We're back, HCSF has just started this process, but look better than expected.

[SoFL Husker]

First big takeaway from the Spring Game is how much better conditioned these guys look, and there is still summer conditioning and Fall Camp to get better.

Nebraska is stacked at QB, RB and WR. Loaded. OL looks so much better with a lot of bad weight gone. The movement penalties were bound to happen this early. We'll be fine at TE, not a position that will make or break the offensive continuity.

Defense still looks a little confused. Trying to unlearn bad habits from Bo to Riley and learn a new scheme is going to be hard for these guys. Still a lot of tentative movement. Going to be a big ? into Fall Camp as to who starts, but there is talent here, especially up-front.

Seeing a guy like Neal develop on the DL is all I need to see to validate HCSF methods. What an improved player. Nebraska is back. The process has begun.

 

[ajehealth]

Agreed. We will see massive improvement from this spring to next spring. Once they get comfortable with the schemes and can go 100% full throttle, this offensive system is going to score a ton of points per game, especially against the B1G West defenses.

 

[bshirt73]

Agreed. We will see massive improvement from this spring to next spring. Once they get comfortable with the schemes and can go 100% full throttle, this offensive system is going to score a ton of points per game, especially against the B1G West defenses.

Yep, the west is going to have some rough sledding very soon.

My guess is that SF's year two will have us looking eye to eye with Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio State, PSU & Michigan State. Year three......look out!

 

[Red Burns Brighter]

Guys. We are not back. We took a huge step forward. But let’s get real. Some have even said Adrian Martinez is a heisman candidate. This is craziness.

I think we can all agree this team is in great physical shape. I haven’t seen our players this cut since 99. I think we were all scared shitless about our QB situation. I know I was. But Gebbia and Martinez showed they can get this thing going.

We are far from being back. We will be back when we blow out teams by 40 plus points. Ranked or not. We should only really have one game a year where we as fans look at them and think it’s 50/50. Right now I’m looking at 4-5 almost guaranteed losses. Obviously anything can happen. But if anyone truly thinks we stack up with PSU, MSU, OSU and Wisconsin right now, then they are crazy. Heck throw in Iowa as well.

However, I think we take a giant leap forward this season. This spring brought a lot of faith and confidence in this team and it’s potential.

 

[Metalfan_rivals78335]

I think it's a bit premature to say we're back. At this point I hope we're back to .500 or above this year. It will get better going forward I assume. I think we see a change in the energy and excitement in the players but honestly, we need to see how this translates to the field. It's 1 thing seeing guys play in a spring game (and we've all seen huge spring game performances turn into garbage on the field) and what goes on when these guys line up against a team that wants to crush them. We used to have teams that on both sides of the balls wanted to crush everyone in front of them. You hope the mindset changes from where we have been to that. We know SF wants the best for this program and I don't think he's going to let guys quit on the field but it's going to take some time. Old habits die hard. We are looking at starting a kid this year who has never made a college start. Martinez, Gebbia and Bunch all looked solid. Yes, Martinez stole the show but he's 18 and coming off a year where he didn't play. Let's see what happens when he takes a few hits if he is the starter. Does the future look promising? Of course. But it always seems to look that way during spring. So let's just hang back and hope this team takes the necessary steps to attack the season and the future full on. At this point, I'm happy if we wins the games we should this year and if we don't win at least make it a game and don't get laughed out of the stadium.

 

[meo1960]

First big takeaway from the Spring Game is how much better conditioned these guys look, and there is still summer conditioning and Fall Camp to get better.

Nebraska is stacked at QB, RB and WR. Loaded. OL looks so much better with a lot of bad weight gone. The movement penalties were bound to happen this early. We'll be fine at TE, not a position that will make or break the offensive continuity.

Defense still looks a little confused. Trying to unlearn bad habits from Bo to Riley and learn a new scheme is going to be hard for these guys. Still a lot of tentative movement. Going to be a big ? into Fall Camp as to who starts, but there is talent here, especially up-front.

Seeing a guy like Neal develop on the DL is all I need to see to validate HCSF methods. What an improved player. Nebraska is back. The process has begun.

Which bad habits from BO do they have to "unlearn", given that Riley was the head coach here for the last 3 years?

