Moments after Nebraska destroyed Arizona 33-0 in the
2009 Holiday Bowl, Husker head coach Bo Pelini said over the loudspeaker,
“Nebraska is back and is here to stay.”
That win culminated a 10-4 season in which Nebraska
won six of seven games to close the season with the lone loss being a 13-12
defeat to Texas in the Big XII Title Game. The Huskers went 9-4 in Pelini’s
first season in 2008 and despite the 2009 win-loss record not being what most
fans would like, you at least got the feeling the program was trending up. Instead,
the Huskers went 10-4 in 2010 and 9-4 in 2011, trending down at the end of both
seasons. In 2010, Nebraska went 5-4 after a 5-0 start and in 2011, the Huskers
were 6-1 and seemed poised for a trip to the Big Ten Title Game but closed the
season with a 2-3 record.
Every time the Huskers have a moment that makes
people take notice, whether it’s the aforementioned Holiday Bowl win, the 56-21
road win over Washington in 2010 or a 24-3 home win over Michigan State, you
hear statements like, “Nebraska’s back.” The phrase, “We’re back!” is an
expression often times uttered when a perennially outstanding team hits a
valley (be it for a year or a few years) and struggles before rebounding.
Nebraska football is like that fallen champion trying to rebound. From
1962-2001, the Huskers epitomized consistency even beyond their five National
Championships. It was not a matter of “Are we going to a bowl game?” It was a
matter of “Which one?”
From 2002-2007, there was a lot of mediocrity in going 44-28 but even that record was inflated by a 10-3 campaign in 2003. After that season, then athletic director Steve Pederson (that phony, disingenuous and deceitful piece of crap) got on his podium after firing Frank Solich and justified a 58-19 tenure by saying, “I refuse to let this program gravitate toward mediocrity.” Pederson has since been replaced by Tom Osborne and returned to the University of Pitts-puke!
Pederson’s hire of Bill Callahan made mediocrity look inviting as Nebraska went 27-22 with two losing and bowl-less seasons under Callahan.
Pelini enters his fourth season and while his era has been an improvement over the Callahan debacle, Nebraska is no closer to being “back” than it was at the end of the 2009 season. Can this team get to the point of being “back” with Pelini as its coach? Yes but there is a difference between being “on the way back” and “being back.” If you are driving Eastbound on I-80 and you’ve reached Des Moines, Iowa, you don’t say, “We’re in Chicago now,” you say, “We’re on our way to Chicago.”
So as the Huskers open their 2012 season Saturday at home against Southern Mississippi on Saturday, I ask, what constitutes Nebraska being “back?” Well, being “back” means different things to different people.
From 2002-2007, there was a lot of mediocrity in going 44-28 but even that record was inflated by a 10-3 campaign in 2003. After that season, then athletic director Steve Pederson (that phony, disingenuous and deceitful piece of crap) got on his podium after firing Frank Solich and justified a 58-19 tenure by saying, “I refuse to let this program gravitate toward mediocrity.” Pederson has since been replaced by Tom Osborne and returned to the University of Pitts-puke!
Pederson’s hire of Bill Callahan made mediocrity look inviting as Nebraska went 27-22 with two losing and bowl-less seasons under Callahan.
Pelini enters his fourth season and while his era has been an improvement over the Callahan debacle, Nebraska is no closer to being “back” than it was at the end of the 2009 season. Can this team get to the point of being “back” with Pelini as its coach? Yes but there is a difference between being “on the way back” and “being back.” If you are driving Eastbound on I-80 and you’ve reached Des Moines, Iowa, you don’t say, “We’re in Chicago now,” you say, “We’re on our way to Chicago.”
So as the Huskers open their 2012 season Saturday at home against Southern Mississippi on Saturday, I ask, what constitutes Nebraska being “back?” Well, being “back” means different things to different people.
What if Nebraska goes say, 12-2, wins their first
conference since 1999 but falters back to being say a perpetual 7-5 or 8-4
team? That would qualify as being a flash in the pan. Just like Arizona State
in 1996.
If the team is a consistent 9-4 to 11-2 team but occasionally (say every 6-8 years) goes say 13-1 or better and vies for a National Title, then I think you can say “Nebraska is back.”
If the teams goes on a run like 1993-1997 where it goes 60-3 – now that’s a program that is “back.” However, runs like that come along once a generation. We might never see a run like that again from any team let alone ours.
The main thing is to be consistent. And if a coach manages a roster with the emphasis on building a “program” rather than “a team,” then the recipe for consistent success is there.
If the team is a consistent 9-4 to 11-2 team but occasionally (say every 6-8 years) goes say 13-1 or better and vies for a National Title, then I think you can say “Nebraska is back.”
If the teams goes on a run like 1993-1997 where it goes 60-3 – now that’s a program that is “back.” However, runs like that come along once a generation. We might never see a run like that again from any team let alone ours.
The main thing is to be consistent. And if a coach manages a roster with the emphasis on building a “program” rather than “a team,” then the recipe for consistent success is there.
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