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This 10-4 season doesn't feel nearly as good as last year's for Nebraska.
Last year, coach Bo Pelini shouted ''Nebraska is back'' after a 33-0 romp over Arizona in the Holiday Bowl gave the Cornhuskers six wins in their final seven games.
That declaration, in retrospect, was premature.
Nebraska heads to the Big Ten in 2011 off losses in three of its final four games. The last one was the worst: a lethargic 19-7 setback in the Holiday Bowl on Thursday night against a Washington team the Huskers had beaten by 35 points on the road in September.
After having been ranked as high as No. 5 in October, the 17th-ranked Huskers will at best be near the bottom of the Top 25 after losing to an opponent that had to win three straight at the end of the season just to get to 6-6.
''We won 10. I wish we would have won 14,'' Pelini said. ''We didn't reach our goal.''
The Huskers came into the season regarded as a team on the rise, one with an outside shot at winning the national championship.
Nebraska won the Big 12 North for the second straight year, only to blow a 17-0 lead and lose 23-20 to Oklahoma in the conference championship game.
The season turned after a mid-October loss to Texas in Lincoln, and things got worse after redshirt freshman quarterback Taylor Martinez got hurt against Missouri two weeks later.
With Martinez bothered by ankle and foot injuries, and sharing time with backup Cody Green, the Huskers lost the explosiveness they showed early on when Martinez was getting mentioned as a Heisman Trophy candidate.
His breakaway ability limited, Martinez was asked to operate as a pocket passer. Martinez was indecisive and prone to sacks. Running back Rex Burkhead took some of the load off Martinez's shoulders, operating out of the wildcat formation with some success, but it wasn't enough.
The Huskers also were dogged by undisciplined play. They were called for a school-record 16 penalties in a 9-6 loss at Texas A&M, and they were flagged 12 times for 102 yards against Washington.
The defense that Pelini predicted would be better than the 2009 unit led by Ndamukong Suh was hit and miss. Prince Amukamara and Alfonzo Dennard might have been the best cornerback combination in the nation, but the Huskers proved vulnerable to the run.
But it's the offense that will get the most offseason scrutiny. Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson, a holdover from Bill Callahan's coaching staff, is under fire for his play-calling.
Pelini has said he wants to take a physical offense into the Big Ten, but Watson seemed beholden to the West Coast philosophy that Callahan preached.
Pelini said he would evaluate his entire staff but that he expected all his assistants to be back except for linebackers coach Mike Ekeler, who will be co-defensive coordinator at Indiana.
Watson was noncommittal about his future.
''We'll see what happens,'' he said.
Pelini has other personnel decisions to make. Green will challenge Martinez for the starter's job in the spring, and others will enter the mix. Brion Carnes is coming off his redshirt year, and the Huskers have verbal commitments from four-star recruits Bubba Starling of Gardner, Kan., and Jamal Turner of Arlington, Texas.
The Huskers have young talent at running back to help make up for the loss of Roy Helu Jr., who finished as Nebraska's No. 4 all-time rusher with 3,404 yards.
Top receiver Brandon Kinnie and tight end Kyler Reed are back, but the offensive line will need some significant retooling.
Defensive tackle Jared Crick said he would decide after the bowl whether to declare for the NFL draft or come back for his senior season.
Dennard already has said he'll return. Same with linebacker Lavonte David, who set a school season record with 152 tackles.
With new opponents to prepare for in the Big Ten, Pelini seemed ready to forget the bowl loss.
''This won't affect the offseason one bit,'' he said. ''I mean, it doesn't change what you do, what you have to get done. It will be a new team next year, new challenges.''