 

[timnsun]

One thing that gives me hope is that Frost took a team that quit (UCF 0-12) and got them to buy in quickly.

UCF wasn’t 0-12 bad, they simply quit on the coaches at some point in that season, similar to our guys last year. He will get things turned around, the question is how long will it take?

 

[Truehuskerfan]

I am already sick of the "we'll be lucky to go .500 this year" stuff. Come on, people. If you really have as much faith in Frost as you say you do, then show it. Look at the schedule. It is not hard at all to see 7 possible wins on there. And that is far, FAR from saying we are back. Those are still pretty low expectations for a program of this caliber-I don't care how difficult a schedule it is. Yet it seems anyone who dares to think that we might do any better than barely making it to a bowl game is accused of putting too much pressure or expecting too much. No-expecting us to barely make a bowl game at best is putting too little pressure. Stop downplaying our team and start showing some of the faith you say you have. People who say we can't play with Wisconsin? Have you paid any attention to our games with them the last few years? We've been playing with them. We took them to OT on the road two years ago for heaven's sake and we played them even last year for most of the game. Now we have an upgrade in coaching and we're told we can't compete with them? That's ridiculous. We can't stack up with Iowa? Really? Talent? Coaching? Who has the better of both?

It seems as though too many people are going overboard on trying not to put too much pressure on this staff. But nobody, not at least any sane person is going to call for any firings this year no matter what happens. Frost is as safe as any coach in the country. There's no need to play the super safe low expectations game.

 

[huskerssalts]

I’m assuming he’s meaning “we are back” in terms of having a great coaching staff finally. The one issue we have had for years. This staff will bring us back to competing with the BIG10. But maybe not back to being top 5 year in and year out. We are a team that can land our share of talent and high 3 star to 4 star players and occasionally the 5 star players (this is more hit and miss). So talent wise, we should be fine, now that we have an elite staff...it’s a matter of time.

I’m not scared shitless of our QB depth, I love what we have and the talent there. Gebbia and Martinez are both freshmen and both have that elite skill set. If it works out right, Martinez will be able to red shirt this year and we can land some more 4 star QBs over the next several year and keep building that position up. One thing we are glaring short is CB, we need talent and depth there, big time. We have some talent there now but that position is hurt in terms of depth. Hopefully we get 3-4 CBs this year and a few or all are 4 star players.

And I agree, it gets old seeing peeps saying 4-5 wins maybe. We have a great staff now and we do have the lead on all the West teams in the terms of talent (it’s close with Wisconsin). If the players buy in and this staff keeps hammering away, we will make a run and keep games competitive. Have a lot of returning starters, yes learning new systems but they do have the D1 experience....which is HUGE. If Gebbia/Martinez can manage are offense good and keep the turnovers down and our defense keeps getting better everyday...we can win some games and maybe even knock off a few teams over reaching this year off. 10-2, 9-3??? No! But 8-4 or 7-6 is truly possible. It really is, with the talent and experience we have back.

 

[Charlie Marlow_rivals363743]

shocked us back to life

 

[z28craz]

I’m not quite ready to say We’re Back. I’ll say that after we win a Conference Championship. Bo said we’re back and here to stay after beating Arizona in the Holiday Bowl, and we really never made it all the way back.

That said, I think this is the best hire and staff we’ve had since TO left in ‘97. Coach Frost is on a meteoric rise and if he can duplicate the system that he implemented at UCF, then our potential to compete and win at the highest levels is exponential. IMO it’s not a matter of “if” it’s a matter of “when.” At UCF he took an 0-12 team and went 6-6 in year one. That’s doubling the win total. If he does that here in year one, that’s puts us at 8-4, which I think is realistic given the schedule. I’m not expecting an undefeated run in year two. He did that in the AAC, I think it’s a little more difficult in the Big Ten.

My thought process is this, first win the West. We have never won the Western Division, haven’t played in the CCG since 2012 when we won the Legends Division. Year one, we narrow the gap between talent, S&C, and coaching against the west. Year two we close the gap completely in the west so that it’s really a 3 horse race between NU, Wiscy, and Herky with Herky really being the underdog in the race. Years 3-5, exploit the gap (we typically out recruit the teams in the west) so that we’re consistently the team to beat in the west. Do that and we’re in position to consistently play in the CCG and have a shot at a playoff. I liken it to what Wisconsin has done. They’ve been in 5 of the 7 CCG’s since we joined the BIG. That consistently has put them in position to win a Conference Title and at least be in the Playoff conversation. There is absolutely no reason that exact same thing can’t happen here and I believe Scott Frost is the man that is going to make it happen.

