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Are Nebraska diehards the worst fans in college football or do they live up to the perceived hype of being the greatest?

After Saturday, I’m embarrassed by the actions of multiple so-called armchair quarterbacks who hide behind a keyboard and, on social channels, chastise an entire coaching staff and a team of 18-20-something-year-olds who play a game.

Calling for the coaching staff to be fired immediately? Pointing out players’ mistakes on social media? Everyone has an opinion on how to coach this team or make plays, but that doesn’t qualify you as a Division 1 coach or player.

Put your participation trophy and sense of entitlement away and get a grip on reality. This isn’t your daddy’s ‘90s team. Heck, we may never see another run for a natty in my lifetime. (Sidenote: I plan to live to age 100, so I hope I’m proven wrong.)

Am I disappointed the Huskers lost to the Northwestern Wildkitties in Dublin? You bet. Losing is a disappointment. Am I questioning if an onside kick call, in the middle of the third quarter, when the scarlet and cream was 11 points ahead, was the best call? I’m not the coach, I haven’t scouted Northwestern and I wasn’t on the sideline to assess the situation, so it’s not my place to judge. Am I getting weary of the one-score losses? Who isn’t. But ...

Will I show up in Lincoln, Saturday, and cheer for my favorite team? You bet. It’s what we, as Nebraska fans, do. Let’s hope the team and coaches hit the reset button and refocus on the remainder of the season. It’s a long time until the Black Friday game and beyond.

One comment I read in an online group I follow hit home: “What if it was your son, grandson, brother or husband getting trashed everywhere they look?”

If every decision, every move made, is scrutinized in the public’s eye, how would you respond? We have friends in the coaching ranks and on the roster. I know it isn’t easy to isolate oneself from the constant barrage of online nonsense. And, after time, I imagine you begin to second guess every decision.

I can only imagine how much pressure they all feel, with the weight of all of Nebraska’s identity resting upon their shoulders. I hope they shut out the negativity and focus on the positive aspects of the game that binds so many of us together.

I’m not trying to sugarcoat Saturday’s game. Several things went wrong, trying to pin it on one play or player or coach is impossible. There’s room for improvement.

Conversely, a lot of things went right. I was impressed the Huskers cut down the number of penalties to one for five yards. With the exception of the onside kick, special teams showed a vast improvement. Punts averaged around 47 yards per kick.

As fans enter the Memorial Stadium gates, I hope they look up to the words etched in stone and take it to heart: Not the victory but the action: not the goal but the game: in the deed the glory.

Words to live by.

Go Big Red.