LJsurf41

Did someone say trolling? Ahhh yes...trolling for walleye on Lake McConaughy...the good old days...but I digress, Redux nailed this one for the Debby Downers: we are much better off in the B1G. tOSU is going to be good for years, Michigan is going to make changes and right the ship, MSU is a top ten team (if they are not we are really that bad), Wisconsin is having a down year but looking pretty dominant lately doing it...oh not to mention the academic benefits of the B1G...it is no contest. Besides, I'll take an off year occasionally in the B1G before bowing to UT/ESPN ever again. GG THX

I've been at work for 12 hours and my head exploded on my keyboard trying to follow that...ha! But just for arguments sake I'd say if that scenario plays out I'd give K-State the nod. They had Auburn on the ropes...with a decent FG kicker they win that game.

Florida State or the winner of the Alabama/Auburn game....

LSU was a nuetral site game. And also, the Northwestern game could have been a different story if it hadn't been for interceptions from their awful, awful quarterbacks. Melvin Gordon still had 259 rushing yards against them. But turnovers are part of the game and Northwesten won that game fair and square I suppose. We need to force them to throw the ball. Do that and we should have this game wrapped up by the 4th quarter. I'd like to see Purdue get a couple of picks on Stave and get into his head. He's been looking better lately and I don't like that. McEvoy is a bit of a threat to run but doesn't have blazing speed. He can't throw for sh#t. His INTs outnumber is TDs on the season so far. Looks like it's going to be a cold one up there so hopefully the staff will keep key players going on the sidelines to keep them loose. THE DENNIS SYSTEM....we just need to separate entirely by the 4th quarter...

For clarity, you should adjust either Devaney's fraction or TO/BP. You seem to be showing W/L with BD, but, then an overall winning percentage with TO/BP. I know you have BD's w% there too, but I got confused at first, so others may too! If we are going to compare/contrast, though, I do think it's fair to note that TO won (I believe) two Big 8 conference titles in his first six years. I know, different times. But, in terms of the culmination of a season, this has been one of my biggest disappointments. All the positives you mentioned are very fair, though, especially the part about having run a relatively clean program and graduating his players. But, I do think it's important this university wins conference titles. +1 I agree with you. It is frustrating that we are 'competing' for the B1G championship and not winning them. I won't do a comparison because that was then and this is now. We are very close. Previous coaching staffs had to go through some growing pains and they responded as such (TO/McBride in the 80s transitioning to speed in the 90s, we all know how that worked out). I think we should let this coaching staff develop. Papuchis is going to take us places, mark my words. Beck may or may not be the guy, but we should have faith that those in charge are doing the right thing with staffing. Integrity, integrity, integrity...this staff has it and we should support them. Nothing in life that was handed out was worth it, the things that require sacrifice, patience and hard work are worth it and all the sweeter. I'll take BP & Co. over the Jimbo Fishers/Nick Saban's of the world any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

The numbers: Source: http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/ To summarize: BD - First 7 seasons went 59/16 with a w% of 78.7% going 2-3 in bowl games TO - First 7 seasons went 65/83 with a w% of 78.3% going 4-3 in bowl games BP - First 7 seasons went 65/90 with a w% of 72.2% going 4-3 in bowl games Intangibles: Bo has run a pretty damn clean program in his time here with no serious scandals. In todays CF landscape (i.e. J. Winston, North Carolina, MIAMI!!! etc..) it is imperative to run a program with integrity. This is one area I am super stoked on in how he is managing the program. Internal discipline of players has been swift and consistent from what I have seen. I don't have the time to look up academics and graduation rates but my suspicion is that they are relatively high. My 2 cents: Ok, so we should all breathe a little easier. Bo's tenure so far is not so different from TO's and BD's in comparison. In fact, maybe those of you who like to whine about 4 loss seasons should look back on 67/68 when our beloved Bob Devaney coached us to back-to-back 6-4 seasons with no bowl and be thankful we are not winning only 60% of our games. We continue to see improvement in the defense and special teams. The offense is going to need some more work and the jury is still out on Beck as far as consistency is concerned but we have a solid foundation and plenty of talent (AA, KB etc.). I don't possess enough grace currently to discuss the OL, sorry. But at the end of the day we can say we are in position to compete for the B1G every year, we graduate players, we have a clean program and a coach who has some growing to do but is doing so with passion and integrity. I, for one, am stoked on where we are at. We have every right to take issue with the performance of the program, but we need to keep in mind how we go about doing it. Depending on where you spend your Sunday mornings, we should have faith and encourage the best we can. Sit back, relax and enjoy the football season. It's been a fun one so far. Stay the course, our two legendary coaches had tough times as well and part of what probably kept them on the job and working towards greatness and delivering championships was the love and support of the "Best Fans in College Football". //end rant