 

[dand84]

I took we are back to mean the program is back. I 100% agree with that. This program under HCSF is going to rock. In 2018, I still think we are a 6ish win team (6-8 wins). There are missing pieces to this puzzle. There are still players that are not in the shape needed for this system or who are still struggling to pick it up. We have 8 scholarship DBs -- 8. I believe that SF will get the most wins possible out of this group, but I think that number is on the low end still, unfortunately.

 

[BHeinDaHuskers]

I am already sick of the "we'll be lucky to go .500 this year" stuff. Come on, people. If you really have as much faith in Frost as you say you do, then show it. Look at the schedule. It is not hard at all to see 7 possible wins on there. And that is far, FAR from saying we are back. Those are still pretty low expectations for a program of this caliber-I don't care how difficult a schedule it is. Yet it seems anyone who dares to think that we might do any better than barely making it to a bowl game is accused of putting too much pressure or expecting too much. No-expecting us to barely make a bowl game at best is putting too little pressure. Stop downplaying our team and start showing some of the faith you say you have. People who say we can't play with Wisconsin? Have you paid any attention to our games with them the last few years? We've been playing with them. We took them to OT on the road two years ago for heaven's sake and we played them even last year for most of the game. Now we have an upgrade in coaching and we're told we can't compete with them? That's ridiculous. We can't stack up with Iowa? Really? Talent? Coaching? Who has the better of both?

It seems as though too many people are going overboard on trying not to put too much pressure on this staff. But nobody, not at least any sane person is going to call for any firings this year no matter what happens. Frost is as safe as any coach in the country. There's no need to play the super safe low expectations game.

We win 6-8 games this year. That could DOUBLE the amount of wins we had last year. Personally, I believe 7 is what we will hit. Thats not a knock on the program. Rome wasn't built in a day. Heck, even Frost has said many many times that year two is when the players start to get it. The first year is all about developing habits, culture, and expectations. If we can do those three things and win 7 games this year, that is a huge WIN IMO. Year two....I expect 9-11 wins. Year three I expect big ten west championship. Yes our goal is to win em all, but that just isn't reality yet.

 

[litespeedhuskerfan_rivals19671]

We could really use a smokin hawt naughty teacher story......

 

[jlb321_rivals110621]

I am already sick of the "we'll be lucky to go .500 this year" stuff. Come on, people. If you really have as much faith in Frost as you say you do, then show it. Look at the schedule. It is not hard at all to see 7 possible wins on there. And that is far, FAR from saying we are back. Those are still pretty low expectations for a program of this caliber-I don't care how difficult a schedule it is. Yet it seems anyone who dares to think that we might do any better than barely making it to a bowl game is accused of putting too much pressure or expecting too much. No-expecting us to barely make a bowl game at best is putting too little pressure. Stop downplaying our team and start showing some of the faith you say you have. People who say we can't play with Wisconsin? Have you paid any attention to our games with them the last few years? We've been playing with them. We took them to OT on the road two years ago for heaven's sake and we played them even last year for most of the game. Now we have an upgrade in coaching and we're told we can't compete with them? That's ridiculous. We can't stack up with Iowa? Really? Talent? Coaching? Who has the better of both?

It seems as though too many people are going overboard on trying not to put too much pressure on this staff. But nobody, not at least any sane person is going to call for any firings this year no matter what happens. Frost is as safe as any coach in the country. There's no need to play the super safe low expectations game.

These are good points .... and you are right Frost has the safest seat you can have regardless of next year

8 or more wins is certainly possible but is it probable? Maybe it is.

As you have said Frost's job is safe . but I would ask what is the number of wins below which you would say this staff performed below expectations ..ie they did a poor job in year 1. I see a number of people saying 8 which may be accurate - but it also means that in your mind the staff underperformed with a 6-7 win year - their performance review would read "failed to meet expectations".

