Like many of you, the Vibe is completely confused at this point. Last week’s thrashing by Michigan was a shock to many, including myself. There is no real good explanation for what we saw. We are 0-3 for the first time since the end of WWII. I think that fact alone goes a long way in explaining our confusion and inability to comprehend the stutter steps we are seeing at the onset of the Frost era.
You would have thought that the last 15 years of “mediocrity” at best, would have prepared us better for this and frankly made us less incensed. As one person reminded me “why after 15 years of this do us Husker fans feel entitled to anything more that what we see on the field today?” Good question.
Just last night, I had an SEC fan (whom I personally respect), give me and Husker Nation a pretty major dressing down…something he kept referring to as a “reality check”. Here is just a sampling:
- Nebraska has always been a paper tiger.
- How hard was it for Nebraska to run up 9-win seasons year after year when they only had one real game every year…Oklahoma.
- Had Nebraska played in the SEC at that schedule for the last 50 years they would have been mediocre at best.
- What has Nebraska don since the Big 12 was created? Now that they joined the Big Ten the paper tiger is really showing the true reality.
- Why were/are Nebraskans so quick to welcome back Scott Frost when out of high school he choose to go to Stanford because he thought they were better.
- Why do Nebraskans think Frost is going to fix everything when all he did was take what Chip Kelly developed at Oregon and mimic it at UCF, where the toughest regular season game UCF played last year was a middle of the road Memphis. He even had an excuse why UCF was able to beat Auburn…that made some sense.
I say all this because this is clearly what a lot of people outside of Nebraska thinks, and while this was quite a bit more harsh than it needed to be, the comments were sobering to hear.
Now, before anyone jumps completely off the Frost bandwagon after just three games, let me say that I think much of what my SEC friend had to say is not accurate…especially when you know it came from an Arkansas fan. However, I do think we need to be honest with the current situation and accept the fact that this is going to take some time. More time than any of us might have imagined.
Nebraska has lost 9 out of their last 10 games. Ironically, their last win came last year in West Lafayette against Purdue. Frost has coached only three of those games. We have lost six straight home game (now over a year), which explains why a 1-3 Purdue is favored by 3.5 points over a 0-3 Nebraska tomorrow in Lincoln.
I do belief Scott Frost and this staff are on the right path. Culturally, I think things were fare worse that anyone knew and it will take time to turn this around. As fans, there is not much we can do but sit back and watch. Scott ISN’T GOING ANYWHERE for years and years. And I will continue to say if the 2017 consensus National Coach of the Year, who happens to be a native Nebraskan and who has chosen to come back to his alma mater – can’t fix Nebraska and get us back to respectability, then Nebraska can’t be fixed.
We just need to RELAX. Things are eventually going to be just fine. Don’t take my word, even a former CU Buff says the same…here.
So what about Purdue?
- Go coach, good skill players on offense.
- Been a bit snake-bit like Nebraska.
- Respectable defense.
- Will come into Lincoln with a similar attitude the Troy had…nothign to lose and everything to gain.
And Nebraska?
- We need this win in the worst way. This is a turning point type game for this team. We can start putting the train back on the tracks Saturday, or we can suffer a derailment that will last the rest of the season.
- It will come down to the coaching staff’s ability to inspire these players to play better football with less un-forced errors.
- We SHOULD win this game. Then again, we should have won the CU and the Troy game as well.
Expect a close contest. With two pretty evenly matched teams, it will likely come down to which teams makes fewer mistakes. The Vibe is not entirely sure that will be Nebraska, but we can always hope.
Cornhuskers – 27
Boilermakers – 24
Go Big Red!
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