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Nebraska Football: History Is on Mike Riley’s Side in Year Three

By Matt Koeppe

Sep 3, 2016; Lincoln, NE, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Mike Riley gives the thumbs up prior to the game against the Fresno State Bulldogs at Memorial Stadium. Nebraska won 43-10. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 3, 2016; Lincoln, NE, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Mike Riley gives the thumbs up prior to the game against the Fresno State Bulldogs at Memorial Stadium. Nebraska won 43-10. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports /
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There’s something special about year three for head coaches of Nebraska football. When looking over history, certain trends can be found. One trend happens to be that leaders of the Big Red have had success in their third season at the helm.

Going back to the days of Bob Devaney, each head coach has ended up either in first place or tied for first in their conference division at the end of their third year.

Whether it’s due to a coach hitting their stride, finally getting their players in the program or just a little bit of luck, year three has been a success for many Nebraska football coaches.

A History of Huskers

Big Eight Conference Coaches

The year is 1964 and Devaney just finished up conference play in his third season as Nebraska’s head coach. The Huskers finish first in the Big Eight with a 6-1 record. Along with being conference champs, the Big Red peaks at No. 4 in the Associated Press poll. At seasons’ end, Nebraska claims the No. 6 spot.

Let’s jump ahead to 1975. Head coach Tom Osborne goes 6-1 in the Big Eight. The Huskers end up as co-conference champions with Oklahoma due to the there being no conference championship game.

The Big Red climb as high as No. 2 in the Associated Press poll and wind up at No. 9 to end the year. A co-conference championship and a Top-10 finish mark another great season for a Nebraska coach in his third year.

Big 12 Conference Coaches

Now, fast-forward to the days of Frank Solich. The year is 2000 and Nebraska plays in the Big 12 North division. They end up tied for first place with Kansas State after a 6-2 finish in conference play.

Unfortunately, Kansas State wins the tiebreaker and gets to play in the Big 12 Championship Game. Nebraska saw the top of the Associated Press poll for a while as they were ranked No. 1 for seven weeks throughout the year.

Solich and his team end up at No. 8 in the Associated Press poll and at No. 7 in the coaches’ poll. Chalk up another great third season

Yes, even in the dark days of Bill Callahan, the third season was a success. In 2006, Nebraska finished first in the Big 12 North division at 6-2. In the conference championship game, tenth-ranked Oklahoma defeated the Big Red 21-7. Those darn Sooners were still spoiling everything.

Nebraska ranked as high as No. 16 in the Associated Press poll but ended unranked by seasons’ end. Still, making the Big 12 Championship Game can still be considered a pretty good third season, especially during this era.

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More recently, Bo Pelini had a solid third year in 2010. The Huskers went 6-2 in conference play and finished tied for first place with Missouri.

Fortunately, the tiebreaker belonged to the Big Red, so they would advance to the Big 12 title game.

History would repeat itself as the Sooners defeated Nebraska 23-20. Pelini helped his team reach as high as No. 5 in the Associated Press standings. The Huskers would end up at No. 20 in the Associated Press poll and No. 19 in the coaches’ poll.

What Does it All Mean?

It’s time for Riley to take a page out of the history books. Nebraska has not won a conference championship since 1999. The last time the Big Red appeared in a league title game was in 2012 when the Big Ten still touted the Leaders and Legends divisions. Wisconsin delivered a massive beat down to the Huskers and they haven’t returned since.

Next: The New “Face” of the Huskers

Riley needs to channel the success of his predecessors and apply that to his own third season. Even though the previous coaches couldn’t win the conference championship games in year three, at least they made it there.

Just playing in the game would be a big step forward for Riley. Fans would love to see a win obviously, but a team has to get there to have a chance of winning. History is on Riley’s side and, as we’ve reviewed, history tends to repeat itself.

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