If you are saying 8 wins that may be reasonable.. but be willing to be critical of the coaching performance if we win less. Likewise 8 wins next year would be "as expected" not overachieving

for me personally there are too many variables in year one to set a win total that would be merely characterized as "meeting expecations" at 8.

 

[bshirt73]

True enough. Boatloads of variables in year one especially.

 

[meo1960]

These are good points .... and you are right Frost has the safest seat you can have regardless of next year

8 or more wins is certainly possible but is it probable? Maybe it is.

As you have said Frost's job is safe . but I would ask what is the number of wins below which you would say this staff performed below expectations ..ie they did a poor job in year 1. I see a number of people saying 8 which may be accurate - but it also means that in your mind the staff underperformed with a 6-7 win year - their performance review would read "failed to meet expectations".

If you are saying 8 wins that may be reasonable.. but be willing to be critical of the coaching performance if we win less. Likewise 8 wins next year would be "as expected" not overachieving

for me personally there are too many variables in year one to set a win total that would be merely characterized as "meeting expectations" at 8.

Why are statements like this:

"As you have said Frost's job is safe"

even being mentioned before a coach has even coached his 1st game. And I don't care which school or which coach, we're talking about.

 

[nu2u]

It starts with line play in the B10. For the most part, you win or lose in the trenches. A good/very good defense can keep you in the game when your O line is not getting the job done but a dominant front 5 is the foundation to winning.

Nebraska has good talent up front but, unfortunately, injuries are a part of the game. The question is how big a drop is their after the first 5-6 OL? Those subs will be counted on to step up when the contenders are being decided in late October and November.

 

[jlb321_rivals110621]

Why are statements like this:

"As you have said Frost's job is safe"

even being mentioned before a coach has even coached his 1st game. And I don't care which school or which coach, we're talking about.

Was simply paraphrasing the poster I was replying to.

And that if you expect 8-9 wins this year then failing to do so would mean the staff failed to meet expectations and that stating so is OK and doesn’t mean the coach should be on the hot seat.

 

[meo1960]

Was simply paraphrasing the poster I was replying to.

And that if you expect 8-9 wins this year then failing to do so would mean the staff failed to meet expectations and that stating so is OK and doesn’t mean the coach should be on the hot seat.

I know. Proly should have responded to the originator of said statement.

 

[Truehuskerfan]

Why are statements like this:

"As you have said Frost's job is safe"

even being mentioned before a coach has even coached his 1st game. And I don't care which school or which coach, we're talking about.

I brought it up only because it's one of the few reasons I can think of why some people have such incredibly low expectations for this season is to play it super safe with the expectations game and make sure we beat those expectations. And I'm asking why anyone feels the need to set the bar so low when you know there is absolutely no way he's going to be fired after this season-or for that matter have his seat really even get warm. Because otherwise, the only way I think you can look at this team and the schedule and not see the opportunity to get 6 wins at the very least is that you really don't believe in this staff as much as you say you do. There are some people talking 9-10 wins for this year. I think that's probably setting the bar a little high(although not completely out of the question) and if that's really what you're expecting, you may be a little disappointed. But I'd a lot rather hear discussion like that then discussion about whether we can make a bowl game or not. There have even been people(not many, but it's been said on here before) who have said that winning only 4 games would be OK for this team. I don't care how difficult this schedule is, to not make any improvement in the win total over last year would be a complete failure for this coaching staff. Even 5 wins would be a big disappointment-yet I've seen even more people who seem to think it's a real possibility. It just makes no sense to me for people to talk about how much they believe in this coaching staff and then turn around and suggest that we may not even make a bowl game. Set your expectations at least a little higher and show that you believe in them as much as you say you do.

 

[SnohomishRed]

I am excited for the year if only to see NU get off to a fresh start and have a chance to come back.

As far as expectations I really do not know what to expect. It would not surprise me if we won 6 games nor would it be completely out of the question to win the West.

Much i believe depends on how well the players buy in and get after the conditioning aspect of things over the summer - If there is 100% effort I think 2018 will surprise a lot of people

 

[8675309husker]

I realize we have a new coach. I am very excited. Last year has made me gun shy about this year. Last year killed me.

 

[NECoach31BB]

This is a 7-9 win team. The difference will be the level of tackling on the back end of the defense and the amount of TO's the offense gives up. The QB will be decided in the fall but Martinez is likely the leader if the shoulder is right.

