Despite record, Scott Frost’s first season at Nebraska offers hope for brighter future
Outside of the win-loss record, Scott Frost’s first season as Nebraska’s coach was a success.
You can throw out the record when evaluating the job Scott Frost did in his first season coaching at his alma mater.
Nebraska only went 4-8 but it was a season that showed the players were resilient and much progress was made in the second half that suggests 2019 should be a promising one for the Huskers.
Sure, wins and losses are the easiest measure of how well a coach and team performed and a 4-8 overall record and a 3-6 record in the Big Ten is proof that Nebraska has a lot to work on. It was a miserable start for Frost at his alma mater with six straight losses to kickoff his homecoming. It was an inauspicious start with the scheduled opener against Akron canceled before back-to-back five-point losses to Colorado and Troy, respectively.
These games were missed opportunities for Frost and Nebraska to generate some early momentum they could carry into the Big Ten portion of their schedule. What followed were three blowout losses to Michigan, Purdue and Wisconsin to fall to 0-5. Nebraska would have to hit rock bottom the next week vs. Northwestern when they blew a 10-point lead in the last two-plus minutes to fall in overtime to the eventual West champions before the team showed signs of promise.
This was the worst start in program history but no one was ready to jump off the Frost bandwagon. This was a big rebuild he took on and it wasn’t going to be a quick fix. But what Nebraska showed in the second half is Frost’s biggest win of the year.
The way Frost was able to keep his team united and together after a nightmarish start is indicative of the faith his players have in him. No one gave up or felt sorry for themselves. Those who stayed and believe in his vision will be rewarded.
Nebraska began picking themselves up with a win over Minnesota and Bethune-Cookman before a five-point loss vs. Ohio State that showed they can compete with the conference’s elite. A win over Illinois that saw them score 54 followed by a 9-6 win over Michigan State showed the Huskers can win with offense and with defense. That’s how Nebraska won so many games during Frost’s playing days in Lincoln. That’s a sign of better things to come.
Frost’s team fought hard until the final whistle in the season finale at Iowa when the Hawkeyes hit the game-winning field goal as time expired. They’re 4-8, but they’re really 4-2 since the awful start. That Northwestern loss, as painful as it was at the time, was the turning point in the season.
Don’t be surprised if Nebraska flips their record next year with the continued development of true freshman quarterback Adrian Martinez who has shown flashes of being special. He could be what McKenzie Milton was for Frost during his second and final year at UCF.
The first year was all about progress and the way they finished suggests they improved more in the second half than any other team in the Big Ten.
It’s a bright future for Frost and Nebraska after overcoming a dark beginning.