” We have the greatest fans in college athletics. This has been a frustrating and challenging week. All of us anticipate the day where we can cheer on our student-athletes, on the field and in the arena.”.
This was all predicted due to the fact that it was foreseeable. Money.
The Huskers became part of (however definitely not alone) an unusually unpleasant dispute for the button-down 125-year-old league. It ended as it always does however, with everybody falling in line..
That doesnt imply it was a workout in complete futility for the Huskers.
Nebraska made its point– to its fans, to its players and to possible recruits. The message was clear: It desperately wished to play, the program is a really huge deal in its state and it is willing to tilt some windmills to eliminate for what it thinks in..
His vehement argument to play this fall drew great deals of protection. It altered zero minds in the conference, however it no doubt found some understanding ears amongst high school coaches, recruits and moms and dads throughout the Midwest, if not somewhere else.
It was an oddball marketing effort. Yet a required one. Stuck on the leagues far western fringe, no longer with the kind of access to Texas high school talent that the Big 12 offered, Nebraska was constantly a dicey proposition as a Big Ten member. The cash was ensured in the Big Ten. Success certainly wasnt.
Almost all the very best employees in the league footprint reside from Chicago and east. That leaves the Huskers battling a long way from home in the yard of great deals of other brand-name programs with tradition and big stadiums (consisting of independent Notre Dame). Its uphill sledding..
Nebraska generally ends up fifth or fourth in Big Ten recruiting per Rivals.com and in between 20-25 nationally. Not bad, however unsatisfactory. Considering that joining the league, 39 first-class recruits have signed with Big Ten schools. None with Nebraska.
Perhaps making its voice heard assists. It most likely cant hurt. The league workplace may not be too delighted with the Huskers now and rival fans may be making fun of it, however for Scott Frost and the program, some kind of trigger, some sort of narrative change was needed..
Issuing surrender statements isnt a satisfying experience. A minimum of Nebraska fought since being good and losing video games isnt much fun either..
Head coach Scott Frost and the Nebraska Cornhuskers look on before a video game on Sept. 21, 2019. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images) More.
If nothing else, it got everybody discussing Big Red, which doesnt happen much nowadays..
Its going to be unpleasant for everybody in the conference if college football is played in other places this season. There is no avoiding that. For Nebraska, it will be particularly rough if the Big 12, its old league, tries. There is no assurance that will happen..
And if it does, a minimum of Nebraska advised everybody how much cash it is making in the Big Ten (about $54 million annually, or about $15 million more than the Big 12 average). In a bad scenario, its something..
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Yet, here we are. Perhaps an unanticipated identity is much better than none..
In some ways, it fits. Nebraska is a state that rewards individualism. Great deals of windswept plains where you fend for yourself, not the suburbs of Chicago or Columbus. Just accompanying the strategy might not make good sense.
And Frost isnt the sort of person who pulls back. Ever. Hes a small-town item who ultimately quarterbacked Nebraska to a 13-0 championship game in 1997. As a coach, he led UCF to a perfect season in 2018 before returning home where the recovery job has been sluggish (9-15 total).
Story continues.
A lot of intriguing, however, Nebraska is the new villain of its new conference, one that the establishment can mock and root against. The Big Ten used Nebraska a lifeline in 2011, throughout conference realignment, when infighting made it appear like the Big 12 might liquify..
The Huskers have rewarded the Big Ten with a mediocre (and becoming worse) on-field item and now … this?.
Ohio State grumbling is one thing. Nebraska? A minimum of Rutgers and Maryland understood their place..
This, nevertheless, could be an advantage. Its at least a thing, which is better than being disregarded or forgotten..
Recently, Nebraska had actually ended up being simply a date on the schedule. Schools that have a hard time to offer tickets (Illinois, Indiana, etc) liked them because the Big Red traveling army of fans would fill the stands and car park. The leagues conventional powers, on the other hand, got an aging brand name they might beat handily..
Given that signing up with the league, Nebraska is 7-16 general versus Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin, but hasnt beaten any of them since 2013. On the other hand, it has actually lost 5 consecutive to Iowa.
You wouldnt believe a black hat would fit for a program popular for such niceties as cheering the going to team after video games and releasing bright balloons after the first Husker rating..
In the end, all the saber rattling out of Nebraska ended with the contemporary equivalent of a whimper– a bland administrative declaration that effectively waved the white flag on the Cornhuskers going rogue and playing football this fall … or even bailing on the Big Ten altogether..
” The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is a fully committed member of the Big Ten Conference,” the school stated in a statement. “It is an unparalleled athletic and academic alliance..
For Nebraska, it will be particularly rough if the Big 12, its old league, provides it a go. Stuck on the leagues far western fringe, no longer with the kind of access to Texas high school talent that the Big 12 offered, Nebraska was constantly a dicey proposition as a Big Ten member. The money was guaranteed in the Big Ten. Nebraska usually finishes fourth or 5th in Big Ten recruiting per Rivals.com and between 20-25 nationally. Since signing up with the league, 39 luxury recruits have actually signed with Big Ten schools.