Saw a lot of progress physically from last year to the spring, that is great. Getting that to get into the execution of the scheme, that will be worth a couple of wins easily. It is coming. Outside shot at division title in 2018, but by 2019 can see the program being a favorite for a place in the Conference title game.

 

[RedOnAir]

I am already sick of the "we'll be lucky to go .500 this year" stuff. Come on, people. If you really have as much faith in Frost as you say you do, then show it. Look at the schedule. It is not hard at all to see 7 possible wins on there. And that is far, FAR from saying we are back. Those are still pretty low expectations for a program of this caliber-I don't care how difficult a schedule it is. Yet it seems anyone who dares to think that we might do any better than barely making it to a bowl game is accused of putting too much pressure or expecting too much. No-expecting us to barely make a bowl game at best is putting too little pressure. Stop downplaying our team and start showing some of the faith you say you have. People who say we can't play with Wisconsin? Have you paid any attention to our games with them the last few years? We've been playing with them. We took them to OT on the road two years ago for heaven's sake and we played them even last year for most of the game. Now we have an upgrade in coaching and we're told we can't compete with them? That's ridiculous. We can't stack up with Iowa? Really? Talent? Coaching? Who has the better of both?

It seems as though too many people are going overboard on trying not to put too much pressure on this staff. But nobody, not at least any sane person is going to call for any firings this year no matter what happens. Frost is as safe as any coach in the country. There's no need to play the super safe low expectations game.

I think a lot of this is people who liked Mike Riley don't like that people who like Scott Frost are more willing to give Frost the benefit of the doubt than they ever did Mike Riley. I'm not saying this is you, True, but this has been a drum beat going for a few months now and it is even more weird than people with low expectations.

The expectations are low because the talent on this team is questionable at best. There are very few guys that you look at now and think "Yeah, that guy could play with some of the best we've had here." I happen to think a lot of people are underselling the talent we have. I think we have better than 4-8 players. Not championship quality players, but not "worst season in 6 decades" players either.

These players were poorly coached. That's why I say the talent is questionable. With the right guy leading them (which I think Frost is), they could be very successful. It could also be that they really are 4-8 talent and Frost getting 6 wins would be a miracle. Mike Riley and his gang of doof-troopers are lower than replacement level coaches, and if you aren't factoring that in, you probably think that this team just flat out sucks as players, thus the low expectations.

 

[meo1960]

I brought it up only because it's one of the few reasons I can think of why some people have such incredibly low expectations for this season is to play it super safe with the expectations game and make sure we beat those expectations. And I'm asking why anyone feels the need to set the bar so low when you know there is absolutely no way he's going to be fired after this season-or for that matter have his seat really even get warm. Because otherwise, the only way I think you can look at this team and the schedule and not see the opportunity to get 6 wins at the very least is that you really don't believe in this staff as much as you say you do. There are some people talking 9-10 wins for this year. I think that's probably setting the bar a little high(although not completely out of the question) and if that's really what you're expecting, you may be a little disappointed. But I'd a lot rather hear discussion like that then discussion about whether we can make a bowl game or not. There have even been people(not many, but it's been said on here before) who have said that winning only 4 games would be OK for this team. I don't care how difficult this schedule is, to not make any improvement in the win total over last year would be a complete failure for this coaching staff. Even 5 wins would be a big disappointment-yet I've seen even more people who seem to think it's a real possibility. It just makes no sense to me for people to talk about how much they believe in this coaching staff and then turn around and suggest that we may not even make a bowl game. Set your expectations at least a little higher and show that you believe in them as much as you say you do.

Sounds Reasonable. My objection was to even using that phrase before even 1 game has been played.

From where I sit, it's obvious that our weight program is doing wonders for the players as they look great!

