The beginning of the year is always a time for reflection. You reflect on what took place last year. You remember the highs. You remember the lows. You anticipate what this year will bring. Generally, reflection can take you in many different directions but with a new year, comes new possibilities. These possibilities are what get us out of bed in the morning. They keep us engaged. They keep us motivated. They can also keep us up at night because, ultimately, the possibilities of the unknown give us hope for the future.
In the dog days of summer, this possibility swirls around college campuses across the country. Football season is approaching and every team is working with a clean slate. A revived mindset that “this is the year.” Never mind the losing season a team may have had last year or the heartbreaking loss that cost them a championship, this is a new season with (you guessed it) new possibilities. Teams may be bringing in the next game-changing recruit or a new coaching staff that is going to revamp a struggling program. Whatever the case may be, there is excitement for the upcoming season and at this point, everyone is a contender.
In Nebraska, the excitement of new possibilities is often elevated beyond measure. Nebraska football is special, but special in a way that can’t often be described in a simple manner. The expectations that surround this program on an annual basis may be viewed as “unrealistic” or even “ignorant” but as I have already mentioned, Nebraska football is special.
The roots of these expectations are not born from gimmicks. They don’t come from smooth-talking coaches that come off as used car salesmen. They don’t come from flashy, new uniforms. They don’t come from those ridiculous, over-the-top promotional initiatives that you’ll see, but instead, these expectations are born from an era of dominance that can’t often be replicated. An era where National Championships were expected and victory was imminent. Unfortunately, these times have come and they have gone.
So where did it all go wrong? How did it get here? (I know what you are thinking. This is depressing. Trust me, we’re getting there.)
Some may point to that November day in Boulder where Colorado took us to the woodshed and some may look past that but then land on that next game when Miami gave us a similar beat down. A popular pick in this debate is the firing of Frank Solich after a solid 6-year stint as Head Coach. This is a debate that will undoubtedly go on between Husker fans until the end of time because what else are we supposed to talk about in the winter? As Husker fans, we know all too well that everyone has their opinion on when exactly the decline began but it’s hard to pinpoint one specific moment so you know what? We’re not even going to try. Instead, there is another moment to talk about. A moment that is carving out the future of this once-dominant program as we speak.
It’s December 2nd, 2017 and the University of Central Florida is in a battle with the University of Memphis in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game on National Television. All eyes are on the young UCF coach as he leads his undefeated team to an improbable season after the same school had gone winless just 2 seasons prior. Meanwhile, Nebraska fans watch on because, well, you know.
Rumors had started swirling but the voices were getting louder and louder. Was this young coach going to come home? Can he save this once-proud program? He is the hottest coaching name in the game right now. Can we even land him? (Back to the game).
The game was close. It ended up going in to double overtime with UCF coming away as Conference Champions but it wasn’t the outcome of the game that made this moment significant. It happened in the 4th quarter. The whole country watched as these teams battled back and forth and then it happened…
Did you see that? Did you see that at the bottom of the screen? Did I read that wrong? I didn’t read it wrong.
As Scott Frost was coaching his team to its 12th win and conference championship, breaking news started running along the bottom of the screen that “Scott Frost is going home and will be named the next Head Football Coach at the University of Nebraska.” (Excitement ensued) The fact that this news broke while he was still coaching a game was in poor taste, in my opinion, but you have to think the TV producers assumed it would have been over by then. The next day it became real. Newly appointed Athletic Director Bill Moos took the podium and won over the hearts of every Nebraskan as he spoke to the media, informing us that Scott Frost was coming HOME. This was our guy. Our dream hire. Homegrown Nebraska native. Former National Championship Quarterback. The list goes on. I don’t know that the Nebraska fan base had ever collectively agreed on any one thing but this was an exception. Scott Frost was the hottest name in college coaching and we got him!
So everything is going to be OK now right?
Well… Two seasons have now passed under Frost and, to put it lightly, things haven’t exactly gone as planned but then again, that is spoken from someone from the outside looking in. You have to think and believe that there are much bigger plans behind the doors at One Memorial Drive.
So let’s take some time to look back and reflect. We have taken our bumps and bruises. We have been through the highs and the lows. We continue to imagine the possibilities of what’s to come because that gives us hope for the future but most importantly, we are still here and, in my opinion, our expectations are perfect. We are building. We are adapting. We are getting bigger, stronger, and faster. Our slogan this past season was “Our Red Burns Brighter” and although one might argue that other schools red may be a little brighter than ours is today, one thing is certain.
It’s hard not to see that flicker of red getting brighter and brighter by the day.
GBR
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