Aer Lingus College Football Classic: Nebraska Cornhuskers
By Simon Carroll
College Football returns to Ireland on Saturday after a two-year COVID hiatus. The Aer Lingus College Football Classic brings two teams to the Aviva Stadium to kick off the season – and The Touchdown will be there relaying all the action as it happens. As we build up to the event, Simon Carroll takes a look at the two Big Ten programs going to battle in Dublin – beginning with The Nebraska Cornhuskers:
The University of Nebraska: A History
The University of Nebraska is a proud land-grant university based in Lincoln, the capital city based in the southeast of the Cornhusker State. Established more than 150 years ago, it welcomed its inaugural class of just twenty students back in 1871. The university almost floundered within its first few years as a grasshopper swarm destroyed the economy of the entire state. And the next decade would see the institution battle with balancing the role of religion in education. The start of the twentieth century saw students called into service for World War I, the Dust Bowl decimate the Midwest, and World War II affect enrollment numbers. But the school survived, and by the mid-fifties was flourishing as one of the most respected seats of education in the country, ranking in the top 6% of all universities in America.
Nebraska established their football program in 1890, playing their first game against The Omaha YMCA on Thanksgiving. The team hired it’s first official head coach in 1893, Frank Crawford given the honor with a salary of $400. They achieved their famous ‘Cornhuskers’ nickname in 1899 after the sports editor of the Nebraska State Journal, Charles ‘Cy’ Sherman, used it in one of his articles.
As a football team, The ‘Huskers enjoyed success in the early 1900’s – registering five unbeaten seasons between 1900 and 1916. They also won 21 conference championships in 33 years. But they rose to national prominence under the stewardship of legendary head coach Bob Devaney, who won two National Championships and eight conference titles in eleven seasons (1962-1972). Offensive coordinator Tom Osborne succeed Devaney and continued the high standards he set, going on to be the greatest head coach in Nebraska history. In 25 seasons, Osborne recorded three National Championships and 13 conference championships (Big Eight, Big 12)
A Friendly Rival
Nebraska is widely considered to be the most friendly place to visit as a fan of an opposing team. This stems back to the nineties, when The Cornhuskers were a dominant football program and were so nice because they were confident of victory. Since then, Lincoln (and nearby Omaha) have revelled in their status as welcoming cities, and still roll out the red carpet each Saturday. Follow your school to Nebraska, and you won’t need to buy any food or beer pre-game – and you’ll probably get a ‘thank you’ or ‘come back soon’ regardless of the result. Rumor has it that Tom Osborne apologised to Oklahoma in 1997 for beating them so heavily – a 69-7 rout that represented his 250th win as a head coach. To put it in context, The Sooners are one of The ‘Huskers biggest rivals.
As the only major football program in Nebraska, the ‘Huskers rivalries are based around battles with historical conference opponents. Colorado is probably the most established rival – Nebraska lead that series 49-20-2, but they also have memorable battles with Texas and Oklahoma from their time in the Big 12. The border rivalry with Iowa represents the school’s most prominent geographical nemesis – and since the Cornhuskers joined the Big Ten the game has been played on the Friday after Thanksgiving every year. Nebraska leads the series overall, but since their conference move the contest has been rebranded as ‘The Heroes Game’, which The Hawkeyes have so far dominated (8-3).
As College Football has grown, Nebraska has become a school that seems to have been left behind. The state sits right between the two traditional footprints of the Big Ten and Big 12, and their move from one to the other eleven years ago has seemed to leave them in something of a no-mans land with regards to identity. As mentioned, their rivalry games straddle numerous conferences (PAC-12, B10, B12). And despite their tradition and history, attracting recruits in the modern era has proved tough. Lincoln is a picturesque city but not particularly easy to get to, and maybe fails to offer the football hotbed vibe of a South Bend, Austin or Columbus, or the glitz, glamour and lifestyle of the big coastal programs. Still respected, Nebraska has the history, but is it enough to continue to compete at the upper echelons of College Football?
