A Friend Indeed
9 comments so far
October 20, 2007 by
"Adversity is not your enemy. Adversity is also your friend�, Nebraska’s interim Athletic Director Tom Osborne said this week at the Big Red Breakfast. Case in point: Nebraska’s struggles with athletic quarterbacks lead to the switch to an option offense that took the Huskers to new plateaus in the 1980’s.
Well adversity asked to crash on Nebraska’s couch when USC came to town and it hasn’t left yet. In fact, it seems likely after Nebraska’s loss to a struggling Texas A&M team that the unwanted houseguest will be present through November at least.
But Dr. Tom wasn’t wrong either. “Good is the enemy of great� as my good friend Darren likes to say. The Huskers have clinched their fourth consecutive season with at least four losses. Considering Nebraska football hadn’t lost four games in a season once from 1969-1997, it’s fair to say it doesn’t sit too well with locals in Lincoln. Even if the Big 12 is tougher than the Big 8, even if the Huskers have tougher out-of-conference schedules than in the past, even if there are more scholarship limitations, and even if there’s more parity now than ever before in college football, four losses is more than Husker fans want to see year-in and year-out.
Each of these bad losses at home make it less and less likely for the status quo to be maintained. You can’t delude yourself if you’re sitting with a 4-8 record that you can use the same approach to get dramatically better results. A 4-8 record (or 5-7) all but guarantees changes will be made. Our friend adversity is pushing us toward much more drastic action.
The saddest part is that psychologically Husker fans have turned the page on this season. If the Huskers did go 9-4 or 10-4 (which no one expects) there wouldn’t be partying on O street. And there would be no excitement in going 8-5 or 7-6. So there’s no more hope of expectation for this season. The seniors will unceremoniously finish there careers and mostly be forgotten (except perhaps as cautionary tales).
Instead we start scouting head coaches and prominent assistants from other teams and wonder how they’d look in Nebraska Red. While we don’t know the candidates for replacement, at this point it’s hard to imagine this entire staff returning intact. Adversity won’t hear of it. If that ultimately leads us to a place where 3 or fewer losses become the norm again then we’ll ultimately be the better for it. And we’ll have our friend adversity to thank.
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OU7times Oct 20 07
You know, for some strange reason 9 wins always seems to be the magic number. To go from "partying" in the street (O) after a 9 or 10 win season in comparison to an 7 win or 8 win season that would be perceived as "no excitement", seems pretty drastic. For Nebraska, the number one should be concerned with is 6 (bowl eligibility). There should be no shame for having a down season if you take into account Steve's observation that the Big 12 is "tougher" than the Big 8 conference was. Too high of expectations, especially now, is what might make filling the head coach position the difference between getting another Bill Callahan or a Pete Carroll,for the next coach. The rebuild will certainly take more than 4 years to reach 9 wins and be consistent staying there. Who is really willing to get involved in that? Hypothetically, if Pete C. were to take the job and only win 6 games for 2-3 years, the fans would be breathing down his neck and he's the biggest name out there right now. Parity is here and we all have to live with the fact that OUR teams are not likely to have dominance like we once had in the Big 8 heydays. BTW, If anyone would say "let's not jump to conclussions about head coaching changes just yet", needs to take into account recent remarks about T.O. being "crusty" and trying to "run things from Washington" made by BC (he did not deny these comments) along with all of the other "incidents" mentioned in prior posts. T.O. won't stand for this behavior any longer, I'm just pretty sure.
teamster Oct 20 07
The staff will resign soon, effective at the end of the regular season.
www.huskerextra.com
Life In The Red
Buzzy Oct 21 07
Hey teamster- I would not look for BC to resign. I believe that he gave up his buyout in return for his extension which means that he has no severence $$ if he walks away. The only way he gets the $$ is if he is fired. I may have this wrong though. How about a little help out there?
