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8 hours ago, knapplc said:

 

Something that has been bugging me since we walked out of Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

 

If you switched Nebraska's & Wisconsin's offensive lines, who wins that game? Guarantee you it's us, and we'd likely be undefeated right now. 

 

It really comes down to five players right now.

One of the most accurate posts I've read on this board all season.

3 hours ago, HBCScottFrost said:

The administration is soft, the head coach is soft, the coaching staff is relatively soft, what else do you expect the team to be? MR wants to be Wisconsin but we are simply too soft to touch them or any of the other powers of the B1G. Recruiting doesn't mean anything if they can't be developed. 

Player development is a multi year process.  Recruiting means everything.  Recruiting rankings on the other hand, that's another story.  

You can't squeeze blood out of a turnip.  Receivers who can't create separation from DB's is a direct talent on talent battle.  Never mind Wisky got away with a lot of holding, as most highly ranked undefeated teams do by conference officials, our receivers even when not being held had a tough time creating any separation. 

I was curious to see how MR's OSU team physically dominated Wisky a few years back, nearly shut them out, held Monte Ball to well under 100 yards, and beat them in the process.  I watched on youtube and OSU won the battle upfront on defense with a lot of player substitutions, violent physical ILB play, and physical blanket coverage by their DB's.  You can coach players what to do and where to be, but they are ultimately limited by their talent/experience/size once they get there.

We didn't have the ability to cycle multiple D linemen into the game on Saturday to keep everyone fresh without giving up a drop in performance in the process.  Recruiting the way we are, in a year or two we will and then it's just a matter of sustaining the depth year in and year out.  That's where Wisky is at now, but it took them a while to get there.  We aren't patient enough to do anything that intelligent here.  

Multiple posts today suggesting MR has gone mostly after 4-5 star skill recruits at the expense of not going after and getting O and D linemen like Wisconsin.  Is that really true....a hint of truth?  Well I was curious so I looked.  Here's what I found, be your own judge.

2017 Wisconsin O line signees:

OG Kayden Lyles ****

OT Tyler Beach ***

OG Logan Bruss ***

Wisconsin D line signees:

WDE Van Dinkle  ***

WDE Green-May ***

SDE Vopal ***

2017 Nebraska O line signees:

OT Jaimes ***

OT Sichterman ***

OG Bando ***

OT Walker ***

Nebraska D line signees:

DT Thomas ***

WDE Thomas ***

DT Daniels ***

DT Watts ***

Plus 2  for Nebraska in 2017

2016 Wisconsin O line signees:

OT Van Lanen ****

OT Kasl ***

Wisconsin D line signees:

DT Rand ****

SDE Biadesz ***

WDE Preston ***

WDE Benzschawel ***

2016 Nebraska O line signees:

OG Raridon ****

OT Farniok ***

OT Brokop ***

OG Wilson ***

Nebraska D line signees:

WDE Alexander ***

SDE Stille ***

WDE Englehaupt **

In MR's two full recruiting classes he's signed more Interior Linemen:

8 O-linemen to Wisconsin's 5. 

3 DT's to Wisconsin's 1

11-6 Advantage N

Not quite the picture I was led to believe.  The above numbers show we are MOVING in the right direction.  Sure looks to me like MR's plan, as evidences by his recruiting, is building a team that will be doing the pushing and not getting pushed around.

35 minutes ago, fire mike said:

 

Funny, cause everyone that mocks or ridicules the OP for his/her disdain is, indirectly, telling him how he/she should feel. 

 

Some great accomplishments also require regime changes. 

True.  And it is also true things can look much worse than they really are, and one can be much closer to success than it appears.  Perseverance is often rewarded.

Here is a prime example.

Dantonio's record first 3 years at MSU:

7-6

9-4

6-7

At this point the evidence is clear "he's not the one" right? A losing season in year three tells us all we need to know.

And now the rest of the story.  Year 4 and 5.

11-2 (7-1) Conference Championship

11-3 (7-1) Division Championship

Year 7.

13-1 (8-0) Conference Champs, Rose Bowl Champs

Year 8

11-2 (7-1)

Year 9

12-2 (7-1) Conference Champs

Year 10

3-9

I don't expect to change anyone's mind.  I will share why I believe our current path is similar to Dantonios.  Others can agree/disagree. 

