What is our record next year?

[Nebula]

To say, "and yes, Nebraska used to be big and slow," when you're referring to the 1990's is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. Nebraska was big, strong, bruising, and lightining fast. Not even remotely slow.

NU was big and slow, although faster than what Wisconsin is now up until 1993, when the staff made a change for the better and installed speed and smaller LB's and DE's. I'm not stupid. Keep on livin your Wisconsin dream. They are average. And yea, OU or Okla State would have laid the wood to them last year. Pointless to argue this. I believe the entire Big 10 in fairly weak on a regular basis, less OSU, its why they constantly get rolled in bowl games. Nebraska has not been great, we all know as much. They have the potential to be great and IMO, Wisconsin does not. Wisconsin gets as much as possible out of the talent they have. Credit them for that, but they are nothing special.

My god, use your head. It is a shame when capable people do not use what was given them.

Conference with most BCS bowl appearances Big Ten (21)

Conference with most BCS bowl game wins SEC (15)

Conference with most championships SEC (7)

Again I point out to you the B10 does not give a rat crap about the B12, they are after the sec.

On the whole Nebraska leaving the B12 and going to the B10. Yes it does hurt the B12 and strengthen

the B10. But to sit there and claim that even before that move the B12 was a better conf is retarded. Everything from bowls to the way they split up money was a fail in the B12. The only reason the B12 has had any recent sucess against the B10 in bowls is due to the fact way over half the time the b10 is fielding a midlevel team against one of the better b12 teams. I would also suspect in the next 5 years you will really start to see that gap open up even more (the have's and have not's is how they worded it). Joe P brought up a point and it was looked into by the B10 that YES not having a conf champ game does hurt the teams in bowls, due to the long lay off.

There are alot of smart people on this fourm, if ya sit down a listen, mabey they will be nice enough to share some of that knowledge.

Spare me with that kind of attitude. Until you publish the definitive tome on all things college football, how about you tone down the silverback chest beating, 'eh bud?

Human beings are not objective. I have a STRONG feeling your opinion of the B1G would be significantly different had your favorite team spent the last 16 years in the Big 12. I KNOW my opinion of the B1G has expanded in a positive manner considerably ever since we became a part of the conference. We are all colored by our own experiences. Our (NU fan) experience over the last 16 years has given us irrefutable proof that great talent and great teams await you during the Big 12-2 conference schedule. And guess what? The same remains true for the B1G as well. You are just more informed of the talent level in the B1G just like NU fan is more informed of the skilled teams dotting the Big 12-2 landscape.

To me, what is "retarded," is saying that there is no debate on the issue. If you think there is absolutely literally zero argument about which conference has been superior, well....I dunno how much value there is in debating you on anything. Because just like a skittish horse waiting at the gate for the race to kick off, you've got blinders on my man.

 

[bshirt]

To say, "and yes, Nebraska used to be big and slow," when you're referring to the 1990's is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. Nebraska was big, strong, bruising, and lightining fast. Not even remotely slow.

NU was big and slow, although faster than what Wisconsin is now up until 1993, when the staff made a change for the better and installed speed and smaller LB's and DE's. I'm not stupid. Keep on livin your Wisconsin dream. They are average. And yea, OU or Okla State would have laid the wood to them last year. Pointless to argue this. I believe the entire Big 10 in fairly weak on a regular basis, less OSU, its why they constantly get rolled in bowl games. Nebraska has not been great, we all know as much. They have the potential to be great and IMO, Wisconsin does not. Wisconsin gets as much as possible out of the talent they have. Credit them for that, but they are nothing special.

My god, use your head. It is a shame when capable people do not use what was given them.

Conference with most BCS bowl appearances Big Ten (21)

Conference with most BCS bowl game wins SEC (15)

Conference with most championships SEC (7)

Again I point out to you the B10 does not give a rat crap about the B12, they are after the sec.

On the whole Nebraska leaving the B12 and going to the B10. Yes it does hurt the B12 and strengthen

the B10. But to sit there and claim that even before that move the B12 was a better conf is retarded. Everything from bowls to the way they split up money was a fail in the B12. The only reason the B12 has had any recent sucess against the B10 in bowls is due to the fact way over half the time the b10 is fielding a midlevel team against one of the better b12 teams. I would also suspect in the next 5 years you will really start to see that gap open up even more (the have's and have not's is how they worded it). Joe P brought up a point and it was looked into by the B10 that YES not having a conf champ game does hurt the teams in bowls, due to the long lay off.

