World Herald: Lipstick on a pigskin — Lamenting 15 years of Nebraska football failure

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per the Omaha World Herald:

These are facts:

» 67 — That’s the number of FBS programs with an 11-win season since Nebraska last did it (2001). That includes 41 of 64 Power Five peers.

» 52 — FBS programs with a top-20 finish since Nebraska last did it (2010), including 43 Power Fives.

» 45 — FBS programs with a top-10 finish since Nebraska last did it (2001).

» 43 — Power Five programs with a conference title since Nebraska last did it (1999).

» 27 — FBS programs with a better win percentage than Nebraska since 2002.

And finally, Nebraska hasn’t beaten a top-five opponent since Oct. 27, 2001. More than 60 programs have done it since then.

Despite all the evidence — Nebraska’s loss to Northern Illinois, Ohio State’s 62-3 win over NU a year ago and last week’s 24-point betting line — our gut reaction Saturday night was shock.

Why?

We knew Nebraska couldn’t play with Ohio State. But we see all the bells and whistles — all the features of a big-time program — and we swear our football eyes must be deceiving us.

We look at history and see that for 40 years, no college football program in America won more than 76.1 percent of its games ... except Nebraska, which won 83.3 percent. (Frank Solich could’ve lost every game in 1999, 2000 and 2001 and the Huskers still would be No. 1 over that span.)

We feel the goose bumps of the same Tunnel Walk music that animated Tom Osborne’s teams. We hear the same pregame prayer that Christian Peter recited. We see Heisman Trophy winners introduced during timeouts. We see the five national championship seasons listed everywhere. That’s Nebraska!

It was.

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/footba...cle_cb0be3c8-b52e-11e7-859a-6f0b836f473b.html

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
We hear the same pregame prayer that Christian Peter recited. We see Heisman Trophy winners introduced during timeouts.
Click to expand...

Long before Ray Rice suited up for an NFL game, years before the video of him knocking out his then-fiancée triggered national outrage, there was another player who epitomized the ugly link between football and violence against women.

His name is Christian Peter, and the police in Lincoln, Neb., knew him well.

During his career as a defensive lineman at Nebraska from 1991 to 1995, he was arrested eight times, convicted four times and accused of assaulting four women. The impact of that violent, troubled history has surfaced anew.

That's Nebraska!
 

Good article link. It's odd, though, how the author fails to mention the Big 12s vote to eliminate Proposition 48 non-qualifiers (vote spearheaded by Texas) as a major negative turning point for Nebraska football. That was previously a major point of differentiation for Nebraska. Many attribute Tom Osborne's retirement to this and it was a factor in Nebraska's disillusionment with the Big 12 and the 800 pound gorilla Texas.
http://www.omaha.com/huskers/blogs/...cle_cd95808c-22b2-11e6-ba44-db372b5df934.html
 

I have news for the Huskers
Keep changing your coaching staffs and see where that gets you
changing every few years for whatever reason is bad for any program.

In Iowa Kirk has had his seat so hot that it burns but their administration knows to keep the faith of course it does help to have a good coach to keep
 

Honestly, why does a kid want to go to Nebraska anymore?
 


Hey Husker fans welcome to our world. A program with limited local/regional P5 football recruits and memories of national championships in years past. Tom Osborne saw it coming. Prop 48, the loss of their Texas recruit connection by moving to the B1G and the lack of a ‘special’ AD who has the courage to deliver the bad news and develop a bold plan. Let’s see how their fan base handles it in 50 years.
Welcome to the outer reaches of the B1G. It can get lonely out here. At least we have hockey and women’s volleyball.
 

Homecoming King said:
Hey Husker fans welcome to our world. A program with limited local/regional P5 football recruits and memories of national championships in years past. Tom Osborne saw it coming. Prop 48, the loss of their Texas recruit connection by moving to the B1G and the lack of a ‘special’ AD who has the courage to deliver the bad news and develop a bold plan. Let’s see how their fan base handles it in 50 years.
Welcome to the outer reaches of the B1G. It can get lonely out here. At least we have hockey and women’s volleyball.
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Should be women's hockey and women's volleyball.
 

Whytetale said:
Should be women's hockey and women's volleyball.
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Men's has won 8 of the last 11 conference season titles, in the Frozen Four 2 of the last 5; 5 of the last 15 including 2 Nat'l Championships. Played in Nat'l Championship game in 2014.
 

PMWinSTP said:
Men's has won 8 of the last 11 conference season titles, in the Frozen Four 2 of the last 5; 5 of the last 15 including 2 Nat'l Championships. Played in Nat'l Championship game in 2014.
Click to expand...

And are consistently beaten by the in state schools. We should be like Bama in football.
 









beavergopher said:
Yup.
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The UND games last year were the most exciting hockey games I have ever been too. They pulled out all the stops, and then everything was back to mostly boring the next series. They didn't keep any of the extra stuff, I was so disappointed. My favorite part was them adding a light that flashed a Block M on the ice in front of the opposing net when we scored, I really wanted to see it stay.

EDIT: And similar to football, there is like no one in their seats for March-Around (like pregame for football) and maybe half the fans in their seats for puck drop.
 


PMWinSTP said:
If Gophs are not the Bama equivalent in hockey, who is?
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Men's hockey it would probably be Michigan with 9 NCAA championships, followed by North Dakota with 8, Denver 7, Wisconsin 6, U of M three way tie with Boston College and Boston University at 5. We have had great periods spaced out by large stretches of good.

Side note
Michigan + Northern Michigan + Lake Superior State + Michigan State + Tech = 19
Colorado College + Denver = 9
Boston University + Boston College + Harvard = 11
U of M + UMD = 6

Which seems to refute out assertion that we are the "State of Hockey". At the frozen four they hang up all the championship banners, it's pretty humbling for a Minnesotan to see what our contribution has been.