The amount of youth on the field right now is impressive, all the game reps and big situations they are being put in will translate into tremendous growth throughout this season and even more so into next season providing there is continuity to maximize that growth.  That bodes extremely well for the future.  Lee has made giant strides already, and his backups should be growing, learning, and improving as well.  We have some very talented redshirts who will add to our depth and possibly break the lineup next year.  We have other talented players who when they return from injury make N a better team. 

There's no teacher like experience and a lot of young players with big potential are getting that experience right now.  Adding all those factors together gives me a lot of hope we are much closer to where we want to be than it may appear.  We're mid stream and I'm willing to wait till we get to the far bank to decide if swapping horses is the answer.

36 minutes ago, fire mike said:

 

At the end of the day, people are still posting their emotions / thoughts on a message board and, amazingly, they might show their disdain. Just like others always try to knock people down or take the supposed “high road”, cause everything is sunshine and daisies 100% of the time. 

I'm no psychologist, and I'm also not going to tell you or anyone else how you should feel or what feelings you should share on the message board.

All I know is, many if not most great accomplishments, especially on the heels of adversity, were weathered and overcome with enthusiasm.

33 minutes ago, fire mike said:

I love the people that take the holier than thou high road and say quite letting 21 year olds dictate your happiness / life, yet have gone through the time to register on this site and contribute. In some instances, these same individuals contribute / spend more time on the board than most. But don’t let that fact burst your excessive positivity bubble. 

 

 

Feel all better now?

Believe it or not, some people take the time register(all 30 seconds) and post for reasons other than venting perpetual anger. 

Banker's gap cancellation D is more effective vs teams like Wisky.   Banker vs Wisconsin points allowed in regulation last three meetings: 17 pts, 23 pts., 7pts.

I already knew this, however last nights game reminded me a Kenworth will out push and overpower a Corolla no matter who's behind the wheel.

1 hour ago, DrunkOffPunch said:

So athletic ability...

That's fine if that's your definition, however mine would include the traits on my prior list as well as these that you leave out:  vision, heart, toughness, ability to anticipate, great hands, ability to change direction quickly, and "nose for the ball".

19 hours ago, California Husker said:

Idk, he's been improving that program every year since he got there. I think he'll do a lot better than 8-4 this year. In another thread where I pointed out MR's career stats at OSU, I was told you can't win in Corvallis. So I pointed out that Leach was winning at Wazzu and it's smaller and farther out in the sticks than Corvallis. Of course, all the "expert" legends jumped all over me for even suggesting that Leach was a good coach.

.....last I checked, Wazzu is undefeated, ranked close to the top 10 and just upset #4 USC. Leach can coach. He wouldn't be my first pick, but he would be a HUGE upgrade from MR. 

Outside of MR's era there have only been 3 other winning seasons in Corvallis over the past 40 some odd years. That's pretty close to "you can't win in Corvallis" as you can come.   

WSU has more historical success for whatever reason.  Mike Price took WSU to a Rose bowl in the 1990's and again in the 2000's.  Has OSU ever been to a Rose Bowl?

Leach will have very similar success at WSU to what MR had at OSU.  He'll have a nice run of 8 to 10 win seasons with a little luck.  Then his assistant will start getting hired away, which started last year when Oregon hired his D-line coach, add a couple bad breaks and he'll have some .500 or below seasons too.  When you win at a place like WSU or OSU people copy what you're doing and do it with better athletes.  They also come after your assistants to learn how you do it and weaken you at the same time.  Then they start to pilfer your top recruits every year on top of it.  

"Do we have better athletes (across the board) than UCF?

The true and only correct answer is, it's unknowable. 

Of course that doesn't prevent us message boarders from opining, because that's what we do.  Any attempt at an answer however reflects the biases and motivations of the poster more than providing us with a meaningful answer to the question. 

Can the vast majority even agree what constitutes "better" and "athlete" in the first place.  Now add the two together, better-athlete, and the waters go from murky to muddy.

What should be given higher value; strength, size, speed, effort, dedication, fb IQ, desire, experience, coachability, leadership, balance, agility, explosiveness, team mindedness, skill, injury avoidance ability, and the list goes on............. 

After the turnover, the way the D came out, forced two sacks in a row and took it to Illinois to immediately swing back all the momentum in the game I realized there is something special brewing.  It's a disservice to the players to minimize that kind of determination and effort and I'm a little embarrassed to be a Husker fan after reading some of the previous comments.