There are alot of smart people on this fourm, if ya sit down a listen, mabey they will be nice enough to share some of that knowledge.

Well, the last six years has the Big10 bowl record of 16 - 28. Wow......hardly impressive.

But hopefully having a ccg will help the Big10 in the bowls and of course we hope NU notches some big wins for us too.

 

[robsker]

We'll see. I think they are nothing more than an average team playing in a horrid confrence. Thier average rivals rating the past 4 years is in the mid to upper 40's. They do NOT have a roster chock full of talent. They have a new qb, 3/5 of an OL, and only return 10 starters overall. They are also big, slow and lack overall team speed. They have a nice home field advantage, and they are coached well. I give them that. They also should have lost to ASU, and Iowa and were beaten by freakin TCU. Again, I fail to see the love, but whatever. If Wisconsin is the toughest team in the Big 101112, NU will own this confrense soon!

I don't know if they should have lost to ASU or Iowa. But they didn't. We, on the other hand, should have beaten Texas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Washington - but we didn't. We also should have smashed Iowa State, but instead we squeaked by because their holder happened to throw the worst pass of the year on a brilliant play call that would have otherwise beaten us in overtime.

When you say that they were beaten by "freakin" TCU, are you forgetting that TCU was a top 5 team? Are you perhaps forgetting that NOBODY beat TCU last year?

When everybody repeatedly says that Nebraska has the best team speed in the conference except for Ohio State, seeing video of Wisconsin absolutely bulldoze the Buckeyes doesn't exactly make me think they're some big, slow team that we're just going to run circles around. (And by the way, "big and slow" is what people called Nebraska in the 1990's. Just because a team likes to run the ball from under center doesn't make them slow. Montee Ball and James White look plenty fast to me).

And seriously? You're coming to this discussion with their "average rivals rating?" Who gives a crap how many stars scout.com gave their recruits? They are the Big 10 Champions until somebody unseats them.

The Big 10 is not going to be that much tougher than the Big 12. It also won't be that much easier. I'm not afraid of Wisconsin, but for God's sake don't take them lightly. They were a better team in 2010 than every one of the four teams that beat Nebraska.

I agree with most of what you said, except the last line. Last year's Wisky team may have been better than those teams, but not this year. White and Ball are damn good, but as we have seen first hand, two good RB's don't matter when your passing game isn't a threat. IIRC, the heir apparent for Wisky isn't playing (injury I believe) and now they're going to the third or fourth string guy from last year. That's got to be a concern for them.

I'm not concerned about our switching defensive styles though. If we can remain relatively healthy, we should still be the #1 or #2 D in the conference. Remember, LSU was a top 5 D all 3 years BO was there, and the SEC is more run/power based than the Big 10 is now.

Is it September yet?

A question for you... were you afraid of Washington before the bowl game? What happened there? I'll tell you what happened --- NU, as we have tended to do 3-4 times a season under Pelini --- showed up flat, uninspired, unprepared and played a listless and passionless game. No intensity. And, this happened as well --- again as happens fairly often for NU the past years --- we could not adjust quickly enough. And so... we lost.

Until NU plays every down of every game with focus and intensity --- until the fumbles are cut by 60-70%, until the dropped passes go away, until the penalties drop by 50-60% --- until that happens... well, any teams Washingtons caliber and up are toss-up games for the Huskers --- and we have 8 of them next year. Wisconsin is one of them.

You never know what NU team will show up... the crappy one or the good one. Until that stops, do not expect 1 or 2 loss seasons.. expect more losses that that. If NU hits on all cylinders, we have a great shot at putting Wisconsin down. If we come in unprepared (which often happens) we get killed. Its that simple.

I am more inclined to say that the Wisconsin running game or passing game (lack thereof) is not nearly as big a factor as is what NU team will show up. Will NU be prepared? Or will they be the flat, unfocased team that we saw in oh... 4-5 games last year. Who knows?

Wait. So you're comparing a game which nobody wanted in the washington rematch (I thought we would lose) to our first Big 10 game against the previous conference champion.

Seriously?

Other than Washington, what games were we "flat" last year? SDSU?

2009? We had ISU and..... um.... ???

I think you're confusing "flat" and having a highly inconsistent offense.

