Breaking up is hard

Sigh. This is hard. 
Scott Frost was hired as Nebraska’s new head football coach on a sunny Saturday in December of 2017. It was a dream hire, one nearly every Nebraska fan, media member and booster put full support behind. 
My excitement was palpable. As the news broke and Frost’s UCF team won a conference championship nearly at the same time, I ran out quickly to purchase a 12-pack of Busch Light. 
Celebratory, of course. 
I consumed 11 of those 12 beers in that pack, but left a single can at the back of my mini-fridge in the man cave. It was one of those limited edition orange and blue hunting cans Busch Light has used in the fall over the years. 
The single brew left behind was for good reason. That beer was saved for the day Frost brought Nebraska all the way back. My plans were to crack that beer open as Frost gave his winning remarks on television as the Huskers bathed in confetti after winning its first national championship since Frost himself hoisted the trophy as a player in 1997. 
It didn’t matter to me how many years I would have to wait. I knew in my heart it would be the best drink of my life. 
I had all the best intentions with this beer. It survived a move when my wife and I purchased a house in town. One day, surely, I would drown in the taste of victory. 
In the late hours Saturday night, I pulled that lonely beer from the back of my garage fridge and cracked it open. Frank the Corgi couldn’t bear to watch – who could blame him?
The frothy beverage left a sour taste in my mouth. Not nearly as raunchy as the one left behind from the game. 
How did we get here? Why is this happening? Why isn’t it working? It wasn’t supposed to be like this. 
Georgia Southern, a school from the Sun Belt who has only been playing FBS football since 2014, came into Memorial Stadium on Saturday night and kicked Nebraska’s you-know-what. 
Everything about this was a perfect fit. A native son coming home to turn the tide and bring his alma mater back to the head table. 
But, if you think about it, over a five-year span, it’s never fit. This entire thing has felt like shoving a square peg into a round hole. 
The 0-6 start in 2018 in Frost’s first six games. A 16-31 record in four-plus seasons. That’s as close to a 2-1 loss ratio as it gets. 
Frost never won three games in a row. He never defeated a ranked opponent. Nebraska lost 10-straight one score games before Frost was fired Sunday. Overall, it was a 5-22 record in one-score games.  
The one that really stuck with people, especially after Saturday night, was the Huskers being 214-0 when scoring 35-plus at Memorial Stadium. 
Now, it’s 214-1. 
It wasn’t for lack of effort. In all my conversations with former Husky and Husker Austin Allen, it surely wasn’t lack of trying. 
Those guys wanted it. We all wanted it. That’s why the feeling Sunday wasn’t the same as when other coaches were fired, excited to see who the next coach will be. 
It was sadness. Heartache. 
I love Scott Frost. We all wanted this to work out. This is truly heartbreaking. Disappointing, really. 
Nebraska AD Trev Alberts made the right move in giving Frost a fifth season. There would have been too much division amongst fans and others if Frost was fired in 2021. While some rang out enough is enough, too many believed the Huskers were close to a breakthrough. Myself included. 
The way we played against Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Oklahoma a year ago was proof. 
Surely Nebraska can’t keep finding ways to lose one-score games in the most unconceivable ways. 
At the same time, though, the first three games of 2022 were all the proof that this will never work, and we’ll never really know why. 
Everyone can see where this is going. It was evident in Frost’s postgame press conference after the Georgia Southern loss. 
Alberts dropped the news during the opening hour of the NFL slate – Frost is out. Breakups are hard, but in a lot of situations represent the right move. 
The marriage of Frost and Nebraska never worked out, and that’s okay. Both sides tried everything to make this work, and it just doesn’t. 
Nebraska fans will still root for Scott Frost in whatever his next spot is. Many of us spent the past 20 years reveling at what Frank Solich did at Ohio. Frost will always be our guy – just not here. 
I’m sorry, Scott. We both deserve to be happy. I don’t think we bring out the best in each other. 
It just didn’t work out. 
RICHARD RHODEN can be reached at sports@hamilton.net.