Aim9

I have read just about every Big XII/Nebraska blogger/writer out there and I must say Sam McKewon is the best. His perspectives are always so thoughtful and in-depth. You can tell he carefully crafts each of his pieces instead of just begrudgingly hammering out another article because he has to. (I'm looking at you, David Ubben)

As a Nebraska fan I love Turner Gill as much as anyone, but quite frankly I don't know if I'm sold on his coaching credentials. If you study his years at Buffalo, he did win more games than years past, but not all that much more. He really only had one good year, but that year Buffalo was still probably the 5th best team in the MAC. He just happened to be in the weak half of the division. Did anyone really see the game when Buffalo beat undefeated Ball St.? Might have been the biggest fluke of a game I've ever seen. Two ludicrous fumble returns for 40yd + touchdowns? 5 overall turnovers by Ball St., only one of them really forced? Call it opportunistic defense or whatever, but I honestly don't think they should get much credit for getting fumbles on 3 Ball St. botched snaps. Ball State TOTALLY controlled that game but it turned out to be Gill's signature win. This year Buffalo is down in the dumps again. BTW, Mangino also had one totally sweet year when the won the orange bowl and everything, but other than that... well... I hope for Kansas's sake that history doesn't repeat itself. They just hired a coach who really only has one good year- more of a product of circumstance than coaching skill, in my opinion. I hope I'm wrong and Gill does a great job- he seems to have collected some solid coaches around him- but let's just say that as of now I'm not worried about Kansas overtaking the Big XII North.

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Ingram is good, but he's certainly not Barry Sanders. Barry Sanders never got held to 30 yards in a game in college against anyone. Ever. Suh didn't get his due because he was a lineman on a four loss team. That sucks, but not as much as it sucks to be an incredible player on a team from a non-Big Six conference. Ever notice how DeAngelo Williams never got much notice despite shredding the record books at Memphis? This year, Kellen Moore got jobbed worse than anyone. He leads his team to an undefeated season beating Pac 10 champion Oregon, currently ranked #7 in the country. He threw 39 touchdowns and only three interceptions!!! What the hell does he have to do? Someone please tell me how he could have done something differently to AT LEAST get invited to the ceremony. And don't give me that "the conference is weak" bs because Boise has been trying to play legit teams for years. Hats off to Oregon for at least trying (and failing). The whole thing is a joke and everyone who knows anything about college football knows that. Also, trust me as a Boston resident, no one in the northeast knows wtf is going on in college football. No one. Not Joes on the street and not sports commentators. So then why are they voting on who is the best player in college football out of 120 teams? I couldn't tell you. At least they don't arbitrarily decide who gets to play in the championship game... oh wait...

After the Big XII title game I'm pretty sure before McCoy goes to bed at night he checks his his closet for Suh. I don't have a problem with McCoy- I think he's a good guy- but man Mack Brown comes off more douchey every time I hear him talk. McCoy is a winner because he made one completion and got two penalties to BARELY put them in field goal range and DID let them lose the game by waiting too long to throw the ball? (was overturned by ref who graduated from UT... , but I suppose that whole rant is for another thread) By Mack Brown's standards, Harrison Beck in the K-State game was a true hero QB! He tried to give the game away several times, was intercepted several times, but man when it came to making a single mediocre pass and drawing a penalty through no skill of his own and precariously putting us into field goal range he was tops! Beck 4 Heisman!

Also, because the game had already ended... I wonder if that is the case and the issue is raised, could the loss be overturned by the Big XII? Crazy I know, but just throwing it out there. If the game is over NU wins 12-10. If anyone knows the official rule could you post that? Comments?

Unless I'm mistaken, the time on the game clock is only reviewable when the play is already under review for another reason and a call is overturned. I was yelling at my TV but no one seemed to hear. How is this not a controversy??!?!??!? Do I have my rules wrong? I don't think I do.

I agree with you, but we all need to remember to not get unrealistic expectations again because that just brings down the whole damn fanbase when all of us get like that. I don't think we have to worry about this with Bo as our coach though because he wants and expects the best. He wants those Big XII titles and NC trophies because it makes his job that much easier as far as recruiting goes. I agree BRI. the prospect of us possibly winning out and going 9-3 both excites me and scares me. I hope people dont get unrealistic expectations Well, going 9-3 is kind of impossible because we already have 4 losses. I stand by that my assertion of a husker team with anywhere from 1-4 losses contingent upon quarterback play next year is quite reasonable. As a side note, I grow weary of predicting 4 and 5 loss seasons, which I (and a lot of other people) have been doing for 6 years now. There is nothing wrong with getting excited for next year and I think I have sufficiently tempered my enthusiasm. I think Nebraska will be back next year. Not national championship back, but back to the point where we will be in the top 25 every week. Next year we gain relevance again.

