Huskers Trend Downward in B1G Competition (All Sports)

[Count 'Bility]

If indiana and minnesota can almost beat Ohio St, fairly, on the field, then Nebraska could beat them on any given day. Its not homerism. Its a straight up fact in college football that the gap from one team to the next is never as wide as folks want you to think. And thats all im sayin. Im debating this kneejerk notion that Ohio st should be crowned this almighty unbeatable force for the next 5 years. And all that perception couldve been flipped upside down 6 months ago with a play here or there.....

Or without the playoff.

 

[ADS]

How far have we fallen?

 

[It'sNotAFakeID]

Every talking head/retired coach says your team, no matter who you root for, depends solely on your quarterback. Seasons are won or lost due to QB play. Ohio State has three that could start anywhere in the country, we struggle to have one that can sniff those shoes.

Big Coach Riley fan, but to think we are close to Ohio State at any level is homerisim, nothing more. I do not see it magically narrowing over the next 3, 5, or 10 years. I see us being able to play with them, but seldom if ever being the favorite, unless Coach Riley can pull some great QB's into Nebraska. Not saying he can or can't, but those expecting a giant surge by Nebraska are looking through Rose tinted glasses. I want to, but I need to see some magic happen before I can fathom that kind of thinking.

Steps have been taken to improve Nebraska, but 15 years have gone by since we were truly Nebraska. It happens, but normally it is with a top end QB.

I think Coach Riley gets it done, but he needs a QB to fit his system/or new system. I do not see him forcing a square peg in a round hole.

I am excited to see how he approaches our unique situation, but I think he accepts as an opportunity not an anchor.

Good thing we don't play Ohio State every game of the season.

 

[Landlord]

If indiana and minnesota can almost beat Ohio St, fairly, on the field, then Nebraska could beat them on any given day. Its not homerism. Its a straight up fact in college football that the gap from one team to the next is never as wide as folks want you to think. And thats all im sayin. Im debating this kneejerk notion that Ohio st should be crowned this almighty unbeatable force for the next 5 years. And all that perception couldve been flipped upside down 6 months ago with a play here or there.....

Or without the playoff.

I'm with you in Indiana, ok, but it only speaks to arrogance to say that if a team that has beat us the last two years could almost beat another better team then we should obviously be able to beat them.

 

[TGHusker]

A good (doesn't have to be Heisman great - a good game manager and passer will do who isn't a turnover machine) QB, a great O-line, and consistency on D and we are there. We've had skilled players at WR, RB and spots on the D. If our OLine can get back to 'pancake' form then we'll be able to competed season in and season out with anyone. I look for Riley to get a better QB in with his next class - someone we can build around. We know we have a coaching upgrade in the o-line - I'm looking forward to see how it plays out on the field. We have some excellent WRs - DPE will be and is a game changer, we'll be good at RB (maybe by committee to begin with), and the D-line will be excellent wt Collins and VV set free to be aggressive. We are just a few pieces away from where we need to be. I think it starts wt the O-line and a good QB.

 

[Scratchtown]

A good (doesn't have to be Heisman great - a good game manager and passer will do who isn't a turnover machine) QB, a great O-line, and consistency on D and we are there. We've had skilled players at WR, RB and spots on the D. If our OLine can get back to 'pancake' form then we'll be able to competed season in and season out with anyone. I look for Riley to get a better QB in with his next class - someone we can build around. We know we have a coaching upgrade in the o-line - I'm looking forward to see how it plays out on the field. We have some excellent WRs - DPE will be and is a game changer, we'll be good at RB (maybe by committee to begin with), and the D-line will be excellent wt Collins and VV set free to be aggressive. We are just a few pieces away from where we need to be. I think it starts wt the O-line and a good QB.

I think it starts with O-Line scheme and fundamentals. Give them reaction/"Just go" concepts rather than so much thinking. Don't use so many rules when blocking. KISS rule "Keep it simple, stupid"

 

[Hedley Lamarr]

The KISS approach is exactly what I use on a daily basis

 

[Enhance]

The offensive line has been, in my opinion, the greatest weakness at Nebraska during the last decade plus. So many misses, recruits that didn't pan out, or recruits that transferred. The more I listen to local analysts, too (from former players, coaches and reporters), the more I hear that the coaching in this area just really wasn't up to snuff for years.

We do need a QB that's at least all conference though, 1st team would be great but even 2nd team, if we want a really good shot at winning a conference title.

Unfortunately, I don't think there's any denying Pelini left the cupboard more bare than when he arrived. If we made a list of the best 25 players of the Pelini era, most of them would be Callahan recruits, or at least a majority would be. That only means, for now, we have to rely on the reputation people have for Riley, that's he's able to do a lot with a little, like a Bill Snyder at KSU.

