OPINION BY THAD LIVINGSTON, HUSKERS ILLUSTRATED

Hear that? All the talk coming out of Lincoln about a breakthrough season in 2024? Husker players running their mouths about how they are going to shock the world?

Actually, I don’t hear it either. Because there is no talk coming from players in Lincoln about being the old Nebraska again or restoring order.

And that is a good sign. I remember a bad sign, back in 2006. Maybe you remember it, too. Nebraska, under Bill Callahan, had a hotshot cornerback named Andre Jones who announced before a big early-season road game at powerful USC that Nebraska would win and it would “slingshot our season.”

“When we beat this team, we can show the world that we are a great team and we restored the order,” Jones said.

It wasn’t hard to recognize the false bravado. I remember thinking at the time that an L.A. Times scribe could have his or her story halfway finished before the game even started. Just find a Trojan to say talk is cheap after the USC win and top it off. Easy night in the press box.

And that’s what happened. USC won 28-10 in a game not as close as the score would indicate. To its credit, NU went on to a decent 9-5 season. But the next year, NU fell to 5-7 and has been leaking oil ever since.

Nebraska hasn’t had a winning season since 2016. In games against highly ranked teams, NU’s game plan typically appears to be just to survive until the next week when a lesser opponent shows up.

At the risk of over-simplifying and putting too much stock in ex-sports editor intuition, NU’s gaskets are finally being replaced. One sign among many is how quiet things are in Lincoln. To be sure, there is plenty of media squawking – that’s what we do in Nebraska – but players and coaches? Strictly business. No predictions. No orders being restored. It’s nothing but building for the future.

Whereas Nebraska’s theme during 1994’s national championship season was “Unfinished Business,” coach Matt Rhule’s theme for his second season at Nebraska, which has all the trappings of a winning program except the most important thing - wins, is “shut up, go work and earn some things.”

That’s a Rhule quote from a May “Sports Nightly” radio show appearance. And as Rhule has done so often since his arrival, he struck the perfect chord.

The only way Nebraska will regain any modicum of respect is to win games. Until then the Huskers are an afterthought. As you read the opponent previews in Huskers Illustrated magazine, it becomes apparent other teams are not highly concerned with Nebraska on their schedules.

Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon, USC and Penn State are the teams to circle. Wisconsin and Iowa come up here and there as difficult opponents in the eyes of other teams. Washington played in last year’s national championship game. UCLA always has athletes. Rutgers has things up and running and will be good.

To most outsiders, Nebraska does not even hold “sleeping giant” status anymore.

And why would it? None of the players on other teams are old enough to know what NU used to be.

Few on the outside care that Nebraska still sells out its big stadium, has facilities that rank among the very best, has had three Heisman Trophy winners and has won five national championships under all-timers named Devaney and Osborne.

These days Nebraska is known to most outsiders as a has-been that manufactures ridiculous ways to give away close games. In 2023 it did so repeatedly in a 5-7 season by giving the ball to the other team. Out of 130 teams appearing in NCAA FBS statistics, Nebraska was 129th in turnover margin at minus-17. An ungodly number stemming from 31 total turnovers by an offense hamstrung by numerous injuries and remedial quarterback play.

The defense, the team’s strength in 2023, should not be let off the hook. It compiled its numbers – best rushing defense, total defense and scoring defense since joining the league in 2011 – mostly against plodding offenses and showed a frustrating inability to get off the field on third down. Its turnovers gained – 14 – was not close to the mark of a dominating defense.

And special teams did little to help NU’s cause. Nebraska needs to be better in the third phase.

The good news for 2024 is that Nebraska could be better in every phase in Rhule’s second year, as is his college track record. But the big payoff has come in Year 3 under Rhule, a proven program builder at Temple and Baylor. It could come quicker at Nebraska.

With a few exceptions at linebacker and defensive back, the Huskers return all of their top players from a year ago. They’ve added a highly regarded freshman quarterback, and – on paper at least – dramatically upgraded at receiver and have a difference-maker at tight end. Up front, they are in better shape than anytime in recent memory with proven veterans manning both lines of scrimmage with depth behind them. The defensive line could be the strongest position on the team – always a good indicator of success.

Nebraska has a topnotch defensive coordinator, a 3-3-5 guru, who was a hot head coaching commodity after last season. He decided to stay. Numerous draft-eligible players decided to stay. Some good power-conference portal players decided to come aboard, as did the nation’s best high school quarterback and a quarterbacks coach, late of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

And the schedule, while not easy in the new Big Ten, is manageable and appears to allow for this team to build confidence before a more difficult second half highlighted by what could be the nation’s best team in Ohio State.

The best-case scenario is that NU gets off to a good start, which would include a feel-good win over Colorado, and its confidence blossoms entering Big Ten play with four winnable games – caution: that’s what the following teams are thinking too – against Illinois, Purdue, Rutgers and Indiana. Then it’s the loaded Buckeyes and four more Big Ten toughies in UCLA, USC, Wisconsin and Iowa. Nebraska wants to be in position for those final four to define its season.

For this team, six wins and a bowl, while nice for once, might be selling it short. A true breakthrough season would be eight, nine or even 10 wins.

But you won’t hear anyone in Lincoln saying it. Just “shut up, go work and earn some things.” If Nebraska earns nine or 10 wins, the college football world will hear it loud and clear. No talking necessary.