beorach

I think we probably win the game in that circumstance, if I follow your meaning. That'd sure be nice even if few would respect a win over Purdue at this juncture.

If I only consider rushing defense, rushing offense, scoring defense, and turnover margin stats (equally and relative to national means and standard deviations calculated from stats posted in games between FBS teams to date this season), the following are the top 25 rankings w/ and w/o SOS weighting: w/o SOS Houston 0.914 LSU 0.830 Appalachian State 0.827 Baylor 0.813 Iowa 0.795 Navy 0.795 Clemson 0.789 Wisconsin 0.777 North Carolina State 0.771 Ohio State 0.771 Alabama 0.768 Michigan 0.765 Toledo 0.759 Florida State 0.744 Georgia 0.726 Temple 0.717 Georgia Southern 0.708 Michigan State 0.708 Duke 0.705 North Carolina 0.705 Boise State 0.699 San Diego State 0.696 South Florida 0.685 Oklahoma State 0.682 Florida 0.679 w/ SOS Clemson 0.669 LSU 0.624 Alabama 0.613 Navy 0.587 Iowa 0.581 Boston College 0.571 West Virginia 0.557 Michigan 0.548 Florida 0.545 Tennessee 0.541 Utah 0.540 Wisconsin 0.536 Appalachian State 0.535 Notre Dame 0.526 Ohio State 0.526 Florida State 0.524 Michigan State 0.522 Georgia Tech 0.520 Akron 0.519 Georgia 0.518 USC 0.499 South Florida 0.499 Louisville 0.494 Illinois 0.487 Baylor 0.483 p.s. - Nebraska ranks 54th regardless of the SOS factor being applied. p.p.s. - I had no idea Terry Bowden was coaching (Akron).

It always works out to go with someone who has former ties, though, didn't you know? We probably could have hired Charlie Strong, the best SEC DC looking to be an HC, but Bo had been here before. The bloom may be off that particular rose now, of course.

I wanted Gary Patterson or Paul Johnson once upon a time and felt strongly we should get someone with HC experience. I also thought Charlie Strong should have gotten an interview way back when those names were bandied about. I didn't have any names picked out for the most recent hire but I was hoping we'd bring someone here who'd install a great defense and power running game. I don't have any stats from before JK got to Minnesota but apparently he just retired anyway so...

It's fair to say Nebraska hasn't faced any great offenses. Southern Miss has posted the best overall offensive stats in the passing, rushing, scoring and total offense categories by my evaluation...followed by Wisconsin and BYU. I have these three at ranks 19, 35, and 45 respectively. Miami would be next on the list in the 86th slot. Nebraska's overall performance puts them at #23 offensively and #79 defensively, for what it's worth. This ranking is calculated based on deviation from means for figures within these eight categories. I also consider turnover margin category stats for overall rankings. Nebraska's performance puts them at #44 overall but, if I adjust for strength of schedule, the Corn move up to #38. It should be noted that Nebraska is one of just nine teams to have played eight games against FBS teams to date this season (as that obviously affects all these figures). I only count games between FBS teams, too. Games against teams from lower divisions are generally nothing but scrimmages after all.

Let's not forget that Dabo has Venables (who started in 2012). His first season was the last that the defensive side of the ball wasn't their most accomplished, in terms of statistics. p.s. - Brian Kelly's Irish started 4-4 in his inaugural season and there have been ups and downs since. They don't have the power running game they did under Lou but they're an exciting team to watch on both sides of the ball.

Let's go back in time and hire Narduzzi and Herman to coordinate for, hmm, Joe Moglia? Hiring a guy means allowing him to hire his own staff. Forcing that guy to fire anyone after just a season is, at the very least, not supporting him. I understand that's not a problem for some of my fellow Husker fans of late but I think it bears mentioning. If you're closing the book on Riley already, I'd think you'd at least want to give the impression to the next hire that you wouldn't meddle in his affairs so heavily so soon... You could argue that Nebraska has been in a tailspin since 62-36 or whatever but things can always get worse.

I want a team that's disciplined, has a superior mastery of the fundamentals, and shows maximum effort every week. I think a team like that will do well enough to satisfy folks, in terms of record, once that's a reality again.

Last year's team was also very close to an 11-1 season, but alas, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. If any "non-blowout" is a game you almost won, then I really don't understand all the hand-wringing. Perhaps I missed the point, though. All I'm trying to say is it's tough to figure out how good this team is to then be able to discern whether they're better or worse for their coaching. Your shared view, if it was serious, underscores this.

I read a poor article after the Illinois game, in which the author was making the case that Riley supporters needed to admit they were wrong. The author made the case that Notre Dame went and got their guy...implying there were no growing pains. The truth is that Brian Kelly's first team went 4-4 to start but what I am I was writing about reminded me of it. The defense was flying and gang tackling from the start in stark contrast to the Weis days.