The Scott Frost Era
BREAKING: Nebraska will hire Scott Frost to be the #Huskers 33rd head football coach https://t.co/PngqtvqROc pic.twitter.com/vLhwQdMjyv
— World-Herald Huskers (@OWHhuskers) December 2, 2017
After losing their way somewhat under Mike Riley, Nebraska called upon someone they knew very well. Scott Frost was appointed head coach in December 2017, but he was already a legend in Lincoln. Frost was quarterback for the Cornhuskers back in 1997 when the school won their last National Championship. He began his coaching career at Memorial Stadium as a grad assistant back in 2002 before moving on and up. After various stops as a successful position coach and offensive coordinator, Frost got his first head coach role at UCF in 2016. In his second season in Orlando, he led The Knights to an undefeated season and a win over #7 ranked Auburn in the Peach Bowl.
Coming home to Nebraska hasn’t been as smooth sailing as Husker fans would have hoped. In four seasons in Lincoln, Frost has a 15-29 record and is yet to post a winning record.They’ve been to zero bowl games and failed to finish any higher than fifth in the Big Ten West. For a program as storied as Nebraska – who only have to go back to the Bo Pellini era of 2008-14 to see sustained success – this lack of progress is difficult to take.
There is no doubt that Frost’s history with the program, coupled with his incredible success atUCF, has bought him more time than most would have enjoyed. Despite the fanbase’s loyalty, there is very much an acceptance that Frost needs to turn things around in 2022 if he wishes to keep his job. With that in mind, what does the outlook look like for Nebraska this coming season?
2022 Outlook
Frost hasn’t been shy about ringing the changes at Memorial Stadium. On offense, Mark Whipple has been brought in as OC, and three new position coaches have been added. The experience these coaches bring will be crucial as this unit takes time to mesh, with a number of players brought in via the transfer portal. One of those players is newly anointed starting quarterback Casey Thompson, who came over from Texas. He’ll be working behind a fairly established offensive line, although they did lose a leader in center Cam Jurgens to the NFL. Thompson showed his ability at Texas, and has some new toys to throw to and a strong run game to lean on. If he can succeed where former QB Adrian Martinez failed, there’s a chance The Huskers can surprise a few people.
There are more concerns for Frost on defense. Nebraska struggled to find transfers or recruits to replace departures this offseason, and roster depth is a problem. Ty Robinson represents the lone defensive lineman with history in Erik Chinander’s scheme. The talented defensive coordinator enters his fifth year in Lincoln, and has seen modest improvement every season. He’ll need all his nous to develop this young roster and find contributions from new guys. One area they look set at is at edge, where Caleb Tannor and Garrett Nelson return. They contributed seven sacks between them last year, and look to be the leaders on this defense.
Projection
If Nebraska leave Dublin with a win under their belt, they will be confident in beginning the upcoming season 3-0. After that, things get a lot tougher, beginning by hosting Oklahoma before entering Big Ten play. Despite residing in a tough conference, this year’s schedule is relatively kind, and The Huskers will have ambitions of winning four games in October against Indiana, Rutgers, Illinois and Purdue.
November, however, is brutal. Home games against Minnesota and Wisconsin are winnable, but they’re both notoriously tricky opponents. And road trips to Ann Arbor and Iowa City likely yield two losses. Considering the tail end of the season is when the depth of a roster is tested, things could get very difficult for Frost later in the year. A hot start is crucial if this program delivers enough wins to allow their head coach to retain his job.
How many wins would that be? It’s difficult to say. Frost and Athletic Director Trev Alberts negotiated a pay cut and some well-defined metrics that need to be hit in 2022. Considering the conference they reside in, winning a championship is as unlikely as it is unreasonable to expect. But delivering a bowl game to Lincoln for the first time in Frost’s tenure would be a start. Seven regular season wins is probably attainable for this team, if all the pieces come together. That should be enough to buy Frost another year as he battles to imprint his stamp on this Nebraska program.
