90,000 balloons

Scott Frost, Nebraska football and those fleeting red balloons

On fall Saturdays in Lincoln, Nebraska, the sights all feel familiar. The Sea of Red fans, the smell of warm Runzas and the smattering of 'GO BIG RED' chants heard from The Haymarket to Memorial Stadium. The buzz is consistent. (Three hundred and seventy-five straight game days worth to be exact.) Even if the only constant in the past seven years has been drama.

Another familiar sight is the ceremonial releasing of the red balloons. The first Husker touchdown of every game, cheers ring out as the balloons are released to float into the sky. It seems fun if NU is winning. Not as much fun if the home team is already down big. 

But what that time-honored tradition always is: fleeting. It only lasts a minute or two. A few plays later, the balloons are a distant memory. 

Much like the red balloons, it appears that a portion of Husker fans' patience, sweet dreams and unbridled belief in their former-quarterback-turned-head-coach might also be fleeting. Marred by a disappointing three seasons, impotent offenses, a failed attempt to dodge heavyweight Oklahoma, a change in athletic director and (as of Wednesday) an NCAA investigation, the chips are stacking up.

What was supposed to be a storybook homecoming for the do-it-all kid from Wood River has been anything but. All of the promise, recruiting hype and tailwinds coming off his lauded 13-0 finish leading UCF in 2017 is quickly evaporating. Up in the air, if you will.

Before making any jarring referendums, let's look a little deeper into how Scott Frost and Nebraska got here.

On Wednesday, the college football media hot lamp shined brightest on the Cornhuskers in Lincoln. Early that morning, Brett McMurphy reported Scott Frost and Nebraska were under NCAA investigation for improper use of analysts and staff-led unauthorized off-campus workouts during the pandemic.  McMurphy detailed that the NCAA has “significant video footage” confirming the practice violations took place in the presence of Frost and other assistants.

Hours later, new athletic director Trev Alberts and head coach Scott Frost addressed the media. Head tilted downward, Frost looked despondent. He resembled a child being dragged to a neighbor's front door to apologize for breaking a window. 

What followed was straight from the investigation playbook: Acknowledgment. Brief statement. No comment about an ongoing investigation. No surprise there. 

With Wednesday's news, an already pressure-packed season got ratcheted up a few notches. Nebraska is 12-20 under Frost in three seasons and has yet to appear in a bowl game. (Note: At the end of last year, Nebraska opted not to play a bowl game, citing fatigue from the COVID pandemic season.) 

Last year alone, the Huskers' offense - Frost's specialty – struggled with consistency for the third year in a row. The run game has steadily improved. Give credit where credit is due. But Nebraska's scoring and passing offense ranked third-worst in the B1G with 23.1 PPG and 190 YPG. The scoring offense also ranked 102 out of 128 FBS teams. Much maligned starting quarterback Adrian Martinez has a heavy hand in that output.

Despite a promising freshman year, Martinez has been the poster boy for a few saliva-inducing plays per game, accompanied by more heartburn-inducing mistakes. Fumbles galore, untimely interceptions...you name it, he's done it. Keep the Zantac nearby, Husker fans.

Frost tried to replace the inconsistent Martinez last season with gadget player Luke McCaffrey. That experiment failed and failed fast. McCaffrey flopped and has since transferred twice in a calendar year.

The quarterback/offensive troubles fall directly on Frost. Once heralded as an offensive hotshot, his offenses have stunk. Little to no consistency. A lack of identity. Things are a far cry from what onlookers saw at Oregon and UCF.

Off the field, things haven't been much better for the Cornhuskers. Staring down the barrel of a pandemic-induced shortened/canceled season, Scott Frost, Bill Moos, Ted Carter stood behind a group of Nebraska players that filed that a lawsuit against the B1G as part of the #WeWantToPlay movement.

B1G juggernaut Ohio State joined the fight. The conference reversed course and cobbled together a truncated schedule. OSU got most of the praise, with Nebraska catching the ridicule. The 'Happy Scott Frost Day', thank you for your service-type sentiments and post-game graphics dunks poured in. 

Fast forward through a sluggish 3-5 campaign and declined bowl invitation, the Huskers were able to sell more promise. The COVID season is over. Senior players get a second senior year. Lots of returning starters.

Next came the Oklahoma fiasco. Brett Murphy reported in March that Nebraska was trying to get out of playing OU, marking the 50th anniversary of the 1971 OU-NU Game of the Century. Nebraska contacted several Group of 5 Conference schools to replace Oklahoma on the schedule, according to McMurphy. Frost was reportedly the leader on that front. Right on cue, the backlash came pouring in. They denied trying to dodge OU.

Then came the retiring-not-fired retirement of then A.D. Bill Moos. The Omaha World-Herald reported numerous leadership shortcomings during the Moos era. Unsurprising, unlike his strange hire from Washington State.

Now two weeks before the season, the Huskers have the clouds of an NCAA investigation hanging over their heads. 

The purported infractions are minor, as noted by The Athletic's Mitch Sherman and Andy Staples. Those infractions won't lead to a Frost firing. But an NCAA investigation opens the door for two things: 1) The potential for the NCAA to find far worse. Big Brother is already digging, who knows what they might find. 2) The 'break glass in case of emergency' option of firing Frost after the season and significantly reducing his $25 million buyout.

Two FBS schools have gone the nuclear route in the past few years. Kansas fired David Beaty over small fry NCAA violations to avoid a $3 million buyout. They subsequently lost in court.

Tennessee recently pulled it with Jeremy Pruitt. Pruitt and Tennessee's violations are laughably more egregious, considering they reportedly filled McDonald's bags full of cash on recruiting visits. What do you expect from a man who, as a full-grown ass adult, had never heard of asparagus?

According to Extra Points with Matt Brown, Frost has an item in his contract regarding NCAA violations and his standing with the school. Andy Staples also reported the unusual clause in Frost's assistant's contracts: The school can automatically terminate their deals if Frost resigns or retires. The school would owe them nothing. (That could deter Frost from "resigning" in hopes of recouping a partial buyout if he knows judgment day is coming.)

The 'break glass in case of emergency' option would undoubtedly be messy. A Judeus-like backstabbing in Big Red Nation's eyes. Think of the narrative: 

• If Nebraska could do that to one of their own, who would take that job? 

• That's not the Nebraska way! 

• If Frost couldn't turn it around, no one can. Our program is doomed!

The hot takes would come down hard and fast. Sort of like a popped balloon.

The old saying goes: Winning solves everything. It's probably still true with the current state of Nebraska football. 

If the Huskers get hot, show steady improvement and carve out a .500 or better season, the Kool-Aid keeps flowing. Winning makes problems go away.

There can't be a referendum on Scott Frost or Nebraska quite yet. The school can't afford to sack a coach two weeks before the first game. Trev Alberts barely has his feet wet on the job.

But don't discount the unique circumstances shaping up: A new athletic director. An underperforming coach. An NCAA investigation looming.

English philosopher Francis Bacon once said, "Hope is a good breakfast, but it is a bad supper." Nebraska and their fans have had a hearty breakfast. Stacks of empty-calorie pancakes with a side of an NIL-cash flushed future. 

But it's time for supper. That breakfast satisfaction is fleeting.