Nebraska used to be the big bad boy of college football, pushing everyone around with the legend Tom Osbourne in charge and Tommy Frazier pushing six Florida Gators out of the way as if they were small bugs on his way to the end zone.
Those days were close to 25 years ago and, frankly, Nebraska has been mostly a footnote in college football since.
You can’t tell the Cornhuskers that, though. They obviously still think NBC is a must-see on Thursday nights and Alanis Morissette is on top of the charts per the statement they put out on Tuesday.
“We are disappointed in the Big Ten Conference to postpone the fall football season, as we have been and continue to be ready to play.
Safety comes first. Based on the conversations with our medical experts, we continue to strongly believe the absolute safest place for our student athletes is within the rigorous safety protocols, testing procedures, and the structure and support provided by Husker Athletics.
We will continue to consult with medical experts and evaluate the situation as it emerges. We hope it may be possible for our student athletes to have the opportunity to compete.”
In short, get bent Big Ten.
This message was approved by Chancellor Ronnie Green, President Ted Carter, athletic director Bill Moos and, of course, head football coach Scott Frost.
They have the arrogance afforded to Alabama with the winning percentage of Maryland. In the last three season, the Huskers have went 3-6 in the Big Ten, the conference they just begged to join after 2010. Of course, the move never made sense. Nebraska, with the exception of one year, hasn’t been exactly competitive. Its last conference championship? 1999, 21 years ago coming in the Big 12.
Frost has never been one to keep quiet, though, especially following him leading UCF to an undefeated season in the “almighty” American Athletic Conference, claiming a national title.
Prior to last season, everyone was falling for the spiel that Frost was telling about Nebraska being back. For some odd reason, the media picked the Huskers to win the Big Ten West.
A loss to poor Colorado in Week 2 kind of quieted those return of the glory days back in Lincoln.
What the leaders of Nebraska just did was throw a pile of manure at a conference that did what it thought was in the best interests of all of its programs, coaches and players and then lit it on fire while yelling, “We never liked you anyway!” Frost and company basically became a 12-year-old boy getting dumped by his middle school crush.
Back in 1995, this sort of ploy might have worked, them wanting to play in the SEC or, gasp, the Big 12 that they were so quick to leave for a younger, hot girlfriend in the Big Ten, but this isn’t 1995 and the Cornhuskers are mediocre at best. As Paul Finebaum so eloquently put it, Nebraska would be a piñata in the SEC.
But why would Greg Sankey and the powers in the SEC even open the door a little bit to this bunch? It is apparent that they think they are the end all and be all of the game despite, you know, not being successful as of late. When was the last time you thought to yourself, “Man, when is the Nebraska game this week? Wow, I wish I could watch them every week in the SEC.”
Never. That is the last time.
Frost was the quarterback back when the Cornhuskers meant something to college football and can’t see that times have changed. The game has left them in the dust and the once-powerful program now celebrates getting to a bowl game, a scenario once though ludicrous.
But sure, the Big Ten is the real loser here, right? I don’t see how the conference can survive without the 4-8 and 5-7 seasons with no bowl revenue that Frost has led them to in the past two seasons.
I’m sure Kevin Warren along with Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State are just shaking in their boots. If I’m the Big Ten, I’m saying sayonara to the children of the corn.
Know your role, Nebraska. And that’s not anywhere near the top anymore. The 1990s are over. Your powerhouse brand went the way of Beanie Babies.