Is this really a rebuilding year for Missouri?

JTrain

JTrain

All-Conference
From a Missouri fan over at Tigerboard:

I think the stakes are higher. There is an air of desperation. This is a must win for the nubs. Lose this one and the season could be over, but what's worse, there is a feeling that MIZ can beat the nubs even in a rebuilding year. Not a good thing for nub illusions.
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Doesn't take a genius to figure out this guy, while doing his best to exude confidence in a Tiger win, is actually setting up his best excuse in case NU wins: It's a rebuilding year!

I personally don't buy it. If it's truly a rebuilding year, why are they so confident in a Missouri win? Why do they seem to think they can beat an experienced Kansas team? Gabbert is performing at or near Booger levels already, and the receiving corps seems to be doing fine without Maclin. The defense wasn't much to see last year, and they return their only player (Weatherspoon) that was really worth a damn.

Plus, doesn't a rebuilding year generally mean the year before was great? Last year, Mizzou was supposed to be a national title contender, and they ended up losing to every good South team they faced (barely beat Baylor), lost to unranked Kansas and barely beat an average Northwestern team in OT in the Alamo Bowl.

The fact is, MU has had only ONE great season in my lifetime... 2007. Aside from that, they are a perfectly average program. Even as dark as the post-Osborne years have generally been for Nebraska, they've still won quite a few more games than Missouri (95 vs. 74) during that time.

Side note: Pinkel has eight full seasons under his belt, and the closest he's come to a conference title was a 21-point loss to Oklahoma. Anyone have any doubt Pelini will have one in his first four?

 
We need to merge all of these Missouri posts into one giant clusterf*ck Missouri thread.

Anyways, it is a rebuilding year for Missouri, and I think that even they think this game is going to be tough. Anytime you lose your best quarterback in school history, one of your best WR's, and a great TE, you are going to have rebuild in a lot of ways.

Like I have said in other threads, I think we will win because of the battle in the trenches. MU's lines have struggled against their opponents, and have appeared to be not as speedy and athletic as they were in previous years.

I also think that if Gabbert continues to run laterally across the field from side line making throws across his body like he has in the non-con, he is going to get picked. Those type of throws worked because lets face the truth, Nevada and Furman are not very talented and athletic in the back field. If Gabbert continues to lob those throws, Amukamara and the rest of the NU secondary is going to make that pick. I'm not saying Nebraska's back seven is leagues ahead of other teams, but they will make that pick. Gabbert is going to need protection and need to stay in the pocket to win.

 
:snacks: be so much happier when this game is over, these Mizzou threads need to go... :wacko:
 
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holvy83 said:
:snacks: be so much happier when this game is over, these Mizzou threads need to go... :wacko:
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You might not wanna hear this, but after the Mizzou game, there will be threads discussing the Texas Tech game. GASP... that tends to be what happens on these things :nanalama

 
Enhance89 said:
We need to merge all of these Missouri posts into one giant clusterf*ck Missouri thread.

Anyways, it is a rebuilding year for Missouri, and I think that even they think this game is going to be tough. Anytime you lose your best quarterback in school history, one of your best WR's, and a great TE, you are going to have rebuild in a lot of ways.

Like I have said in other threads, I think we will win because of the battle in the trenches. MU's lines have struggled against their opponents, and have appeared to be not as speedy and athletic as they were in previous years.

