Fru

Smh. Unreal.

McNamara was a good pickup for them but I think keeping him and Petras healthy is going to be a significant concern. Both had injuries that required surgery, and Padilla hit the portal. I think Iowa is replacing a couple OL as well. There’s a scenario where they get down to their third string very quickly.

About a year ago I was going down a YouTube rabbit hole of Neb games and I stumbled upon that 2015 Wis game. I remember that we lost but for the life of me I couldn’t remember how. I watched the end of that game and genuinely got sick to my stomach. Just absolutely staggering the way this program has found ways to lose games.

Yeah I’d say Wis probably the safest, even with the revamping of their program. I’d have probably initially guessed Minnesota, but I recall reading/hearing somewhere that they’re replacing a huge amount of their production from last year. If they weren’t able to nab the West last year with Mo and Morgan, I don’t see how they do it with newer younger guys behind an even less experienced offensive line.

I’m a little surprised to see Wis get picked for the West. Fickell hiring an air raid OC was pretty surprising. I’m not sure what their attrition was like with the Fickell hire, but I have to imagine their cupboard is stocked pretty well. There’s a lot of vulnerability in the West, I’d say 1-4 would all have a pretty decent shot.

Was there any serious heat on his seat prior to the hazing scandal? I don’t recall any.

I admitted 90% was high. But I think my overall take is consistent. The majority of the B1G has attitudes about success that are at odds with what Neb thinks is successful. Since 2011 Ok St has played in 2 conference title games, winning 1.They’ve also played in 3 of the Major Jan 1st bowl games and finished ranked 7 times. Since 2011 Iowa has zero conference titles, but has played for two, they have 1 Major Jan 1st bowl appearance, and finished ranked in both polls 4 times. Fairly comparable with a slight edge to Ok St. The most significant difference though is Ok St isn’t choosing to hang on to the worst offensive coordinator in FBS football. Iowa’s ceiling is much higher than what they’ve done. They’re choosing to stay where they are. That is baffling to me. Agree on KSU and Wis. I think they’re very comparable programs. I’d argue they are different. NW was staring down the barrel of a third straight terrible season and prior to the hazing scandal, no one was batting an eye about Fitz being on the hot seat. This program played for two conference titles and was just as happy with 1 and 3 win seasons. I have no idea what’s going on at Indiana. I think they’ve had two or three winning seasons since 1990. That program is lifeless. Rutgers is obviously trying to replicate the success they’ve had with Schiano. Who knows if he can get that rolling again. Rutgers is in a very different spot now than when Schiano was there the first time. Kansas has obviously been mostly terrible but over the years they’ve made a lot of hires that at least made sense at the time or on paper. Turner Gill, Les Miles. They didn’t work obviously, but hell at least they went for it. They even managed an Orange Bowl win. NW, Indiana or Rutgers never found their way to a Jan 1st bowl. ISU has also been mostly bad, but they even found their way to a Fiesta Bowl win. Again. NW, Indiana and Rutgers never have. Texas Tech found their niche with Leach and have been trying to replicate it ever since. But at least they went all in on air raid. It may have been a bit gimmicky but it worked for them and helped them create an identity. I certainly don’t want them to be, but that seems to be the consensus from the rest of the B1G.

KSU was literally one of my examples of a program that has pulled themselves out of the cellar because they focused on beating the top teams in the conference and elevated themselves as a program.

90% was a bit of an overreach. Rather, I’d say a majority of the B1G have the “just accept what you are” mindset. I don’t think it only applies to Iowa. 7 of the 14 teams have 6 or fewer winning seasons in the last 12 years. Minnesota has 7. Michigan, OSU, PSU, Wis, Iowa and Mich St. all have 9+ since 2011 Mich, OSU and PSU will assuredly always be formidable. Iowa has chosen as a program that they like where they are and won’t take steps to change anything. Even with their consistency, choosing not to elevate your program at a prime opportunity is about as defeatist as it gets. Wis is absolutely an outlier as a program that was horrific and elevated themselves to be perennial contenders. Before Barry that program was terrible. In some ways I respect them axing Paul and going after Fickell. We’ll see if it pans out. I wouldn’t put Mich St in the same category as Wisconsin. Yes 2015 was a great year for them but they seemingly squandered any opportunity to turn that into annual consistency. They haven’t sniffed that kind of success and have been on a downward trajectory ever since.

Purdue is really the only team that has raised their profile by winning the division. They’re basically back to square one now. Minnesota under Fleck is basically what they were under Kill. Their winning percentage is marginally better. I’m still in wait and see mode with Illinois. My point is about mindset. Neb gets mocked for aspiring to be elite again. The Iowa’s of the conference have this “Just accept what you are as a 7-5 program!” mindset that I do not understand. If Iowa nutted up and got a real OC, they could absolutely make a serious run at a conference title. They choose not to. That’s settling.

When CU was bad, did they create a trophy game with Kansas? Or did they fight their way to being as relevant as they could be with Neb? KSU, CU, Ok St, Baylor all raised their profiles because of aspiring to be better and not settling in and accepting 7 wins and celebrating a rivalry game with zero stakes.

