After Nebraska's Season-Opening Loss And Baffling Onside Kick, Scott Frost Is Already Being Asked If He Is Going To Step Down
Nebraska drew first blood. Led 14-3 in the second quarter. Went up 28-17 in the third. Northwestern missed a field goal at the beginning of the fourth quarter. None of it mattered. Nebraska head coach Scott Frost — a once great Cornhuskers QB — has fallen out of favor in Lincoln and wherever fans of his alma mater are located around the globe.
Frost keeps finding ways to consistently lose by the slimmest of margins. It's almost more impressive at this point that he's managed to take L's as often as he has when the scores are so close.
Most of the outcry revolves around Frost's unbelievable decision with that aforementioned 28-17 advantage. Yup, he thought it was the perfect time for an ONSIDE KICK.
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Yeah…WTF indeed.
This feels like that watershed moment where the microcosm of one's coaching tenure is well-summarized in one play.
I don't care whether you believe in "halftime adjustments" or not. There's something to be said for adapting to a live game situation. That seems to be the part of coaching that eludes Frost's grasp the most. The man has fallen to 3-21 when trailing at the half, which…well I doubt I could find a better stat than that to underscore the take I just put forth.
Afterwards, Frost downplayed any speculation that he might resign in shame:
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Let's face it…there's a very real chance this man is forced to step down or otherwise be outright fired. Only seems like a matter of time…and a matter of a prospective contract buyout.
Since this game was in Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, maybe we give Frost the benefit of the doubt and chalk up his game management to jet lag. He was going to be at a coaching disadvantage against Pat Fitzgerald regardless of venue or time zone. That's bad enough. Frost was also watching his defensive front seven get pulverized at the point of attack by the Wildcats, who punished the Cornhuskers for 214 yards rushing on 47 carries, and possessed the ball for over eight minutes longer.
Still, blowing two big leads to kick off the season and Big Ten play? Not a good look for a coach who was already on the hot seat entering 2022. He now owns a 15-30 overall record and a 10-26 mark in conference games since taking the reins in 2018. Making matters worse? The only B1G victory Nebraska had last season was a 56-7 rout of Northwestern.
Do they even let Frost on the plane before they tell him he'll be shitcanned in October? Who's to say.
Twitter @MattFitz_gerald