Tom Osborne Quotations

The odds are always against you no matter what your previous history is. You have to overcome the tendency to relax.

Everybody's got to do what they've got to do.

You can tell by looking at me that I've got more miles behind me than I've got in front of me. When you reach that point, if you've got some good years left, you want to make sure that you use them wisely

I'm not really good at retiring. I tried that one time and Nancy ran me out of the house.

When you coach as long as I did, you can't help but miss those Saturdays - dealing with the players, the game preparation, the challenges, the excitement

Wood Memorial did a great job tonight taking away Bowen, and we didn't get out on the edges.

Wood has Brian Ellis, and he is a great quarterback and can make some big plays. So I am really proud of our kids. I think we've got a good group.

One of the goals we have set for this year is that we never want to get beat by seven points or less, ... That might sound funny, but if you look at last year's results, we lost three games by seven or less. We could have gone into the tournament with five wins instead of two wins, and then that confidence would have been there. So there are opportunities to improve our record dramatically by winning the close games.

Kate will bring unquestioned integrity, values and work ethic to the lieutenant governor's office, ... She is not afraid to challenge the status quo, and she believes, as I do, that Nebraskans are not satisfied with 'pretty good' or 'good enough.' With Kate on our team, I am convinced more than ever that we can transform Nebraska into a world-class performer on every level.

I think we have a lot of confidence, and I think we've got a lot of athletic ability. We have put in more offense in a week and a day than we ran all of last season. We had 14 seniors last year, but seven of those were first-year players. So now, most of our kids have been in the system at least a year, with some having two or three years' experience.

Our state's foster-care system has been badly in need of major reform for quite some time.

That delay helped us. We had a couple of guys who were ready to fall out from the heat. We went inside and watched 'Hoosiers' for for about 30 minutes, and told the kids to just get relaxed. We fed them some fruit and peanut butter, and then came back out and played well.

I think he pretty well had run the string out.

Michael's condition from a layman's point of view is that he just doesn't perceive and think like most 14- and 15-year-old young men.

We didn't do anything fancy, ... we did use some misdirection.... That did help to some degree.

We worked our tails off this week. We were really disappointed in the Gibson Southern finish. So I told them at halftime tonight that we were going to need at least 17 more points to win it, and they believed it.

When you get your quarterback back, now that's a big deal. USC, because of that factor, if you had to pick a team, they'd be the favorite.

When you get your quarterback back, now that's a big deal, ... USC, because of that factor, if you had to pick a team, they'd be the favorite.

We feel pretty good up front, and we are going to be pretty big, ... We should be about 60-40 (percent) run-to-pass. We are mostly a double-slot, spread offense. We will work on the perimeter as much as possible. We don't do a whole lot inside, because even with the good-sized linemen we have, we are not going to be bigger than anybody we play.

Each individual may decide if it is an advantage to be in a plan, ... It is a voluntary program.

There's no question I had a name recognition advantage, but as time went on people started to focus on the issues and not who was a football coach and who wasn't.

Rarely do you have everything come together, a good supporting class and that key quarterback there for three years. Anytime you break in a quarterback, no matter, how talented it's hard to go out and win every game.

Some people feel like we didn't do anything to him. But I imagine by suspending him, I took several million dollars away from Lawrence Phillips. He's paid a price.

A lot of great memories with Barry over the years. The thing I always appreciated about our relationship is that it was always amicable no matter the circumstances. You see so many rivalries like Ohio State-Michigan and Florida-Florida State get nasty. This one was never that way.

It sounded like he was getting things on track. I'm just really embarrassed and sorry for the people that he hurt. I did everything I could to help him, but apparently it wasn't enough.

It will be the first Osborne-on-Osborne battle. And, that is my birthday. So the best gift I could have would be a great night from our players against my dad's team. It should be fun.

This is information that seniors need to have and understand, ... The Medicare prescription bill was a contentious one in Congress. The average person on Medicare will see a savings of 50 percent in prescription drug costs with this program.

The fans used to think Oklahoma was the enemy. They actually made us better.

I have told these kids that they could be the best senior class that we have ever had, ... All five are going to be great contributors and solid leaders. And they want to make sure they are having fun. They know how much they are depending on these juniors and sophomores and freshmen.

I just think it's the right thing to do,

I'll bring in outsiders to evaluate state agencies. They can sometimes see what we can't.

We are probably hitting more this week than we ever have, just to see, ... We have 40 kids out there, and it is pretty competitive. So we have some kids we can put in, but they are going to have a lack of experience.

I still miss the players and I miss the game and the strategy. The first couple years were really difficult. Now I realize I'll never coach again. It's still hard to go into the stadium on a game day, because it's hard to just be a fan. But it's easier now than it was the first two or three years.

By the time I get to the locker room, I'm done.

Orlando... So many courses & great deals, especially in the summer!

Our people were not happy. I knew at some point we were going to win. It's a little unfair, but that's the reality. To some degree, it became a one-game season for some folks.

It is important that voters be as informed as possible when they enter the polls May 9 to determine who has the experience, integrity and vision to lead Nebraska to excellence.

As a college coach, I felt you could make a difference in a player's life. There was an educational aspect I thought was important.

Have a spiritual basis which guides you in life. Have a philosophy of life to live by.

Know how to win and how to lose and be able to handle adversity.

My hardest job is to convince the people of Nebraska that 10-1 is not a losing season.

Work hard, stay focused and surround yourself with good people.

Is success just about winning? Acclaim? Trophies? Wealth? Our personal happiness or satisfaction? I have been blessed to experience some of these over the years, and I can answer without batting an eye: No. Accomplishments, applause, awards and fortune are rewards that often come as the result of hard work and a determined spirit, but there is something bigger. Something better. Something that will outlast the winningest season, the plushest corner office, the heftiest bonus and the loudest cheers. That something can only be found when we look beyond the final score.

I celebrate a victory when I start walking off the field. By the time I get to the locker room, I'm done.