I think this applies to 90% of the B1G and is one of the “cultural” differences that remains between Neb and the old guard B1G. Neb came from the Big 8/12 where the mindset of the down schools was “How can we beat the top dogs?” CU, KSU, Ok St scratched, clawed and fought their way to relevancy because of aspiring to be/beat NU or OU. The mindset of down teams in the B1G is “Celebrate 7 wins, bowl eligibility, and act as if it means you’ve arrived as a program.” Most of the B1G schools have been largely irrelevant in the major football landscape for decades. To me, that’s why they love their trophy games so much, because frankly there was nothing else to play for. They can call it “tradition” or whatever they want. But…Ever wonder why Mich and OSU don’t play for an axe, pig or jug? Same reason NU and OU didn’t play for one. For right or wrong, Neb has at least aspired and tried to achieve something greater than what they’ve been the last 20 years. It obviously has produced the results we’d all want, but I find it admirable to aspire for more.

I think there’s some validity to this. Rivals can help keep you relevant on the field and on the recruiting trail.

When Neb joined the B1G I remember thinking that Penn St would’ve been a great team to develop a rivalry with. Traded blows in the early 80’s (If Penn Staters want to talk 94, we’d be happy to talk about the calls in the 82 game) then again in the early 2000’s. It really had all of the ingredients for a series that could develop a rivalry organically, rather than feeling forced. In fact I’d say most of the Neb-PSU matchups since 2011 have been excellent games. But to be completely honest, whenever I see anything related to Penn State, I can’t help but think of the Sandusky scandal and subsequent student rioting and it makes me sick to my stomach. You seem to be posting here in good faith, and I don’t bring up those things to throw stones or talk sh!t. It’s just the truth. Obviously you had nothing to do with it and obviously bad things happen at all schools. At least once a year I hear a Lawrence Phillips crack from an opposing teams fan. It always amazes me how Neb fans often get the “delusional” label from other B1G fans, albeit for a fraction of what other B1G fanbases are guilty of. Penn St has rebounded and recovered incredibly well after one of the most horrific sports scandals of all time. In fact I’m rather amazed by it. Would it be a great annual late November college football matchup? Yes. I’m sure it’d deliver many classics. But what went down in 2011 with that school is too indelible for me to get over. I want nothing to do with Penn St.

Agreed. The way the B1G treated Neb in 2020, in the wake of some of the most horrific scandals in the history of college athletics, pretty much all but sealed my disdain for the conference as a whole.

When the B1G released the ‘24 and ‘25 conference slated, I remember seeing Iowa fans on the CFB Subreddit unironically lamenting “No more easy schedules.”

Northwestern has irritated me for years. A modest amount of modern day success, and suddenly they act like they invented football. But my irritation with them and their ilk really elevated in the 2020 season, when Neb publicly stated they wanted to play a season and some Northwestern Alums decided to weigh in. I'm sure you remember these comments “I'm going to applaud the presidents for not listening to the likes of people at Nebraska, who are doing the biggest whining,” Wilbon said on Pardon the Interruption on Tuesday. “The Big Ten has operated for 116 seasons, mostly damn successful without Nebraska, which has been around for the last nine...You know what, I hope somebody on that call said to Nebraska’s representatives, even its president, get the hell out." -Michael Wilbon https://247sports.com/Article/Nebraska-Big-Ten-cancels-season-Mike-Wilbon-rips-attempts-to-play-no-matter-what-Scott-Frost-Big-12-150158177/ And who could forget Christine Brennan. When the B1G decided to play a season, she called it "the darkest day in Big Ten sports history." I have to imagine some victims in Happy Valley, Ann Arbor, East Lansing, and Columbus might feel differently. She also added "This is the Nebraska-ization of the Big Ten. Who would have thought that when Nebraska and Ohio State and a few of the league’s other squeakiest wheels started whining about missing out on football, the Big Ten presidents would buckle rather than stand up to them?" https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/brennan/2020/09/16/big-ten-football-decision-marks-darkest-day/5793238002/ Northwestern went on to have a sex scandal of their own Northwestern Cheerleaders Forced Into 'Commercial Sex Acts': Suit Couldn't find any comments from Brennan or Wilbon about this ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ but man they sure do clutch their pearls and shout from the top of their lungs when Neb wants to play a season. Imagine that. And now this latest one. A culture of hazing players with coerced sexual acts, with a white board in the locker room to keep track. I recall Fitz thumping his chest about how great his "Culture" was last year in Dublin. Funny how things work out.

That was one of my biggest concerns too, especially on the heels of everyone denouncing Scott for “Hiring his buddies.” Somehow hiring a buddy’s kid, with zero meaningful experience, was deemed just fine.

I was vocal about my concern with the Garrett hire as well. I think the criticisms at the time were absolutely fair. Yes he’s done well in recruiting thus far. Bravo. But, there’s a lot more to prove. We’ve had plenty of WR coaches this past decade that have landed stars and names and done absolutely nothing with them. Can Garrett change that trend? I certainly hope so.

I’m probably setting myself up for disappointment, but making a bowl game.

Ted didn’t become President or even the Dem nominee. Chappaquiddick is assuredly the reason for this. The notion that it is some kind of example of blind party loyalty at a national level is a breathtakingly stupid attempt at whataboutism. It has absolutely nothing to do with Trump and everything to do with people who can’t own up to the fact they’ve been snowed by a pretend billionaire game show host who’s proven himself to be dangerously incompetent at best, or shockingly traitorous at worst.

I for one am floored that a guy who raw dogged a porn star would behave so recklessly.