Steven M. Sipple: Frost’s resolve evident, as is his pain; NU fans definitely can relate to latter | Football

Ah, but there’s danger in that statement. You have to understand that Frost was talking mostly about Nebraska’s level of effort and intensity, which was better than it was in last week’s 41-23 home loss to a moribund Illinois program. So, yeah, the Huskers’ effort and intensity were better than it was during one of the lowest moments in program history. I guess there’s something to be said for that. Not much, but something. 

As a leader, Frost probably is doing the right thing by emphasizing the positive. He knows there’s plenty of negative energy in the fan base at the moment. In fact, he noted that he’s been doubted in his home state before — a 19-0 loss as Nebraska’s quarterback in 1996 at Arizona State comes to mind — and knows there are people questioning him now.

“I know what happened last time (there were doubters), and it’ll happen again,” said the 45-year-old who led Nebraska to the 1997 national championship. 

As he said it, I sort of cringed. A lot of Nebraska fans don’t want to hear all that much about the past anymore. They want to know how Frost is going to get his program headed in the right direction. It’s a complicated conversation in that Frost keeps telling us it’s already headed that way. Meanwhile, his team keeps making the same type of mistakes, time and again. 

Every time Cameron Jurgens fires an errant snap, every time an offensive lineman draws a penalty flag at precisely the wrong moment, every time Nebraska falters on special teams, every time the Huskers commit a debilitating turnover, well, you know where I’m going here if you watched NU’s sixth straight loss to Iowa. It was all there, and I didn’t hit all the low points.