"The Night is Dark and Full of Terrors" - Like Nebraska's Offseason?

If this season were a mile race, then Nebraska was the "rabbit." We started out fast, then cratered down the stretch. Unlike the rabbit, we could not just pull over to the side of the track when we were done - we had to stay in the race and get stomped by our opponents. Just in time for the "angry we're not in the CFP and just lost our coach" Utah Utes. The result was a (sadly) predictable pounding. The game - much like the season - got off to a great start. Utah then adjusted to the Huskers' game plan and - much like the season - the Huskers had no Plan B.

One of the most frustrating things about Nebraska football? Other teams make adjustments, and we can't seem to do anything about it. Why is that?

One of the other most frustrating things about Nebraska football? We seem to actively despise the idea of using our tight ends to catch the football. Utah's tight ends combined for 10 catches, 182 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Ten of their 19 completions were to their tight ends. Nebraska? One catch for 6 yards. It's been the same since Matt Rhule got to Lincoln, and that seems to be a conscious choice - we value track speed over the bruisers who can move the ball down the field. Until that changes, Nebraska will struggle to win.

This season raised a few serious issues for the team. For example, given that the Huskers were not very competitive in the second half of football games late in the season, is our strength and conditioning program focused enough on conditioning? Will the Huskers regret choosing an offensive system (and the coordinator who runs it) that seems ill-suited to the Big Ten? Given the seriousness of next year's schedule, can we bring in the players we need to be competitive?

Bob drank the KoolAid and predicted an 11-1 season. All that proves is that Bob's an idiot. Jay predicted 8-4 and was still disappointed. Will they be better next year? At this point...who knows?

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