BleedGopher
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per ESPN:
Still, few expected Nebraska to complete its first Big Ten decade at 68-55, 43-41 in conference play. Since 2011, Nebraska ranks 54th nationally in win percentage (.553) and eighth among Big Ten teams. The Huskers have yet to win a league title (their last was in 1999). Their lone division championship came back in 2012, which preceded a 70-31 loss in the Big Ten championship game against Wisconsin, a team only in the game because both Ohio State and Penn State were ineligible.
The extended stretch of mediocrity is jarring for a Nebraska program that won five national titles between 1970 and 1997. From 1963 to 2001, the Huskers captured 22 conference championships (outright or shared) and logged 28 AP top-10 finishes and 22 seasons with 10 or more wins. During the span, Nebraska had only 11 seasons with three or more losses, none with more than four and none with more than three between 1969 and 2001.
The Huskers now have lost five or more games in five of the past six seasons.
"Nebraska is struggling to find its foothold from a leadership standpoint, a style standpoint, a recruiting standpoint," said Damon Benning, a former Huskers I-back who played on national title teams in 1994 and 1995, and now hosts a daily sports talk radio show in Omaha. "Meanwhile, the conference just keeps getting better and better.
"A double whammy."
The question is how much of Nebraska's struggles can be attributed to joining the Big Ten, and how much can be tied to internal reasons. To find out, ESPN spoke to people in and around Nebraska's program since the Big Ten arrival. Some were granted anonymity to speak freely about what they observed. Attempts to interview Frost and Moos were unsuccessful.
Those who spoke describe a program still searching for its identity in an improving conference. Nebraska is rightfully proud of its championship tradition but also somewhat hamstrung by the past, especially as the program navigates recruiting realities and other areas where it no longer holds clear advantages.
The Big Ten has provided the stability Nebraska needed, and the affiliation is still celebrated in academic circles. But others cling to Big Eight nostalgia and haven't embraced Nebraska's position in its newest league.
"You've got to have a plan, and the plan can't be: 'We're going to win a national championship, we're going to get back to national contention," a source said. "The plan has to be: 'Now that we are in the Big Ten, what are the challenges?' I'm not saying temper expectations, but you have to get to: What are we all about, and how are we going to get there?"
www.espn.com
Go Gophers!!
Still, few expected Nebraska to complete its first Big Ten decade at 68-55, 43-41 in conference play. Since 2011, Nebraska ranks 54th nationally in win percentage (.553) and eighth among Big Ten teams. The Huskers have yet to win a league title (their last was in 1999). Their lone division championship came back in 2012, which preceded a 70-31 loss in the Big Ten championship game against Wisconsin, a team only in the game because both Ohio State and Penn State were ineligible.
The extended stretch of mediocrity is jarring for a Nebraska program that won five national titles between 1970 and 1997. From 1963 to 2001, the Huskers captured 22 conference championships (outright or shared) and logged 28 AP top-10 finishes and 22 seasons with 10 or more wins. During the span, Nebraska had only 11 seasons with three or more losses, none with more than four and none with more than three between 1969 and 2001.
The Huskers now have lost five or more games in five of the past six seasons.
"Nebraska is struggling to find its foothold from a leadership standpoint, a style standpoint, a recruiting standpoint," said Damon Benning, a former Huskers I-back who played on national title teams in 1994 and 1995, and now hosts a daily sports talk radio show in Omaha. "Meanwhile, the conference just keeps getting better and better.
"A double whammy."
The question is how much of Nebraska's struggles can be attributed to joining the Big Ten, and how much can be tied to internal reasons. To find out, ESPN spoke to people in and around Nebraska's program since the Big Ten arrival. Some were granted anonymity to speak freely about what they observed. Attempts to interview Frost and Moos were unsuccessful.
Those who spoke describe a program still searching for its identity in an improving conference. Nebraska is rightfully proud of its championship tradition but also somewhat hamstrung by the past, especially as the program navigates recruiting realities and other areas where it no longer holds clear advantages.
The Big Ten has provided the stability Nebraska needed, and the affiliation is still celebrated in academic circles. But others cling to Big Eight nostalgia and haven't embraced Nebraska's position in its newest league.
"You've got to have a plan, and the plan can't be: 'We're going to win a national championship, we're going to get back to national contention," a source said. "The plan has to be: 'Now that we are in the Big Ten, what are the challenges?' I'm not saying temper expectations, but you have to get to: What are we all about, and how are we going to get there?"
Nebraska and the Big Ten: A decade of struggle for stability
In 2011, Nebraska joined the Big Ten in what was a celebrated move, especially for the football team. In the decade since, Nebraska football has struggled to find its footing in an increasingly deep conference and an unfamiliar region.
www.espn.com
Go Gophers!!