What I am saying is we have Washington, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Penn State, Ohio State --- that is eight teams that are compaarble to or better than last years Washington team at bowl time --- and, unless NU gets its fumbles reduced, the penalties reduced, the dropped passes reduced... unless the team plays four quarters each game of intense and well-focused offense (and yes, I may be conflating somewhat inconsistant offense with being flat --- but man the O last year rarely played with fire a whole game) --- unless NU really shows up... each game is a potential toss up --- win half, lose half. If NU plays with less than 1/2 the penalties and fumbles as last year and cuts the dropped passes and unnecessary sacks taken by 2/3rds and plays hard all game... well then we should win most of those games. I am simply saying that a team prone to not showing up at times... or showing up for portions of games... and a team that does not respond well in in-game offensive adjustments (that would be NU) --- is a team that can be beaten by any of the eight teams above listed. The real issue again is how well does NU prepare and execute, especially on offense. Maybe it will be better with the new coaches... let's hope. I am not convinced that our opponents (for the most part) are the biggest impediment to next seasons success --- it seems that our own teams prepardness and execution is more the limiting factor. Will this staff have our team prepared and playing with fire and focus? Will we be largely mistake free... or, at least not so wildly mistake prone? If so, NU will be fine. But, based upon what we saw last year, we have the eight games listed above against teams good enough to exploit our fumbles, drops, penalties and beat us if we are not playing at our peak. Look over time and NU has not improved in terms of penalties, drops, fumbles, or in-game O adjustments. Until such improvement is manifest, games that should not be... will be toss ups.

 

[Roark]

What I am saying is we have Washington, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Penn State, Ohio State --- that is eight teams that are compaarble to or better than last years Washington team at bowl time --- and, unless NU gets its fumbles reduced, the penalties reduced, the dropped passes reduced... unless the team plays four quarters each game of intense and well-focused offense (and yes, I may be conflating somewhat inconsistant offense with being flat --- but man the O last year rarely played with fire a whole game) --- unless NU really shows up... each game is a potential toss up --- win half, lose half. If NU plays with less than 1/2 the penalties and fumbles as last year and cuts the dropped passes and unnecessary sacks taken by 2/3rds and plays hard all game... well then we should win most of those games. I am simply saying that a team prone to not showing up at times... or showing up for portions of games... and a team that does not respond well in in-game offensive adjustments (that would be NU) --- is a team that can be beaten by any of the eight teams above listed. The real issue again is how well does NU prepare and execute, especially on offense. Maybe it will be better with the new coaches... let's hope. I am not convinced that our opponents (for the most part) are the biggest impediment to next seasons success --- it seems that our own teams prepardness and execution is more the limiting factor. Will this staff have our team prepared and playing with fire and focus? Will we be largely mistake free... or, at least not so wildly mistake prone? If so, NU will be fine. But, based upon what we saw last year, we have the eight games listed above against teams good enough to exploit our fumbles, drops, penalties and beat us if we are not playing at our peak. Look over time and NU has not improved in terms of penalties, drops, fumbles, or in-game O adjustments. Until such improvement is manifest, games that should not be... will be toss ups.

And a lot of the responsibility for having these players ready will be on the shoulders of coaches who have little to no experience in their specialty. Will they be coaching virtuosos? I hope so... However, I don't think it unreasonable to expect some time to work out the kinks.

I agree with your list of "toss ups" and want to point out that NU will have to go up against Michigan State, Northwestern, Michigan, Penn State and Iowa back to back to back to back to back without a week off in between games.

 

[bshirt]

It's humiliating to be sure but a blind man could see NU didn't care one whit about playing Washington II. Most fans didn't really care either.

Yes, that's certainly not a highlite for last season and was not excuseable but it was what it was. I wouldn't project this year's NU prospects from that game at all.

 

[Husker In Oklahoma]

Let me give you a simple thing to smoke in your little 10 pipe. National Championships in the past 16 years in the big 12, three (3). National Championships in the last 40+, FORTY years in the little 10, two, (2), and both were questionable. Ohio State needed a phantom pass interference penalty just to get to overtime and Michigna would have been CRUSHED, smoked, obliterated by NU in 1997 had they been part of the "great games" alliance series back in 1997. If you want the Big 8 to go back 40 years, its extremely lopsided, 12-2, 12-2 :nutz . It would be 12-4 if you counted Penn States 2, but they were an independent and not part of the little 10. At any rate, still, completely lopsided nonetheless. Hmmmmmmm, which confrence has been better? I guess i'm not so "dumb" after all.

