Husker Fan Frustration

As Goals Evaporate, Bowl Eligibility Remains

As a Husker fan, it’s tiring watching this season play out.  Nebraska’s kids seem to play hard.  They are a really great group of kids too.  They say all the right things, they would be great kids to have as son in laws or as brothers or as friends or relatives.  They love Nebraska, they love Coach Riley and they want what is best with the program.  They come back every week and play really well for a brief period of time, although there have been a couple games that you wondered if they could play any worse.

That’s what makes this so exhausting.  I love these kids.  I love Chris Webber, Stanley Morgan, JD Spielman and Chris Jones.  I think Tanner Lee makes throws some weeks that make me wonder what this kids ceiling is and I keep wondering if he is going to play in the NFL.  Then you watch them and they go out, get more than a half dozen penalties, turn the ball over at inopportune times, fail to stop the run when they need to the most and you just wonder if this team is snake bit.

At this point I don’t think that bad luck is really the problem.  I think the bigger issue is, between roster mismanagement and players that don’t fit this coaching staff’s requirements, this team and this coaching staff are just on different pages.  You see it week to week, guys don’t know their assignments, they make boneheaded penalties or they just look lost when they are trying to cover a receiver.  That in a nutshell is coaching.  Whether it is the head coach, the coordinators or the position coaches, this team is not well prepared.  As Bill Parcels liked to say, “your record is who you are” and this team just isn’t very good.

We all can sit back and play Sunday Morning Quarterback and pretend we would know what to do to fix it. Play the backup more, throw when they run, pass when they throw, go for it on fourth down, don’t go for it on fourth down.  Everyone has an opinion on what happens on Saturdays, but the reality is, what is happening the other six days of the week have not helped this team since Coach Mike Riley has arrived in Lincoln.

I will be the first to admit, when Coach Riley was hired, I knew that he would be the opposite of Bo Pelini. Coach Riley on the surface is really a great guy.  I won’t claim to know him, my interactions with him have been next to nothing, but he couldn’t have been nicer when I have been around him.  He came in and sold the program to recruits, probably better than any coach since Bill Callahan and maybe better in a lot of respects because he respects Nebraska and he understands the culture for the most part.  The problem is, he maybe didn’t understand what he was getting himself into.

The culture under Pelini was surely and defensive at best and arrogant and vindictive at its worst.  There were players that were retained that had no business playing the first year Riley was here, that Riley had no idea that they would try to sabotage practices and possibly games just to stick it to whoever, (Pelini haters) they could just to prove that they could.  Then when a great number of those players left the following season, a large senior class brought everyone together and made a run at a conference title game appearance, but injuries and a shallow roster limited what they could accomplish.

Riley probably didn’t realize that he would have so little depth and I’m sure he thinks the best about people and probably didn’t think players would openly give up during games, just to prove a point about a lousy person (Pelini) that should have been fired a year earlier.

Riley also should have left more of his staff behind in Oregon when he left.  He was given resources to hire better assistant coaches and has replaced at least half his staff since he got here.  That tells me he shouldn’t have brought some of them to Lincoln.  

I think Riley would do things quite a bit different if he had a do over, but most of us would if given the opportunity.  Unfortunately for Riley, he probably won’t get that chance for multiple reasons.  Nebraska will be in the throws of rebuild once more.  That is a hard pill to swallow and will make us all a lot older and a lot more weary when it’s all said and done.  

ON WITH THE REWIND…

Our previous score prediction for the Northwestern game was Nebraska 21 – Northwestern 28.  The actual score was Northwestern 31 Nebraska 24.  I give up, Nebraska had the ball with a 24-17 lead in the fourth quarter, with a chance to go up 27-17 and putting themselves into great position for a bowl.  One more interception later and Nebraska ended up where we guessed they would, losing in overtime.  It just seems par for the course with this group of Huskers.  

Quick Notes:

Tanner Lee, CFL QB….  I know, they are college kids and they are allowed to have a bad game or two, but Tanner Lee goes from looking like a kid that can play on Sundays, to throwing three picks against Northwestern and looking like he will be lucky to finish the game.  Lee clearly had some rust at the beginning of the season, but he has enough experience now. Two of those interceptions were just awful throws.  Throw in a missed open shot down field, and it was a top 4 bad game as a Husker for Lee.

What are the offensive coaches thinking??? Nebraska has the ball, on the Northwestern side of the field, with a touchdown lead and chance to salt the game away.  They could have ran the ball, taken time off the clock and at worst, missed a long field goal.  Instead, they drop back and Lee gets hit and throws a crushing pick.  What makes their playcalling even worse, was the overtime call to run a screen pass.  That play should have been trashed after Tre Bryant went out for the season.  To pull that play out when you absolutely need yards just shows this playcalling by the staff is questionable at best and downright insane at it’s worst.

RIP Nebraska’s Running Game… I don’t want a return to the option.  Heck, I don’t even care if we don’t run the ball, if we are throwing it like an NFL team.  That being said, if you can’t run the ball at least a minimal amount when you want to, you aren’t going to win many games in college football.  Nebraska’s running game has a myriad of issues, but the identity of Nebraska being a hard nosed run the ball team has died.  Can it ever come back?

Can they get to a Bowl game? It is beginning to look very doubtful.  Nebraska could have gotten to six wins with a win over Northwestern and Minnesota, but it was going to be a longshot at best to beat Penn State on the road and now Iowa looks like they could blow the doors off Nebraska.  It may be a blessing in disguise if there is a coaching change, but it’s never good to miss a bowl, especially at Nebraska.

Score Prediction: Nebraska 24 – Minnesota 21

I don’t think Nebraska is very good, but I think Minnesota is worse.  They have next to nothing in the way of playmakers and are probably just a step up from Rutgers.  Nebraska is due for a little luck on the turnover equation.  I’m thinking the Huskers get three up north and steal one more win for Coach Riley before he leaves Lincoln. Wear Red, Cheer Loud, GBR!!