Kernal

Kenny Bell was very complimentary of Armstrong today, and I'd agree with him. I think some Husker fans are overlooking just how well Armstrong played last year under the circumstances. Also remember, he was only the starter for the Michigan State loss- two of the losses were under an injured Taylor and Iowa was RK3.

“The number one thing you’ll see this year is that he’s not a wide-eyed (freshman),” Bell said. “You’re gonna see a guy that it’s slowed down (for).”

Though it was a “raw deal” for Armstrong last season, Bell gushed over his performance last year, and the spillover he hopes to see in the fall.

 

“You have any idea what it takes to play Division 1 quarterback at a place like Nebraska, where the starter has been the starter for four years and is arguably one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the position at our university?” Bell asked the crowd of reporters.

 

“He gets hurt and you have to play our first conference game…dude. I don’t think people appreciate how difficult that is. Then the kid wins nine games and beats Georgia. I don’t care who you are, you should be impressed by that.”

 

http://hailvarsity.com/2014/07/on-the-offensive/

Seems more like that preview was written by a disgruntled Husker fan than an outsider, but whatever. Maybe he got his perspective from following the message boards. I can't say I disagree too much with him, but he is a bit harsh.

We were a whisker away- a miracle against Northwestern- from totally imploding last year. If we'd lost there, who knows if we find it within ourselves to win those close games at Michigan and Penn State. Lose those two after losing to NW and we're sitting home for the bowl game.

I hope we have a great year this year, but I've become accustomed to keeping the enthusiasm in check and bracing for a disappointing season.

I think the deal is that under current NCAA rules a conference must have two divisions in order to play a championship game. It's why the Big 12 doesn't play one.

I dislike the divisions arrangement in conferences since they are never balanced.

No regular season. 128 team playoff.

What will teams do for the other 10 weeks of the season?

Actually, a 128-team playoff could be done in five weeks, excepting the final four teams- two of which would have one additional week/game and two of which would have two additional weeks/games.

Like this:

• Week one: 128 teams = 64 games
  
• Week two: 64 teams = 32 games
  
• Week three: 32 teams = 16 games
  
• Week four: 16 teams = 8 games
  
• Week five: 8 teams = 4 games
  
• (Week six: 4 teams = 2 games)
  
• (Week seven: 2 teams = 1 game)
  

Now, 128-team playoff is kinda silly and would render the regular season meaningless, but there's no reason playoffs couldn't have 16 teams, or 24 teams as the FCS currently does.

Well, now there is some down time and I know this has been discussed but since we have an idea of which players will be returning/starting next season, how do you all think we look in the B1G West?

 

Personally, it reminds me a lot of the B12 North, a weak division that most seasons we will have a "should win" mentality about. Not saying Wisconsin is a cupcake at all, and Minnesota/Iowa/Northwestern have given us fits since joining, but how do you see it going? What percentage do you expect to see the Huskers winning the west?

Don't agree that its like being in the Big XII north because division is not apples to apples to B1G West. Wisconsin is better than all of the Big 12 North, NW is solid, Iowa won't be a push over and Minny is on the uprise. Not to mention Nebraska has lost to each of one of these teams in the first two years of our involvement in the Conference. We have stayed consistent, and the competition has gotten better hands down won't even argue.

From my perspective the downside isn't entirely about competition. You're right that Wisconsin is more accomplished than any of the former Big 12 North teams. And overall, the Big Ten West is probably somewhat stronger overall.

The bigger downside is that the Big Ten West will most likely be treated in the media like the Big 12 North, due to the more marquee teams residing in the East, along with better overall competition and much larger populations.

It's obvious that no system is really a good system when it comes to football, because in CFB any given Saturday anyone can win, generally the better team does.

 

But like one of the last posters said, that is what is fun about it.

 

Something I brought up in a post a while ago, that I think would be cool, and would allow for CFB to retain the bowl system.

 

Move the Bowl Games to the Spring,

 

Have your spring camps, you inter-team scrimmage one week, and then the next week have a bowl game that is more about an exhibition game during spring break.

 

I wonder if graduating players can play since they haven't technically graduated yet.

That would be a fun addition to college football- playing a bowl game in the spring. I'm not sure that would ever happen, but it's fun to think about.

The other possibility for the bowl games when a playoff eventually comes is that they could still invite teams that didn't make the playoffs, sorta like the NIT tournament, or whatever.

I hate the new alignment, and I hate that we don't play Michigan for five years. It really will be the Big 12 North again, so I hope it changes again in two years.