The BIG just got better by adding Nebraska to it, and the Big 12 just got weaker losing CU and NU. Nebraska is just about back to health after the catostrophic hire of Clownahanbergervicblake.

 

[Husker In Oklahoma]

of course we hope NU notches some big wins for us too.

It will. NU is on the fast track to greatness, trust me. It is getting healthier and healthier day by day. It's just a matter of time, and it will not be long!

 

[Husker In Oklahoma]

want to point out that NU will have to go up against Michigan State, Northwestern, Michigan, Penn State and Iowa back to back to back to back to back without a week off in between games.

No different than last year when it faced KSU, Texas, Oklahoma State, and Mizzou.

 

[bigg10]

Ya know I apoligize for the way I stated what I did. I did not want to get into this AGAIN. I had just gone thru this with an IA St fan the other nite. Im almost always ready to talk football, but in this instance I decline. So I will leave it at that.

I enjoy talking with you all about the teams you are coming into and learning more about Nebraska as well.

 

[Saunders]

We'll see. I think they are nothing more than an average team playing in a horrid confrence. Thier average rivals rating the past 4 years is in the mid to upper 40's. They do NOT have a roster chock full of talent. They have a new qb, 3/5 of an OL, and only return 10 starters overall. They are also big, slow and lack overall team speed. They have a nice home field advantage, and they are coached well. I give them that. They also should have lost to ASU, and Iowa and were beaten by freakin TCU. Again, I fail to see the love, but whatever. If Wisconsin is the toughest team in the Big 101112, NU will own this confrense soon!

I don't know if they should have lost to ASU or Iowa. But they didn't. We, on the other hand, should have beaten Texas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Washington - but we didn't. We also should have smashed Iowa State, but instead we squeaked by because their holder happened to throw the worst pass of the year on a brilliant play call that would have otherwise beaten us in overtime.

When you say that they were beaten by "freakin" TCU, are you forgetting that TCU was a top 5 team? Are you perhaps forgetting that NOBODY beat TCU last year?

When everybody repeatedly says that Nebraska has the best team speed in the conference except for Ohio State, seeing video of Wisconsin absolutely bulldoze the Buckeyes doesn't exactly make me think they're some big, slow team that we're just going to run circles around. (And by the way, "big and slow" is what people called Nebraska in the 1990's. Just because a team likes to run the ball from under center doesn't make them slow. Montee Ball and James White look plenty fast to me).

And seriously? You're coming to this discussion with their "average rivals rating?" Who gives a crap how many stars scout.com gave their recruits? They are the Big 10 Champions until somebody unseats them.

The Big 10 is not going to be that much tougher than the Big 12. It also won't be that much easier. I'm not afraid of Wisconsin, but for God's sake don't take them lightly. They were a better team in 2010 than every one of the four teams that beat Nebraska.

I agree with most of what you said, except the last line. Last year's Wisky team may have been better than those teams, but not this year. White and Ball are damn good, but as we have seen first hand, two good RB's don't matter when your passing game isn't a threat. IIRC, the heir apparent for Wisky isn't playing (injury I believe) and now they're going to the third or fourth string guy from last year. That's got to be a concern for them.

I'm not concerned about our switching defensive styles though. If we can remain relatively healthy, we should still be the #1 or #2 D in the conference. Remember, LSU was a top 5 D all 3 years BO was there, and the SEC is more run/power based than the Big 10 is now.

Is it September yet?

A question for you... were you afraid of Washington before the bowl game? What happened there? I'll tell you what happened --- NU, as we have tended to do 3-4 times a season under Pelini --- showed up flat, uninspired, unprepared and played a listless and passionless game. No intensity. And, this happened as well --- again as happens fairly often for NU the past years --- we could not adjust quickly enough. And so... we lost.

Until NU plays every down of every game with focus and intensity --- until the fumbles are cut by 60-70%, until the dropped passes go away, until the penalties drop by 50-60% --- until that happens... well, any teams Washingtons caliber and up are toss-up games for the Huskers --- and we have 8 of them next year. Wisconsin is one of them.

You never know what NU team will show up... the crappy one or the good one. Until that stops, do not expect 1 or 2 loss seasons.. expect more losses that that. If NU hits on all cylinders, we have a great shot at putting Wisconsin down. If we come in unprepared (which often happens) we get killed. Its that simple.

