Nebraska Football 2024

[mrsticka]

Well, I am going to watch the bowl game because I haven't seen Nebraska play in one in 8 years.

[CBJason]

If anybody wants to provide commentary on any of my points, feel free.

I wasnt expecting much more than an improvement on last season. I thought 6-6 was my acceptable floor, and 8-4 was my ceiling.

And then...

I was surprised they beat Colorado, at all, but so soundly at that. Colorado is now where we'd like to be, 9-3, and looking good doing it.

I was surprised they even started 5-1, let alone barely missing out on starting 6-0.

They had Ohio state on the ropes, and that's putting it lightly.

Hey, we finally beat Wisconsin

The bar was pretty low, SO, 6-6 is technically better than 5-7, etc.

Am I really happy? No. It could have been much better. There were lots of opportunities for it to be better. But, my expectations weren't too high. It was only when they surprised me with the 5-1 start that I started to get hyped. And I should have known better.

Im okay with breaking the longest bowl-less streak in the country. It's a start.

I agree with Cowboy and Brad, This year was an underachievement based on Rhule’s previous track record, 7-8 wins should have been a floor. Especially when they lost to the 2 weak SoCal teams, one being at HOME! Also, I’m starting to see what Omaha79 has been saying about Raiola, especially when it comes to his down field passing. They have lot’s of things to iron out in the offseason.

[CBJason]

Against the really good teams this formula won’t work thats why Ohio State blew them out, and you will most likely never win a national championship, but it will get you 6-10 wins a year. And will make for happy Hawkeye fans and a long head coaching career.

Ehhh, I’d say Hawkeye fanbase is over that at this point! I know I am

[nebugeater]

Well, it'll take looking at next year to hash that out.

But for now, we do have the bowl to look forward to. It's better to sh!t in a toilet bowl than nowhere to sh!t at all

Either location, and I would bet the odds are in the favor of a fumble.

[Busguy2010]

Eh, well I guess we'll all be looking at it differently then. I consider this season an underachievement, yes, but a failure, no. A failure to me would have been another losing season. No, 6-6 isn't much better, but it is better. The bowl game itself doesn't matter to me, whether they win that or not. Probably won't even watch it. They're just glorified scrimmages at this point.

[nebugeater]

THe value of the bowl game is the extra practices. This is even more of a benefit if they can keep Holgorsen as OC. The game itself has little importance at all

[CBJason]

THe value of the bowl game is the extra practices. This is even more of a benefit if they can keep Holgorsen as OC. The game itself has little importance at all

It’ll be interesting to see if he has head coaching aspirations again

[nebugeater]

THe value of the bowl game is the extra practices. This is even more of a benefit if they can keep Holgorsen as OC. The game itself has little importance at all

It’ll be interesting to see if he has head coaching aspirations again

My guess is he will, but it may be a year or two down the road.

[Omaha Cowboy]

I agree with Cowboy and Brad, This year was an underachievement based on Rhule’s previous track record, 7-8 wins should have been a floor. Especially when they lost to the 2 weak SoCal teams, one being at HOME! They have lot’s of things to iron out in the offseason.

Correct..

This season really doesn’t feel different than last season.. 5-7, 6-6..take your pick. The Huskers played pretty much the same both seasons- stupid football, mental errors at the most in opportune times, wild inconsistency (explain Colorado and Ohio State, then the disaster at Indiana, the at home loss to a bad UCLA team..and the usual meltdown against Iowa after outplaying them for 90% of the game).. Nope- 2023 and 2024..These seasons are the SAME to me- both underachieving failures. Nebugeater is correct- the only real benefit of the “frozen pond bowl” the Huskers will play in, is the extra few weeks of practice.. If this team would have won the 8 games they SHOULD HAVE WON, they would have rewarded their fan base with a nice bowl trip to a nice location..and really built on that momentum for 2025 (like Colorado likely will).. I could argue had they defeated Iowa, this could still have been accomplished.. But alas- No can do..

The first call of order, is to increase the intelligence- Football IQ- of this team as a whole.. Develop mental toughness, get over the “here we go again” mentality, and BE CONSISTENT.. It starts with attracting the kind of player who fits this mold..talent alone will not get the Huskers over the hump..

