This is all fun to trash Frost and Nebby, but Fleck had 9 wins as HC of Gophs through the ninth game of his second season. One more than Frost has as HC for Nebby through the ninth game of his second season.
You raised a very interesting point. If we compared Fleck's and Frost' first 21 games of their career, it is depressing for both Husker and Gopher fans at 9 wins and 8 wins with 13 loses respectively. Like a few people here, I was a bit worried when the Gophers lost 4 Big Ten games in a row and 5 games after the Illinois rout last season. The chatter in Gopherhole was not fun either. But, look at what happened after the Illinois game. PJ Fleck fired Rob Smith, and their trajectory changed. Here is a comparison of Fleck and Frost coaching careers so far:
Scott Frost - Nebraska
2018 12G 04W 08L
2019 09G 04W 05L
Total 21G 08W 13L
PJ Fleck - Minnesota
2017 12G 05W 07L
2018 13G 07W 06L (04W 05L thru first 9 games)
2019 08G 08W 00L
Total 33G 20W 13L
Nebraska had lost a few close games last season and this season. Minnesota was fortunate to win very close non-conference games in dramatic fashion. They also won 3 of the last 4 games last season including the bowl win against Georgia Tech. Nebraska has struggled under Frost this year and last year as did PJ Fleck his first two years. But, look at what happened this season. IMHO, you can't write off Scott Frost yet.
It is too early. He may have to make changes to his mostly inexperienced coaching staff replacing them with some seasoned coaches. He needs to learn coach speak by not throwing kids under the bus in the press conferences. He needs to be a positive motivator. He is young, and was a great college QB. He will learn valuable lessons and he will succeed. He came home because his heart is in the right place. Nebraska fans, be patient.
It is not due to dearth of talent because if you look at the 247Sports Recruiting Ranking Data for 2017 thru 2020 and the 2019 Team Talent Rank, Nebraska talent-wise is richer than Minnesota. For the 4 years, Nebraska has a 4-Year Average Rank of 87.57 and an average of 212.88 Points compared to the Gophers at 85.19 and 190.61 respectively.
If the Gophers can maintain an Average Rank of 86 or higher and an average of 200 points in recruiting, they will be in contention more frequently than not for the challenge to the Big Ten West crown. In the 2018 recruiting year, the Gophers eclipse that threshold at an Average of 86.22 and 206.66 Points respectively. They got 3 4-Stars in the class - Rashod Bateman, Curtis Dunlop, and Daniel Fa'alele. Imagine if the Gophers get 3 legitimate 4-Stars in every recruiting class. These recruits, the Empire class, key transfers, and the under the radar three star players that PJ Fleck has recruited got us to this magical season. It takes time, aggressive recruiting, hard work, and patience.
The biggest benefactor of the transfer portal is Lovie Smith and Illinois. They received a 4-Star QB in Brandon Peters, 1 5-Star and 5 4-Star players thru the transfer portal. Suddenly, Illinois is ranked #37 in talent level in 2019, third behind Nebraska and Wisconsin in the Big Ten West by 247SPorts. They have 1 5-Star, 11 4-Stars, and 66 3-Star players. Look for Illinois to be bowl eligible this year and make noise in the Big Ten next season.
If it was only ranking, hands down Nebraska would have won the Big Ten West every year. Nebraska has the highest talent level in the Big Ten West ahead of Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern, and Purdue in 2019 according to 247Sports. Frost has the talent to do damage in the Big Ten West with his current crop of players. They may surprise next season if they can figure out the coaching and how to use the talent they have.
The 2019 Talent Level (247Sports) ranks Nebraska at #24 with 20 4-Stars and 63 3-Stars. The Gophers are at #46 with 5 4-Stars and 74 3-Stars. I am not too hung up on that as high 3-Stars and 4-Stars measures may not be that an exact science. Coaching and the system come to bear on the success of the program. At a higher level, you can't dismiss high echelon talent level. It is no accident that Alabama, tOSU, LSU, etc.. are always in the CFB playoff conversations.
PJ Fleck and his coaching staff excelled at maximizing the talent that they have by "tweaking" their schemes to fit their players abilities, and in developing players. They are disciplined, one of the least penalized teams around. IMHO, it will be a game changer recruiting-wise if the Gophers can win the Big Ten West Title this season. Recruiting is the heart and soul of a program's rise.
One final thought: We'd want Nebraska to succeed. It will raise the level of competition in the Big Ten West. However, we want the Gophers to be better. Therefore, we need for the Gophers to elevate their recruiting beyond what we have seen so far in the history of the Gopher Football Program. We want teams in the Big Ten West that can challenge tOSU/PSU/MI/MSU dominance in the Big Ten East for the outright Big Ten Title occasionally. A revitalized Nebraska is a big part of this.
Nebraska / Minnesota Recruiting Comparison (from 247SPorts):
Year, Nat'l Rank, # Commits,
# 4-Stars,
# 3-Stars, # 2-Stars,
Avg Ranking, Total Points
Nebraska:
2017 - 23 20
06 14 00
87.81 224.33
2018 - 23 24
06 18 00
87.70 227.95
2019 - 18 28
07 21 00
86.22 206.64
2020 - 32 13
03 10 00
88.53 192.61
Average 87.57 212.88
Minnesota
2017 59 26
00 25 01
83.24 171.42
2018 38 25
03 22 00
86.22 206.66
2019 45 21
00 20 01
85.79 194.88
2020 32 23
01 22 00
85.50 189.87
Average 85.19 190.61
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/scott-frost-1.html
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/pj-fleck-1.html
https://huskers.com/schedule.aspx?schedule=495
https://gophersports.com/schedule.aspx?path=football
Big Ten Talent Level 2019 -
https://247sports.com/Season/2019-Football/CollegeTeamTalentComposite/?Conference=Big-Ten