I also think that if Gabbert continues to run laterally across the field from side line making throws across his body like he has in the non-con, he is going to get picked. Those type of throws worked because lets face the truth, Nevada and Furman are not very talented and athletic in the back field. If Gabbert continues to lob those throws, Amukamara and the rest of the NU secondary is going to make that pick. I'm not saying Nebraska's back seven is leagues ahead of other teams, but they will make that pick. Gabbert is going to need protection and need to stay in the pocket to win.
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Not denying that Mizzou was probably slightly better last year than they are this year (so far)... just don't think "rebuilding" is the right term. Are they trying to get back to the point where they can beat Northwestern in OT? :lol:

 
JTrain said:
holvy83 said:
:snacks: be so much happier when this game is over, these Mizzou threads need to go... :wacko:
Click to expand...
You might not wanna hear this, but after the Mizzou game, there will be threads discussing the Texas Tech game. GASP... that tends to be what happens on these things :nanalama
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oh i know pal, just we won't have 50 TT fans on here rebuffing everything a Husker fan has to say... about every thread about Missouri ends up being a p*ssing match or a :nutz to someone. be much better when we don't have to scroll through all the mizzou threads to start chatting about something else. :thumbs

 
I don't buy into the idea that a Missouri loss is the end of the season. It wouldn't be even if it happened. Yeah, the game's important to Nebraska. Of course it is. It'll likely have a huge impact on the North race and Missouri is generally in need of a good beating; beyond that, though, Nebraska could still be on track to a 10-win season (a reasonable goal for success in Pelini's second year).

This bye-week blows. The chest-beating is getting pretty ridiculous on both sides. If this game were tomorrow it wouldn't be soon enough. Missouri fans don't know squat about their team. They haven't played any competition of any value. Nebraska has. What it means for October 8th––we'll find out soon enough.

 
I've been reading this board for some time and now, thanks to your administrator, I actually have the ability to post.

Whether MU is rebuilding or reloading is still not clear. Our competition hasn't really pushed us yet and VT is the only school you've played that could even begin to give anyone an objective barometer for what the season holds for Nebraska.

To answer J Train, we're confident because even with the losses of Daniel, Maclin and Coffman, we've recruited well and there's talent stepping into the positions they held. We're confident because the game's being played in Columbia where you haven't had a lot of success recently and also because your offense is not something that strikes fear into an opponent. Helu will make his yards but the defense has improved significantly in minimizing big gains. Unless Lee plays several BIG levels better than he did against VT - which is the only NU game I've watched this season - MU will sell out to stop the run and Lee doesn't have the passing game to make us pay.

I've seen other threads which talk about the superiority of your lines and up to this point Nebraska's has played better. When Gabbert has had to scramble it's typically taken more than just the oppositions front four to apply the pressure. The MU receivers are much better than anyone you've had to play against up to now and your backfield is the weakest link to your defense. If MU can exploit that your chances of winning drop considerably. Likewise, if your O-line can dominate up front and keep our offense off the field, our chances are seriously hurt. To see which one happens is why we're all wishing next Thursday would get here sooner than it will.

Also for J Train - we think we'll beat ku because we always think we'll beat ku. It certainly doesn't always happen but the history between our two schools is such that the more experienced and talented team doesn't always win - last year being a case in point. That and the idea of losing to ku is hateful to anyone who loves MU. Lastly, if you truly think Pelini is going to win a conference championship in his first four years find a Vegas line for it - the odds ought to be astronomical.

 
JTrain said:
From a Missouri fan over at Tigerboard:

I think the stakes are higher. There is an air of desperation. This is a must win for the nubs. Lose this one and the season could be over, but what's worse, there is a feeling that MIZ can beat the nubs even in a rebuilding year. Not a good thing for nub illusions.
Click to expand...
Doesn't take a genius to figure out this guy, while doing his best to exude confidence in a Tiger win, is actually setting up his best excuse in case NU wins: It's a rebuilding year!

I personally don't buy it. If it's truly a rebuilding year, why are they so confident in a Missouri win? Why do they seem to think they can beat an experienced Kansas team? Gabbert is performing at or near Booger levels already, and the receiving corps seems to be doing fine without Maclin. The defense wasn't much to see last year, and they return their only player (Weatherspoon) that was really worth a damn.

Plus, doesn't a rebuilding year generally mean the year before was great? Last year, Mizzou was supposed to be a national title contender, and they ended up losing to every good South team they faced (barely beat Baylor), lost to unranked Kansas and barely beat an average Northwestern team in OT in the Alamo Bowl.

