Woulda,  shoulda, coach hires is the story nation wide until one of the unknowns,  by chance  hires,   has a good season and team.  The luck of chemistry.  Recruit the fastest kid ever,  has good grades at a sub standard high school,  and he can't cut it at college level academics.  Or your three best,  most experienced  linemen all blow up knees in one month.   So many parts.  So many variables.  So many unknowns.  Try as you might,  crap happens.  You never field the team you recruited.  You field part of the team you recruited,  and there had better be,   like the Nebraska of old,   a uniform for any kid from Nebraska who played high school ball in Nebraska,  a student in good standing,  and a set of coaches for the unrecruited horde that showed up every fall.  And from that,  Devine et al developed All Americans from kids who played six man was out in western Nebraska,  were overlooked,  kids who developed late,  who gained skills and speed from training.  Every one a Cornhusker.