Tom Osborne at Nebraska: A Crisis of Corn-fidence

"Whether you were a walk-on or a non-scholarship player, from Nebraska or another state, you are a valuable member of this family and a key factor in our school's storied history and tradition of excellence. We want you to know that you are always welcome in our home."

Things have a way of coming full circle on you. Tom Osborne was head coach of Nebraska forever. Okay, no, not Joe Paterno forever, but a full quarter century (1973-1997), more than enough time to leave a truly indelible imprint on the school and its athletic history.

Osborne's teams were always the same. You knew what you were getting: teams that would outhit you on every play, offensive athletes who ran the triple-option better than anybody in the country, and defenses who knew where you were going before you did.

Osborne passed the buck to his longtime assistant, Frank Solich, much like it had been done for Tom back in the early 1970's. Frank did an impressive job, posting a 58-19 record from 1998 through 2003, with only one season of less than nine wins. He didn't bring home any national titles, and only one trip to the title game, which might mildly disappoint some schools' fans. Of course, nobody at Nebraska was disappointed, because they appreciated the solid values Solich taught his athletes and that he put a winning squad on the field each year, even if they didn't finish every season 12-0.

Then came Steve Pedersen. I personally have a bias against Pedersen because I am a former University of Pittsburgh student, and Steve was never really liked around town. He was all about trying to create 'new beginnings,' even if it meant shunning the history in favor of something more 'popular' or flashier. For instance, one of the things that drew the biggest ire was his move to eliminate all "Pitt" references within the athletic department (including limitations on sales of any apparel adorned with the old blue and yellow script Pitt) in favor of "Pittsburgh." Nobody went for that move, and eventually the school reverted to calling itself "Pitt" in the athletic arena.

Article Author: Geeves

Geeves is mainly a critic of the sports and entertainment arena, recently shifting his time and resources away from his own middling blogs and into the Blogcritics realm at something resembling full time.

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