in 94,95,97, #2 in 99, #7 in 2000,01, since then a few top 25 seasons but that's it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nebraska_Cornhuskers_football_seasons )
Michigan (natty in 97, top 5 in 99, #6 in 03, since then a few top 10ish seasons but that's it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Michigan_Wolverines_football_seasons )
Tennessee (natty in 98, #4 in 01, since then a few top15 or top25 seasons but that's it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Tennessee_Volunteers_football_seasons )

Honorable mentions:
Texas - natty in 05, runner-up in 09 under Mack Brown, after that not much
USC - tons of success under Carroll over 2002-08, but not a ton after that (good season in 2016 though)
Miami FL - just missed the list with great seasons in 01-03, but pretty bad since
VT - natty runner up (basically) in 99, but were pretty consistent with Beamer until about 2012, not great since
Florida State - tons of success in the 80's and 90's under Bowden, but got back to a natty in 2013, but since then have really fallen off a cliff


In every one of these cases, what you basically have is some other programs rising up, that the above just can't get past. Oklahoma ruined things for Nebraska and Texas, and now Nebraska can't even beat Iowa and Wisconsin, let alone Ohio State, who ruined things for Michigan. Florida, Alabama, and LSU of course ruined things for Tennessee. Miami and VT did a lot of their winning in the Big East. Florida State of course won in the ACC. But in all three cases, Clemson has ruined everything. And out West, you had/have Oregon as the top dog mostly, with some Washington, Stanford, and a bit of others.

 

[Dano564]

Wow. Thank you for posting this. Had never bothered to take the time to listen to this man speak.

There should be zero question why he is failing at Nebraska. He's appears to be as talented of an inspirational leader of young men as a pan of casserole.

Wild guess: he won big at UCF (the second year, out of two) because he had head-and-shoulders better talent that every other team. That's not hard to do. So strategy has basically been: win the games before they're even played, by out-recruiting the other teams.

I agree. He had a talent over-match at UCF and confident players.
At Nebraska they get beat too often to gain confidence, and his no-inspiration style of leadership doesn't help bridge the gap.

Point is that "Yes, it must suck to be a Nebraska fan right now." We're not that far removed from that ourselves but glad we're trending upward overall...even this year.

My point on Nebraska differs from Minnesota.

1. History. Nebraska's expectations from the 90's national titles (whether warranted or weak) is their threshold. So essentially they have not met expectations for about 20 straight years.

2. They are tied to a Golden Boy coach probably for at least two more years. If the guy can't coach (as it seems to be the case as he more frequently gets beat by teams like Illinois or a limited Gophers roster), that's tough. Not only are you disappointed in this year, you face the fact you might suck for two more years before a change is made. (Like having Christian Ponder as your QB).

 

[MplsGopher]

Times have also changed, of course.

There must be countless things that Tom Osborne, Lloyd Carr, and Phil Fulmer got away with, that the public never found out about. Bag men/money/drugs/strippers for recruits and players, grades for players, getting arrests/sexual assaults buried. You name it, I would not be surprised if the sky is the limit.

 

[WorkingMyTailOff]

In relation to Gopher football history, would this be the 1980's of Gopher football for Nebraska? About 20 years after their sustained success and going through coaches every 3-5 years?

 

[GoForGold]

In relation to Gopher football history, would this be the 1980's of Gopher football for Nebraska? About 20 years after their sustained success and going through coaches every 3-5 years?

One parallel that sticks out to me is that both brought back former quarterback heroes to save a sinking program. In the case of Minnesota, was of course Joe Salem. And for those who don't know, Salem was brought back with great fanfare. He was going to lead the Gophers to Rose Bowl and the glory days that ended in the 60s.

 

[HitMeAgainIAmStillMoving]

One parallel that sticks out to me is that both brought back former quarterback heroes to save a sinking program. In the case of Minnesota, was of course Joe Salem. And for those who don't know, Salem was brought back with great fanfare. He was going to lead the Gophers to Rose Bowl and the glory days that ended in the 60s.

I had to look that up. I did not know Smoky Joe was a Gopher QB.

 

[highwayman]

The way he goes through timeouts, no.

Time outs are used for strategic purposes, not just for the last two minutes. Saving a penalty or preventing a big play by the opponent means as much as stopping the clock. Yeah, some use seem a waste but the time out paradigm is somewhat overrated.

 

[graydon]

Looks like it was in their 2nd year. The last time they won the National Title was 23 years ago.

List of Nebraska Cornhuskers football seasons - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Didn’t they play in the conference championship game in like their second or third year in the conference?

Yes, they played in the Championship game in 2012, but their fans probably wish they had not, especially those fans of the "Blackshirt" defense.

Nebraska won the B1G Legends division and were ranked 14th in the country going into the 2012 Championship game, where they were favored over unranked Wisconsin. (The Badgers actually were only 7-5 coming into the game and had finished third in the Leaders division, but Penn State and tOSU were both ineligible to play in the game.)

WIsconsin completely dominated the game, rushing for 539 yards and 8 rushing TDs. They played three tailbacks who went on the the NFL. Montee Ball had 21 carries for 202 yards, James White was held to 109 yards on 15 carries, and the game served as the coming out party for freshman Melvin Gordon who rushed for 216 yards on 9 carries, an average of 24 yards per carry, mostly on jet sweeps.

Bo Pelini took a bit of heat for that defensive performance.

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

I’m sure they did. Pelini wasn’t fired for losses though. He was fired because 9 wins wasn’t good enough to overcome that he was a pain in the ass.
If he was 9-4 every year and had Paul Chrysts personality I suspect he wouldn’t have been fired

You're right on Pelini. Even with how bad Riley and Frost have been, there are very few, if any Nebraska fans that wish Pelini was still the coach.