Bo Pelini Vows to Continue Nebraska's Oldest Tradition -- Winning

DALLAS -- Embracing the traditions of Nebraska football is something second-year coach Bo Pelini is all about.

Warming up to any conversation about when the Cornhuskers will return to the Nebraska of old is quite different.

"It's honestly not my focus," Pelini said during the first day of the Big 12 Football Media Days Monday. " My focus is to do the best job I can on a daily basis and to win football games. If I do the job I set out to do every single day each season, then we will be where we need to be."

The Cornhuskers seemed to move a step in that direction at the end of last season when they won four straight games to finish the year 9-4, which included a win over Clemson during the Gator Bowl. The finish was so impressive that the Big 12 media voted Nebraska as the preseason favorite to win the North, a sure sign there is belief the Cornhuskers can eventually be dominant once again.

But as far as Pelini is concerned, it's way too soon to entertain any talk of Nebraska being anywhere near where the program was under Tom Osborne when it collected conference championships with ease and was in the national championship conversation almost every year.

"You know we won't be satisfied until we win them all, until we are playing for a national championship," said Pelini, who took over a program that was a shell of its former self after four years under Bill Callahan. "How close we are to that, I don't know. I'm not into making predictions and saying we are going to do this and do that this coming year.

"I believe we have the resources, the talent to play with everybody on our schedule. How that plays out at the end of the year ... I think we have a chance to be a better football team. I think we will be a better football. How that plays into wins and losses, we'll see that in December."

The overwhelming belief is that it will play out heavily in the Cornhuskers' favor, despite the fact they head into the season with a likely starting quarterback (Zac Lee) who has completed just 1-of-2 passes for five yards in his college career. Nebraska has used the momentum it gained late last season to fuel its offseason as it heads into year No. 2 under Pelini.

"We've seen programs like Alabama and Oklahoma in their second year just take it to a whole new national level," said Nebraska running back Roy Helu. "Building off confidence of what happened in the Gator Bowl and how we've carried it on has just been a big momentum boost through training.

"We're really excited to go into the season. Looking at the schedule and everything, we know it will be real competitive but we know there is the potential to have a good record."

Much of that confidence is rooted in return of stout defensive play in Nebraska, a staple that had gone AWOL during the Callahan years. Thanks to a maturing secondary, the Cornhuskers finished second in the Big 12 in overall defense and 55th in the country.

The defense came through huge in a 45-35 upset of Kansas that began the four-game season-ending run and the play continued with defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh & Co. putting forth blackshirt worthy performances.

"I thought we made some strides on defense, but we're not in the same galaxy of where I want to be defensively," said Pelini, long considered a defensive guru in the college game. "I believe we're heading in the right direction."

Pelini was so impressed with his defense that returned the blackshirt tradition -- a practice of the defense wearing black jerseys during practice -- after their impressive showing against Kansas. The Cornhuskers had shelved the blackshirt tradition after playing so poorly in 2007 under Callahan.

But Pelini vowed the tradition is back.



"The blackshirt is something that our kids take a lot of pride in," he said. "It's a very special tradition in our program and one that will be here forever."

Another tradition that will also always be there is one of winning. And it's one Pelini is certainly aware of along with the high expectations of the Nebraska faithful who have sold out Memorial Stadium for 300 straight games.

But Pelini is trying to balance those expectations with what he needs to do to build his program.

"We're just worried about putting in a good days work every single day and keep putting that money in the bank so that when it comes to Saturday, we're prepared and ready to go," said Pelini, who joined Bob Devaney, Frank Solich and Osborne as the only coaches at Nebraska to win nine games in their first year. "All the expectations or people talking about where Nebraska is in the program, all that will take care of itself in time if we take care of business on the field.

"Everything is going to be decided between the white lines. We have to prepare ourselves accordingly."