If I had to rank the QB's, from the Spring Game, I'd put em.
1a - Martinez
1b - Bunch
3 - Gebbia
4 - Vedral

Well, here's my way too early prognosis:
W=Win;L=Loss;
TW(Toss-up but if I had to bet, I'd bet Win)
TL(Toss-up but if I had to bet, I'd bet Loss)

W - 09/01 Akron
W - 09/08 Colorado
W - 09/15 Troy
L - 09/22 @Michigan
W - 09/29 Purdue
L - 10/6 @Wisconsin
TL - 10/13 @Northwestern
TW - 10/20 Minnesota
--- 10/27 - BYE
L - 11/3 @Ohio State
W - 11/10 Illinois
TW - 11/17 Michigan State
TW - 11/23 @Iowa

or, I expect to win 5
(Akron, Colorado, Troy, Purdue, Illinois)

I expect to Lose 3
(@Michigan, @Wisconsin, @Ohio St)

Toss Ups 4(@Northwestern, Minnesota, Michigan St., @Iowa)

Best - 9-3
Worst - 5-7
My Guess - 8-4

According to more than 1 site I looked at, Nebraska has the 2nd most difficult schedule in the country and the B1G has 6 of the top 10 most difficult schedules.

1. Michigan
2. Nebraska
3. Rutgers
7. Indiana
8. Northwestern
10. Maryland

Gonna be an exciting season. GBR!

 

[bshirt73]

I think a lot of this is people who liked Mike Riley don't like that people who like Scott Frost are more willing to give Frost the benefit of the doubt than they ever did Mike Riley. I'm not saying this is you, True, but this has been a drum beat going for a few months now and it is even more weird than people with low expectations.

The expectations are low because the talent on this team is questionable at best. There are very few guys that you look at now and think "Yeah, that guy could play with some of the best we've had here." I happen to think a lot of people are underselling the talent we have. I think we have better than 4-8 players. Not championship quality players, but not "worst season in 6 decades" players either.

These players were poorly coached. That's why I say the talent is questionable. With the right guy leading them (which I think Frost is), they could be very successful. It could also be that they really are 4-8 talent and Frost getting 6 wins would be a miracle. Mike Riley and his gang of doof-troopers are lower than replacement level coaches, and if you aren't factoring that in, you probably think that this team just flat out sucks as players, thus the low expectations.

Good post! It makes nothing but common sense. After going through the brutal last three years it's just natural to have limited expectations. Then, add on to that the schedule we have this year.

Smiling Mike & SE did some heavy damage to NU's cfb program. While most fans are thrilled with SF being here we're not sure how quickly he can turn the bus around. My guess is eight wins this year....but it's just a guess.

 

[timnsun]

Good post! It makes nothing but common sense. After going through the brutal last three years it's just natural to have limited expectations. Then, add on to that the schedule we have this year.

Smiling Mike & SE did some heavy damage to NU's cfb program. While most fans are thrilled with SF being here we're not sure how quickly he can turn the bus around. My guess is eight wins this year....but it's just a guess.

The problem isn’t those who think we win eight games this year. The frustration is with those who say we may win five or six games at best.

If Frost is as good as people say he is (And I believe he is), why is the bar set so low? Schedule is tough, but Frost can overcome much of that with good coaching and a better conditioned team.

For the record, I agree that we can get to 8 wins.

 

[Truehuskerfan]

I think a lot of this is people who liked Mike Riley don't like that people who like Scott Frost are more willing to give Frost the benefit of the doubt than they ever did Mike Riley. I'm not saying this is you, True, but this has been a drum beat going for a few months now and it is even more weird than people with low expectations.

That is not me at all. I completely understand that Scott Frost gets more benefit of the doubt from a lot of people, and I don't disagree with it. Number 1, obviously the fact he's a former player earns him that. Even aside from that fact, the circumstances dictate giving him more of the benefit of the doubt anyway considering what he is taking over, and the fact that we need some stability after making two coaching changes in 3 years. I'm all for giving Frost all of the benefit of the doubt he needs. I just don't think he needs as much as some people are giving him because I think we're going to see real improvement this year in the results.

 

[RedOnAir]

That is not me at all. I completely understand that Scott Frost gets more benefit of the doubt from a lot of people, and I don't disagree with it. Number 1, obviously the fact he's a former player earns him that. Even aside from that fact, the circumstances dictate giving him more of the benefit of the doubt anyway considering what he is taking over, and the fact that we need some stability after making two coaching changes in 3 years. I'm all for giving Frost all of the benefit of the doubt he needs. I just don't think he needs as much as some people are giving him because I think we're going to see real improvement this year in the results.