I am more inclined to say that the Wisconsin running game or passing game (lack thereof) is not nearly as big a factor as is what NU team will show up. Will NU be prepared? Or will they be the flat, unfocased team that we saw in oh... 4-5 games last year. Who knows?

Wait. So you're comparing a game which nobody wanted in the washington rematch (I thought we would lose) to our first Big 10 game against the previous conference champion.

Seriously?

Other than Washington, what games were we "flat" last year? SDSU?

2009? We had ISU and..... um.... ???

I think you're confusing "flat" and having a highly inconsistent offense.

What I am saying is we have Washington, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Penn State, Ohio State --- that is eight teams that are compaarble to or better than last years Washington team at bowl time --- and, unless NU gets its fumbles reduced, the penalties reduced, the dropped passes reduced... unless the team plays four quarters each game of intense and well-focused offense (and yes, I may be conflating somewhat inconsistant offense with being flat --- but man the O last year rarely played with fire a whole game) --- unless NU really shows up... each game is a potential toss up --- win half, lose half. If NU plays with less than 1/2 the penalties and fumbles as last year and cuts the dropped passes and unnecessary sacks taken by 2/3rds and plays hard all game... well then we should win most of those games. I am simply saying that a team prone to not showing up at times... or showing up for portions of games... and a team that does not respond well in in-game offensive adjustments (that would be NU) --- is a team that can be beaten by any of the eight teams above listed. The real issue again is how well does NU prepare and execute, especially on offense. Maybe it will be better with the new coaches... let's hope. I am not convinced that our opponents (for the most part) are the biggest impediment to next seasons success --- it seems that our own teams prepardness and execution is more the limiting factor. Will this staff have our team prepared and playing with fire and focus? Will we be largely mistake free... or, at least not so wildly mistake prone? If so, NU will be fine. But, based upon what we saw last year, we have the eight games listed above against teams good enough to exploit our fumbles, drops, penalties and beat us if we are not playing at our peak. Look over time and NU has not improved in terms of penalties, drops, fumbles, or in-game O adjustments. Until such improvement is manifest, games that should not be... will be toss ups.

And that's the scary part. We won 10 games, with all of those issues and a broken freshman QB for half the season. We had to play a RB at QB for a large portion of one game due to QB injuries.

If we get even half of those issues rectified, we should win the conference.

 

[robsker]

We'll see. I think they are nothing more than an average team playing in a horrid confrence. Thier average rivals rating the past 4 years is in the mid to upper 40's. They do NOT have a roster chock full of talent. They have a new qb, 3/5 of an OL, and only return 10 starters overall. They are also big, slow and lack overall team speed. They have a nice home field advantage, and they are coached well. I give them that. They also should have lost to ASU, and Iowa and were beaten by freakin TCU. Again, I fail to see the love, but whatever. If Wisconsin is the toughest team in the Big 101112, NU will own this confrense soon!

I don't know if they should have lost to ASU or Iowa. But they didn't. We, on the other hand, should have beaten Texas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Washington - but we didn't. We also should have smashed Iowa State, but instead we squeaked by because their holder happened to throw the worst pass of the year on a brilliant play call that would have otherwise beaten us in overtime.

When you say that they were beaten by "freakin" TCU, are you forgetting that TCU was a top 5 team? Are you perhaps forgetting that NOBODY beat TCU last year?

When everybody repeatedly says that Nebraska has the best team speed in the conference except for Ohio State, seeing video of Wisconsin absolutely bulldoze the Buckeyes doesn't exactly make me think they're some big, slow team that we're just going to run circles around. (And by the way, "big and slow" is what people called Nebraska in the 1990's. Just because a team likes to run the ball from under center doesn't make them slow. Montee Ball and James White look plenty fast to me).

And seriously? You're coming to this discussion with their "average rivals rating?" Who gives a crap how many stars scout.com gave their recruits? They are the Big 10 Champions until somebody unseats them.

The Big 10 is not going to be that much tougher than the Big 12. It also won't be that much easier. I'm not afraid of Wisconsin, but for God's sake don't take them lightly. They were a better team in 2010 than every one of the four teams that beat Nebraska.

