More on the reply

Correct. Last year they also beat Western Michigan (going off memory here) I believe. If I were Minnesota, I wouldn't want to play them either. We literally had as many fans as they did!

Hurt, as in they are not going to get the talent that they did the last 4 years because Bill and company did not give a legitimate look at the local talent? Or hurt as in the left overs from Tom's years of running the walk-on program?

The first definitely! In 2 cases we have players that were willing to walk on next year rather than keep their scholarship from their current school, or have turned down scholarships to walk on at Nebraska.

The second, not so much. The interest the University of Nebraska produces in football is way to great for the school to handle. Many many kids each year want to play for the huskers. It is simply not possible. The ones that don't end up going to the smaller schools and do just fine.

Colorado, Colorado St are prime examples of this - the school that benefits from these two school (at least when I was following division 2) was one of NDSU's rivals in division 2, the Northern Colorado Bears. At the division 2 level they attributed a lot of success and talented athletes to the higher Division 1 schools.

I don't know that the football interest has dropped off in Nebraska, but there is going to renewed excitement in the air not that Tom is back and Bo is running the program

My reply to corn blight RE: Walk-ons

I did have the opportunity to talk with Tom Osborne on one occasion and this is one of the questions I asked of him. What is the strength in Nebraska's walk-on program? Tom said every once in a while a talented player will emerge, one that we over looked and make a big impact for us. But for the most part, these walk-on players bring a lot of Nebraska heart and soul to the recruits we bring in from out of state. Their work ethic is hard and they give 110% every practice. That effort and work ethic is transfered to the recruited players. Tom said the walk-ons (for the most part) do more behind the scenes than than actually on the field.

It also ties a small state community to Husker football. This is one of the most important factors of the walk-on program IMO. Any kid growing up in and around Lincoln knows they can have a shot, make a dream come true, to one day put on the scarlet and cream and possible play for one of the powerhouses in college football.

Craig Bohl has taken NDSU from division 2 up to division 1aa, has the support of the community and last year we beat Minnesota at the Metrodome and we had such a following that it felt like a home game.

The walk-on program has a knack for working in the mid-west when applied properly. I am not so sure it is beneficial to schools where a wealth of high school talent is readily available.

My two cents on the walk-ons

NDHusker

Tom Osborne's Success

I had the opportunity to ask Tom Osborne this very question, "what does it take to put a championship team together?"

He kind of smiled and went on to explain. He said first he started with the coaching staff. He liked continuity. He wasn't necessarily looking for the best coaches, but rather the best coaches for him, for Nebraska. Loyalty was big with Tom and his coaches, trainers, medical staff, etc.

Yes I am sure there were times that assistants would come and go, but not all to often as Tom looked for those that would be loyal. More often than not, Tom found those people. When he was considering the HC position in Colorado, he was going to make sure that he and as many assistants that wanted to come with him would be welcome. That was made very clear when he was offered the position.

Hiring the best assistant available might mean the assistants departure to a HC position in a few years. Hiring the best Loyal assistant ment more to Tom than simply the "best" available.

Family! Tom treated his staff like family!

I asked Tom about Irving Fryer as he was one of my favorite players. One I got to meet and talk to. Tom said Irving was an amazing young man. Very religious. Hard working. The years he played for Tom, he knew he was going to grow into a positive member of society. Very pleasant to be around and had a lot of positive energy. He went on a little more, never once mentioning his athletic ability. Finally Tom said and I quote, "Oh yea, and it turns out he was one heck of a football player too!" I just laughed. Tom cared so much about the individuals that came through his system and still does today! It is one of the admirable qualities of Tom Osborne. It saddens me to see individuals who know very little of Tom's life, judge him for a few incidents. Tom is truly a man with character.

Tom looked for those young men that would give 100% for the big red N on the field. They did not always come from Nebraska, but they all had Nebraska in their heart. Tom believed in the words John Wooden spoke, "we are like a father to these kids" and that is what Tom believed. It did not always work out but Tom always stuck to it. He believed his players were better off within the system where he could mentor them, rather than kicking them out of the system where he no longer had a influence on them. Did it always work out for the best? No. But more often than not it did. Tom believed these kids were important. Each and every one of them.

Tom's system fit the area in which he was coaching. This did take him some time to learn and perfect but he did. And with that given system he recruited players that fit. First in the Nebraska area, then outside the 500 mile radius of Lincoln. Local talent Tom believed was a key to keeping the fans, boosters, parents, community and high school kids happy and in turn the desire of the young athletes to play for NU kept the program alive.

Many of you know Craig Bohl and not many think too highly of him while he was at NU. And that's ok. I happen to think differently of him. Craig had taken what he learned from Tom and is applying it at NDSU today. He has got the community behind him using local talent when he can, one player was drafted from NDSU this past weekend and others were expected to possible be drafted. Two years ago they came very close to beating Minnesota, in Minnesota. This year they did! In Minnesota. And it was like a home game for the Bison as it sounded like more NDSU fans than Gophers.