I agree. I think 8 wins is attainable. Hell I think 9 could be done if I’m right about the talent level. I’m also not going to be pissed at 6-7. I have so few expectations because we aren’t “Nebraska” anymore. I’m not going to make any kind of claim, bold or otherwise, on where this team sits. The Spring Game fires me up though

 

[TribecaHusker]

I am already sick of the "we'll be lucky to go .500 this year" stuff. Come on, people. If you really have as much faith in Frost as you say you do, then show it. Look at the schedule. It is not hard at all to see 7 possible wins on there. And that is far, FAR from saying we are back. Those are still pretty low expectations for a program of this caliber-I don't care how difficult a schedule it is. Yet it seems anyone who dares to think that we might do any better than barely making it to a bowl game is accused of putting too much pressure or expecting too much. No-expecting us to barely make a bowl game at best is putting too little pressure. Stop downplaying our team and start showing some of the faith you say you have. People who say we can't play with Wisconsin? Have you paid any attention to our games with them the last few years? We've been playing with them. We took them to OT on the road two years ago for heaven's sake and we played them even last year for most of the game. Now we have an upgrade in coaching and we're told we can't compete with them? That's ridiculous. We can't stack up with Iowa? Really? Talent? Coaching? Who has the better of both?

It seems as though too many people are going overboard on trying not to put too much pressure on this staff. But nobody, not at least any sane person is going to call for any firings this year no matter what happens. Frost is as safe as any coach in the country. There's no need to play the super safe low expectations game.

I’m with you 100%. This coaching staff made early moves we haven’t seen in decades — quickly upgrading a crummy recruiting class (an amazing accomplishment that many gloss over), getting serious about conditioning and quickly changing lost and confused attitudes. Based on star ratings when they were recruited we have much more talent than the likes of Iowa, Northwestern, Purdue, and Minnesota (though, admittedly our talent is still behind the BIG elites). Yet the coaches aren’t making any excuses either. They are completely serious and won’t let this team quit or get rolled over. I agree with you that we’ll win at least 8 and challenge in many more.

 

[bshirt73]

That is not me at all. I completely understand that Scott Frost gets more benefit of the doubt from a lot of people, and I don't disagree with it. Number 1, obviously the fact he's a former player earns him that. Even aside from that fact, the circumstances dictate giving him more of the benefit of the doubt anyway considering what he is taking over, and the fact that we need some stability after making two coaching changes in 3 years. I'm all for giving Frost all of the benefit of the doubt he needs. I just don't think he needs as much as some people are giving him because I think we're going to see real improvement this year in the results.

I seriously doubt there are many fans who think SF won't improve NU's cfb results. The only real question is how long will it take? With two losing seasons in the last three years it's pretty obvious why some have reserves about year one "and" with its schedule.

With only four pitiful wins last year it's an open question how much talent SF has to work with in year one.

But yes, it also makes sense for immediate improvement as SF isn't a career long loser like our previous HC was. I see where you're coming from. I'm just not sharp enough to grasp all the variables.

 

[SnohomishRed]

The problem isn’t those who think we win eight games this year. The frustration is with those who say we may win five or six games at best.

If Frost is as good as people say he is (And I believe he is), why is the bar set so low? Schedule is tough, but Frost can overcome much of that with good coaching and a better conditioned team.

For the record, I agree that we can get to 8 wins.

I think considering how poorly we looked coming into this year with any expectations on win/losses is a bit unfair. No one is setting the bar down at this level, its just that we have no idea what we have for talent or how the players pick up the schemes.

I believe we will be better - better conditioned, better coached and better effort from the players. I think this will equate to more competitive games how many wins this equates is really not important this year - what is more important is effort and culture

 

[huskerfan1414]

I still think people underestimate just how terrible we were last season. I dont think people comprehend it, and some might not want to.

Having said that I fully expect to be bowl eligible which is definite progress. How many wins Ill have a guess closer to the sason.

 

[SilentCommit]

First big takeaway from the Spring Game is how much better conditioned these guys look, and there is still summer conditioning and Fall Camp to get better.

Nebraska is stacked at QB, RB and WR. Loaded. OL looks so much better with a lot of bad weight gone. The movement penalties were bound to happen this early. We'll be fine at TE, not a position that will make or break the offensive continuity.