The eye test doesn’t lie…

Ciao..LiO…Peace

[damonhynes]

Also, I’m starting to see what Omaha79 has been saying about Raiola, especially when it comes to his down field passing. They have lot’s of things to iron out in the offseason.

Raiola will get better, the question is: Where?

[Louie]

Also, I’m starting to see what Omaha79 has been saying about Raiola, especially when it comes to his down field passing. They have lot’s of things to iron out in the offseason.

Raiola will get better, the question is: Where?

You expecting a transfer?

[Busguy2010]

You always have to worry about that. But honestly, he didnt play that great. Thats not really a knock on him either. He played like a freshman with potential learning the ropes. It's not like they plugged in Tom Brady at the Bucs, in a difference maker, win a championship now situation. I dunno if that's what others were thinking was going to happen.

[nebugeater]

You always have to worry about that. But honestly, he didnt play that great. Thats not really a knock on him either. He played like a freshman with potential learning the ropes. It's not like they plugged in Tom Brady at the Bucs, in a difference maker, win a championship now situation. I dunno if that's what others were thinking was going to happen.

HE played about what I thought he would with the talent around him and that freshman effect. He showed moments of what can be along with freshman jitters.

I do not see him transferring this year. I believe that chance grows big time with a poor season next year.

[damonhynes]

Also, I’m starting to see what Omaha79 has been saying about Raiola, especially when it comes to his down field passing. They have lot’s of things to iron out in the offseason.

Raiola will get better, the question is: Where?

You expecting a transfer?

I believe it's within the realm. I disagree with NEBugeater--the better of a sophomore season he has, the more likely Georgia comes calling for the 2026 season. If he plateaus, the shoppers will pass on him and Nebraska enjoys the fruits of his labor.

[Louie]

Rumors swirling that FSU will be stealing Tony White as their new DC, along with DL coach Terrance Knighton.

[omaha79]

The Iowa game was unfortunate, but predictable at this point. It's become a wash, rinse, repeat scenario: outplay the Hawkeyes for 3.5 quarters, only to lose at the end. But, this has absolutely nothing to do with talent at this point. It is entirely lack of discipline, bad decision making, and an overall soft mentality.

I was surprised and pleased to see that nebraska absolutely dominated the line of scrimmage for most of the game, but it didn't amount to any points after the 2nd quarter. That's another issue. This team never really has had the ability to string together two quality halves in most games this season. They'd play a fantastic first half, like Colorado, and look terrible int he 2nd. Same against Iowa.

You could tell what the wise old fox Ferentz was doing the entire time. Had a few 4th and 1's and he punted every time. I absolutely guarantee every team that plays Nebby tells their players, "Just play your game. I promise you Nebraska will make a critical error at a moment that will cost them this game. They do it in nearly every close game. You just have to be ready to take it. We won't chase this game. They will make sure it comes to us." And, boy, did it ever.

When it was 10-0, I thought, you know, if they can just avoid the critical mistakes, 10-0 might be enough to win this. Then, you had punt team members going out of their way to ensure a turnover at the 5. You had an entire defense quit on a play and allow a 70 yard touchdown run in a game where Iowa only had 5 first downs total.

The moment it was 10-10, I turned to the people I was watching the game with and said, "Nebraska just lost this game, they don't realize it yet, but this is ending 13-10 Iowa in regulation." i was called "nuts" because it was Iowa's 4th string QB. When Iowa got the ball back with 2 minutes left, i said, "just watch, this is not going to OT. iowa is winning in regulation." I thought I was wrong when they had to punt, but was literally screaming at the tv when Rhule was going for the win with 45 seconds left. You just have to know the DNA of your squad. They are not winners. They are losers and choke artists. You had to know they'd find a way to give the game to Iowa there, and they did. You cannot extend Raiola and try to force him to make downfield throws or stand in the pocket too long, which is what that moment was requiring of him. It's beyond his mental and physical capacities at this point, and he doesn't have a line that will allow him to do that anyway in pass protection.

So, the turnover happened. I was still being told it would go to OT. Nah. I knew Ferentz and the boys would find a way to get a big play to get it to field goal range. And, they did.

Ultimately, I don't feel any better at 6-6 vs. 5-7. This barely feels much better than 2021 when they were the greatest 3 win team in the history of college football because everyone was pleased it was all close losses for some reason. See how that turned out for Frost? Gone either way.

