Nebraska football took a back seat to nobody in college football not too long ago. During those days, Tom Osborne was the head coach, and under Osborne, the Huskers won three national titles.

Again, Nebraska wasn’t just good. It was elite.

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Now, after years of average to below average play, former Huskers QB Scott Frost has taken over the program as head coach. He’s in Year 2 now, and the team hasn’t lived up to expectations this season. Is he in over his head?

Maybe. Maybe the golden days of Nebraska football are long gone. Maybe it can’t be rebuilt. Everyone around the program knows that it is in need of rebuilding, though.

Osborne told ESPN that he believes Frost knows of the pressure:

“I think he feels the weight of the thing,” Osborne says.

Frost is certainly aware of the pressure. He said as much:

“Doing this in my home state with all the hopes and aspirations of all Nebraskans on our shoulders adds a little bit of pressure,” he says. “You have that everywhere. It’s just a little different when it’s home.”

Osborne talked about the mental state of Nebraska if Frost never turns things around:

“A lot of people feel that if this doesn’t work with Scott,” Osborne says, “it’s probably not going to work, period, you know?”

Is Osborne wrong there? Maybe not. Maybe Frost is as good as it will ever get for Nebraska right now. At least, that’s the thought.

Nobody thought Nick Saban would do what he’s done at Alabama, though. Dabo Swinney at Clemson, either. But, those are the exceptions.

Not the rule.

And at Nebraska, it wants Frost to work. Otherwise, who knows what’s next?