Reality Check: Nebraska

[Doublewide]

I've been saying this for years. People always love pointing to Nebraska as an example for why Iowa could become an elite program, but there's a reason Nebraska isn't that program anymore, and it'll prevent Iowa from taking the same path.

Well the Big Ten never ever allowed partial qualifiers. Iowa will never be elite. And no one outside of Iowa will ever care about Iowa or ISU. The moment you guys realize Iowa is irrelavant for the most part will do you good. In the grand scheme of things the better you will be off. Nebraska fans will never admit they are done being relevant. But they are/

 

[twinlaker]

Nebraska fans are the latest example to display the "Notre Dame" syndrome. Still believing they're relevant on the national scene, and that they can get the top recruits, because....well you know, they are Nebraska.

 

[IowaFan81]

Well the Big Ten never ever allowed partial qualifiers. Iowa will never be elite. And no one outside of Iowa will ever care about Iowa or ISU. The moment you guys realize Iowa is irrelavant for the most part will do you good. In the grand scheme of things the better you will be off. Nebraska fans will never admit they are done being relevant. But they are/

Who said anything about Iowa being elite? They're talking about Nebraska. But hey it'll all better if ISU fans can just admit they'll never be even average.

 

[HawkeyeWalker]

Well the Big Ten never ever allowed partial qualifiers. Iowa will never be elite. And no one outside of Iowa will ever care about Iowa or ISU. The moment you guys realize Iowa is irrelavant for the most part will do you good. In the grand scheme of things the better you will be off. Nebraska fans will never admit they are done being relevant. But they are/

I would argue Iowa is "relevent" at 8 wins...not elite, not great, and maybe just barely even good...but 8-4 and playing in a decent bowl on JAN 1 is "relevant" even if just barley. '02,'03,'04,'09 were all years Iowa was a top 5-10 program, prior to that you have to go back to the mid 80's for Elite-Top Nation all ranked teams.. Iowa will struggle to ever be Elite outside of a magic year or two very rarely. Iowa is a perrenial "slightly above avg" to "above avg" to "good" program. Iowa State....your correct, outside of Iowa, no one does, or have ever cared....when 7 wins is your pinnacle.

When referring to irrelevance historically, don't lump Iowa in with is, its not close.

Thank You.

 

[528646]

All the Nebraska fans I know are anxiously awaiting the magic antidote that is going to return them to what they believe to be their default setting (which is 13-0 National Championship seasons) - none of them can make themselves believe they are looking @ their default setting.

 

[BILLBUCKNER]

Well the Big Ten never ever allowed partial qualifiers. Iowa will never be elite. And no one outside of Iowa will ever care about Iowa or ISU. The moment you guys realize Iowa is irrelavant for the most part will do you good. In the grand scheme of things the better you will be off. Nebraska fans will never admit they are done being relevant. But they are/

Relevant? Whats the point of having a team and paying a guy 4 million? Our team is relevant to a majority of fb fans in Iowa. Thats all that really matters. I only take time to watch the one fb game the Hawks are in. Are you saying we should just shut down the program because we are not relevant to someone in Texas,Florida,California or NY? We had a great season. Sucks to be an Alabama fan because if the season doesn't end with a NC,it sucked.. What a way to go thru life.

 

[ChosenChildren]

A great discussion. DiNardo of the Big Ten Network actually commented on Nebraska's problems. His argument was that Nebraska is not doing a good enough job of recruiting the best possible players (this has been a struggle for Iowa for years). In other words, you don't win National Championships until you start recruiting the four star and five star players. His conclusion is that Nebraska has to make changes in the way they recruit and attract players (although he wasn't specific about how this is done).

Comparing Iowa and Nebraska to Ohio State, it is clear that Ohio State right now gets better players. The question is why? Do they have better facilities? Is Columbus more attractive than Lincoln or Iowa City? Do they create a better environment for the star athlete? Until you answer this question, Nebraska (and Iowa) will keep coming up short as compared to Ohio State.

So my question is this: Why does Ohio State consistently "out-recruit" Iowa and Nebraska?