[omaha79]

In any event, Rhule will probably have 2 years left unless next season turns into an absolute 3-9 dumpster fire.

But, the excuses will be formulated soon by the media and the Rhule apologists.

I can already hear it:

"I'm just going to say, we are going to have to have patience here. Year 3 is now like a hard reset. He's got a new OC and DC. They might even take a step backwards next year and it wouldn't surprise me if they only win 4 or 5 games next year with all this upheaval. But, I still believe in Rhule. He's the guy. By year 4 or 5, he's going to have this thing humming and they will be winning 8 or 9 games."

Uh-huh. let's see how that plays out. You only really get 4 years to make it work as a college coach and a hard reset after what may ultimately still be 2 losings seasons in his first 2 years after the bowl game becomes a total waste of any momentum you should have had. 7 wins was gift wrapped and blown in 2023. 8-9 wins should have been very doable this year. You never get those moments back and I can already guarantee other Big Ten coaches are recruiting against him saying, "you want to go to Nebraska? do you think Rhule will be there when you're a junior? It's not really working is it? Look at Indiana. That coach turned that program around in a year. If nebraska has another losing season, your coach may be gone and they are already replacing assistants left and right."

He has more time, but in my opinion, Rhule is already halfway to being fired. 2 years down. 2 years of underachieving.

[Omaha Cowboy]

The problem with Nebraska football isn’t really talent as much anymore..

As I’ve stated several times since the predictable Iowa debacle- They are a STUPID football team. They lack a high football IQ..

From my last post-

“The first call of order, is to increase the intelligence- Football IQ- of this team as a whole.. Develop mental toughness, get over the “here we go again” mentality, and BE CONSISTENT.. It starts with attracting the kind of player who fits this mold..talent alone will not get the Huskers over the hump..”

This extends to the coaching staff as well..

Matt Rhule, who does have a track record of turning programs around in D1 College Football, has fallen into the Big Red “Black hole of the abyss”.. It is likely affecting his brain cells and football IQ as well..

It’s amazing the ebbs and flows of this football program- 40 years (1962-2001) of consistent relevance and winning.. To 22 years (2002-2024) of complete irrelevance and an unintelligent losing mentality..

At this point I’m beginning to wonder if the Almighty himself could pull the Husker football program out of its doldrums…

Ciao..Li0…Peace

[omaha79]

The problem with Nebraska football isn’t really talent as much anymore..

As I’ve stated several times since the predictable Iowa debacle- They are a STUPID football team. They lack a high football IQ..

From my last post-

“The first call of order, is to increase the intelligence- Football IQ- of this team as a whole.. Develop mental toughness, get over the “here we go again” mentality, and BE CONSISTENT.. It starts with attracting the kind of player who fits this mold..talent alone will not get the Huskers over the hump..”

This extends to the coaching staff as well..

Matt Rhule, who does have a track record of turning programs around in D1 College Football, has fallen into the Big Red “Black hole of the abyss”.. It is likely affecting his brain cells and football IQ as well..

It’s amazing the ebbs and flows of this football program- 40 years (1962-2001) of consistent relevance and winning.. To 22 years (2002-2024) of complete irrelevance and an unintelligent losing mentality..

At this point I’m beginning to wonder if the Almighty himself could pull the Husker football program out of its doldrums…

Ciao..Li0…Peace

Totally agree. and a coach like Rhule, has to be smarter than his team, but he hasn't been. He needs to know who is on the field, and what they are capable of. He was playing checkers while Ferentz was playing chess. Ferentz didn't take chances as he knew Rhule and the Huskers would ultimately hand the game over.

As a head coach, getting that ball back with 1:30 left. I'd have done nothing more than run the ball or some extremely safe pass attempt. No chance I would have been dropping back and trying to hit deep balls. Play for OT. Iowa was perfectly content with that scenario, but Nebraska came out with a very over excited "we're going to win this now!" mentality at the end. What did that get them? strip sack and Iowa on the ball 40 yards out.

Of all the options that could have happened on that last sequence for Nebraska, nearly all of them were bad. There was maybe a 1/25 chance they would execute the plays to get them down into field goal range, then actually successfully execute the field goal. Way more likely they'd end up with an INT, fumble, missed FG, or even blocked FG returned for a TD at the end.

