Osborne had his share of critics. Fans have a way of becoming spoiled by national championships. By 1978 Nebraska had experienced a string of 9-3 seasons, and it seemed like Nebraska had been passed up by not only Oklahoma, but possibly Missouri (losses in 1973, '74, '76, and '78) as well. It really wasn't until the amazing run from 1982-84 that things settled down, and people started to think Osborne was going to get Nebraska a few more championships.
Grumbling was well underway again by 1993. Nebraska had been 2-9 in bowl games from 1983-93, with four losses coming at the hands of Florida State, and three more to Miami. Conventional wisdom at the time was that the game had passed Osborne by. He was the nice guy who couldn't win the big game. That his slow, plodding "three yards and a cloud of dust" offense from the 1950's couldn't keep up with the modern, very quick, teams from Florida. The low point was probably the 1991 season, my sophomore year at UNL, as Colorado had gone 2-0-1 against Nebraska from 1989-91, and the bowl games weren't very competitive.
The crazy thing was that there were split polls for the championships in both 1990 and 1991, and Nebraska had played (and lost to) all four of those teams. That 1991 Washington team was one of the best ever. So it wasn't like they were losing to teams like Northern Illinois or Troy. But they were finishing seasons ranked in the mid-teens, and that was getting old. But you know how it turned out. Everybody loves a happy ending.
We'll see what happens. Nebraska could play almost exactly like last season, and still be 7-2 going into the Wisconsin game. The difference might be the ability to turn those 3-5 point losses into wins. Finishing with 8-9 wins and a bowl would at least get Nebraska back to where they were under Pelini, and help quiet the critics. Last season they didn't really start to play better until about their sixth game, which is where we are now.