junior4949
New member
I just read where Penn State, Alabama, and Notre Dame are all in the top 10. It has been many, many years since this has happened. Neither of the 3 above mentioned have had the success that we have had at Nebraska in the last 10 years, but all are having more now. Alabama and Notre Dame both have different coaches than they had 4 years ago. I believe Alabama is on it's 4th coach in 4 years (that's counting Price).
Alabama has had numerous violations and had probation from NCAA. Alabama is working from reduced scholarship numbers. Yet, they're ranked in the top 10. It's phenomenal if you think about it the way Alabama has responded. Franchione bolted out of Alabama once more infractions were uncovered after the 2002 season. Price came in, and we all know how that situation erupted. These players have been through a lot, yet they have prevailed. Alabama hasn't had a top 10 recruiting class for quite some time, but they continue to do one thing: WIN.
Notre Dame has had a lot of ups and downs the past 10 years. They fired their coach last year who some thought had the program going into the right direction. It was discussed extensively before the year started how tough it would be for Notre Dame to win due to their extremely high academic standards. Many analysts felt like it was a no win situation because the best athletes more than likley wouldn't be able to meet those strigent academic standards. Urban Meyer passed on what he once was quoted as saying was a "dream job". In comes Weiss (sp). He said he didn't care about the academic standards because he needed extremely intelligent players to run his scheme. Notre Dame hasn't had a top 10 recruiting class for quite a while either. Yet, they are in the top 10.
Penn State has been catching a lot of flack the past 4 years about having a coach that was too old and out of touch with modern day football. He's coming off of a 4-7 season. Many alumn's and fans were calling for Joe Pa's job begging him to step down. They are 6-0, and they are in the top 10. He has changed his offense to a spread option, and he had an outstanding recruiting class this year. He has many freshmen making immediate impacts with 3 having stellar years. It has been said that the best recruits won't come to Penn State because they aren't as flashy as some of the other colleges running the WCO. Yet, Penn State is undefeated and ranked in the top 10.
None of us know how any of these teams will finish out the year. However, I think we can draw some distinct differences between those teams and ours. NU is a storied program just like the 3 above mentioned, but NU has not had nearly as much adversity of any of these schools. Only one of the three has helped turn around their teams with recruits. The other two are doing it through coaching, scheme, and probably some luck. We have been sold a bag of goods by Steve Pederson. We were told that great recruiting would bring us back to the promise land. We were told that we needed a pro style offense to get these great recruits. Alabama and Notre Dame are not winning because of recruits. Penn State is not winning with the WCO.
Football is just like anything else in life. In order to succeed, you must first believe. Football is still 70 percent mental and 30 percent physical. We do not need to have the best recruits in the land to return to excellence. Tom Osbourne never had a top recruiting class, but he found a way to win with what he had. It really doesn't matter what offense is ran as long as it is executed correctly. If Notre Dame had recruited the same class we had coming into this year, 1/3 of those recruits never would have made the academic standards. Oklahoma has fallen on hard times this year. It is not due to a lack of talent as they've had top 10 recruting classes the last 4 years. It's due to lack of confidence, leadership, and execution.
Nebraska may make it back on top, but it won't be because we have the best athletes or because we have the WCO. It will be because our players believe in each other, believe in the coaching staff, and they believe they will win no matter what. We're getting there one game at a time. However, it must be noted that we are relying more and more from recruits that were not BC's. BC is learning a lot about the college game right now. He's learning that pieces or the puzzle can't simply be found in the off season. He's learning to rely more heavily upon veteran players. He's learning that college kids don't have the time or motivation to devote their undivided attention to football. The team is growing together right now, but we're still fragile. One big set back could easily have a hangover affect for the rest of the season as happened last year after the TT game. We're getting there, but we're not there yet. The point of all this is: 1) the WCO is not what will make us contenders again. 2) great recruits are just that, but they are not necessarily a recipe for winning as they will never be bigger than the game itself!
Alabama has had numerous violations and had probation from NCAA. Alabama is working from reduced scholarship numbers. Yet, they're ranked in the top 10. It's phenomenal if you think about it the way Alabama has responded. Franchione bolted out of Alabama once more infractions were uncovered after the 2002 season. Price came in, and we all know how that situation erupted. These players have been through a lot, yet they have prevailed. Alabama hasn't had a top 10 recruiting class for quite some time, but they continue to do one thing: WIN.
Notre Dame has had a lot of ups and downs the past 10 years. They fired their coach last year who some thought had the program going into the right direction. It was discussed extensively before the year started how tough it would be for Notre Dame to win due to their extremely high academic standards. Many analysts felt like it was a no win situation because the best athletes more than likley wouldn't be able to meet those strigent academic standards. Urban Meyer passed on what he once was quoted as saying was a "dream job". In comes Weiss (sp). He said he didn't care about the academic standards because he needed extremely intelligent players to run his scheme. Notre Dame hasn't had a top 10 recruiting class for quite a while either. Yet, they are in the top 10.
Penn State has been catching a lot of flack the past 4 years about having a coach that was too old and out of touch with modern day football. He's coming off of a 4-7 season. Many alumn's and fans were calling for Joe Pa's job begging him to step down. They are 6-0, and they are in the top 10. He has changed his offense to a spread option, and he had an outstanding recruiting class this year. He has many freshmen making immediate impacts with 3 having stellar years. It has been said that the best recruits won't come to Penn State because they aren't as flashy as some of the other colleges running the WCO. Yet, Penn State is undefeated and ranked in the top 10.
None of us know how any of these teams will finish out the year. However, I think we can draw some distinct differences between those teams and ours. NU is a storied program just like the 3 above mentioned, but NU has not had nearly as much adversity of any of these schools. Only one of the three has helped turn around their teams with recruits. The other two are doing it through coaching, scheme, and probably some luck. We have been sold a bag of goods by Steve Pederson. We were told that great recruiting would bring us back to the promise land. We were told that we needed a pro style offense to get these great recruits. Alabama and Notre Dame are not winning because of recruits. Penn State is not winning with the WCO.
Football is just like anything else in life. In order to succeed, you must first believe. Football is still 70 percent mental and 30 percent physical. We do not need to have the best recruits in the land to return to excellence. Tom Osbourne never had a top recruiting class, but he found a way to win with what he had. It really doesn't matter what offense is ran as long as it is executed correctly. If Notre Dame had recruited the same class we had coming into this year, 1/3 of those recruits never would have made the academic standards. Oklahoma has fallen on hard times this year. It is not due to a lack of talent as they've had top 10 recruting classes the last 4 years. It's due to lack of confidence, leadership, and execution.
Nebraska may make it back on top, but it won't be because we have the best athletes or because we have the WCO. It will be because our players believe in each other, believe in the coaching staff, and they believe they will win no matter what. We're getting there one game at a time. However, it must be noted that we are relying more and more from recruits that were not BC's. BC is learning a lot about the college game right now. He's learning that pieces or the puzzle can't simply be found in the off season. He's learning to rely more heavily upon veteran players. He's learning that college kids don't have the time or motivation to devote their undivided attention to football. The team is growing together right now, but we're still fragile. One big set back could easily have a hangover affect for the rest of the season as happened last year after the TT game. We're getting there, but we're not there yet. The point of all this is: 1) the WCO is not what will make us contenders again. 2) great recruits are just that, but they are not necessarily a recipe for winning as they will never be bigger than the game itself!
