The Nebraska football season is not going the way Husker fans had hoped. After yet another blown lead led to another loss, talk about what has gone wrong with the program has surfaced again.

For his part, Pitt Panthers' head coach Pat Narduzzi thinks he knows where Nebraska went wrong. Firing Frank Solich.

The coach, who went up against Solich's Ohio Bobcats this weekend, warmed up an old trope and opened old wounds in Lincoln ahead of the contest. Narduzzi wasn't saying anything Nebraska football fans haven't heard before.

“The guy never should have been let go there,” Narduzzi told the assembled media according to 247Sports.

“Probably one of the biggest mistakes in Nebraska history. He was a legend there. I’m still (ticked) about it. Like they expected to win 12.”

Rivals but friends

Narduzzi's comments aren't just some weird broadside aimed at Nebraska football from a coach who has never played against them. The Pitt head man has long been friends with Solich.

The two talked before their game, about how often they've shared notes. Neither coach has been shy over the course of their careers of learning from their peers.

It was big news shortly after Solich was let go by Nebraska football that he spent a year just traveling around and learning new things. He took all those new things to Ohio and has built a team that has been a contender more often than not.

His Bobcats lost on Saturday 20-10, but the fact that Ohio was able to stay close to an ACC team shows he's built a squad that is at least solid if not dominant.

Does Narduzzi have a point?

It has been debated ad nauseam in Nebraska at this point but there's always a grain of truth when someone brings up the mistake of firing Frank Solich.

In six years, he posted a 58-19 record. The thing that likely got him fired was a 7-7 record in 2002.

That was the first non-winning record posted at Nebraska in decades. After two straight 4-8 records and several other losing seasons along the way, Husker fans would likely take a 7-7 season.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the situation is Solich is still known more as the former Nebraska football head coach than the current Ohio Bobcats coach around the country.

He's been with Ohio quite a bit longer than he was the head man in Lincoln.

Solich, who some thought would retire after being fired, has spent the last 15 seasons building a MAC power. He's got four straight winning seasons and has posted a winning record in 10 of the last 11 seasons. He hasn't posted a losing record since 2008. He's posted just two losing records in his 15 seasons at Ohio.

Obviously that record doesn't translate to the Big 12 or the Big 10 but he's managed to maintain a level of consistency at his new school Nebraska football fans are likely jealous of.
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