I agree with most of what you said, except the last line. Last year's Wisky team may have been better than those teams, but not this year. White and Ball are damn good, but as we have seen first hand, two good RB's don't matter when your passing game isn't a threat. IIRC, the heir apparent for Wisky isn't playing (injury I believe) and now they're going to the third or fourth string guy from last year. That's got to be a concern for them.

I'm not concerned about our switching defensive styles though. If we can remain relatively healthy, we should still be the #1 or #2 D in the conference. Remember, LSU was a top 5 D all 3 years BO was there, and the SEC is more run/power based than the Big 10 is now.

Is it September yet?

A question for you... were you afraid of Washington before the bowl game? What happened there? I'll tell you what happened --- NU, as we have tended to do 3-4 times a season under Pelini --- showed up flat, uninspired, unprepared and played a listless and passionless game. No intensity. And, this happened as well --- again as happens fairly often for NU the past years --- we could not adjust quickly enough. And so... we lost.

Until NU plays every down of every game with focus and intensity --- until the fumbles are cut by 60-70%, until the dropped passes go away, until the penalties drop by 50-60% --- until that happens... well, any teams Washingtons caliber and up are toss-up games for the Huskers --- and we have 8 of them next year. Wisconsin is one of them.

You never know what NU team will show up... the crappy one or the good one. Until that stops, do not expect 1 or 2 loss seasons.. expect more losses that that. If NU hits on all cylinders, we have a great shot at putting Wisconsin down. If we come in unprepared (which often happens) we get killed. Its that simple.

I am more inclined to say that the Wisconsin running game or passing game (lack thereof) is not nearly as big a factor as is what NU team will show up. Will NU be prepared? Or will they be the flat, unfocased team that we saw in oh... 4-5 games last year. Who knows?

Wait. So you're comparing a game which nobody wanted in the washington rematch (I thought we would lose) to our first Big 10 game against the previous conference champion.

Seriously?

Other than Washington, what games were we "flat" last year? SDSU?

2009? We had ISU and..... um.... ???

I think you're confusing "flat" and having a highly inconsistent offense.

What I am saying is we have Washington, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Penn State, Ohio State --- that is eight teams that are compaarble to or better than last years Washington team at bowl time --- and, unless NU gets its fumbles reduced, the penalties reduced, the dropped passes reduced... unless the team plays four quarters each game of intense and well-focused offense (and yes, I may be conflating somewhat inconsistant offense with being flat --- but man the O last year rarely played with fire a whole game) --- unless NU really shows up... each game is a potential toss up --- win half, lose half. If NU plays with less than 1/2 the penalties and fumbles as last year and cuts the dropped passes and unnecessary sacks taken by 2/3rds and plays hard all game... well then we should win most of those games. I am simply saying that a team prone to not showing up at times... or showing up for portions of games... and a team that does not respond well in in-game offensive adjustments (that would be NU) --- is a team that can be beaten by any of the eight teams above listed. The real issue again is how well does NU prepare and execute, especially on offense. Maybe it will be better with the new coaches... let's hope. I am not convinced that our opponents (for the most part) are the biggest impediment to next seasons success --- it seems that our own teams prepardness and execution is more the limiting factor. Will this staff have our team prepared and playing with fire and focus? Will we be largely mistake free... or, at least not so wildly mistake prone? If so, NU will be fine. But, based upon what we saw last year, we have the eight games listed above against teams good enough to exploit our fumbles, drops, penalties and beat us if we are not playing at our peak. Look over time and NU has not improved in terms of penalties, drops, fumbles, or in-game O adjustments. Until such improvement is manifest, games that should not be... will be toss ups.

And that's the scary part. We won 10 games, with all of those issues and a broken freshman QB for half the season. We had to play a RB at QB for a large portion of one game due to QB injuries.

If we get even half of those issues rectified, we should win the conference.

I'd pretty much agree. The question is... will 1/2 the problems actually be rectified?

It seems that we are fairly much on the same page in thinking that NU is who will determine how well the season goes... not so much the competition. That is not to denigrate in any way the competition --- there are some good opponents out there. But the limiting factor --- and it seems you agree --- is us --- will we be mistake free or mistake prone --- focused and resilient on offense or still unfocused and w/o the ability to adjust in real time? Only time will tell what NU will look like.