On paper, it should be an easier division. But in reality, I think our players take on this mentality from the fans then get caught sleepwalking a couple times a year. Until the Huskers can go out and smack these teams down every week, it's all just theoretically easier. Let's not forget Iowa and Minnesota are two of the theoretically easier teams in our division.

Next year we'll have several tough road games, so we'll see what happens. The Huskers will need to be taking the schedule very seriously beginning this offseason if they want to play in the Rose Bowl next season. We have the talent. The question is do they have the will?

Two of my favorite Huskers on this team. Congrats to them and good luck, and also to Qvale, Evans, and SJB in their senior/all-star games.

Abdullah had dismissed the notion of leaving early for the NFL earlier this season, but it appears he re-evaluated the situation. I'm very glad he's coming back. He's the best player on the team, and as was said earlier tonight on BTN, Nebraska (or nearly any other team) will not sign a recruit this year better than Abdullah.

It's also very promising for the team. If Abdullah is coming back, he must have confidence in his teammates. That's a good sign and I'm hopeful for next season, too.

It's refreshing to see the wisdom of AA's decision when so many people, many of them much older and more experienced, do absolutely nothing but chase money. Abdullah gets only one chance at a senior season. The whole senior class, and really the whole team, gets only one chance at the 2014 season. And after it's gone no amount of money will bring it back.

My thoughts on the 4-team playoff? It's a tiny step in the right direction. It allows four teams the opportunity to show they are the best team in the nation rather than only two teams.

The bowl games weren't "designed" to determine championships. That's why the history of major college football is littered with a hundred different polls and multiple champions many years. A one-game playoff? Really? Imagine the NFL finishing up their regular season and having bowl games determine the champion.

Every other sport has a legitimate playoff, including FCS football (24-team playoff). Those kids study too, and have less academic support than the larger FBS programs. NDSU, the FCS champ this year (three-peat), finished 15-0, so they only played one more game than 14-0 Florida State. Next year's FBS champion, assuming they come from a conference with a CCG, will play 15 games too.

I don't think its a great hire, good hire? Sure. I don't think Alabama's offense is elite by any means, even with all the talent they have. Just going to be interesting on what he does, especially when he has to deal with 4 year scholarships, unlike Alabama. Player wasn't what they expected, they got cut for a better athlete. Fortunately for us, he is going to have to work with what they have and will recruit.

Agree. Alabama's offense is nothing special. For that matter, their defensive scheme isn't all that special either. They just get superior athletes who are then well-coached in fundamentals.

He won't be nearly effective at UM, imo. Won't have the numerous All-American caliber linemen every single year AND a defense that gives up hardly anything. Also not convinced Gardner or Morris can make the throws needed for the O.

Michigan gets plenty of talent; they're nearly always top-10 in recruiting.

It's obvious a lot of the bowl games are in the southeast, which is SEC's backyard. In this post I figured the distance for each team that qualified for bowl games. Big 10- 7 SEC- 10.

 

SEC:

 

South Carolina- Columbia, SC -----> Orlando, FL 430 miles, 6 hours

 

LSU- Baton Rouge, LA -----> Tampa, FL 712 miles, 10 hours

 

Texas A&M- College Station, TX -----> Atlanta, GA 825 miles, 12 hours

 

Georiga- Athens, GA -----> Jacksonville, FL 340 miles, 5.5 hours

 

Mississippi State- Starkville, MS -----> Memphis, TN 182 miles, 2.8 hours

 

Ole Miss- Oxford, MS -----> Nashville, TN 231 miles, 3.4 hours

 

Missouri- Columbia, MO -----> Arlington, TX 600 miles, 9 hours

 

Vanderbilt- Nashville, TN -----> Birmingham, AL 192 miles, 2.8 hours

 

Alabama- Tuscaloosa, AL -----> New Orleans, LA 292 miles, 4 hours

 

Auburn- Auburn, AL -----> Pasadena, CA 2137 miles, 30 hours

 

Average Distanced Traveled- 594 miles

 

Now, factoring out BCS bowl games, because fans will travel no matter what- 439 miles

 

Big 10:

 

Michigan State- East Lansing, MI -----> Pasadena, CA 2212 miles, 31 hours

 

Wisconsin- Madison, WI -----> Orlando, FL 1304 miles, 19 hours

 

Iowa- Iowa City, IA ------> Tampa, FL 1269 miles, 18.5 hours

 

Nebraska- Lincoln, NE -----> Jacksonville, FL 1338 miles, 19.5 hours

 

Michigan- Ann Arbor, MI -----> Tempe, AZ 1957 miles, 29 hours

 