Why is it that NE with a new unproven QB will at worse will lose 3-4 games. But this whole thread is built upon what other teams are losing thus allowing NE to do well. This includes mentioning that K-State, Oklahoma, MU and TT will all lose their best players, allowing NE to earn wins. IF by your reasoning NU can not only compete, but flurish why cant MU, Oklahoma & TT? I would argue that those 3 teams, even with the loss of current players still have more offensive talent than Nebraska. Including a number of young players that all ready see lots of PT. Unlike Nebraska who is banking on 'potential'. I understand this is a nebraska board, but I also enjoy the football talk. I look at all teams with an unbiased approach. I know my team is losing alot of players at the end of the season. I also know that they have a ton of young talent that has gotten alot of time this year. What I dont know is how it will gel and work next year. But I will tell you this. MU clearly had more talent than NE this year. I dont expect that to change in one year. I also know that OU is head and shoulders above MU right now, that wont change in one year either. You all should know that OU is a world above you, and unrealistic expictations only lead to disappointment. I WANT NU to do well, I really do. (as long as you finish second to MU ) But lets not jump the gun. You are right were I thought you would be this year ( I said 7-5, 8-4 if you beat VT or KU). Good enough to beat teams you should ( you haven't gotten bit in the a** by a lowly team this year) but not able to really beat the top teams. I guess what I'm saying is you may very well make the 'jump', but you my finish 3rd or 4th in the north. WHO KNOWS AT THIS POINT. Any way What I'm saying is that the other Big XII teams that are NU's main competition lose a lot more than Nebraska does. Joe Ganz is good, not great. Losing Swift and Peterson hurts a bit but not much. It's not like at Oklahoma where they stand to lose their entire offensive line, pro quarterback and pro running back. Basically, while Nebraska loses a decent quarterback but not much else the other teams are losing all of their top-flight stars. Keep in mind that Nebraska was one two-point conversion away from beating undefeated Texas Tech at home. It's not like we're a TERRIBLE team this year and we lose much less personnel than our other bigtime opponents next year... with the exception of VT. I really don't want to play VT next year.

Even with Frazier starting as a true freshman, we laid an egg to Iowa State. None of our QB's for next year have any experience. Hopefully, that will change with the last two regular season opponents. As a redshirt sophomore, I highly doubt Bradford goes pro. Reesing will be back at Kansas. We might be very competitive in the North next year, but then again we might end up #2 in the North this year. In the end, I think we'll have a year similar to this one. It's going to be tough going into Blacksburg to take on a team that will have a seasoned QB with us taking in a QB with very little experience this early in the season. I think next year our defense will lead the way. They are getting better and better with each game. We hopefully get Turner back for the entire season. Right now, I'd say we'll lose 3-4 games next year. However, we may very well play in the Big 12 Championship game. Yes I agree, the lack of a quarterback is going to be our Achilles' heel. I think we should see how spring and summer camps go, but if Cody Green is better, or even at the same level as our other QB's I think he should start. I say this simply because he will be the yougest player on the team, and if he has the right attitude, he will have the potential to build a very strong program on for the next 4 years. What do you guys think? As for next year, if only we had ganz 1 more year, I think it would be MONEY. Too bad. My final verdict is this: IF cody green or one of the other QB's really step up we have a good shot at the big 12 north, and a chance for the big 12 championship at 9-3 or 10-2. Without a good QB we will finish as poorly as 8-4 or 7-5. Lee has some experience, but Witt and Green do not. All the same, I don't think something like a 2 loss season is unreasonable. Just to clear it up, I wasn't predicting a national championship- I was just saying that we're going to do very well next year, especially in the Big XII. Yes, we'll lose Peterson and Swift, but honestly I don't feel like we lose much with Henry, Holt, Brooks and Paul. We have a lot of talent there. We'll have Suh, Allen, and Turner back on the D-line, which I think will be our strength on defense. Much of our secondary returns, including Anthony Bleu who is probably our best defensive back. As for those mocking the idea of Josh Freeman and Sam Bradford going pro, go check out some of the early draft boards. Sam Bradford is a consensus top three pick. If he's smart he goes pro. Why risk an injury that could cost you 60 million dollars? His stock cannot get any higher than it is right now. Freeman's stock is also pretty high. True, he hasn't done well against Nebraska, but he's got all the physical tools and he's done really well for himself considering K-State has never really had a solid running game to keep defenses honest. Most analysts also predict he'll make the jump. Why would you stick around if you're Freeman? K-State will suck next year every bit as bad as they have this year, possibly worse. I think our next season all pends on the play of our new quarterback. With good quarterback play we could end up being a 1-2 loss team. With so-so quarterback play we could end up being a 3-4 loss team.