The fact is, MU has had only ONE great season in my lifetime... 2007. Aside from that, they are a perfectly average program. Even as dark as the post-Osborne years have generally been for Nebraska, they've still won quite a few more games than Missouri (95 vs. 74) during that time.

Side note: Pinkel has eight full seasons under his belt, and the closest he's come to a conference title was a 21-point loss to Oklahoma. Anyone have any doubt Pelini will have one in his first four?
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I think there's some truth to that. Whether you call this a rebuilding year or a reloading year, the fact remains that we are a VERY young and very talented team that returns almost everyone for not only next year, but the year after. If we beat you guys this year, it could be a while before you can say you're better than us.

As for how close we've come, part of that reason is that Oklahoma has been particularly good the last few years (and Texas). If you win within the next 3 years as you suggest, it will be because OU and Texas have come down to our level, not because you've gone up to theirs. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you've got to much ground to make up in that timespan. Mizzou's 2007 team had so much skill player talent than nearly every player at a skill position went to the NFL, including several on defense. I may never see another Mizzou team that talented, and we still couldn't beat them. And I guarantee you that team was way better than you are now.

I know you guys have a lot of tradition. As much as I hate to say it, all Mizzou fans acknowledge you are one of the great programs in all of college football. But I just don't see how you can possibly recruit well enough and develop those players well enough to close that gap in two or three years.

And the even harder truth is that you're unlikely to ever return to where you were. Perhaps a superstar coach like Nick Saban could get you there, but Pelini is not Nick Saban. You'll always be good. You've got too much name recognition not to be, and honestly, I think there could be a real rivalry brewing between our programs as we compete for North titles. But it's a steep hill all the way back to national title contender.

 
holvy83 said:
:snacks: be so much happier when this game is over, these Mizzou threads need to go... :wacko:
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Agreed. Kinda of tired of seeing 15 - 20 Mizzou vs. NU threads and they all talk about the same thing, even though the titles don't quite say it. They all talk about the same thing, whether or not NU can/will beat Mizzou.

 
JTrain said:
Side note: Pinkel has eight full seasons under his belt, and the closest he's come to a conference title was a 21-point loss to Oklahoma. Anyone have any doubt Pelini will have one in his first four?
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yup.

serious doubt.

north- yes, maybe even this year. :dunno

But B12 champs?

IMO- not in his first four years.

I'd love to be wrong on this one....

 
Husker_x said:
I don't buy into the idea that a Missouri loss is the end of the season. It wouldn't be even if it happened. Yeah, the game's important to Nebraska. Of course it is. It'll likely have a huge impact on the North race and Missouri is generally in need of a good beating; beyond that, though, Nebraska could still be on track to a 10-win season (a reasonable goal for success in Pelini's second year).

This bye-week blows. The chest-beating is getting pretty ridiculous on both sides. If this game were tomorrow it wouldn't be soon enough. Missouri fans don't know squat about their team. They haven't played any competition of any value. Nebraska has. What it means for October 8th––we'll find out soon enough.
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I agree that a loss is not at all the end of the season. Even a win, at this point, really doesn't mean a whole lot. We still have Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Kansas to contend with whether we win or lose. I think that the Big 12 North Champ is going to have at least 2 losses, and that includes Nebraska if they manage to be in that position.

The most significant impact the game has right now is that it will keep Missouri fans quiet again. They've been awfully mouthy these last two years :)

 
Last year was the biggest rebuilding year in Nebraska history. Didn't see them cutting us any slack for that. In fact this year could still be considered a rebuilding year for us as well.

Besides if you've had the same coach for 8 years and still need to classify a season as a rebuilding year coming off a year where you finished tied for fifth in your conference with a team that was horrible the previous year and is led by a rookie head coach, you got a LOT of problems in your program.

 
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