LINCOLN — Bo Pelini has seen firsthand what can happen in the third year under a football coaching staff if it gets the right things done in the first two.

Pelini was defensive coordinator for Les Miles from the start at Louisiana State, where the Tigers set the table in 2005 and '06 before winning the national championship in 2007.

Pelini has voluntarily mentioned “year three” at different times in the past six weeks — starting with Big 12 media days in Dallas — and it's obvious that he believes some kind of magic can go with it.

Year three, he has said, is when you “have a chance to make a big jump.”

“The more you have things running smoothly, the more time you can put into the football aspect of it,” Pelini said. “You have a certain list of things you want to get done, and the smaller that list is — meaning there's less things on the plate — then you can concentrate on certain things. That's going to help everybody.”

That hardly guarantees any kind of championship for Nebraska in 2010, but Pelini and a staff staying together for a third season are ready to see what kind of dividends come with what's already been banked.

The offensive and defensive systems were installed in year one and further developed in year two. The expectations long ago were established. The culture has taken hold.

“From a coaching standpoint, I feel like you can count on your guys to do more,” Pelini said. “I'm seeing our guys have an understanding of what we're asking them to do and why we're asking them to do it. I think the trust factor's there.

“There are some things in year three that you're not dealing with quite as much as you are in year one.”

Nebraska starts its third season under Pelini with a 6 p.m. game Saturday against Western Kentucky. It has sampled some success in the first two by going 19-8, winning one Big 12 North title and sharing another, and posting victories in Gator and Holiday bowl appearances.

Along the way, NU defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said, a consistent approach has kept the project going in the right direction.

“I think our players appreciate that consistency,” he said. “Now they know what to expect day-to-day and they respond to it very well. Their work ethic has been unbelievable and that, to me, is the biggest — the biggest — reflection that our culture has taken hold.”

NU assistant coach John Papuchis was with Miles and Bo Pelini at LSU as an intern and graduate assistant. He witnessed the Tigers going from 11-2 and the Sugar Bowl in 2006 to the national championship in 2007.

And Papuchis sees some similarities between those Tigers and these Huskers, especially defensively.

Key players front to back know the system. The carryover from the bowl game to spring practice was better than the year before, requiring less review and more teaching of the “why” than the “how.”

But Papuchis echoed Carl Pelini in saying that Bo Pelini's demands and the players' acceptance of those might have been most important in getting to this point.

“I thought the players did a great job of buying into what Coach Pelini asked, and I think Coach Pelini also does a great job of making his expectations very clear,” Papuchis said. “It doesn't take guys long to figure out either you're going to do it our way, or you're not going to be here very long.”

Those remaining from the Bill Callahan era and those coming on board with the last three recruiting classes are part of an NU team that takes Nos. 8 and 9 preseason rankings into 2010.

Into year three.

“It's an important year as a coach,” Carl Pelini said. “I think it's a year where there should be certain expectations by fans and administrators, because it should be the year where your program becomes firmly established as to who you're going to be.”

Bob Stoops won a national championship in his second season at Oklahoma, as did Jim Tressel at Ohio State and Urban Meyer at Florida. Nick Saban was in his third season when Alabama broke through last year.

Although Stoops said part of his project included convincing players they could win, he phrased the mission similar to how Pelini described it.

“For us, it was all about teaching them how to work,” Stoops said. “It's just your culture — how do we approach the day, how do we approach practice, what's the work ethic through the week that gives us an opportunity to win on Saturday. And usually by year three it's pretty well established, or it is more than it was in years one and two.”

NU fifth-year senior Anthony West said he never thought ahead when Bo Pelini took over. Never wondered where the Huskers might be after he had some time to wedge deeper into the job.

But both West and senior Niles Paul said that might sum up what Pelini wanted — a focus on the process.

“He came in here and he changed the whole environment,” Paul said. “From day one, Coach Bo has been Coach Bo. I haven't seen too much change from him.

“He came in with a mission, and obviously we're trying to execute that mission for him.”

Contact the writer:

444-1042, rich.kaipust@owh.com

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