Memo to High School Athletes: Avoid Lincoln, Neb., at all costs.
At least until traditional juggernaut and college football linchpin Nebraska can hire somebody who can actually be a championship-winning head coach.
As a defensive coordinator, current Husker head man Bo Pelini is as good as it gets.
For as good as he is as a coordinator, Pelini is inept offensively and couldn’t lead his troops to a frat party. His constant tirades to his quarterbacks, especially in 2010 with a redshirt freshman of all things, were inexcusable.
No wonder why former ballyhooed signal-caller Cody Green is seeking a job elsewhere. Green never seemed like a good fit at Nebraska.
It wasn’t his fault. Green was never utilized correctly.
Last season when quarterback Taylor Martinez was becoming a state hero, Pelini clearly wasn’t pleased.
Pelini erupted on his quarterback constantly when things weren’t going according to plan. Pelini was irritated, obviously, because his defense was outstanding at times while his offense oddly sputtered in strange times.
It’s not like Nebraska is terrible. They are a solid candidate to win the… whatever Division they are in… in the Big Ten in 2011. It is the Dungeons or Dragons Division?
A national title contender? Not in a million years. Not with the murderer’s row schedule Nebraska will see in 2011.
Welcome to the Big 10, Huskers.
You could hardly excuse Pelini and Nebraska if it were to schedule three teams from the Football Championship Subdivision next season because of the conference schedule.
However, Nebraska has some tricky non-conference games after opening the season with a name-the-score game against Chattanooga on Sept. 3 in Lincoln.
Fresno State the following week at home isn’t going to be a cakewalk. Name a Fresno State team that’s ever bad.
It seems to alternate years, but there are times where the Dawgs from ‘The Valley’ are beating some highly-ranked Pac-12 team. Fresno State is due for another huge upset sooner or later.
(Pac-12 is still strange to say.)
On Sept. 17 will be a Washington team the Huskers split with last season. After mauling the Huskies and ruining Jake Locker’s draft stock in a visit to Seattle last season 56-21—a game that was honestly worse than the final margin indicated—Locker beat the Huskers in the Holiday Bowl just three months later.
There is the point about Pelini. There is no excuse for hanging-half-a-hundred on a BCS Conference team on the road, only to lose to the same team on a neutral field just the blink of an eye later.
It doesn’t make any sense.
Following a visit to Wyoming (why?), the Huskers get started in the Big Ten on the road against a BCS Bowl team last season, Wisconsin.
The next week, Ohio State in Lincoln. Despite all the turmoil in Columbus, Ohio State will figure out a way to contend next season. The game looks more winnable on paper today than it did three months ago, but it is not going to be easy.
Michigan State at home on Oct. 29, at Penn State, at Michigan, at home to round out the season against Iowa.
That’s not even mentioning a home game with Northwestern sandwiched between Michigan State and Penn State. Michigan State won 11 games last season before looking extremely slow against Alabama in the bowl game.
Pelini was out coached significantly in every single loss last season, especially against Texas in Lincoln. The game against Texas last season was supposed to be Pelini’s coming of age party in Lincoln.
Come to think of it, Pelini has been out coached in every single one of his losses with the exception of 2008 at Virginia Tech.
It wouldn’t have mattered if Texas finished 5-7 last season, which it did. A win over Texas would have been a sweet way to end its life in the Big 12.
Instead, the “second coming of Peyton Manning” (according to most Texas fans before last season), local boy Garrett Gilbert leads his Texas team in rushing to pull the upset in Lincoln.
Nebraska didn’t lose to Texas because of Gilbert’s running ability. Nebraska sure as heck didn’t lose because of Gilbert’s “laser, cannon arm (to quote Texas fans before last season again).”
Nebraska lost because Pelini lost his mind on a young quarterback that was struggling with the athleticism of Texas. No matter how you slice it, Texas had the better athletes on the field that day, which is why they stole a 20-13 victory despite a poor season.
Pelini’s best offensive weapon, Martinez, lost his confidence and eventually was benched.
Mack Brown owned Pelini, period. Nebraska had a gift-wrapped chance to get one over on the University that forced Nebraska to leave the league—which is as accurate of a statement as it comes—but failed miserably.
Nebraska fans deserve better than that. Sometimes Nebraska fans get a little carried away with fandom, just as they do at Ohio State, Oklahoma, USC, Notre Dame, you name it. That’s the nature of the beast.
Did former athletic director Steve Pederson get this one right by passing over him and opting for the coaching black hole known as Bill Callahan?
Okay, that’s the most ridiculous question ever asked because the answer is “absolutely not.” Callahan’s offenses wouldn’t score on Pelini’s defense. Ever.
Pelini’s team of 2009 and 2010 would beat any of Callahan’s teams like scarlet-headed-stepchildren. No disrespect to the players under Callahan because it clearly wasn’t the fault of the players that their head coach was an idiot.
How many players from the 2006 defense played in the NFL? All 11 starters? The 2006 defense had the tools to be one of the best ever to play in Lincoln, but the head coach dropped the ball by throwing footballs all over the yard in 32-degree weather.
A stupid fake punt call in the Cotton Bowl later (a game in which I attended), the Callahan-era, thankfully, was headed downhill fast.
Pelini isn’t the worst head coach ever. Former offensive coordinator Shawn Watson became the fall guy for an offense that inexplicably disappeared at times. Mike McNeill may have been one of Nebraska’s best offensive weapon in 2010, only to become invisible. McNeill may as well not even bothered to show up.
How much longer will Nebraska fans be patient with four-loss seasons on a consistent basis?
You could argue with some success Nebraska could lose four games in 2011.
Nebraska a national title contender?
The Huskers will look great against inferior talent, but struggle against opponents that have great athletes.
Nebraska will finish 9-3 next season, lose in the Big Ten title game, and win its Alamo Bowl game.
How long will Pelini stick with Martinez before hooking him for redshirt freshman Brion Carnes?
Remains to be seen.
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