I don't see how you can judge what the coaching effect is on this team when you have so many intangibles. I think this guy relies heavily on recruiting rankings but, aside from those, I don't think there's much to go by in terms of figuring out what the Cornhusker baseline is... As Shatel pointed out yesterday, last year's team was very close to 7-5 with greater talent than this year's squad contains. The last time Nebraska was ranked in a poll that mattered was the end of the 2012 season. You've got a team that's still struggling with deciding to give this new coach their all. The asterisk above makes the most sense is all I'm driving at.

People asked, "Who's going to come here for Bo's money that's substantially better?" I never thought that was the question. You have to decide it's worth rolling the dice on an unknown commodity if you can't afford and entice a big name to take the NU post. We didn't get someone whose teams mirror Osborne's. If they win more than Bo, or even win just as much but don't get embarrassed, you've taken a step forward in more ways than one with Riley.

I don't watch much of the WWL unless my team's playing but I didn't think they said much else, really. I.e., I thought "physicality" was one of the buzz words they used all day every day. With that said, I'm sure he-who-wears-khakis-and-sometimes-glasses took his Michigan charges and worked them harder than most from the word "GO" and even now has practices that are probably tougher than games. It's like swinging two bats on deck! It's too late now for this Nebraska team, though, injuries or no.

We expect the kids to give it their all but we can't even give a new coach a season (when it's clear at least some of the kids are about as on board as some of us). I.e., it's too soon:

Zaire Anderson was the leading tackler last year - also gone. Ahead of the BYU game, there was reasonable talk that JW was our best player. I don't have anything against JW but that concerned me...until he reversed field and scored in the first half of that game.

I don't know that I remember Tommie's first game snaps like I do Steve Taylor's (who had some great bowl game runs against Michigan) but I was out of state at that time for school. The point has been raised that the ISU QB was the only counterpart of Tommie's to have ever, arguably, bested him on the gridiron through college (despite TFraz having gone up against Heisman winners). The 'Clone had one big play, though, as I recall...but then we're also biased.

The defense, outside a couple of plays, gave "us" a chance to put some distance between us and Northwestern (if not away) if our offense had executed better in the first half.

We didn't hire a coach who's going to install the kind of power running game we've enjoyed traditionally. That's the situation until he retires or is fired. I know enough to know I don't know enough to make the kinds of definitive statements the OP did above. What I do know is that: MR didn't inherit a squad that was as talented as last year's; the team hasn't been ranked since 2012 (and it wound up ranked just 25th in the final AP poll despite two blowout losses); and the team doesn't appear to be entirely unified and motivated. With regard to that last note, I wonder why it is we expect kids to do what we old folks can't. We have some fans who refuse to buy in due to egos and ignorance - just speaking generally and not pointing fingers at anyone. You have the Bolievers who want to be right. You have the folks who think TO won championships with the same level of talent the program has currently. I get that we want to win "the Nebraska way" and that it's almost unavoidable if you believe that Lincoln will never import the kind of talent Columbus does. What's written on the outside of the stadium makes sense. It's not about the W-L record so much as each Cornhusker player taking care of his business. That should mean the team is greater than the sum of its parts...synergy, whatever...and the W-L record should then be respectable given relative talent being what it is. Damon Benning said something along the lines of how this team isn't playing good football and worrying about whether it's Husker football or not is pointless in light of that. I don't know what's reasonable to hope for in the remainder of this season but it'd be great to see only the kids who want to play on the field from here on out. I doubt there are any posters here who couldn't get on board with being a Cornhusker regardless of the coach. Everyone seems to hate Callahan but it doesn't mean we don't appreciate Joe Ganz, for example.

