Nebraska Cornhuskers Football: What Is The National Perception Of The Huskers?

Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports

When it comes to Nebraska Cornhuskers football, everyone in the state has an opinion and everyone is an expert. That statement is not sarcasm, but fact. I am fortunate enough to cover Husker athletics, and I hold strong opinions on the program, players, and coaching staff.

I thought it would be a good idea to get the perspective of others who cover college athletics. Over the next week, I will give you the thoughts of those writers, and how they feel about Nebraska Cornhuskers football. I asked the writers seven questions.

What is your general view of Nebraska Cornhuskers Football?

Do you see Nebraska as an elite college football program?

Why do you think Nebraska has a problem getting top tier recruits to come to Lincoln?

Does Nebraska playing in The Big Ten help or hurt the perception of Nebraska football?

What is your perception of Nebraska Cornhusker fans?

What do you think Nebraska needs to do in order to reach the next level of success?

What are your thoughts on Huskers head coach Bo Pelini?

I wanted a variety of writers from different conferences as well as teams of varying success levels to evaluate The Nebraska Cornhuskers. By diversifying the pool of respondents, it gives a better view of a national perspective. Writers that cover teams in The Big Ten, AAC, ACC, Big XII, and an Independent school answered the five questions.

Today we look at the first question on the list, “What is your general view of Nebraska Cornhuskers Football?”

The first response came from Cam Newton, editor of BigRedLouie.com who covers The Louisville Cardinals.

"I don’t really hear much about them, so I can’t form a negative opinion about them."

Louisville football is just emerging as a potential power, and the school has seen most of it’s success in basketball. It should still be a bit concerning that The Nebraska Cornhuskers, who has lost football recruits to Louisville rival Kentucky, is not really talked about much in the state.

The second response came from Joe Micik from SoaringToGory.com, a Boston College Golden Eagles blog.

"I see Nebraska as a program with a lot of history and a large, committed fanbase.  It’s almost hard to answer, as Boston College is in the ACC, Nebraska is in the Big Ten, and the schools have never met on the field. I would say that I don’t associate anything negative with the Huskers football program, and the only real thoughts are favorable."

Joe points out Nebraska as a team with history (which is a theme that you will see in several of the responses) and that the fanbase is committed. It shows that  a writer who’s readers reside in the Boston area, Nebraska is at the very least a known football program.

Chris Flanningan, who covers the Texas Longhorns for HookEmHeadlines.com had a very different view when asked his general view of Nebraska Football.

"I would say the Texas perspective of the Nebraska Cornhuskers is that they were once was a legendary program that now has fallen out of the mainstream elite of college football."

This is a point that many feel holds true about the Huskers, and Nebraska fans would likely argue. Then again, Husker fans would probably argue with just about anything said by a Longhorn. Regardless of how you feel about the answer Chris provided, he is not alone in his thoughts .Nebraska has not won anything of significance in over a decade.

Mitch Harper is the editor of LawlessRepublic.com, a BYU Cougars site. Mitch had quite an opinion of the question asked.

"It’s a great program with loads of tradition. Right now, I see them as a program still trying to get over the hump and be in the spotlight as a National Championship contender."

Mitch also referenced the upcoming 2015 matchup between the schools.

"I know folks at BYU are thrilled to have the chance to play Nebraska in 2015. Crazy to think these two storied programs haven’t met in the past. Glad that will be changing in a few years."

I think Mitch feels the same as many Husker fans do. Again, tradition (history) comes up in conversation, but the need to get over the hump and win championships does as well. Just like Nebraska, BYU knows what it takes to win National Championships.  It will be good to see The Huskers and Cougars play in a few seasons.

The final response was from Steve Pesek from GoldAndGopher.com, a Minnesota Gophers blog.

"Nebraska football has been a trademark on the college sports landscape for decades. A program with a strong tradition only relative to me since the Tom Osborne teams of the 1970’s, 80’s, and 90’s. Teams that would dominate the competition at a level that SEC teams like Alabama and LSU have yet to reach. Though not as fearsome as the team once was, the current state of Cornhusker football looks to be stable. Strong teams with plenty of talent to go around and positioned well within the Big Ten Conference to succeed for years to come."

These are big words from someone who covers a team in Nebraska’s conference. Again, implications of tradition and history are evident in Steve’s response. Most impressive is his assessment that Alabama and LSU have yet to reach the dominance that Nebraska has shown in their past.

What we can take away from this evaluation is that Nebraska is seen as a a respected team who has been a traditional power. Tomorrow we will see if the writers think that Nebraska is an elite college football program.