 

[NUance]

Two things come to mind about Sipple's article:

1) Not all sports are equally important. To be more accurate you'd need to come up with some artificial weighting system. How much more important is football compared to, say, women's golf? Yet the article simply tallies up the finishing places for the 13 sports UNL competed is, and divides by 13. It doesn't make sense to [SIZE=11pt]accord an equal weight to all the sports that we participate in. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]2) As for football, arguably the most important sport, the B1G conference was probly more competitive on a national scale than we first thought at this time last year. Ohio State proved that on Jan. 12th. And the B1G as a basketball conference is about as tough as any conference in the nation. [/SIZE]

 

[Count 'Bility]

If indiana and minnesota can almost beat Ohio St, fairly, on the field, then Nebraska could beat them on any given day. Its not homerism. Its a straight up fact in college football that the gap from one team to the next is never as wide as folks want you to think. And thats all im sayin. Im debating this kneejerk notion that Ohio st should be crowned this almighty unbeatable force for the next 5 years. And all that perception couldve been flipped upside down 6 months ago with a play here or there.....

Or without the playoff.

I'm with you in Indiana, ok, but it only speaks to arrogance to say that if a team that has beat us the last two years could almost beat another better team then we should obviously be able to beat them.

Did Minnesota blow us out? Were they CLEARLY the better team? No. That's the whole point here. The gap is inches, not feet folks. Dont nitpick this game or that and say, "well they beat us, so we cant beat them". That has absolutely nothing to do with the big picture.

 

[sd'sker]

If indiana and minnesota can almost beat Ohio St, fairly, on the field, then Nebraska could beat them on any given day. Its not homerism. Its a straight up fact in college football that the gap from one team to the next is never as wide as folks want you to think. And thats all im sayin. Im debating this kneejerk notion that Ohio st should be crowned this almighty unbeatable force for the next 5 years. And all that perception couldve been flipped upside down 6 months ago with a play here or there.....

Or without the playoff.

I'm with you in Indiana, ok, but it only speaks to arrogance to say that if a team that has beat us the last two years could almost beat another better team then we should obviously be able to beat them.

Did Minnesota blow us out? Were they CLEARLY the better team? No. That's the whole point here. The gap is inches, not feet folks. Dont nitpick this game or that and say, "well they beat us, so we cant beat them". That has absolutely nothing to do with the big picture.

yeah, it would be ridiculous to just cherry pick one or two games to make a grand statement, unless that statement is that a team that only lost one early game, went undefeated in the B1G, dominated the B1G championship (against a team that dominated donu), had two heisman contending qb's and an mvp freshman rb, and won a 4 team playoff of the class of the sport is not that good.

 

[Count 'Bility]

If indiana and minnesota can almost beat Ohio St, fairly, on the field, then Nebraska could beat them on any given day. Its not homerism. Its a straight up fact in college football that the gap from one team to the next is never as wide as folks want you to think. And thats all im sayin. Im debating this kneejerk notion that Ohio st should be crowned this almighty unbeatable force for the next 5 years. And all that perception couldve been flipped upside down 6 months ago with a play here or there.....

Or without the playoff.

I'm with you in Indiana, ok, but it only speaks to arrogance to say that if a team that has beat us the last two years could almost beat another better team then we should obviously be able to beat them.

Did Minnesota blow us out? Were they CLEARLY the better team? No. That's the whole point here. The gap is inches, not feet folks. Dont nitpick this game or that and say, "well they beat us, so we cant beat them". That has absolutely nothing to do with the big picture.

yeah, it would be ridiculous to just cherry pick one or two games to make a grand statement, unless that statement is that a team that only lost one early game, went undefeated in the B1G, dominated the B1G championship (against a team that dominated donu), had two heisman contending qb's and an mvp freshman rb, and won a 4 team playoff of the class of the sport is not that good.

Find where I said they werent "that" good.

and with your comment, you proved my whole point. We were within one score of Minnesota, which was one score within Ohio St. Wisconsin hung half a hundred on us, and Ohio St hung half a hundred on them. So tell me, in that highly contradictory comparison, where does the truth lie? And the answer is , not there. So we dont really know. My point is that conceding that Ohio St is all a sudden this completely unstoppable force is false. Why backdown? Why not acknowledge that anyone can beat anyone on eany given day. The gap is not as wide as we fear.

 

[sd'sker]

the difference is how teams step up when it matters. and the big picture is that osu has a lot going on that will be tough to contend with on a game to game, season to season basis.

and i didn't quote you. i just think saying nitpicking games is silly when you pick out a couple games to demonstrate the slim difference. anyone can beat them any given saturday, that's not the same as winning the big 10 and a 4 team playoff.

 

[Count 'Bility]

the difference is how teams step up when it matters. and the big picture is that osu has a lot going on that will be tough to contend with on a game to game, season to season basis.

and i didn't quote you. i just think saying nitpicking games is silly when you pick out a couple games to demonstrate the slim difference. anyone can beat them any given saturday, that's not the same as winning the big 10 and a 4 team playoff.

So we agree? Im confused.

 

[junior4949]

Give me a great OL and DL any day of the week and twice on Sundays rather than a great QB. A great OL makes even a mediocre RB look like a stud. Considering Ohio State supposedly has these three outstanding QB's, has anyone considered maybe they just look great because they're playing behind a great OL? Football is still football. The game is still won in the trenches. When Nebraska stopped playing like Nebraska was when the pipeline died. It's no coincidence.