Before Monday’s Capital One Bowl against Steve Spurrier and South Carolina, the last time Nebraska matched up with one of his teams, it was early evening, 1996 in the Fiesta Bowl. #1 vs. #2. An epic battle was to ensue.
Not quite.
We know how it all turned out. Tommie and his guys trampled U of F and coach Spurrier to cement another perfect season in Husker lore.
We would do it again in 1997.
When Coach Osborne relinquished the job to dutiful assistant Frank Solich, he left the game having won 60 of his previous 63 games. Astounding. Included were three National Titles and appearances in 4 National Title contests—in just his last five years.
Ah, the memories.
Trouble with memories is that in sports, fans want to re live them. I call it the “13-0 mentality” which is to say, “Hey if they can do it once—we should be able to do it all the time.”
Expectations. They drive us to success and failure.
Just like the coach (or previous coach) who won the title, fans and pundits now make that the baseline of expectations. Dave Van Horn and Mike Anderson took Nebraska Baseball from the scrap heap to the conference title and eventually the CWS. Had Mike been modestly successful (just getting to the NCAA Tournament and maybe a Super Regional, they’d be talking Hall of Fame for him right now). Just like the sales guy who has a record year; forget about getting credit for that performance, he is now expected to do at least that well and improve each year.
Is it realistic?
Which brings us to Bo Pelini and these Huskers. His team melted down again in the loss to South Carolina. It was not an isolated incident. Same thing happened at A/M last year and the Holiday Bowl against Washington. Happened against Wisconsin and Michigan this year. What to make of it?
I truly believe that all organizations, great and small reflect the actions, attitudes and personality of its leader. In the case of Bo and Co., these guys follow him. They believe in him. They reflect him on and off the field. If he is curt and antagonistic toward the fans and media, they will be too. If he complains and is distracted by the officials, so too they will be. If he is inconsistent with his player treatment or unclear about expectations, expect the same from them. If he is emotionally unstable and prone to outbursts, be not surprised if you see the same thing from the players and other staff.
Conversely, if he is focused, disciplined and consistent in all his walks in life, they will be too; and they will never repeat mistakes for fear of letting their leader down.
Are we expecting a perfect leader for this program? In the process, are we unsatisfied with anything less than perfect? What is reasonable to expect from Bo or anybody?
Quick: name the perfect coaches in college or pro sports today? Saban? Miles? Snyder? Kryschewski? Williams? Meyer? Name perfect coaches in your lifetime? Osborne? Bryant? Dedeaux? Smith?
Not a big list is it?
I want to win championships again. I want a repeat of that night in Arizona when we made the Gators into shoes and suitcases. But I also know the landscape of college football is much more competitive today for Nebraska than it was that night. Academic restrictions, recruiting rules, the Big 10 vs. the Big 8, facilities, good coaches who are well paid. It’s not that we’ve dropped; it’s that everybody else has gotten a lot better.
I still think Bo will get better as a head coach.