 

[eyekwah]

About 30 years ago a fella named Morris Massey wrote a book, What You Are Is Where You Were When. I think the title more or less describes peoples attitudes and behavior. The Nebraska fan that grew up as an adolescent during the 60's, 70',s 80's and until the late 90's was conditioned to the premise that it was superior. Iowa fans that were adolescents during the 80's and 90's got a taste of football success and raised the expectations over those of us who were adolescents during the 60's and 70's, conditioned to futility.

As has been pointed out the "rules" under which the football accomplishments occurred are vastly different. I'm not going to regurgitate them. Hayden Fry had more scholarships to offer than Kirk has had. The same is true for Bo Pelini, Callahan, and Solich, Osborne and Devaney operated under different rules. Essentially some teams rose under the new rules and others succumbed to them. Right now we have some programs that are skirting the "rules" by over-signing and taking away scholarships if the athlete doesn't pan out. What else is going on is anybody's guess. The point is that the "rule" changes cannot be understood by those unwilling to admit or accept them and their impact.

Not all rule changes are written. TV revenue from networks is a long way from being understood. Yet the TV income is being used to build a football facility at Iowa the equal of that of Nebraska. In the same manner the new BBall facility at Lincoln raised the bar. According to ESPN when the new Iowa facility opens in the fall of 2014 it will be near the top of the conference. Nebraska fans frequently point to their facilities, well there are four or more like it just within the Big Ten, let alone nationally.

Is it possible that Nebraska could again have a NC candidate, yes. Just like Notre Dame did last year. But ND is back to where it was two years ago. It is really difficult to have the kind of success that Alabama has exhibited by playing by the rules.

 

[loesshillshawk]

74Hunter you need to face reality my friend. The deck is stacked against schools like Nebraska and even Iowa. Low populations, lack of quality D1 prospects, and weather that quite frankly sucks. Nobody in the current generation even knows who Devaney or Osborne were...nor do they care. You are no longer a blue blood of football...facts is facts. You have not been relevant for the last decade. You cannot lie about facts, I am just comparing you to little old Iowa, because that is how you view us. We have had 4 top 10 finishes, and 4 BCS bowl trips...YOU HAVE 0. What is there to argue...don't give me Callahan and all that BS, Wisconsin comes to mind real quick. Your University made decisions that will haunt them from now to eternity...FACT. Also I have it on reliable sources within the walls on the hallowed halls that the new AD tested the coaching waters and came up with a cold blast of El Nino currents. In layman terms no one wants the Nebraska job...it is a screw the pooch type of thing. Now just accept it and move on. Bo will continue to frustrate your fanbase, but then again what doesn't. You will continue to think your team is of blue blood status, the only thing blue about your University is the crowd...blue hairs! Also while I am on a roll your record of sell outs will continue as TD Ameritrade and Corporate Nebraska will make sure of that. The funniest thing about that is even the NCAA knows what your doing to sell the games out...so even that record is meaningless. I have a quote for you....this quote was ranked #1 quote of all-time by the great Tom Osborne. "My hardest job is to convince the people of Nebraska that 10-1 is not a losing season." This sums it all up for you

 

[imported_ankle23]

Nebraska hasn't done anything since the Big 12 voted to get rid of partial qualifiers in 96.

that, along with the 85 scholarship change, really hurt nebraska. (iowa too, for that matter). schools like iowa, nebraska, with no recruiting hotbed in their back yard, better make sure they have great recruiting classes, because if they don't, it is hard to reload like teams that live in recruiting rich areas.

The 85-scholarship era and Oregon’s rise to power

"Some top programs have continued to flourish no matter what the scholarship limits may be. Southern California has been a powerhouse almost continuously, and legendary programs like Alabama and Texas have also stayed near the top in times of both unlimited scholarships per team and parity-inducing 85-scholarship-limit years. But look at what it’s done to Notre Dame, for example. Their generations of glory end roughly in the mid-1990s with the departure of head coach Lou Holtz.The Fighting Irish aren’t the only top-tier program to slide following the introduction of the 85-scholarship limit. UCLA from 1945-98 played in a whopping 15 January bowls, including 11 Rose Bowls. Since then, the team has played in none. Nebraska can claim all or a share of five national championships, and can claim an astonishing 33 appearances in BCS Bowls or the equally prestigious Cotton Bowl. But they have slid since the team’s last national title concluding the 1997 season. And even before Joe Paterno’s legacy was tarnished and the legendary coached fired due to the Jerry Sandusky scandal, the Nittany Lions peaked as a powerhouse after beating the Ducks in the 1995 Rose Bowl."

