Nebraska football will be facing a brand new head coach when they square off against the Colorado Buffaloes this fall. That doesn't mean that Mel Tucker is a newbie when it comes to doing battle with the Huskers. Despite the fact that the Buffaloes took down the Cornhuskers, in Lincoln last year, Tucker is finding beating Scott Frost and company on the recruiting front quite a bit more difficult.
Speaking to the Denver Post, Tucker was talking about how hard it is to lure in-state kids to CU. Tucker says that there are plenty of very good football players in the state that simply don't care about the state's premier program. The new head coach called recruiting those in-state kids a "sell job." It was when he started talking about his frustrations that he brought the Nebraska football team into the conversation.
Nebraska football accomplishments
Tucker says that he understands that his program is going to have to start winning games before he starts turning heads. He also seems a bit frustrated that the kids in Colorado are not holding other programs to the same standard.
"There are kids right now that you (ask), ‘Well, who are your top guys?’ And they’ll say, ‘Nebraska.' And you look and say, ‘Well, what has Nebraska done?’ But in their mind, that’s like way, way better than CU." Tucker told the paper.
Of course, asking "what has Nebraska done?" ignores several realities. One of those is that despite consecutive 4-8 seasons, the Huskers have been the better football program for the entirety of both schools' existences. Even with the latest struggles, National Championships have come more often. So have winning seasons. It's been 2005 since a CU head coach posted an overall career winning record.
For all the trials and tribulations of the Bo Pelini era, he did win quite a few more games than he won.
And then of course, there is the fan support that comes with Nebraska football compared to the Colorado Buffaloes.
Excitement factor
The other thing that Mel Tucker is missing is that Nebraska kids grow up wanting to play for the Huskers. It used to be they wanted to keep the championship streak going. Now they are wanting to return the program to glory. Colorado's "glory days" encompass about one decade of really good football and then a lot of mediocre at best competition. Winning right this second certainly helps when you are trying to build a program.
Having won in the past helps when you are trying to build a dynasty like the Nebraska football team. That's what Mel Tucker doesn't understand about what the Huskers have done. As far as what he has done? He's likely given Scott Frost and his team yet another reason to show just how much better they are when they travel to Boulder in September.