I understand that it’s just a sports team, but as a fan, Nebraska football plays a big role in my life. It’s something I don’t know if I could live without. Being a die-hard fan brings a lot of emotions. However, the fact of the matter is that Nebraska football is just not good at all in this new era of college football, and hasn’t been for some time. Winning now is a must for a program that is historically dominant in every aspect of the game.

This team has five claimed national titles (including six unclaimed), 46 conference titles, and they’ve won 26 bowl games. The 1971 and 1995 championship winning teams are considered among the best in the history of college football. This program obliterated the ‘90s, winning three of their five national championships with coach Osborne and players like Tommie Frazier, Ahman Green, Zach Wiegert, and Grant Wistrom. I say all of this because this is the identity of the Nebraska football program–an identity that the current team needs to find again. This is a team that was once a powerhouse not only on the plains, but nationally as well. 

The university is surrounded with plentiful advantages for the football program to succeed. The university most definitely has the money as well as the facilities for student-athletes and coaches. I think it comes down to having a mindset during a game. You must have the right mindset to win. Players have to believe in themselves and their team. They have to tell themselves that they’re going to win, and not that they may lose. They have to remember that they have all the support that they could ever need from the fans who’ve sold out their team’s stadium 389 consecutive times. That should be used as continuous motivation. 

Matt Rhule will soon enter his first season at the helm for the Huskers. I’ve gotten a good impression of him from what I’ve seen so far. He’s connecting with and exciting the fan base on social media, he’s done a great job with recruiting efforts, and he speaks in an appealing way. He says it as it is. He doesn’t hold back on anything. Rhule has this archetype as a rebuilding type of coach. He took Temple and Baylor from winning only one and two games his first season all the way to 10 and 11 win seasons, and competing for conference championships in just a couple of years. For as much money as UNL gave Rhule to come to Nebraska, it just has to work out. No excuses if it doesn’t. I cannot wait to see what he does with this Nebraska program.

I want to see this team consistently win. I never got to see when Nebraska was truly an unstoppable force in football. You probably have never either. It’s been some time since that. This program needs to start winning again for the sake of their historical relevance in college football. It’s now or never.