 

[DodgerHawki]

A great discussion. DiNardo of the Big Ten Network actually commented on Nebraska's problems. His argument was that Nebraska is not doing a good enough job of recruiting the best possible players (this has been a struggle for Iowa for years). In other words, you don't win National Championships until you start recruiting the four star and five star players. His conclusion is that Nebraska has to make changes in the way they recruit and attract players (although he wasn't specific about how this is done).

Comparing Iowa and Nebraska to Ohio State, it is clear that Ohio State right now gets better players. The question is why? Do they have better facilities? Is Columbus more attractive than Lincoln or Iowa City? Do they create a better environment for the star athlete? Until you answer this question, Nebraska (and Iowa) will keep coming up short as compared to Ohio State.

So my question is this: Why does Ohio State consistently "out-recruit" Iowa and Nebraska?

Do you really need this question answered for you? Ohio's population is 11.5 million people. Iowa less than 3 million, Nebraska less than 2 million. Look at OSU's roster and how many of the kids are from Ohio. When is the last time the state of Iowa produced a QB like Braxton Miller? Never? Yes, OSU supplements by hitting Pennsylvania, New Jersey, other Midwest states as well as Florida and Texas, but over half their roster is from Ohio. And these aren't roster-fillers, these are great players from in-state. Teams like Iowa go into Ohio and try to take the guys that aren't good enough to get OSU offers (Hitchens, Hamilton, Lowery, Donnal, Lowdermilk are a few that come to mind on the current roster).

It's not just about setting out to "get better players." Everyone wants better players. If you expect the coach of Nebraska or Iowa to go into the state of Ohio and get kids that OSU wants, that aint' happening. It's not a "better environment" or whatever Dinardo wants to say, it's the fact that most kids want to stay close to home and play for the in-state power where their family can easily see them play every game.

 

[74Hunter]

Yes, because we all know how awesome those Iowa teams of 1999 and 2000 were.

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but didn't Iowa have some decent teams in the early 80's?

Why is it so difficult for you to understand that times have changed, Nebraska is no longer one of CFB's "elite" programs, hasn't been for more than a decade and likely never will be again? Why?

WTis is the second time you've said this to me. With all due respect, please show me where I've said that NU is still one of the elite teams in CFB. Or please show me where I've been one of the entitled Husker fans.

FYI, I realize that things have changed in CFB and quite frankly, I don't like the entitlement mentality that some of our fans display.

74Hunter you need to face reality my friend. The deck is stacked against schools like Nebraska and even Iowa. Low populations, lack of quality D1 prospects, and weather that quite frankly sucks. Nobody in the current generation even knows who Devaney or Osborne were...nor do they care. You are no longer a blue blood of football...facts is facts. You have not been relevant for the last decade. You cannot lie about facts, I am just comparing you to little old Iowa, because that is how you view us. We have had 4 top 10 finishes, and 4 BCS bowl trips...YOU HAVE 0. What is there to argue...

Again, I can't argue with much of this, please show me where I ever have.

Your University made decisions that will haunt them from now to eternity...FACT.

Not a fact, that is your OPINION, and you are entitled to it. So, what should we do? Since loesshillshawk thinks this way, should we just give up hope of ever being great again?

I'd say no.

Also I have it on reliable sources within the walls on the hallowed halls that the new AD tested the coaching waters and came up with a cold blast of El Nino currents. In layman terms no one wants the Nebraska job...it is a screw the pooch type of thing.

I have no idea if this is true, but the way the last couple of coaching searches went and seeing how USC took it in the shorts, I could see this being very possible.

Now just accept it and move on. Bo will continue to frustrate your fanbase, but then again what doesn't. You will continue to think your team is of blue blood status, the only thing blue about your University is the crowd...blue hairs! Also while I am on a roll your record of sell outs will continue as TD Ameritrade and Corporate Nebraska will make sure of that. The funniest thing about that is even the NCAA knows what your doing to sell the games out...so even that record is meaningless. I have a quote for you....this quote was ranked #1 quote of all-time by the great Tom Osborne. "My hardest job is to convince the people of Nebraska that 10-1 is not a losing season." This sums it all up for you

Now you're just being cheap. C'mon man, you're better than that.