Well I called the last two games accurately. Just an educated guess but played out as I expected. Ugly win today but a win by 3 touchdowns. Purdue are not world beaters by any means but they have put together some solid football on occasion this year. They came into our house and gave us all we could handle, much respect for their efforts. AA injury is a concern but championship teams do not rely on just one player see: Brook Berringer, Ahman Green, Tommy Frazier etc... Championship teams find ways to win and have guys step up and fill the void left by injury. This takes solid players and solid coaching. Let's not consider the sky falling yet, Newby is a solid player and should be fine being spelled by Cross & Co. More importantly we need to worry about consistent QB and O-Line performance. A solid O-Line and QB can make a mediocre RB look like Adrian Peterson. The wins may be uglier but wins are wins and our defense is performing much better than I expected this season. Wisconsin is up next and we need to get back to work immediately. They held Rutgers to 139 total yards in their house, and while Rutgers is not a top tier team that is impressive. We need to bring our A game at Madison and be ready. If we play like we did today, wind or no wind, we will get our a##es handed to us yet again. Linebacker play will be key at Madison, mark my words. Shut down the run and let our cornerbacks/safeties make plays + win time of possession battle + solid special teams play = win. We don't have to do it pretty, just execute and grind out the win...it's going to be a battle for sure.

Michael Burton - FB Vanilla Ice - White Chocolate and American Bada$$

Games left on the schedule: Rutgers Purdue Wisconsin Minnesota Iowa By team: Rutgers - Hasn't really beaten anybody of significance (sorry Michigan/WSU). Hung with Penn State and got destroyed by tOSU. At home we win this game easy. Purdue - Surprising, yet schizophrenic season for Purdue so far: played Notre Dame close after getting beat down by Central Michigan (question mark..) Played Iowa, Sparty and Minny (@Minny) very close, this could be a tougher game than we imagine but I think we win at home by two touchdowns or more. Wisconsin - Hung with LSU early in the season but more recently lose at Northwestern and eeked one out at home versus Illinois. I believe we get some payback this year for the last couple debacles we've had against Wisconsin. We win a close one here in Madison. Minnesota - Outside of TCU (which they lost handily but didnt get totally humiliated, not a bad defensive showing against a solid TCU team) have not played a top tier opponent this season or been tested. As of today, one of 3 teams in the B1G with an unbeaten conference record; the only team in our division that hasn't lost a B1G game so they are the team to beat TODAY. They like to run the ball and we have them at home. We win what may be a close game, but win nonetheless. Payback for a loss last year. Iowa - Which Iowa team shows up for this game? Indiana version or Maryland? We are at their house but I think we pull away from them in the 2nd half after wearing them down. No turnover fiasco this time, we win. To be honest I'm really only concerned about Minnesota right now. This is just a fun post that only represents my opinion. I see us going to the CCG and I'll not predict that one just yet.

Ummm....don't get me wrong Gregory is a beast, but there is no comparison to Suh, sorry you are way off on this one. Suh is a freak of nature plain and simple, Gregory will not show up in the NFL and be the best in the league at his position from day one like Suh. He will not be a first team selection to the Pro Bowl his rookie season and he will not have anything close to the amount of hardware Suh had upon leaving Nebraska (Hesiman invite???). He will play at the NFL level for sure and be a good player (a la Lavonte David at TB or Demorrio Williams) but make no mistake Suh is arguably the best DLineman we have ever had, EVER. Big shoes to fill literally and figuratively. Well David is considered by some as the best at his position. I'd say that's more than being just a good player. +1 Nice response, I did some homework and you are correct. Not THE best but top 10 every year for his position. Stoked to see that. I still don't think we can put Gregory in the same stratosphere as Suh...YET. http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?archive=true&conference=null&statisticPositionCategory=LINEBACKER&season=2012&seasonType=REG&experience=&tabSeq=1&qualified=true&Submit=Go

Ummm....don't get me wrong Gregory is a beast, but there is no comparison to Suh, sorry you are way off on this one. Suh is a freak of nature plain and simple, Gregory will not show up in the NFL and be the best in the league at his position from day one like Suh. He will not be a first team selection to the Pro Bowl his rookie season and he will not have anything close to the amount of hardware Suh had upon leaving Nebraska (Hesiman invite???). He will play at the NFL level for sure and be a good player (a la Lavonte David at TB or Demorrio Williams) but make no mistake Suh is arguably the best DLineman we have ever had, EVER. Big shoes to fill literally and figuratively.

