presidentjlh
New member
I know that, for those of you who are familiar with me on here, I have a reputation for pessimism and negativity, which I'll not deny. I am a pessimist by my nature. With that said, it would be completely unfair to the program to pretend that this season is exactly the same as the past 7 or so. We got to a bowl. We got a win over a good Colorado team. The defense showed a lot this season. Rhule showed willingness to make a change in bringing in Holgo. It is not all negative. We finally got the bowlless streak off our backs, something that was truly embarrassing for this program. So credit is due there.
That said, I think we'd all be lying if we didn't say this season was a severe disappointment. It's not so much the losing as how they lost: It's the same thing we've seen for years, hell, decades now honestly: Self-implosions. Mistakes. No program in the country is more masochistic than Nebraska. I am not joking when I say thoughts of a curse have crossed my mind, because, frankly, some of it I don't feel I can explain. We've been a statistical anomaly for multiple seasons.
I think it would be unfair to attribute it all to the coaches and players. Luck genuinely has been absolutely cruel to us. There's some bounces of the ball that just should not go that way that many times in a row. However, that only goes so far. This was not a fun season. It sure started out a fun season. Even after the debacle at Bloomington, the season was more than salvageable. But it was only barely salvaged.
I think in the Wisconsin game, we saw a good glimpse of what this team could be when they stop hurting themselves so much. There is clearly a good team under the crap, a truly wretched team does not do what Nebraska did to Wisconsin and Colorado (even considering how down of a season Wisconsin had). This, of course, only makes it more frustrating. In my opinion, the UCLA game was the least acceptable loss. The Indiana game was certainly far more embarrassing. But the UCLA game was truly inexcusable to even lose. Most of us felt Indiana was at best a tossup. Not so with UCLA. That still surprised me how flat we came out.
We learned:
There are pieces here of a good team and that good coordinating makes a difference. Yes, the O looked bad against Iowa, but Holgo has already improved the offense as far as I can tell.
The defense show greatness at times but flaws at other times.
Foley needs to go and frankly should be charged with fraud. Credit to John Hohl for finding his legs near the end, and Buschini was good, but otherwise, there is nothing positive about our special teams.
Satterfield needs to go just to get him out.
The honeymoon for Rhule is over.
Overall, I give the season a D grade. 6 wins keeps it from an F. But it's nothing impressive, and it's still very disappointing overall.
That said, I think we'd all be lying if we didn't say this season was a severe disappointment. It's not so much the losing as how they lost: It's the same thing we've seen for years, hell, decades now honestly: Self-implosions. Mistakes. No program in the country is more masochistic than Nebraska. I am not joking when I say thoughts of a curse have crossed my mind, because, frankly, some of it I don't feel I can explain. We've been a statistical anomaly for multiple seasons.
I think it would be unfair to attribute it all to the coaches and players. Luck genuinely has been absolutely cruel to us. There's some bounces of the ball that just should not go that way that many times in a row. However, that only goes so far. This was not a fun season. It sure started out a fun season. Even after the debacle at Bloomington, the season was more than salvageable. But it was only barely salvaged.
I think in the Wisconsin game, we saw a good glimpse of what this team could be when they stop hurting themselves so much. There is clearly a good team under the crap, a truly wretched team does not do what Nebraska did to Wisconsin and Colorado (even considering how down of a season Wisconsin had). This, of course, only makes it more frustrating. In my opinion, the UCLA game was the least acceptable loss. The Indiana game was certainly far more embarrassing. But the UCLA game was truly inexcusable to even lose. Most of us felt Indiana was at best a tossup. Not so with UCLA. That still surprised me how flat we came out.
We learned:
There are pieces here of a good team and that good coordinating makes a difference. Yes, the O looked bad against Iowa, but Holgo has already improved the offense as far as I can tell.
The defense show greatness at times but flaws at other times.
Foley needs to go and frankly should be charged with fraud. Credit to John Hohl for finding his legs near the end, and Buschini was good, but otherwise, there is nothing positive about our special teams.
Satterfield needs to go just to get him out.
The honeymoon for Rhule is over.
Overall, I give the season a D grade. 6 wins keeps it from an F. But it's nothing impressive, and it's still very disappointing overall.
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