Very true.
Of course, there are only 2 million people living in the state of Nebraska versus 5 million living in the 11 counties of metro Atlanta. It’s safe to assume there’s not as many entertainment options on a Fall day in southeast Nebraska as there are around Atlanta.
That's true as well. The analysis of being the "big fish in a little pond" is spot-on, similar to how GT was a dominant force in Atlanta under Bobby Dodd (before all the other pro sports came in). It's also true that on gameday, at 60% full Memorial Stadium becomes the 3rd largest city in Nebraska.
I have some interesting first-person insight here, as my wife is a Husker, so we're there at least once a year for a game (and my company has an office in Lincoln, so I've spent a good bit of time there).
In short, I would definitely rank Nebraska higher than us from a coach's perspective. They have (IMO) one of the strongest, most reasonable, and otherwise best fanbases in the country. The booster support is strong. The university support is strong, with none of the restrictive major issues we have. They have Big 10 money, and are one of the top 25 operating budgets in college athletics.
On top of that, the atmosphere on gameday is much more electric. On
every gameday. While the University has been known to reach out to local businesses to buy up 1000 or so unsold seats for the occasional unexciting game (or bad season, ahem), at almost every game I've been to the attendance is >80,000 - and the fans are LOUD, engaged, and part of the experience for recruits and players.
I've seen Bobby Dodd that electric before - but it's the exception, not the rule, during great seasons and during night games. (Granted, the early 90's were the last few seasons I went to every home game).
All that is to say, there are some intangibles I see when attending a Nebraska game that I wish we had at Tech. Whether it's due to population, being the only game in town, or other factors, it's still a different experience for a coach, a player, and for fans.
For a coach, IMO those intangibles - and more importantly the higher salary, bigger budget for great assistants, not fighting with the Hill, and no set-in-stone roadblocks on recruiting - would give Nebraska the edge.
So I begrudgingly think Nebraska is the better job right now - and it's also an example of why for us it's not about getting the
best or
most flashy recruiter coach on all the journalists' boards, but the
right coach for us.