Rhule played right into Ferentz hands. It was a master class for Kirk against Nebraska, like it has been nearly every time in the last 10 years.

[Omaha Cowboy]

The problem with Nebraska football isn’t really talent as much anymore..

As I’ve stated several times since the predictable Iowa debacle- They are a STUPID football team. They lack a high football IQ..

From my last post-

“The first call of order, is to increase the intelligence- Football IQ- of this team as a whole.. Develop mental toughness, get over the “here we go again” mentality, and BE CONSISTENT.. It starts with attracting the kind of player who fits this mold..talent alone will not get the Huskers over the hump..”

This extends to the coaching staff as well..

Matt Rhule, who does have a track record of turning programs around in D1 College Football, has fallen into the Big Red “Black hole of the abyss”.. It is likely affecting his brain cells and football IQ as well..

It’s amazing the ebbs and flows of this football program- 40 years (1962-2001) of consistent relevance and winning.. To 22 years (2002-2024) of complete irrelevance and an unintelligent losing mentality..

At this point I’m beginning to wonder if the Almighty himself could pull the Husker football program out of its doldrums…

Ciao..Li0…Peace

Totally agree. and a coach like Rhule, has to be smarter than his team, but he hasn't been. He needs to know who is on the field, and what they are capable of. He was playing checkers while Ferentz was playing chess. Ferentz didn't take chances as he knew Rhule and the Huskers would ultimately hand the game over.

As a head coach, getting that ball back with 1:30 left. I'd have done nothing more than run the ball or some extremely safe pass attempt. No chance I would have been dropping back and trying to hit deep balls. Play for OT. Iowa was perfectly content with that scenario, but Nebraska came out with a very over excited "we're going to win this now!" mentality at the end. What did that get them? strip sack and Iowa on the ball 40 yards out.

Of all the options that could have happened on that last sequence for Nebraska, nearly all of them were bad. There was maybe a 1/25 chance they would execute the plays to get them down into field goal range, then actually successfully execute the field goal. Way more likely they'd end up with an INT, fumble, missed FG, or even blocked FG returned for a TD at the end.

Rhule played right into Ferentz hands. It was a master class for Kirk against Nebraska, like it has been nearly every time in the last 10 years.

We are definitely on the same page here 100%..

LOL.. Like you, when the Huskers were up 10-0, the thought crossed my mind that those 10 points might be enough to win..Then I remembered- this was Nebraska football and who they were playing…

Ciao..LiO…Peace

[mrsticka]

Boy, so much negativity on here.

[omaha79]

Boy, so much reality on here.

Fixed it for ya.

[nebugeater]

Boy, so much new tradition on here.

Fixed it for ya.

Fixed it for ya too!

[mrsticka]

Ha ha ha. Very funny.

[Uffda]

Working on improving coach

Nebraska football is expected to hire Kentucky Wildcats coach Daikiel Shorts as its new wide receiver coach. Shorts worked under offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen while at Houston.

Shorts was a former member of the '30 under 30' coaches list. He played for Holgorsen at West Virginia and first began his coaching career at Houston. He served as support staff for the Cougars from 2018-2020.

Shorts then became the wide receivers coach from 2021-2023. While with the Cougars, he worked for several notable players, including current Houston Texans receiver Tank Dell.

[Uffda]

Wondering with the defense coaches that are leaving and some starting and reg sub players jumping into the portal what kind of bowl game Nebraska will be able to play.

[almighty_tuna]

Wondering with the defense coaches that are leaving and some starting and reg sub players jumping into the portal what kind of bowl game Nebraska will be able to play.

Honestly it doesn't really matter; bowl games are a dime/dozen anymore and don't carry the merit they used to. The emerging college football postseason playoffs really relegate other bowls as garbage time. The biggest value is in the extra practices.

[mrsticka]

Don’t be surprised if and when someday conference championship games become conference tournaments like in basketball and baseball.

[CBJason]

Don’t be surprised if and when someday conference championship games become conference tournaments like in basketball and baseball.

Yeah, No. If anything, the CFP might make conference championships go away.

[Busguy2010]

Don’t be surprised if and when someday conference championship games become conference tournaments like in basketball and baseball.

Yeah, No. If anything, the CFP might make conference championships go away.

