The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Bo Pelini

Nebraska fell from Blue Blood to Power Program I under Bo Pelini.

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2003–2014 · 1 stint
Nebraska
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Career arc

His real stature score, season by season, across every program he’s coached — so a stretch that stays in one tier the whole way can still climb or sink on the line, not just flatten out. Node color marks the tier reached. Which program a stretch belongs to is carried by the shaded lane behind it.

Stature score reached, by season of his head-coaching careerNEBRASKADynastythe sport's summitBlue Bloodpermanent top tierPower Programperennial contenderNebraska, 2003: 1-0, Blue Blood2003Nebraska, 2008: 9-4, Blue Blood2008Nebraska, 2009: 10-4, Power Program I2009Nebraska, 2010: 10-4, Power Program I2010Nebraska, 2011: 9-4, Power Program I2011Nebraska, 2012: 10-4, Power Program I2012Nebraska, 2013: 9-4, Power Program I2013Nebraska, 2014: 9-3, Power Program I2014-20.2One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached Blue Blood in his 1st career season — faster than 59% of the 100 FBS coaches who have ever reached Blue Blood (rank #1 of 100 by seasons-to-arrival).

Nebraska, 8 seasons
−20.2
Blue Blood → Power Program I.

Style position and drift

Where each stint’s offense sat between run-first and pass-first, and how far it moved from one season to the next. The band is that stint’s real season-to-season range, not a fixed-width box.

40%Nebraska2003–2014– 0.0pt
Pass rate — share of offensive plays that were pass attemptsfirst covered seasonmost recent covered seasonfull season-to-season range (3+ covered seasons)

The big-game ledger

How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.

6–2 against his rivals. Just 1–2 against Bob Stoops.

Rivalry record
6–2
75.0% · 3 rivals
One-score games
14–13
51.9% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
2–6
25.0%
Rivalry ledger
Iowa3–175%
Colorado3–0100%
Wisconsin0–10%
The toughest matchup
vs. Bob Stoops1–2
3 meetings, 2008–2010
’08 L’09 W’10 L
33% win rate across a real, 3-meeting series — short of the bar this site uses before badging a series “Nemesis.” Shown here as the toughest matchup on record, not an algorithmic crown.
Performance by opponent class
Blue Blood
2–6 25.0%
Power Program
14–12 53.8%
National Program
20–5 80.0%
Regional Program
22–3 88.0%

Coaching career

2003–2014
Nebraskadecliner
Blue Blood → Blue Blood
Nebraska fell from Blue Blood to Power Program I under Bo Pelini.

5th-best Nebraska tenure of 18 by the numbers.

Succeeded by Mike Riley (2015–2017).

Season200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014Trend
Record & result
Record9–35–68–49–55–79–410–410–49–410–49–49–3
Postseason———————————L bowl
Recruiting rank———————————#35
Style — pass rate
Pass rate———————————37.9
Coordinators
OC———————————Tim Beck
DC———————————John Papuchis
Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile
Offense———————————46
Defense———————————50
Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script (2021+ only)
1st-down pass%———————————33.0
Red-zone pass%———————————32.8
4th-down go%opp. territory———————————20.9
Where the roster comes from, by position
Grows Tight end from high school
100%
#164 of 188 stints
Grows Edge from high school
100%
#191 of 208 stints
Postseason detail2014: Lost to USC 42–45 National University Holiday Bowl

49 NFL Draft picks: Chris Kelsay (2003), DeJuan Groce (2003), Josh Brown (2003), Scott Shanle (2003), Demorrio Williams (2004), Jammal Lord (2004), Josh Sewell (2004), Ryon Bingham (2004) + 41 more

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