The 2024 Cornhusker football season begins in 24 days!
The years-ago tradition of fan expectation has evolved into fan optimism.
From my viewpoint, there is plenty to be optimist about this year.
If Nebraska can clean up the mistakes that plagued them during the final four games of 2023, NU will be bowl bound and probably return to a state of respectability.
Ten years ago, Nebraska had a respectable football team.
However, an incompetent director of athletics and a micromanaging chancellor ended the respectable era.
Let’s look back at 2014.
The Huskers, under seventh-year head coach Bo Pelini, began the season by winning its first five games.
45-7 over Florida Atlantic.
31-24 over McNeese State. I listened to this game on the radio while watching the APS Bulldog softball team compete at a tournament in McCook. The Huskers won the game when Ameer Adbullah turned a short pass from Tommy Armstrong Jr. into a 58-yard touchdown with 20 seconds left in the game.
55-19 at Fresno State.
41-31 over Miami (Fla), in front of 91,585 fans at Memorial Stadium. It’s still the largest crowd to watch an NU football game in the 101-year-old college football cathedral.
Prior to the game, NU students in the southeast stands displayed a giant banner that read, “Welcome to your Worst Nightmare.”
It was a night game, and I listened to the contest while driving from North Platte to Alliance. I had spent the day in NP watching the Alliance girls’ softball team beat Chadron, 8-7, to snap its 42-game losing streak.
My daughter Christa started for the Bulldogs, so this made September 20, 2014, extra sweet.
The Huskers then defeated Illinois, 45-17.
Nebraska’s first loss occurred at Michigan State. The tenth-ranked Spartans took advantage of four Husker turnovers and won, 27-22.
NU beat Northwestern, 38-17, in Evanston.
In Lincoln, NU closed out October by beating Rutgers, 42-24.
The Huskers opened November with a 31-17 win over Purdue in Lincoln.
Nebraska now sported a record of eight wins and one loss.
Then, on November 8, the wheels fell off.
On a snowy afternoon in Madison, Wisconsin, the Badgers throttled the Huskers, 59-24. This after Nebraska led, 10-3, at the end of the first quarter.
Badger running back Melvin Gordon rushed for 408 yards and scored four touchdowns, despite sitting out the fourth quarter.
The following week in Lincoln, Nebraska suffered an inexcusable loss to Minnesota, 28-24.
Nebraska had a chance to claim victory, but with 1:19 left in the game, Nebraska fumbled at the Gopher two-yard-line, sealing Minnesota’s win.
On Black Friday, Nebraska won the most exciting game of the year at Iowa, 37-34, in overtime.
Nebraska finished the regular season with a 9 and 3 record.
Two days later, Pelini was fired by the incompetent Shawn Eichhorst.
It was 11 years to the day that Frank Solich was fired by another incompetent, Steve Pederson.
Solich’s 2003 team had also finished the season with a 9 and 3 record.
Nebraska wrapped up the 2014 season with a 45-42 loss to USC in the Holiday Bowl.
After the firing of Pelini, Nebraska’s season-records would finish in the following order:
2015: 6-7
2016: 9-4
2017: 4-8
2018: 4-8
2019: 5-7
2020: 3-5 (Covid year)
2021: 3-9
2022: 4-8
2023: 5-7
Last year’s team lost its final four games by a combined total of 16 points. Three of Nebraska’s season losses occurred on last-second field goals at Minnesota and in Lincoln vs. Maryland and Iowa.
The 2024 season begins on August 31.
Here’s hoping the glory days of 2003 and 2014 return.