To me, that is what makes this upcoming season so much fun. We have no real idea what to expect. At this juncture, I predict a 4 loss regular season simply based on where we ended last year (what other data do we have to go on?). Now, as the practice season commences and maybe we have some indication that some of our execution and intensity issues are somewhat resolved, maybe I can adjust that prediction somewhat. But it does seem to be in the hands of NU more so than in the hands of our opponents.

 

[Fuzzy]

9/03 Chattanooga Win

09/10 Fresno State Win

09/17 Washington Ugly Win

09/24 @Wyoming TVN 6:30 pm Blowout Win

10/01 @Wisconsin ESPN 7 pm Loss

10/08 Ohio State Close Loss

10/22 @Minnesota Win

10/29 Michigan St Close Win (decides who takes the conference?)

11/05 Northwestern Close Win

11/12 @Penn State Close Loss

11/19 @Michigan Ugly Win

11/25 Iowa Ugly Win

12/03 Big Ten Champ We won't make the game

??/?? Bowl Game Blowout Win

 

[Saunders]

We'll see. I think they are nothing more than an average team playing in a horrid confrence. Thier average rivals rating the past 4 years is in the mid to upper 40's. They do NOT have a roster chock full of talent. They have a new qb, 3/5 of an OL, and only return 10 starters overall. They are also big, slow and lack overall team speed. They have a nice home field advantage, and they are coached well. I give them that. They also should have lost to ASU, and Iowa and were beaten by freakin TCU. Again, I fail to see the love, but whatever. If Wisconsin is the toughest team in the Big 101112, NU will own this confrense soon!

I don't know if they should have lost to ASU or Iowa. But they didn't. We, on the other hand, should have beaten Texas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Washington - but we didn't. We also should have smashed Iowa State, but instead we squeaked by because their holder happened to throw the worst pass of the year on a brilliant play call that would have otherwise beaten us in overtime.

When you say that they were beaten by "freakin" TCU, are you forgetting that TCU was a top 5 team? Are you perhaps forgetting that NOBODY beat TCU last year?

When everybody repeatedly says that Nebraska has the best team speed in the conference except for Ohio State, seeing video of Wisconsin absolutely bulldoze the Buckeyes doesn't exactly make me think they're some big, slow team that we're just going to run circles around. (And by the way, "big and slow" is what people called Nebraska in the 1990's. Just because a team likes to run the ball from under center doesn't make them slow. Montee Ball and James White look plenty fast to me).

And seriously? You're coming to this discussion with their "average rivals rating?" Who gives a crap how many stars scout.com gave their recruits? They are the Big 10 Champions until somebody unseats them.

The Big 10 is not going to be that much tougher than the Big 12. It also won't be that much easier. I'm not afraid of Wisconsin, but for God's sake don't take them lightly. They were a better team in 2010 than every one of the four teams that beat Nebraska.

I agree with most of what you said, except the last line. Last year's Wisky team may have been better than those teams, but not this year. White and Ball are damn good, but as we have seen first hand, two good RB's don't matter when your passing game isn't a threat. IIRC, the heir apparent for Wisky isn't playing (injury I believe) and now they're going to the third or fourth string guy from last year. That's got to be a concern for them.

I'm not concerned about our switching defensive styles though. If we can remain relatively healthy, we should still be the #1 or #2 D in the conference. Remember, LSU was a top 5 D all 3 years BO was there, and the SEC is more run/power based than the Big 10 is now.

Is it September yet?

A question for you... were you afraid of Washington before the bowl game? What happened there? I'll tell you what happened --- NU, as we have tended to do 3-4 times a season under Pelini --- showed up flat, uninspired, unprepared and played a listless and passionless game. No intensity. And, this happened as well --- again as happens fairly often for NU the past years --- we could not adjust quickly enough. And so... we lost.

Until NU plays every down of every game with focus and intensity --- until the fumbles are cut by 60-70%, until the dropped passes go away, until the penalties drop by 50-60% --- until that happens... well, any teams Washingtons caliber and up are toss-up games for the Huskers --- and we have 8 of them next year. Wisconsin is one of them.

You never know what NU team will show up... the crappy one or the good one. Until that stops, do not expect 1 or 2 loss seasons.. expect more losses that that. If NU hits on all cylinders, we have a great shot at putting Wisconsin down. If we come in unprepared (which often happens) we get killed. Its that simple.

I am more inclined to say that the Wisconsin running game or passing game (lack thereof) is not nearly as big a factor as is what NU team will show up. Will NU be prepared? Or will they be the flat, unfocased team that we saw in oh... 4-5 games last year. Who knows?