In Women's we have 6 championships in 17 years followed closely by UMD with 5. With 11 of 17 titles we are definitely the "State of Women's Hockey"
 

LakerFan said:
Men's hockey it would probably be Michigan with 9 NCAA championships, followed by North Dakota with 8, Denver 7, Wisconsin 6, U of M three way tie with Boston College and Boston University at 5. We have had great periods spaced out by large stretches of good.

Side note
Michigan + Northern Michigan + Lake Superior State + Michigan State + Tech = 19
Colorado College + Denver = 9
Boston University + Boston College + Harvard = 11
U of M + UMD = 6

Which seems to refute out assertion that we are the "State of Hockey". At the frozen four they hang up all the championship banners, it's pretty humbling for a Minnesotan to see what our contribution has been.

In Women's we have 6 championships in 17 years followed closely by UMD with 5. With 11 of 17 titles we are definitely the "State of Women's Hockey"
Click to expand...

This supports the assertion that Minnesota is the state of hockey:

DMhQpbeWsAAaorU.jpg:large


Among U.S.-born players in the NHL, we have 10 of the top 20 hometowns, 5 of the top 10, and the top 3 overall. I don't have the time to sit and do the math right now, but at first glance it appears that the MSP metro has produced nearly as many current NHL players as the rest of the U.S. combined.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Among U.S.-born players in the NHL, we have 10 of the top 20 hometowns, 5 of the top 10, and the top 3 overall. I don't have the time to sit and do the math right now, but at first glance it appears that the MSP metro has produced nearly as many current NHL players as the rest of the U.S. combined.
Click to expand...

We also have the most NCAA appearances of any team at 37 and have done so with rosters made of nearly 100% Minnesotans. With the strangeness of hockey in a 1-and-done series it probably makes more sense to look at appearances. Many of the other teams in the mix have used a large share of Canadians.

I would put Minnesota, Michigan, NoDak, BU, Denver, and BC as all top programs. Hard to differentiate.
 

LakerFan said:
Men's hockey it would probably be Michigan with 9 NCAA championships, followed by North Dakota with 8, Denver 7, Wisconsin 6, U of M three way tie with Boston College and Boston University at 5. We have had great periods spaced out by large stretches of good.

Side note
Michigan + Northern Michigan + Lake Superior State + Michigan State + Tech = 19
Colorado College + Denver = 9
Boston University + Boston College + Harvard = 11
U of M + UMD = 6

Which seems to refute out assertion that we are the "State of Hockey". At the frozen four they hang up all the championship banners, it's pretty humbling for a Minnesotan to see what our contribution has been.

In Women's we have 6 championships in 17 years followed closely by UMD with 5. With 11 of 17 titles we are definitely the "State of Women's Hockey"
Click to expand...

Mich has not won a championship in almost 20 years, and two in the past 50.
 

Word said:
We also have the most NCAA appearances of any team at 37 and have done so with rosters made of nearly 100% Minnesotans. With the strangeness of hockey in a 1-and-done series it probably makes more sense to look at appearances. Many of the other teams in the mix have used a large share of Canadians.

I would put Minnesota, Michigan, NoDak, BU, Denver, and BC as all top programs. Hard to differentiate.
Click to expand...

Yep, agree. U also holds winning records against all other consistently elite programs except BU (tied).
 

In all fairness on the hockey front, Minnesota has seven. The 1929 NAIA and the 1940 AAU count just as much. The Frozen Four didn't exist yet but the Gophers still played and earned their hardware, so with our NCAA titles we have a solid seven in my book.

Back to the conversation about Nebraska, I remember the commentators bringing this up when we beat them in 2014. They mentioned something along the lines about this being the new normal for the school. It's clear that they've certainly not reached the success that they had in the 90s but it's not like the past 17 years have been completely terrible. Since 2000 they've had seven division titles, eight ranked finishes in the top 25, seven bowl wins and 13 winning seasons. I don't know if they're ever going to be winning national titles again, but considering their resources I wouldn't be surprised if they have good seasons like Wisconsin has had recently, 10-3 or 11-2, something like that.
 

The "State of Hockey" is not about championships it's about the culture of hockey that permeates the state. Fleck would understand.
 

Didn’t know I was on GPL. Good to see some hockey discussion on here. Too bad the GH staff doesn’t cover it

Gopher Hockey’s closest comp in football is longhorn football. Surprisingly low national championships given how well known the program is, better in state talent that anyone, a ton of other in state programs, it’s own TV deal, etc
 

IceBoxGopher said:
Back to the conversation about Nebraska, I remember the commentators bringing this up when we beat them in 2014. They mentioned something along the lines about this being the new normal for the school. It's clear that they've certainly not reached the success that they had in the 90s but it's not like the past 17 years have been completely terrible. Since 2000 they've had seven division titles, eight ranked finishes in the top 25, seven bowl wins and 13 winning seasons. I don't know if they're ever going to be winning national titles again, but considering their resources I wouldn't be surprised if they have good seasons like Wisconsin has had recently, 10-3 or 11-2, something like that.
Click to expand...

247 Sports has a pretty good college football recap column every week, and I thought of this thread when I noticed a comment in a paragraph about Northwestern's recent winning streak:
"The Wildcats are beating good teams, and it has reached the soft portion of its schedule with Nebraska, Purdue, Minnesota and Illinois left on the schedule."

I am sure Nebraska fans will be excited to learn the national press considers Nebraska part of the "soft portion" of Northwestern's schedule! No comment about the Gophers also being included.

https://247sports.com/Article/CFB-Overtime-What-you-need-to-know-from-Week-9-action-109633376
 

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