I think everyone is missing the point here: our chances of winning any bowl where we play a Pac-10 or Big-10 conference foe are excellent! I hope we get the Alamo bowl so we can crush one of those squishy Big-10 teams. Aside from Penn St., Ohio St., and USC, those conferences don't have a team that could break even in conference play in the Big XII. As long as we aren't playing a team from the SEC (Cotton Bowl) I love our chances of winning.

I really, really like the way our schedule is looking next season. With probable wins coming up against KSU and CU and a bowl game against what will likely be the #4 team in the Big 10 or Pac 10 conference, (which are SO WEAK) I really like our chances of winning out. That leaves us with a 9-4 record, a top 25 ranking, and some momentum heading into next season. I think in personnel we either hold steady or gain strength at all positions except for right guard (Slauson) and quarterback. Our WRs will be slightly less consistent but much more explosive next year. The absolutely critical link and biggest question mark on our team will be at quarterback. I like the talent that we have between Witt, Lee, and Green, but whether that converts to success on the field is yet to be seen. The following predictions are based on the next QB playing at roughly Ganz's level. Here's my early breakdown of 2009: W- 09/05 Fla. Atlantic @ Lincoln - Obviously you would expect a win here W- 09/12 Arkansas State @ Lincoln - Another easy win ?- 09/19 Virginia Tech @ Blacksburg - This will be a VERY tough road game. Taylor will have more experience next year and the VT defense will be better as well. Possibly our toughest regular season game of the year. W- 09/26 La.-Lafayette @ Lincoln - Another easy win W- 10/03 Missouri @ Columbia - With Daniel, Coffman, Macklin and almost all of their offensive playmakers going pro and Barnett possibly leaving I like our chances W- 10/17 Texas Tech @ Lincoln - We lost in a heart-breaker this year, but next year we play them in Lincoln and they will lose the backbone of their team in Harrell and Crabtree W- 10/24 Iowa State @ Lincoln - Iowa State has little to look forward to next year ?- 10/31 Baylor @ Waco - Robert Griffin returns and we play Baylor at home. Baylor will not be a team that anyone wants to play next year. However, if Griffin is injured in the interim, we win this game easy. W- 11/07 Oklahoma @ Lincoln - Another Big XII team ripe for the NFL draft picking. If, as expected, Sam Bradford, Demarco Murray, and the entire offensive line go pro I like our chances. Yes we got blown out this year, but if you take away that nightmare of a first quarter we would have played Oklahoma right down to the wire. I also like playing them in Lincoln W- 11/14 Kansas @ Lawrence - Kansas will have another tough year next year with a difficult schedule and without Reesing. This reinforces what I've thought all along: that 2007 was an aberration of success for Kansas, not an establishment of a new power in the Big XII North. W- 11/21 Kansas State @ Lincoln - Kansas State will be TERRIBLE next year. With Freeman likely going pro, a new coach, and awful talent, the Skers will roll. W- 11/27 Colorado @ Boulder - Colorado will actually be a tough game next year, but lacking solid play from the quarterback position Nebraska takes the win. Big XII championship game? BCS title game? Perhaps I'm drinking a bit too much kool-aid here, but I love the way next year stacks up for us in the Big XII. The NFL draft is our best friend, come from above to pillage the talent of our toughest Big XII foes. Thoughts?

Yeah although Green looks nice, I've got my money on Lee being the starter next year. I think NU is done with boat anchor quarterbacks. Next fall Lee will be the only mobile quarterback who knows the system. He also has the strongest arm of the 4 QBs currently on the roster. I think Lee starts for the next 2 years and then we change gears to Green. It's going to be fun. Ganz isn't even all that great of a runner but he looks like Tim Tebow compared to Zac Taylor and Sam Keller. When we get someone who can actually run under center, watch out.

Quite frankly, I don't want to win the Big XII North. If we did we'd risk losing to Oklahoma or Texas or Oklahoma State, which I'd prefer to forego. I think we all know that we'll need a miracle to beat Oklahoma. I don't want to risk another loss. We have a decent team this year, not a great team. We simply cannot hang with Oklahoma and Texas on a weekly basis right now. The less we play them the better. I'd rather finish 10-3 than 10-4. This scenario is so unlikely that it barely merits conversation though, so I'm not holding my breath either way. I just want NU to win as many games as possible this year and get a solid head of steam going into next year. I think Bo will have us going in the right direction and maybe NEXT year we could get the Big XII north title... with Cody Green at the helm? With Zac Lee at the helm? With Patrick Witt at the helm? That's going to be fun to see. This is already a 3 loss season, but who knows what we could do next year. We're two plays away from being 6-1 right now. I also like a Big XII north title next year without Reesing or Daniel to foul things up.

Hopefully we'll just run a lot to burn clock, even if it is ineffective. Let's not have any more 15 second drives- not in this game. On the bright side I can watch this game while at home, so I don't have to worry about finding a sober driver. I'd imagine I'll need quite a few cold ones to ease the pain.