Nebraska fired a coach who won 9 games a year, but the new guy might *lose* 9

Nebraska was beaten 55-45 by Big Ten West cellar-dweller Purdue Saturday, the sixth loss of the season by the Cornhuskers. And with home games against undefeated Michigan State and Iowa sandwiched around a trip to Rutgers, it is entirely possible that once-mighty Nebraska could finish the 2015 campaign with nine losses. Fans in attendance had trouble masking their sadness.

The depth of the Cornhuskers’ losing is staggering. Nebraska hasn’t suffered nine losses in a season since 1957, five years before Bob Devaney turned Nebraska football into a 40-year empire. Nebraska had not lost to Purdue since the season following that nine-loss record.

Saturday’s loss virtually guarantees that Nebraska will not play in a bowl. Just twice in the last 47 seasons have the Cornhuskers missed a bowl game. And even before this week’s loss, Nebraska had already lost more games this season than it had in any campaign under previous coach Bo Pelini.

The irony of a potentially nine-loss Nebraska is that the Cornhuskers have failed at so many things that were virtually automatic under previous coach Bo Pelini. Athletic director Shawn Eichorst laid out his standard for performance while announcing the firing of Pelini:

The people of Nebraska deserve not only high standards and expectations, but they deserve seeing our people and our teams reach them. I indicated during my introductory press conference that we will compete for Big Ten and national championships, and we will do so with class, integrity, sportsmanship and with a commitment to our student-athletes.

Nebraska is a long way from competing for Big Ten and national championships at the moment. In fact, the Cornhuskers are failing at things that Pelini accomplished without fanfare. For instance, Nebraska just lost to a team that is almost certain to miss the postseason. It could be their third loss of the season to such an opponent, depending on how Miami and Illinois finish their seasons. Pelini lost to a non-bowl team once in seven years.

The Cornhuskers entered the week ranked 125th nationally in passing defense. Last season, Nebraska was 32nd nationally in defending the pass. In 2012, the Huskers had been fourth. And though new coach Mike Riley’s calling card has been offense, Nebraska is averaging six fewer points per game than it did last season. Purdue had not scored 48 or more points against a non-Indiana Big Ten opponent since 2008, and had scored just 41 points in its first three Big Ten games combined. And while many of Purdue’s points were scored on short drives following Nebraska turnovers, the Cornhusker defense is a shell of its former self.

The new Nebraska regime hasn’t remedied the problems of Pelini’s tenure, either. One of the consistent criticisms of Pelini was Nebraska’s turnover margin, which has not finished in the black since 2009. However, one thing remains consistent between the regimes: Nebraska gives the ball away like it’s Christmas morning. The Cornhuskers committed five turnovers in losing to Purdue, pushing their turnover margin for the season to minus-8. With five of Nebraska’s six losses coming by less than six points, dropping a turnover per game remains critical.

After seven seasons, Nebraska decided that nine wins a season weren’t good enough and fired a longtime coach because of it. The Cornhuskers may not see that nine-win mark again anytime soon, and Mike Riley’s future with the program may not be nearly as long as Pelini’s.