Scott Frost's return to Lincoln as the coach at Nebraska was one of the most celebrated coaching hires of the offseason. After all, the former Cornhuskers quarterback was fresh off leading UCF to an undefeated season and a win over Auburn in the Peach Bowl. He would be the cure to all of Nebraska's ills, right?
Through two games, not so much as the Cornhuskers fell to Troy 24-19 on Saturday afternoon, falling to 0-2 on the season -- the first 0-2 start for the program since 1957.
True freshman starting quarterback Adrian Martinez, who injured his leg late in the fourth quarter of last weekend's loss to Colorado, did not play against the Trojans. In his stead, walk-on Andrew Bunch completed 19-of-27 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns but tossed two critical interceptions. Frost's crew didn't do much to help out Bunch, either. They committed 10 penalties for 77 yards, and averaged just 3.9 yards per carry.
It's a really tough situation for Frost. Not only has the shine worn off rather quickly, Martinez's injury was the worst-case scenario for the quarterback position after former Cornhuskers QB Tristan Gebbia transferred after losing the job.
That's not to say that Frost can't turn things around. Maybe he can. But the rough start to his Nebraska career indicates that, even in a division like the Big Ten West -- certainly not the toughest in the Power Five -- the rebuilding job is going to take a long time.
Discipline was an issue on Saturday, the quarterback position is perilous, and the transition from Mike Riley's air-raid to Frost's spread will take more than one season.
Patience is a virtue, Cornhuskers fans.
