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Seeing a lot of back-and-forth about Rhule saying Nebraska "was not a good job when I got here." He's right. Anyone arguing this is suffering from short-term memory loss. We had some DARK days around the end of the Eichorst/Riley era. I think people need to appreciate how far we've come. I'm posting an article from the Shawn Eichorst firing timeline - a column by Pete Thamel from 9/21/2017. I remember reading this at the time and this column my have been my absolute low point as a Nebraska fan. This was such a depressing read that I thought to myself - he may be right: this may be the end of Nebraska football as a relevant national program.
From Thamel's 2017 column, "Nebraska's identity crisis proves Huskers no longer a top-tier gig":
Fast forward to 2025, two major things have happened that have tipped the scales in Nebraska's favor:
These two things have been MASSIVE for the NU program. As you read in that column - Thamel was ready to shovel dirt on NU and make us TCU or KSU, but 8 years later that didn't come true. Even our haters still admit that we are a massive CFB program. I remember hearing AP's Ralph Russo on a radio spot saying "Nebraska is one of those programs that even when they're bad, they're still interesting to a national audience." NIL has been huge for us obviously. But the social media boom has been huge for Nebraska's visibility. We have a massive online following and we make every NU-related headline into a worldwide trending topic. That has helped Nebraska stay relevant even as we've had rough seasons. As you remember, in 2021 when we finished 3-9, we still were the 12th most-watched CFB program in the country. That is hard to do for a 3-9 team!
So take a stroll down memory lane and appreciate how far we've from from this fateful afternoon in SEPT 2017!
sports.yahoo.com
From Thamel's 2017 column, "Nebraska's identity crisis proves Huskers no longer a top-tier gig":
- So let’s start with a few cold body blows. Nebraska’s football job is not one of the top 20 jobs in college football.
- Nebraska is a worse job than Wisconsin, as it’s been bereft of talent and resonates with modern recruits less than places like Mississippi State, Boise State or TCU
- “Nebraska can be a better version of what Virginia Tech, Wisconsin and Kansas State have been,” the AD told Yahoo Sports.
- the Huskers need a shift to stable leadership and on-field identity that allows them to exploit their best advantage. For now, that’s playing in the West division of the Big Ten. Nebraska needs to establish itself there before dreaming any bigger.
Fast forward to 2025, two major things have happened that have tipped the scales in Nebraska's favor:
- Advent of NIL
- Importance of social media to a CFB program's visibility/relevance
These two things have been MASSIVE for the NU program. As you read in that column - Thamel was ready to shovel dirt on NU and make us TCU or KSU, but 8 years later that didn't come true. Even our haters still admit that we are a massive CFB program. I remember hearing AP's Ralph Russo on a radio spot saying "Nebraska is one of those programs that even when they're bad, they're still interesting to a national audience." NIL has been huge for us obviously. But the social media boom has been huge for Nebraska's visibility. We have a massive online following and we make every NU-related headline into a worldwide trending topic. That has helped Nebraska stay relevant even as we've had rough seasons. As you remember, in 2021 when we finished 3-9, we still were the 12th most-watched CFB program in the country. That is hard to do for a 3-9 team!
So take a stroll down memory lane and appreciate how far we've from from this fateful afternoon in SEPT 2017!
Nebraska's identity crisis proves Huskers are no longer a top-tier gig
Eichorst's firing Thursday means Nebraska wants to hit the reset button on its football program. But the administration and fans would be wise to lower expectations instead of expecting to relive the glory days of old.
