Hans Gruber

Pure speculation on my part here. My guess is they really want Thompkins and they weren't as high on the Alabama QB. Again, speculation on my part.

How dare you find fault! Just kidding.

I think Miami is the hardest job of the three. It's a private school (also the hardest to get into) that has little commitment to football from the university. Miami is like the inverse of Nebraska. Both teams have really strong strengths but really big weaknesses. If you could combine the strengths of both, then it would be the best football program ever. I will say that I think Florida State is the best job in Florida. Maybe not next year, but in a year or two, Willie Taggart is going to have FSU rolling. Probably just like Frost at Nebraska.

Earle Bruce was the last Ohio State football coach to be named the conference COTY. That was in 1979.

I might as well get this out of the way now. - Ferentz had been to three BCS/New Year's 6 games - Fitzgerald has three 10-win seasons at Northwestern - Chryst has won back to back New Year's 6 games - Harbaugh took Michigan to an Orange bowl in 2016 and came within an eyelash of winning the Big 10. I don't think Meyer, Franklin or Dantonio need any explanation.

As of right now, I don't think you can objectively put Frost ahead of Meyer, Franklin, Dantonio, Chryst, Ferentz, Fitzgerald or Harbaugh. All seven of those guys have accomplished things at their current schools. Frost hasn't done anything at Nebraska yet. In the near future though, I think Frost will be much higher.

I don't think it's fair to only credit Shaw. Sure, he's definitely part of it though.

Sure. I agree with all of that. Every scheme has strengths and weaknesses though. I think it's possible that some of Stanford's success is by being different. Of course they get good players and are well coached too. But other than Washington and maybe USC, no one else in the PAC 12 can match their physicality. Pounding away at undersized defenses that are built to stop the pass is an advantage to Stanford. Worth noting that what Stanford does differently, is what half the teams in the Big 10 do well. That may be part of why Michigan's offense has never really clicked so far under Harbaugh. Michigan runs more or less the same kind of offense that Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan State and Northwestern run.

I'm going to preface this by saying it's an unquantifiable question without a sure answer. I've wondered for a few years how much of Stanford's success under Harbaugh was going against the grain in the Pac 10/12. Running a physical, ball control offense in a pass happy league against mostly mediocre defenses. Purdue was good in the Big 10 under Joe Tiller by going against the grain with his "basketball on grass" offense. I don't know. This thread made me think of that.

They need depth at corner. If the coaches want him, then it's A-ok by me.

I'm not a big gambling guy. I understand spreads, but I'm not an odds guy. Let me put it this way. I think Nebraska (this fall, not future years) has about a 7% chance to beat Wisconsin. Of that 7%, I think 4-5% is that some act of God happens. Like if Wisconsin gets lost on the way to the game because of terrible fog and has to forfeit. Or if their whole defense gets leprosy or the whole coaching staff gets charged with racketeering. I think in the future, Nebraska vs. Wisconsin will become the Oregon vs. Stanford from 2009-2015. A contrast of style between really good teams that decides the division. This year, it's not going to happen. This is probably Wisconsin's best team since 2011 and one of their best ever. As Nebraska fans, we can gloat all we want about how Nebraska's best seasons are far better than Wisconsin's best seasons. This fall though, Wisconsin is probably going to win 11 or more games. Nebraska may win 7. COULD it happen? Sure. Could Maryland beat Ohio State this year? Could Tennessee beat Georgia? It's possible. Is it going to happen? No.

The whole "the west is bad argument" doesn't apply to Wisconsin this fall. They will be loaded with probably their best team since Russell Wilson was there. Let's not forget that this is a team that went 13-1 last year, won the Orange Bowl and came close to beating Ohio State in the Big 10 title game and making the playoff. Oh, and they return their entire offensive line and one of the best running backs in the country. And they'll probably finish with a top 15 defense again. Nebraska may be able to beat Wisconsin in 2019 and beyond. They aren't going to beat the Badgers in Madison this fall.

I picked fourth. I think Nebraska could beat one or more teams that finish above them in the standings, but finish lower due to the crossover games. At best, I think Nebraska only wins one of the games against the east teams. So, hypothetically, let's say Nebraska loses at Michigan, at Wisconsin, at Ohio State and home vs. Michigan State. Then they drop another one, because that's just how college football works. That's 7-5 with either a 4-5 or 5-4 conference record.

QB: Tough. I'm going with Scott Frost. If he wasn't the head coach, I might have picked someone else. RB: Ameer Abdullah FB: Joel Makovicka, although Andy Janovich came closer than I thought he would WR: Maurice Purify TE: Matt Herian OL: Jeremiah Sirles DL: I can't pick between Grant Wistrom and Ndamukong Suh. One of those two. LB: Lavonte David DB: Josh Bullocks KR/PR: Bobby Newcombe K/P: Alex Henery

I voted for Ganz. I'm pretty sure Ganz did run the option a handful of times in his career, but it was rare. I don't want to knock Tagge, but I think a lot of quarterbacks could have achieved the same amount of team success with the roster that Jerry had around him.

I'm not disagreeing with what you are saying. It's worth noting though that Lavonte David and Randy Gregory both showed up just a few days before fall camp started.

With Nebraska's lack of depth and proven talent at corner, I'd be extatic if he ended up being Armando Murillo.

True. In addition to that, recruiting guys that leave right away doesn't help either. Guys like Elijah Blades did not help Nebraska at all but make their recruiting rankings look better.

Fair point. Let me ask this another way. ABC/ESPN has been the king of college football for 20 years, maybe longer. Why did they pick that game as their spotlight prime time game of opening weekend? They should have picked Washington and Auburn. Of of all of Alabama's neutral site season openers since Saban took over, this is the biggest mismatch on paper. And at least with Nebraska it's the chance to see something new and different. (Clearly Alabama's game is going to get better ratings though.)

I don't think many people outside of Alabama or Kentucky will be watching that ABC game past halftime, if not earlier. I'd expect Alabama to be up like 41-3 at halftime against a mediocre Louisville team without Lamar Jackson.

Worth every penny!

It's possible, but I doubt it's this. Virtually every college football team either practices in the morning or has voluntary/mandatory lifting in the morning. If you're an athlete in collegiate sports, those mornings get you one way or the other.

An interesting thought that my dad used to say. Scott Frost isn't the top option quarterback in school history. But, if you were going to build one in a lab, it would basically be Frost. And I voted for Frazier.

I'm not sure the lack of depth at MLB/ILB is a huge issue. There are currently 11 OLBs on scholarship. Some of them could move inside. Plus, I think it's much easier to move from an outside linebacker to the inside than vice versa. Not to say it is super easy, just easier than moving from inside to outside. Sure, they may need to sign an extra high school and JUCO guy. I don't think it's nearly as big of an issue currently though as CB or a proven pass rusher.

I went with 2012 Wisconsin. I actually never saw the game. I had to work, so I DVRd it. I do have internet access at work, so I was following the live stats. Needless to say, around 35-10 or so I quit following it. Then knowing the final score, it seemed like rewatching it would be akin to watching a snuff film. So I deleted it and have still never seen it to this day.