Are we really needing a Pete Carroll? Seems like Bob Devaney was Bob Who? One or two years as head coach at Wyoming. Tom Osborne was Tom Who? Offensive coordinator at NU. These guys were never commanding top salaries when they got here and are the two guys who created the NU legend. I look forward to the firing of BC and real soon at that. It is year 4 of BC's offense and recruits and we have just been outscored 122-34 in our last 3 games. Everyone has been hopping mad at KC over the 122 but how about this exciting "West Coast Offense" putting up 11 pts per game? These guys are running an offense and defense that don't work and the kids know it. So the plays don't work and they have lost confidence and no one is trying to end the nightmare. BC's only salvation is for someone to fire him so he can get his $$ and move on. Not much motivation to try to shock this code-blue team back into life. With all due respect top Tom Novak , Bill Callahan should now be known as "Train Wreck". Kevin Cosgrove should be known as TW2. Good Lord. Will someone please give Turner Gill a shot. Turner Who??
ze Oct 21 07
First, I give credit to Mizzou and Mizzou Fan for their 'W' over TTech, which I did not think would happen. Tigers have the better team, though Tech had a number of drops in the first half which screwed things up for them. Mizzou had the better overall team and especially their D. Mizzou looks like the favorite in the North and I'd just as soon have them win it as anybody.
NE is the surest bet now in a topsy turvey cfb world. With parity apparently ruling things now, it's clear that it hasn't effected NE, they're just consistently bad from week to week--god forbid they could play over their heads, make a stir, and 'upset' anybody.
Don't worry though fans, Calli's gonna make the necessary corrections this week going into the TX game: thank Allah that he and Coz have been doing that all along 'cause this season could've gotten ugly.
McGee, an average at best option QB put up career #'s against the D--who'd a thunk?
These coaches are soooo gone.....
Greg Morrow Oct 21 07
Every once in a while I'll hear a comment referring to an "entire state" pulling for the Cornhuskers. The population of that state is under 1.8 million. A state that compares with Nebraska "passion wise" would be Alabama.
Population 4.6 million.
Shoot, San Diego county, where I live, has a population of 2.9 million. San Diego county produces more D-1 prospects too, btw.
Even Okie more than doubles Nebraska's population.
As a hysterical "tree hugger" might say: "it's an inconvenient truth."
Sure, per capita financial commitment to the program is wonderful. I'm always impressed when I hear about "deep pockets" willing to help out.
Gotta admit, I felt "triumphal" when Pederson and Callahan got extended with fat raises.
I'd love to help contribute to necessary changes, but, "things are tough all over".
Even NFL teams, who print money, pause at eating over $7 million to cover a GM and HC, for example.
For a state institution for write that off is, well, "apocryphal"!
Andrew Oct 21 07
If adversity is are friend, I don't want anymore friends, just don't got the time to keep up with them all.
Andrew Oct 21 07
A nice little piece on Callahan. Poor guy.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/nfl/20071021-9999-1s21nflsub.html
ze bop Oct 21 07
GO REDSOX, GO PATRIOTS, WOOOHOOO!
O.k., so if every 'man, woman, and child' in Big Red Nacione would contribute 5 bucks as of now, we could buy out the current coaches and usher in the new regime and be 8-4 and back in the Alamo bowl in 2 years--wooohooo!
I am so000 not up for the 'NE Rebuild Saga, Phase III'--hey, call me in five years when we're good again.
In the mean time I'll send in my $5 money order--woohoo!
James Moore Oct 22 07
Well I've seen North Carolina basketball go 11-19. I've watched Alabama football stay asleep for years. Currently we are watching a helpless Notre Dame team (they haven't had a season this bad since Gerry Faust's final. Oklahoma was in hibernation for a big part of the 90's. This is beyond painful to watch (sure that this is a widespread sentiment) but I do believe that we will sort this out, perhaps a little sooner than we all expect. We DO have talent on both sides of the ball. We DO have wonderful facilities. We DO have a fantastic program that will not be run into the ground. We'll be OK, obviously not this year, but we will sort this out.