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Why Scott Frost might succeed or fail at Nebraska

Scott Frost
Scott Frost (AP Images)

After a tidy coaching searching, Nebraska has its man. According to multiple reports, Husker alum and UCF head coach Scott Frost will fill the opening in Lincoln. Frost is coming off of a perfect regular season in Orlando and will now take over his alma mater, which will miss the postseason for the first time in nearly a decade this year. Frost brings a proven offense and track record of success, but there’s no such thing as a sure thing.

Below, Rivals.com examines three reasons why Frost is the right man for the job and two reasons why he not be.

WHY HE MIGHT SUCCEED

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Frost’s offense is a proven commodity

The offense worked at Oregon and has certainly worked at UCF. This season, Frost’s Knights led the nation is points per game ranked sixth in yards per game. It feels like the perfect prescription for a Nebraska team that probably wouldn’t mind a new identity and a shot in the arm when it comes to scoring. Frost’s offense never ranked below sixth nationally in yards or scoring during his tenure as Oregon’s offensive coordinator. That’s all to say that years of success make it hard to imagine a scenario in which his scheme fails to translate to the Big Ten. There may be some concerns about Frost as the Huskers’ head coach, but the offense’s viability isn’t one of them.

He knows how to sell Nebraska

They say the best salesmen know and love the product, and few grasp the appeal of Nebraska better than Frost. The Cornhuskers’ new head coach is from the state and played quarterback at the school in the 1990s. No coach in America will be more familiar with the product he’s pedaling to recruits. Frost sees the allure of Nebraska and will likely be able to communicate that to prospects. Add in the fact that the 42-year old is young for a major college head coach, and his ability to relate to players considering the Huskers is unparalleled. This shouldn’t be undersold.

He’s proven he’s capable of a rebuild

Turning an 0-12 team into a 12-0 team in two seasons is the stuff of legend and Frost did exactly that at UCF. It’s one of the most impressive coaching jobs of the modern era. It’s also a feat which he’ll never be asked to repeat. From a wins-and-losses perspective, the mess he inherits in Lincoln is nowhere near the same level as the one he took on at UCF, as the Huskers had qualified for a bowl game in nine-straight years prior to this season. Add in the fact that the school comes with elite fan support and some semblance of lingering cache, and this rebuild should seem rudimentary.

WHY HE MIGHT FAIL

He’s new to college football’s highest level

The enormity of turnaround Frost orchestrated in Orlando can’t be overstated, but it also took place at a AAC school. Argue as some may, the Power Five and the Group of Five are different worlds. Beating up on Tulsa, Navy and SMU is a bit different than finding ways past Ohio State, Wisconsin and Penn State. Frost will be faced with bigger, stronger and faster competition and, any way you slice it, the fact that the Florida recruiting base that helped him build a 12-0 team in Orlando is now 1,200 miles away is an obstacle. Frost will be asked to beat better teams despite being armed with a much smaller talent pool. That’s a big ask.

The Nebraska job isn’t what it once was

Tom Osborne never won fewer than nine games in his 25-year span as the program’s coach. The fact that Nebraska has done so six times in the 20 years since is not simply a coaching problem. Sure, Nebraska is capable of competing for Big Ten titles, but its status as a national super power is probably not coming back. Nebraska used to recruit itself to some extent. These days, that’s not the case. Frost will need to battle Ohio State, Wisconsin and others for top-talent in Big Ten country, so the fact that no current recruit was born when the Huskers were a national power continues to take a toll. Great as he may be, Frost will have trouble landing a top-five class in Lincoln. Even a top-10 finish may be wishful thinking.

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