Losing four games on the opponents final offensive play is an almost impossible feat. You have to work very hard to play just well enough to lose. Would it be that much harder to put in a little more effort and actually end the game with a few more points than the other team? It takes careful planning to get so close and fail.
Why, for example, is the coaching staff so keen on passing on first down? Yesterday it was not working, but yesterday that did not stop them from trying. And it did not stop them from trying against Illinois. In both games the Cornhuskers averaged over 5 yards a carry, and with the game on the line in the 4th quarter they couldn't get a first down to win the game. That is a sign of team that does not know how to win. And losing is not a great tutor.
I am not advocating firing a coach, but there are plenty of people who will. And, as fans, I suppose that is their right. College sports has become an all or nothing affair, and either you win, big, often and repeatedly or you are a loser, and any team with a history of success feels they deserve better. Nobody wants to wait for better.
It is possible that the worst is behind this team, that the difficult lessons learned over the first six weeks of the season are the bitter medicine and the healing will begin with a big win over Minnesota, and a half season accolades, and victories and glory unimaginable in the darkness covering these poor young men now. I hope so anyway.
I don't know the answer, hell, I don't even understand the question. But, I am a lowly blogger. Last year after Wisconsin ran up and down the field and their talented running back set a single game rushing record against Nebraska a reporter asked Bo Pelini what happened, how things went so poorly. "I don't know," was his answer. He got paid a lot of money to know why Melvin Gordon ran untouched all day long, and it was obvious he was a coach on the way out. Riley needs to find some answers to the malaise that afflicts his team. That is why he makes so much money. And for the sake of the team I love let's all hope he can.
