Big 12 Conspiracy: Hunted Huskers Only Have Themselves To Blame

Bo Pelini is not the answer in Lincoln, sports fans.

Zebras are not to blame for the demise of the Nebraska football season in 2010, its last season as a member of the Big 12.

The blame game starts at the top with the man once thought to be the golden child in the restoration project at one of the most hallowed gridiron institutions on the planet.

Husker Nation simply has an ill-tempered version of Frank Solich. Nebraska only has itself to blame for cashing out for greener pastures and becoming part of the problem moreso than the solution.

How can Nebraska expect to receive any help from game officials after bolting out from conditions Nebraska helped create itself? Had Nebraska held up to its end of the deal after the inception of the Big 12 post-2001, Nebraska would not have anything to complain about.

Some legendarily bad teams from the Big 12 North have played for a conference championship while two superpowers and three mediocre programs battle it out for the South.

There were some seasons where five of the teams in the South could have won the Big 12 North. And please, Husker fans, stop giving me this Bill Callahan/Steve Pederson excuse. That was light years ago in college football.

With scholarship reductions, you can fix something with quick patches overnight. Had this been 1990 for Nebraska after it gravitated to mediocrity, it would have taken longer to fix a program like Nebraska.

Not anymore. True freshmen are playing meaningful snaps all the time. Linebackers show up in August and outperform the returning starters on Nebraska’s defense.

Nebraska can blame the 12th man and the game officials all it wants about missing out on its BCS bowl game aspirations as an at-large bid.

Look back on Nebraska’s last six losses over the past two seasons. Pelini’s lack of discipline transferred over to the players. Nebraska was constantly flagged for late hits and rough play, with second-overall NFL pick Ndamakong Suh being the ringleader of all the dirty activity.

Suh has already played like that on Sunday’s with the Detroit Lions. A cheap shot on a quarterback, pulling a running back down by his hair and rightfully getting a personal foul penalty although it is technically within the rules. Suh deserves the personal foul penalties every single time he gets them.

Half of Suh’s hooliganism goes uncalled. How many times did Larry Asante make the same hit NFL players are getting fined and suspended for last season?

Nebraska was out-coached against Texas and did not make the plays it needed to in order to win the game.

Nebraska was outplayed against Texas A&M and didn’t make the plays it needed to in order to win the game.

For Nebraska’s two losses, you can only start at the top with Pelini’s performance as head coach. At times, Pelini has been outstanding. Other times, he has been downright embarrassing.

Coming from a former Nebraska fan who probably has forgotten more about Nebraska football than most people will ever fathom to know, this writer saw Pelini’s antics the first time he was in Lincoln as defensive coordinator under Solich.

His track record did not warrant a head-coaching job at Nebraska at the time. Had Pederson went with Pelini, Nebraska would not be any further along today than it was under the Callahan debacle before Pelini came back.

A bunch of 10-win teams that play in the Cotton Bowl and the go to the conference championship game every so often.

Pelini’s constant lack of credit to the players at Nebraska is equally as appalling as his sideline temper-tantrums, because that’s exactly what they are. From parental experience, it’s called the Terrible Two’s.

Fans could count on one hand how many times he gave his players credit for anything. Dangling the Blackshirts in front of the defense has been ridiculous. Either sack the tradition or follow it.  

Why on earth should anybody feel sorry for Nebraska? It constantly complained about the Texas schools since the inception of the Big 12, felt betrayed by Oklahoma, threw a little Pelini of its own before bolting for the same reasons that Texas wanted to develop its own television network…. Money!

With technology today, every single college athletic program ought to be able to create any television network it wants. Of course, it would be nice to see some of the advertising money be given in a $1,500-a-month payment to players so they can live normal lives would be better.

If Taylor Martinez leaves Nebraska, good for Martinez. This isn’t 1975. You can’t cuss kids anymore.

Don’t do it. It’s different today than it was 35 years ago. Martinez should leave Nebraska fans high and dry.

Martinez doesn’t need Nebraska. Nebraska likely doesn’t need Martinez in order to go 8-5 next season with an Alamo Bowl trip to play a Big 12 team.

Nobody sees the problem that Bristol has created. Don’t blame the officials, blame Bristol, CT.