Sooooooo close. 9 months of seeing a pedophile on ESPN, dismissals of players and coaches, and all of the BCS drama is almost over. When South Carolina and Vanderbilt kick off Thursday evening, one of the worst offseasons in the history of college football is finally over and there's finally something more interesting on TV than two presidential candidates squabbling over their disturbingly few differences. Two days later, Nebraska opens the 2012 season against Southern Mississippi, and this soldier cannot wait. It's been 2 years of being overseas during football season. Two years of staying up until the wee hours of the morning to catch the important games on Armed Forces Network, and the rest of the games from Froggy 98 online. First world problems.
I'm going to say it: this is the most important season of Nebraska football in a long time. Funny, I remember hearing something similar last August. And the one before.
But it's for real this time. It's not the first or the last year in a conference, there's no national sports writers expecting a conference or national title, and there's little if any of the fresh hope that defined Bo Pelini's first 2 years. This year is all about Nebraska's national perception under Bo Pelini. Is Nebraska back in the national elite, or are we stuck as also-rans? Are we closer to Alabama or West Virginia? 2012 will define the status and direction of the Nebraska football program for the next 5-10 years.
I was talking to a young soldier from Oklahoma about college football and when I was telling him about the challenges of watching Nebraska games overseas at 2 AM, he seemed surprised that Nebraska was on TV at all. He couldn't recall seeing Nebraska on TV in the last 5 years. Ouch.
Obviously, this guy just hadn't been paying attention, but Nebraska has definitely lost some of the national prestige that should come with being a top 5 all-time program. Nebraska should be inescapable. Nebraska should be in the the top 10 every year. Nebraska should be at most, one win away from the National title game, and that game should have been lost in heartbreaking fashion. This is what Nebraska fans expect after the Nebraska teams of the 80's and 90's owned college football, but that has not been the reality since the 2001 massacre in Boulder. Since then, Nebraska has fallen from the elite, and despite Bo Pelini's success in the last 4 years, the national perception hasn't fully recovered.
Another illustration of this is EA Sports' NCAA 2013 football game. Nebraska is given 5 prestige stars out of 6. Just like Wisconsin, Oklahoma State, Clemson, Arkansas, Stanford and TCU. Since when do those programs belong in the same category as Nebraska? Sure it's just a video game, but millions of teenagers and young adults buy the "NCAA" games every year (I'm one of those young adults), and they're being bombarded with the message that Miami, with 6 prestige stars and pending NCAA sanctions, is a better program than Nebraska.
Nebraska's national perception is without question, weaker than it was 10 years ago, but there is plenty of reason for optimism. Taylor Martinez is going to be a 3 year starter with plenty of help at the skill positions, the defense returns plenty of talent, and the kicking game is as good as anyone's.
Then there are reasons for worry. Taylor Martinez is inconsistent, the offensive line is shaky, and the defensive talent is largely unproven.
The good thing about national perception is that it can change so quickly. Where was Alabama in 2000? Remember when Tennesee was a perennial top 10? Don't look now but Kansas State is making noise again...
All things considered, it's probably a good thing that the national attention is elsewhere this year. Most of the college football news this offseason has been bad. A lot of the news has been sickening. Name one national feel good story. The lack of attention means that Nebraska can surprise people. A 10-2 or even 11-1 season is not nearly as impossible as some writers would have you think, but the Huskers have to maintain focus and everything has to click. Every game is winnable, but outside of Idaho State, Arkansas State, and Minnesota, there aren't any real gimmes. Nebraska needs to dominate the weaklings, beat the middling teams by at least 14 or 17 points, and show up ready to fight the big dogs for 4 quarters. A good first half doesn't win games as we saw against Michigan and South Carolina.
This is going to be the most important season for Nebraska football since Bill Callahan's flop in 2007. Remember when the team was a considered national title dark horse before the USC beat down?
Nebraska and Bo Pelini need to take a real, solid, palpable step forward this season. That looks like at least 10-2 and an appearance in the Big 10 championship game. Anything less is going to be a disappointment and make it a long 9 months until September 2013.
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