A Frosty Situation
College football officially kicked off yesterday, and for those in Lincoln, Nebraska, it was a miserable experience yet again.
In 1998, quarterback Scott Frost of No. 2 Nebraska had three rushing touchdowns and outplayed No. 3 Tennessee’s Peyton Manning in the Orange Bowl. The 42-17 route of the Volunteers made the Cornhuskers co-national champions with Michigan for the 1997 season.
It was the final season for both Frost and legendary head coach Tom Osborn—who rode off into the sunset after his 24th season with his third national title in four years.
Two decades later, Frost’s team was unbeaten and in playing yet another SEC foe in a bowl game. This time, however, Frost roamed the sidelines of the 2018 Peach Bowl as the Central Florida Knights pulled off the incredible 34-27 upset over Auburn. The Group of 5 school then claimed a co-national championship of their own for 2017.
That paved the way for Frost to return to Nebraska and return the Cornhuskers to national prominence. Instead, there has been a permafrost over the fields of corn that Frost has not been able to break through.
In his first three seasons, Nebraska went 12-20. All of them were losing seasons, which gives Frost one of the worst winning percentages in Nebraska’s all-time history with at least three seasons. This hardly justifies Frost’s seven-year, $35 million contract let alone the approximate $9 million combined buyout they paid to fire former coach Mike Riley and to UCF to hire Frost.
It is worse when you consider that Bo Pelini had a 66-27 record and was beloved at Nebraska. Since his firing Riley went 19-19, and Frost is now 12-21. For context, Frost would have to go 37-1 to match Jim Harbaugh’s current record at Michigan. Neither the Wolverines nor Cornhuskers—co-champs of 1997– are where they’d like to be at present.
Yesterday’s 2021 season opener against Illinois was just force-feeding disillusionment to those miles away in Lincoln. The mistakes were so horrendous that they were laughable in the 22-30 defeat.
Nebraska would add a second missed PAT, a horrid snap and some poor clock management before the game was done.
And it was not as if this is a young team trying to figure it out or they were going up against a superior conference foe on the road. Nebraska was playing with a fourth year staring quarterback in Adrian Martinez against Illinois’ backup quarterback Artur Sitkowski, a transfer from Rutgers.
Sitkowski went 12-of-15 for 124 yards and two touchdowns in an emergency appearance. Running back Mike Epstein ran for 75 yards on 16 carries and a score.
But it was the first scoring play of 2021 sums up how Nebraska has operated under Frost the past four years (and, for some time, beyond).
In 2018, the Cornhuskers had their worst start in history by beginning 0-6, which included five-point losses to Colorado and Troy as well as a blown 10-point lead with five minutes to play against Northwestern before losing to the Wildcats in overtime.
The next season, Nebraska blew another 10-point, fourth quarter lead to rival Colorado and lost in overtime. And they were bludgeoned by some of the best teams in the Big 10: Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ohio State.
Nebraska made offseason headlines in an unfathomable start to 2020 when several players sued the Big 10 for canceling their season. Ultimately, it was probably Nebraska’s biggest win in several decades as the Big 10 reversed course to allow for a season.
The Cornhuskers, however, were ‘rewarded’ for their efforts by getting stomped on by the Buckeyes in their opener 52-17.
The team found themselves in the offseason headlines again this year for being investigated for ‘NCAA Practice violations in 2020’ and the fans (rightfully) worried about how Frost would do in year four. Though it was reported on College Gameday that Frost would not be coaching for his job this season; the unimaginable level of incompetence was on full display for every single college football fan.
It is important to not overreact. What if Bret Bielema with his experienced team of super seniors is gearing up for a magical season? What if Nebraska buckles down and somehow runs the table, which would include a victory in Norman over the Oklahoma Sooners?
This is why we love college football. The bizarre safety, the new faces, and the opportunity for redemption. Nebraska just keeps proving of how far they still have to go.
Inspiring Story of the Week
College Gameday was in Atlanta for the HBCU MEAC/SWAC Challenge game between the Alcorn State Braves and North Carolina Central Eagles.
The upset-minded Eagles led 16-14 early in the fourth quarter when Brandon Codrington returned a punt 77 yards for a touchdown. It was an extremely explosive play that solidified the upset over head coach Fred McNair and the Braves.
The best part, however, was that Codrington is a former walk-on who has a pinned tweet on November 13, 2019, that says “Got a lot of people to prove wrong.”
After these teams had their 2020 seasons canceled due to Covid, it was a tremendous start for Codrington and the Eagles to make a statement. Though the team still is rusty on their Gatorade bath techniques.
Excited for all the games this Labor Day weekend! Until next time.