Defense still looks a little confused. Trying to unlearn bad habits from Bo to Riley and learn a new scheme is going to be hard for these guys. Still a lot of tentative movement. Going to be a big ? into Fall Camp as to who starts, but there is talent here, especially up-front.

Seeing a guy like Neal develop on the DL is all I need to see to validate HCSF methods. What an improved player. Nebraska is back. The process has begun.

I'm a KoolAid guzzling whackadoo, but I don't think "we're back" is something we can say at the moment. I get that our perspective should be optimistic, and I certainly am. But 8 wins? Where are they?

- New Offense
- Second year Defensive scheme
- 4 and 8 in 2017
- The 4 wins were nailbiters
- New coaching staff
- New QB, possibly a true freshman
- Top 5 difficulty schedule

Add that up and tell me this is an 8 to 10 win team in 2018. Be optimistic if they line up right, appear to have a plan, and don't quit when they are losing. Make a bowl game? Throw a party. Temper your enthusiasm, peeps.

 

[Truehuskerfan]

Lesser coaches have taken worse teams(yes, people there have been worse teams than our team last year) and made as big or bigger improvements in one year. Jeff Brohm took a 3-9 Purdue team that was worse than our 4-8 team and had less talent and got them to 6 wins regular season(plus a bowl win) with a schedule that included a non-conference game against Louisville, and conference road games against Iowa, Northwestern and Wisconsin(sound familiar?). But it's supposed to be iffy at best that Scott Frost can make a 2 game improvement? Come on.

 

[73 Red I]

These are good points .... and you are right Frost has the safest seat you can have regardless of next year

8 or more wins is certainly possible but is it probable? Maybe it is.

As you have said Frost's job is safe . but I would ask what is the number of wins below which you would say this staff performed below expectations ..ie they did a poor job in year 1. I see a number of people saying 8 which may be accurate - but it also means that in your mind the staff underperformed with a 6-7 win year - their performance review would read "failed to meet expectations".

If you are saying 8 wins that may be reasonable.. but be willing to be critical of the coaching performance if we win less. Likewise 8 wins next year would be "as expected" not overachieving

for me personally there are too many variables in year one to set a win total that would be merely characterized as "meeting expecations" at 8.

Why does it have to be said "Frost job is safe next year." That is obvious given the length and amount of his contract. Nebraska fans would be crazy to call for his head even if goes 4-8 the next two years. The University can't afford the buy out and you tell me who in their mind would want to coach here. Frivilous discussion point.

 

[HuskerDana_rivals188993]

We could really use a smokin hawt naughty teacher story......

RollingLaugh

 

[HuskerDana_rivals188993]

I’m assuming he’s meaning “we are back” in terms of having a great coaching staff finally. The one issue we have had for years. This staff will bring us back to competing with the BIG10. But maybe not back to being top 5 year in and year out. We are a team that can land our share of talent and high 3 star to 4 star players and occasionally the 5 star players (this is more hit and miss). So talent wise, we should be fine, now that we have an elite staff...it’s a matter of time.

I’m not scared shitless of our QB depth, I love what we have and the talent there. Gebbia and Martinez are both freshmen and both have that elite skill set. If it works out right, Martinez will be able to red shirt this year and we can land some more 4 star QBs over the next several year and keep building that position up. One thing we are glaring short is CB, we need talent and depth there, big time. We have some talent there now but that position is hurt in terms of depth. Hopefully we get 3-4 CBs this year and a few or all are 4 star players.

And I agree, it gets old seeing peeps saying 4-5 wins maybe. We have a great staff now and we do have the lead on all the West teams in the terms of talent (it’s close with Wisconsin). If the players buy in and this staff keeps hammering away, we will make a run and keep games competitive. Have a lot of returning starters, yes learning new systems but they do have the D1 experience....which is HUGE. If Gebbia/Martinez can manage are offense good and keep the turnovers down and our defense keeps getting better everyday...we can win some games and maybe even knock off a few teams over reaching this year off. 10-2, 9-3??? No! But 8-4 or 7-6 is truly possible. It really is, with the talent and experience we have back.

Great post. Deserves more 'likes'.

 

[Charlie Marlow_rivals363743]

there is no common way to define 'we're back'. It means different things to different people. Or even the same thing applied to different things.

For me, I don't think we are back, but I feel like we are on our way back. Which is good enough for now.