The B1G was full of surprises this season, but one of the most forgotten subplots — at least on a national stage — in the B1G West was how much Nebraska underachieved this year.

Nebraska began the season ranked No. 24 in the country, but for the second straight year, Scott Frost failed to lead the Cornhuskers to a bowl game. Nebraska finished 5-7 and is now 9-15 in two years under Frost.

FOX Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt admitted the 5-7 finish was unexpected for Nebraska, but he said it’s clear why it happened, pointing to the line of scrimmage as the team’s biggest weakness.

“That’s (5-7 record) not what we all expected this year (from Nebraska). I thought they had the schedule, the quarterback, and the cohesiveness from last year, playing well late, to make a run in the division, and it didn’t happen,” Klatt said on Wednesday’s ‘The B1G Show’ on BTN. “I’m going to tell you the exact same thing I did about Michigan: they’re not good enough at the line of scrimmage. Period.

“It doesn’t matter who you recruit from a skill-position standpoint, it doesn’t even really matter who your quarterback is if you can’t block anybody and you can’t stop anybody from a defensive line perspective. That’s where Scott Frost has gotta get better. Let’s also keep in mind: they are trying to recoup from years of poor recruiting, and it’s going to take a couple of cycles…I still expect and believe Frost is the right guy for the job, and in a couple of years it will be there.”

The Cornhuskers went 4-8 the year prior to Frost taking over in Lincoln, which means this is the first time since the early 1960’s, when there were far fewer bowl games, that Nebraska has failed to earn a bowl bid three straight years.