Wait. So you're comparing a game which nobody wanted in the washington rematch (I thought we would lose) to our first Big 10 game against the previous conference champion.

Seriously?

Other than Washington, what games were we "flat" last year? SDSU?

2009? We had ISU and..... um.... ???

I think you're confusing "flat" and having a highly inconsistent offense.

What I am saying is we have Washington, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Penn State, Ohio State --- that is eight teams that are compaarble to or better than last years Washington team at bowl time --- and, unless NU gets its fumbles reduced, the penalties reduced, the dropped passes reduced... unless the team plays four quarters each game of intense and well-focused offense (and yes, I may be conflating somewhat inconsistant offense with being flat --- but man the O last year rarely played with fire a whole game) --- unless NU really shows up... each game is a potential toss up --- win half, lose half. If NU plays with less than 1/2 the penalties and fumbles as last year and cuts the dropped passes and unnecessary sacks taken by 2/3rds and plays hard all game... well then we should win most of those games. I am simply saying that a team prone to not showing up at times... or showing up for portions of games... and a team that does not respond well in in-game offensive adjustments (that would be NU) --- is a team that can be beaten by any of the eight teams above listed. The real issue again is how well does NU prepare and execute, especially on offense. Maybe it will be better with the new coaches... let's hope. I am not convinced that our opponents (for the most part) are the biggest impediment to next seasons success --- it seems that our own teams prepardness and execution is more the limiting factor. Will this staff have our team prepared and playing with fire and focus? Will we be largely mistake free... or, at least not so wildly mistake prone? If so, NU will be fine. But, based upon what we saw last year, we have the eight games listed above against teams good enough to exploit our fumbles, drops, penalties and beat us if we are not playing at our peak. Look over time and NU has not improved in terms of penalties, drops, fumbles, or in-game O adjustments. Until such improvement is manifest, games that should not be... will be toss ups.

And that's the scary part. We won 10 games, with all of those issues and a broken freshman QB for half the season. We had to play a RB at QB for a large portion of one game due to QB injuries.

If we get even half of those issues rectified, we should win the conference.

I'd pretty much agree. The question is... will 1/2 the problems actually be rectified?

It seems that we are fairly much on the same page in thinking that NU is who will determine how well the season goes... not so much the competition. That is not to denigrate in any way the competition --- there are some good opponents out there. But the limiting factor --- and it seems you agree --- is us --- will we be mistake free or mistake prone --- focused and resilient on offense or still unfocused and w/o the ability to adjust in real time? Only time will tell what NU will look like.

To me, that is what makes this upcoming season so much fun. We have no real idea what to expect. At this juncture, I predict a 4 loss regular season simply based on where we ended last year (what other data do we have to go on?). Now, as the practice season commences and maybe we have some indication that some of our execution and intensity issues are somewhat resolved, maybe I can adjust that prediction somewhat. But it does seem to be in the hands of NU more so than in the hands of our opponents.

I think at the end of the year, our SOS will be pretty close to 2010. So, in my mind, if we have similar issues as last year, we finish with a similar regular season record. I'm not factoring in CCG or bowl games because that's nothing more than a complete guess. Last year, the Big 12 didn't have any elite teams, and I don't see and elite teams in the B1G 10 this year. I see OSU, Wisconsin and Nebraska at 6-2 in conference, and MSU at 5-3. Obviously, a bounce here or there can change that, but IMO, that's where we'll end up.

 

[The Dude]

What happened in here?

 

[Joe_5700]

To say, "and yes, Nebraska used to be big and slow," when you're referring to the 1990's is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. Nebraska was big, strong, bruising, and lightining fast. Not even remotely slow.

NU was big and slow, although faster than what Wisconsin is now up until 1993, when the staff made a change for the better and installed speed and smaller LB's and DE's. I'm not stupid. Keep on livin your Wisconsin dream. They are average. And yea, OU or Okla State would have laid the wood to them last year. Pointless to argue this. I believe the entire Big 10 in fairly weak on a regular basis, less OSU, its why they constantly get rolled in bowl games. Nebraska has not been great, we all know as much. They have the potential to be great and IMO, Wisconsin does not. Wisconsin gets as much as possible out of the talent they have. Credit them for that, but they are nothing special.

Yeah they had to replace slow and ineffective guys like Alberts.