Minnesota- Minneapolis, MN -----> Houston, TX 1177 miles, 17 hours

 

Ohio State- Columbus, OH -----> Miami, FL 1152, 17 hours

 

Average Distance Traveled- 1487 miles

 

Without BCS bowls- 1409 miles

 

 

Final thoughts:

Obviously you can't change geography, and the Big 10 is at a disadvantage when it comes to bowl traveling. The SEC, in my opinion, have a HUGE advantage when it comes to bowl selection. Some of the stadiums that the bowls are played in, some of the teams have played in before.. Georgia v Florida game is played in Jacksonville... Chick-Fil-A bowl, Georgia Dome. The average fan isn't going to fly, or drive cross country to watch a bowl game. But, if the game was an average of 439 miles away, and tickets running 30$, who wouldn't? If only bowl games weren't in Indy, Chicago, etc. That's my 2 cents.

Good info.

I think there's two different issues here: 1) the bowls; and 2) the football games.

Bowl games are vacation destinations with exhibition football games. That's just what they are. That's why they are all in the South and mostly on the coasts. Nobody really wants to sit in the freezing cold of Chicago or wherever in December or January for a vacation.

The other issue is the football itself. The solution there is to do a legitimate playoff like the FCS does. They do 24 teams with the top 8 getting byes for the first round. Several of those games are played on home fields. That does a couple things. It fills the stadium (or at least it would in Lincoln), and it gives Northern teams the potential for a weather advantage just like Southern teams have with bowl games.

The price of gas will never go down. Time to get over it.

Nebraska From 1992-1997

69-6 (should have been 70-5, got screwed in `93)

3 undefeated seasons (should have been 4, got screwed in `93)

3 national titles (should have been 4, got screwed in `93)

 

 

Alabama from 2008-2013

72-9

1 undefeated seasons

3 national titles

 

the best run(s) by either team..

 

NU 23-0 `94 & 95

NU 49-2 `94-`97

NU 60-3 `93-`97 (should have been 61-2, got screwed in `93)

 

Bama is a great team....but not even close to the dominance we saw in the `90s from Nebraska.

The big difference is Alabama's run is current and ongoing, and Nebraska's was so long ago that the players have no direct memory of it. When I was in college for the 90's run, the 70's run seemed like ancient history. Today, the same is true of our 90's run- it's ancient history.

I'm rooting for the nuts. OSU and UM were sufficiently de-pantsed by Sparty to satisfy my contempt for them. The Big Ten could use another bowl victory, and that could help Nebraska's perception.

Mostly, I'm hoping for an entertaining game though.

I didn't notice the announcers being particularly pro-Georgia or anti-Nebraska.

Musta had the mute button on.

No, I didn't. And believe me, I'm no fan of espn slobbering over the SEC.

What's so impressive about this play to me is that Quincy does a complete 360 to catch the ball, take the hit, and continue running straight toward the endzone, and he barely even slows down. Crazy!

I've been impressed with Armstrong's passing overall. He needs more experience and a better understanding of defenses and coverages, which he has said, but if he puts in the time the future with him is bright. We really need him to be a passing threat, because he's not going to run many to the house like Martinez did- he's just not fast enough. But if he improves his passing and continues to run those options well, he'll win us plenty of games.

The next two weeks will tell us as much about the direction of the program by the influence of the chancellor and AD. Bo's annual review will take place and in all honesty is should be a positive review and have a 1 year extension. If this isn't done then we know they are trying to weaken the foundation that's in place. I know people don't think its that hard to win 9 games every year anymore because we play an additional game each year but if it were that easy there would be more than 3 teams that have done it 6 years in a row.

 

Extensions and raises for most of the current staff so they can keep those folks. Most are already being contacted by other coaches about openings. One of the biggest things to help the next step is to keep these guys currently on staff (with maybe assignment adjustments).

 

Also on the table is the request for 6-8 more full time dedicated staff positions for recruiting with actual competitive salaries. Bama pays Steele 300k per year to do this. I don't think we're asking for that but we need more than $40,000 for some of these roles. We also need a way for our staff to have more private plane time would also help when life is busy in early evaluation periods and late recruiting pushes.

 

More athlete support in the form of study facilities, life skills coaching, life after football education, tutors, etc

I disagree Bo should get an extension. He can recruit perfectly fine with three or four years remaining- whatever he has. Any recruit savvy enough to find out about the coach's contract length is also savvy enough to know they are bought out all the time and length of contract doesn't guarantee the coach will remain.

I didn't notice the announcers being particularly pro-Georgia or anti-Nebraska.