B1G Overall Ohio State 0.782 Wisconsin 0.749 Iowa 0.709 Michigan 0.705 Michigan State 0.638 Penn State 0.601 Nebraska 0.553 Minnesota 0.534 Illinois 0.497 Indiana 0.455 Northwestern 0.454 Rutgers 0.373 Maryland 0.356 Purdue 0.29 B1G Defensively Michigan 0.952 Wisconsin 0.902 Iowa 0.872 Ohio State 0.795 Minnesota 0.696 Penn State 0.679 Northwestern 0.643 Illinois 0.610 Michigan State 0.586 Nebraska 0.443 Maryland 0.405 Purdue 0.357 Rutgers 0.286 Indiana 0.280 B1G Offensively Ohio State 0.839 Nebraska 0.685 Michigan State 0.661 Wisconsin 0.631 Indiana 0.601 Iowa 0.554 Michigan 0.536 Penn State 0.512 Rutgers 0.446 Minnesota 0.399 Illinois 0.357 Maryland 0.280 Northwestern 0.253 Purdue 0.205 B1G Overall w/ SOS weighting Ohio State 0.533 Iowa 0.518 Wisconsin 0.516 Michigan 0.506 Michigan State 0.470 Penn State 0.467 Illinois 0.442 Nebraska 0.435 Northwestern 0.418 Indiana 0.378 Minnesota 0.374 Maryland 0.344 Rutgers 0.300 Purdue 0.263 FBS Top 25 Overall Houston 0.799 Clemson 0.794 Ohio State 0.782 Appalachian State 0.776 Wisconsin 0.749 Boise State 0.741 Oklahoma State 0.737 Alabama 0.737 LSU 0.735 Toledo 0.731 Baylor 0.724 Oklahoma 0.724 Iowa 0.709 North Carolina State 0.706 Florida State 0.705 Michigan 0.705 North Carolina 0.689 Stanford 0.685 Duke 0.685 Notre Dame 0.680 Temple 0.675 Mississippi 0.671 TCU 0.657 USC 0.656 Florida 0.648 FBS Top 25 Defensively Clemson 0.979 Michigan 0.952 Appalachian State 0.940 Boston College 0.914 North Carolina State 0.902 Wisconsin 0.902 Boise State 0.890 Duke 0.878 Iowa 0.872 Temple 0.863 Missouri 0.854 Oklahoma State 0.839 Pittsburgh 0.836 Alabama 0.821 Florida 0.795 Ohio State 0.795 Houston 0.786 North Carolina 0.786 San Diego State 0.777 Georgia 0.774 LSU 0.759 Florida State 0.756 Louisville 0.705 Vanderbilt 0.705 Toledo 0.702 FBS Top 25 Offensively Texas Tech 0.884 Memphis 0.860 Bowling Green 0.839 Ohio State 0.839 TCU 0.830 Oklahoma 0.830 Notre Dame 0.827 Arizona 0.813 Toledo 0.810 Houston 0.807 Baylor 0.804 Western Kentucky 0.798 USC 0.777 Stanford 0.774 Mississippi 0.759 UCLA 0.756 LSU 0.753 Tulsa 0.741 Southern Mississippi 0.738 Louisiana Tech 0.702 Alabama 0.693 Cincinnati 0.693 Nebraska 0.685 Florida State 0.670 Clemson 0.664 FBS Top 25 Overall w/ SOS Weighting Clemson 0.673 Alabama 0.588 West Virginia 0.562 LSU 0.553 Ohio State 0.533 Notre Dame 0.530 USC 0.529 Florida 0.520 Iowa 0.518 Wisconsin 0.516 Mississippi 0.515 Utah 0.508 Michigan 0.506 Tennessee 0.504 Appalachian State 0.503 Oklahoma 0.499 Florida State 0.496 Stanford 0.478 Georgia Tech 0.475 Louisville 0.475 BYU 0.474 Mississippi State 0.470 Michigan State 0.470 Penn State 0.467 Georgia 0.459

I made a comment to this hit above. 1995 against K-State in Lincoln. Mike Fullman was returning the punt, Mike Rucker makes the block/hit. Achso! Yes, I was at that game but saw it made Sportscenter later.

I loved the one that led to a helmet flying off against KSU. I think it was the 1994 game? DaMarcus/Joe Walker was running the punt back? Rucker made the block. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN8Ng7coNio&feature=youtu.be&t=116 To go with something more recently, I think it's fair to bring up when our kids opted not to hit someone. Remember that bowl game against Washington when Locker had a concussion but was allowed to return to the field of play? I remember him running in the red zone and "we" could clearly have hammered him but laid off. I thought that was good sportsmanship on our part and showed our kids were more adult than the UW coaching staff.

Officiousness is common at schools...even good old Nebraska U. I earned a degree from UNL but couldn't get an ID to make it easy for me to get into football games (though I was allowed to purchase tickets at the student rate and enter one specific gate where someone knew I was allowed to use it) because I was attending my classes in Omaha, sometimes watching Lincoln ones on TV. I'm with the crowd that thinks this was just something along those lines and it's a shame that it has blown up to the extent the general public has noticed.

Thanks for the discussion and appreciation. I'm glad there's a place for it here. Like a lot of you, I expect, I've been to a few Husker boards since this whole internet thing caught on...and it's always a mixed bag. As for the stats, I just wish it was easier to find what you're looking for sometimes. Strength of schedule is probably the biggest hurdle to trying to figure things out but then, for example, I was hearing some discussion on the radio of how much better the Husker offense performs relative to how snaps are handled...and I've got no idea where to go find out the number under center versus shotgun. Back to SOS, I thought this was about as interesting as any of the links I've checked out in relation to it: http://www.footballperspective.com/week-seven-2015-college-football-srs-ratings-baylor-takes-top-spot/