Oh I am just a bit passionate about Tom's success. I believe I got a bit carried away, but know this, Bo is going to use the most valuable resource he has available to him, and that is the knowledge of GREATEST coach in college football history, Tom Osborne!

Parity

This is a little research I did last year when a certain Athletic Director from Nebraska (Steve Pederson) tried to explain why the Huskers were not always going to be on top like we were in the 90's. Thank goodness Tom and Bo are back to show, not only Nebraska, but the rest of college football that we CAN and WILL be a power football team once again.

Let me set the foundation first.

I looked at all of the teams that finished the year in the top 20 according to the AP poll (except in 1960's, had to use the coaches' poll as AP only ranked the top 10) starting in 1960 through last year.

Teams that ranked in the top 20 at least once per decade:

(1960-1969) 64 teams

(1970-1979) 54 teams

(1980-1989) 51 teams

(1990-1999) 57 teams

(2000-2006) 53 teams (and counting)

Of the 64 teams in the 1960's, (17) seventeen of them had at least 5 appearances in the top 20 including:

Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas, Ohio State, Alabama, Michigan State, Penn State, Syracuse, Purdue, Texas, UCLA, USC, Oregon State, Nebraska, Notre Dame and Tennessee.

Of these (17) seventeen schools, only 4 remained consistant through 1999:

Ohio State 8 top 20 finishes in the 70's

7 in the 80's

7 in the 90's

Alabama 9 top 20 finishes in the 70's

7 in the 80's

6 in the 90's

Penn State 9 top 20 finishes in the 70's

6 in the 80's

9 in the 90's

Nebraska 10 top 20 finishes in the 70's

10 in the 80's

9 in the 90's

With teams like Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Michigan State, Syracuse, Purdue and Oregon State dropping out of the "power" ranks (not having 5 or more years ranked in each of the next 3 decades 70's, 80's and 90's) that left room for other teams to emerge.

The 70's saw new comers Arizona State, Michigan, Auburn, Houston, Oklahoma and Maryland enter the ranks of at least 5 years ranked in the 70's. These 6 teams basically took the place of the 7 that dropped out (from whatever reason) in the 60's.

(3) three of these teams have consistantly been near the top in the remaining decades:

Michigan 10 top 20 finishes in the 70's

8 in the 80's

9 in the 90's

Auburn 5 top 20 finishes in the 70's

7 in the 80's

Oklahoma 10 top 20 finishes in the 70's

8 in the 80's

Although both Auburn and Oklahoma did not have 5 or more seasons in the 90's ranked in the top 20, they are both back in the current decade with over 5, Auburn (5) and Oklahoma (6).

The 1980's is where we saw the greatest number of new teams enter as possible future powers. All we ranked in the top 20 at least 5 of the 10 years:

Georgia, Pittsburgh, Florida State, BYU, Washington, Miami, SMU, Clemson, Iowa and LSU. (4) of these teams (Georgia, Flordia State, Washington and Miami) remained near the top in the 1990's. Miami, Georgia and the resurgent LSU squads each have 5 top 20 finishes this decade.

The 90's saw teams like Colorado (7 top 20 finish seasons), Florida (10 top 20 finish seasons), Texas A&M (8 top 20 finish seasons) and Kansas State (7 top 20 finish seasons).

2 out of the 4 additional powers in the 90's were opponents of Nebraska on a regular basis. Throughout the 90's, Nebraska not only had Oklahoma on their minds, but now had to contend with Colorado and Kansas State who were on the rise. Did that affect Nebraska? Hardly, only 3 national titles and a very impressive streak of 60-3.

Pittsburgh - interesting school to pick right? 5 times in the 80's Pitt finished in the top 20. 1989 Pitt was ranked 17th at the end of the year. In the past 17 years, they have ranked in the top 20 only 1 time since then, in 2002 they finished the year 19th.

Of the "power" programs over the last 4 decades, Ohio State is currently ranked 4th, Alabama (under new leadership) is currently unranked, Penn State is unranked, Nebraska is ranked 25th, Michigan is unranked, Auburn is unranked and Oklahoma is ranked 10th.

Every year and sometimes for a stretch of 3 years, teams come into the top 20 and then just like they came in, they drop out. Parity? Hardly. More like factors of a good recruiting year, excellent high school seniors, etc. All these play into teams having a good run. But the powers of college football, those that can consistently find a way to win, can overcome the ever changing game of college football.

Oh, this decade, there is only one team that has 5 or more seasons in the top 20 - Virginia Tech.

Nebraska - Once a team rich in power, now searching for a new identity.

Parity did not hit Nebraska like it did other schools. Parity hit Nebraska the day Steve Pederson announced that Frank Solich would no longer lead the Nebraska football team and that the team needed new leadership and direction to take them into the future.

NDHusker