That's never going to happen. The season is the tournament. You can't play that many games of football in the given amount of time. NFL players don't even want to play 20 or 21 games to win a championship, let alone a bunch of kids just trying to figure out life. It would just diminish the quality and meaning of each game. It would become more about load management than playing the game itself.

[Busguy2010]

In other news, as I suspected, the powers that be are entertaining every avenue they can to get Alabama a spot in the playoff. I thought when they got embarrassed by Oklahoma, that conversation would be over.

[mrsticka]

Years ago, lots of people said the same thing about the possibility of college football having a postseason playoff system: "Never gonna happen." And now here we are. It's been expanded to 12 teams.

[Busguy2010]

What would be the point of playing that many games? The only thing that would do is allow some bottom feeder to "win the championship" and diminish the quality of what would then be considered the "regular season champion". Even the championship games as they are today offer an opportunity for a lesser team to sneak in by default.

Take SMU VS Clemson today. SMU already proved they're the best ACC team, and yet Clemson could have a good day and kick SMU out of the playoff altogether. You add a 16 team tournament, that's 3 or 4 extra games. Either you're gonna get the 16 seed playing the 1 seed, and the 1 seed just wipes the table clean in an utterly pointless game, or the 16 seed somehow gets SUPER lucky, still has to keep defying all odds, and now the 1 seed is sitting at home for 3 weeks resting, and most likely still getting into the playoff.

The only legit objective way to decide a champion is to have six 12 team conferences and play round robin 11 conference games, one inter conference game that basically would not count if they want to. Don't even have a conference championship game, two highest ranked regular season conference champions get the byes. Every team in each conference all play each other, essentially making every game a championship game.

Just like the NFL, their divisional champions are determined by they games they play in season, for a reason. You won't have the Lions come out on top at the end of the season, and then for no reason, as they'd already have proven they're the best NFC north team (fingers crossed), and then give the Packers a third crack at them and just because they won one of three meetings, because it happened in the division tournament, all the sudden the Lions aren't the champion. It'd just be pointless. I honestly don't even know why college basketball has their conference tournaments.

[Flyer14]

It is totally becoming watered down, but it makes a lot more money if you play a lot more games. I won’t be surprised when they expand again, change the criteria etc. Not once in history have we ever said at the end of a season, “you know what the 16th ranked team this year really is underrated and deserved a run at #1”

[mrsticka]

Speaking of championship games, Oregon just defeated Penn State 45-37 to win their first Big Ten Championship. Georgia beat Texas 22-19 on a last-second touchdown to win the SEC Championship. #17 Clemson upset #8 SMU 34-31 on a walkoff field goal to win the ACC Championship. And Arizona State destroyed Iowa State 45-19 to win the Big 12 Championship.

[Uffda]

CFP - Alabama bumped out by SMU

First-round byes

1. Oregon (13-0, Big Ten champion)

2. Georgia (11-2, SEC champion)

3. Boise State (12-1, Mountain West champion)

4. Arizona State (11-2, Big 12 champion)

First-round matchups

No. 12 Clemson (10-3, ACC champion) at No. 5 Texas (11-2, at-large)

No. 11 SMU (11-2, at-large) at No. 6 Penn State (11-2, at-large)

No. 10 Indiana (11-1, at-large) at No. 7 Notre Dame (11-1, at-large)

No. 9 Tennessee (10-2, at-large) at No. 8 Ohio State (10-2, at-large)

[remline]

“The University of Nebraska is proud to accept a bid to the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl,” Nebraska Director of Athletics Troy Dannen said. “Nebraska’s first-ever bowl victory occurred at the original Yankee Stadium in 1962, and we are excited to return to the postseason this year at one of America’s iconic sports venues. This bowl game will be a great opportunity for our players, staff and our fans.”

[mrsticka]

Nebraska will be playing Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl. It'll be on December 28th at 11:00 AM on ABC. I'll be watching for sure.

[nebugeater]

CFP - Alabama bumped out by SMU

They didn't get bumped out. They didn't earn it. If they had gotten in over SMU, it would have been a robbery

[Busguy2010]

CFP - Alabama bumped out by SMU

They didn't get bumped out. They didn't earn it. If they had gotten in over SMU, it would have been a robbery

They definitely didn't earn it. If i were an Alabama fan, I couldn't be proud enough to believe they really deserved a spot.

Although SMU kinda blew their defining moment, no way did Alabama deserve a spot more than them.