God bless David W. Crain http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_%26_Ten_(graphics_system)

...ME TOO! ENJOY! It never gets old, I watch it 2-3 times a year still....

I love football but pure satisfaction for me is this:

Definition: Buffonery - When an opposing team wearing Scarlet & Cream perennially beats your team down at home and you smash head lights, deface license plates, speak foul language and throw fruit on your home field in frustration of your mediocrity as a football program. I nominate Northwestern as our new "Colorado" rival in the B1G. Please proceed to smash headlights, deface license plates, talk smack at our good-hearted fun (see this thread) and throw fruit on the field while we dominate you at home. GG THX! PS - I +1'd your post, welcome to the board and good luck Saturday. This is all in good fun bro, no worries.

Here's to Courtney Love tearing a hole in Northwestern, reducing their violet uniforms to mere doll parts lying in someone else's bed. Hope Northwestern can live through this weekend. Epic...+1

This is the Big12 you're talking about here. And our defenses have given up 60+ more than once and people still advocate for JP to keep his job. 61 points is 61 points. At what point do you advocate a change, 100 points? Come on. I'm pretty sure if TCU puts in the backups it's 261 points instead of just 61...BU scores on everyone. This thread is a joke. Bo has a decent track record of getting backups and younger players gametime, especially during the bowl games to help younger players get ready for the next season. Our first priority is to win games on a week by week basis/focus. If we get a comfortable lead, fine play some backups/2nd/3rd stringers to get some game experience. I agree with the above poster about certain positions that should NOT be rotated, namely the OL where rhythm and experience are vital to success. Lock this POS thread already...

Darby Dunnagan - Director of Video Operations Amber Waves - Director of Video Operations, Jack Horner Films Haha, this might get me a vacation...sorry I couldn't resist

Dan Vitale - SB Ashton Kutcher - Car Location Enthusiast & Avid Cougar Hunter

Deonte Gibson - DL Massive Genius - Sociologist

Chi Chi Ariguzo - LB Lamar - Lambda Lambda Lambda Fruitcake

Calling a teenage kid a Zero may not inspire him to perform on/off the field. Not trying to say we should hand him a midol and some chocolates but... A less derogatory way might be better, or the best solution: his own damn teammates hold him accountable even BEFORE the coaching staff has to correct him or some commentator/talking head can publicly humiliate him. That is the best part of Jason's analysis and what is missing from our teams for years: player to player accountability. I recall some commentary back in the 90s of what it was like in the locker room and on the field with the Peter's brothers and Wistrom holding the D guys accountable (ask P. Manning what the results were), lets just say it was not a pleasant experience disappointing your teammates in those days. Who is going to step up? Gregory? AA? Someone needs to step it up and be willing to bust some a## and get in some faces in the locker room, on the field and outside the facilities. Player to player accountability has no place in the news or public arena, it is strictly team business and personal and has to be for maximum effect. Like in 09, imagine Suh in your face for missing a tackle? I would probably redouble my efforts immediately, wouldn't you? /End Rant

I endorse this, for a number of reasons. Really, really high up on that list is I'm tired of crappy weather and injuries leveling the playing field for the Hawkeyes. Better to just wipe the floor with them to open October every year. Husker fans sound like the girl that is dating a guy but secretly wants to date the guy who hasn't noticed her. Just beat everyone no matter when they play. It shouldn't matter when +Infinity

I am no football expert, havn't played in years and don't have the technical understanding of our offense that some on this board do but I think it is not possible to feature him on offense YET. Think about it: DPE is crushing punt returns and all of a sudden he is featured in 1 or 2 series on offense. As an opposing DC I am going to key on that big time. How do we disguise DPE in our offense so the D doesn't see him coming? Feature the sh*t out of him in multiple formations/plays and get him the ball every 7th, 8th or 9th play? That would require basically a 3/4 time (at least) commitment to being on offense. He is a true freshman I believe and is he ready for that? He would have to know the playbook, understand pass protection, down field blocking, coverage schemes and run blocking etc... Is he mature enough in the system for that yet? I think everyone here sees the writing on the wall with this kid's talent: he will be doing great things on offense for us in the future. For now, let's enjoy his role and what he brings to the table, let him develop under the coaching staff and just see what happens. Just my 2 ¢.