54 minutes ago, Mavric said:

 

Why do I get a bad feeling that we might be wishing for 28 ppg by the end of the season.

 

We're at 30 right now against the easy third of our schedule.

Versus conference:

we rank 3rd in scoring offense at 27ppg right behind UM at 28ppg.

we rank 2nd in scoring defense

Top 3 in both, not to shabby ;  )

36 minutes ago, MichiganDad3 said:

Where are the pro style QBs!!!! We have one of the worst QBs of all time chucking interceptions at a record pace, and MR will not sit him!

Lee is all alone on offense?  1 vs 11?

33 minutes ago, B.B. Hemingway said:

 

....And you clearly don't know the difference between the two.

I clearly get the snide insult attempt.   I'm passionate and that rubs you the wrong way, got it.  When you're ready to discuss football......

31 minutes ago, B.B. Hemingway said:

 

Read the below response from you towards Teach. Who is attacking who?

 

And the thread is titled "MR surviving the season", and you're engaging in conversation about Gary Andersen. How on topic are you?

 

 

 

 

I think you're well aware there's a big difference between going after a posters statements versus going after the poster.  I'm guilty of the former, you're guilty of the latter.

40 minutes ago, B.B. Hemingway said:

 

I bet you're a real joy to be around in the real world. Do you try and dress down everybody you disagree with in real life too?

Seems like you're the one making a personal attack that has zero to do with the discussion topic. 

30 minutes ago, teachercd said:

What do you think he record be through 30 games here at NU?  I can't picture it being worse.  When he was at Wisconsin he did just fine in two years...I think 19 wins?

below .500

32 minutes ago, teachercd said:

Well yeah, we already have seen how Mike Riley has done here.  So the only question you have to ask is do you think Andersen would have more wins, less wins or the same amount of wins as Riley does if he was NU.  

 

I think Andersen would NOT have beat MSU...But I think he would not have lost to Purdue, Illinois and BYU. (instead of 6-7 Andersen would have went 8-5)

I think in year two he would have lost to Oregon and all the other teams Riley did.  (8-5, one game worse)

I think this year he would be 3-1 right now.

 

I think his record here at the same point would be 19-11 where Riley is 17-13 (I think those are the records)

It's not working for you. 

54 minutes ago, teachercd said:

Yeah, I get what you are saying but it really isn't fair to take a guy off a team to prove a point that the HC would have had a worse season.  I mean...that is true with most teams.

 

And he did really well at Wisconsin...sure he was running a different system but he still won.  

 

And saying that he won because he had a good DC...well as a head coach you are supposed to try and hire/keep good staff members.

 

Again, I am not saying he is great...I am just saying I would take him over Riley...which isn't saying much

You would take one of the least successful coaches ever at Oregon State(that's quite an accomplishment) over their most successful coach ever.

Says much more about YOU than anything else.  At least you're being honest so we all know how much weight to attach to any further coaching opinions you offer.  I'll keep a feather scale handy.

Gary Andersen....lol.   Things that carry more weight than you coaching evaluation:  Grain of sand, styrafoam kernel, belly button lint.......

31 minutes ago, DrunkOffPunch said:

Yea. He ran for 4,016 yards for a different coach.

 

Moving the goalposts are we? Who's the one that brought up OSU stats in a thread about Rimington?

 

There's that word again...

Help me out, what was the goalpost you thought I moved? 

Let me help you out, here was my initial quote on the subject:

"There was something I read a while back showing several seasons under MR where he produced thousand plus yard rushers.  I think 3 or 4 of his OSU backs rank top 15 all time in the Pac 12 conference for rushing yards." 

Does Ken Simonton's 1,028 yard freshman season under MR not count or backup what I originally said as quoted above? 

37 minutes ago, brophog said:

 

I think we're miles away. The passing game is just broken at this point, and when you break down the tape you see our run blocking is still atrocious at times, especially on zone plays. The 4th game isn't much different than the 1st....the backs are breaking tackles and making others look good. Even then, there aren't the big plays in the running game, and many attempts are lucky to make it back to the LOS.

 

That's with the easy part of the schedule being finished on Friday. The screen game isn't even worth mentioning, the passing game is horrible, and the running game is probably best described as adequate. There are no star players. I'm afraid the prognosis for the immediate future is pretty far from bring near prolific.

 

 

The line play isn't as improved as it could be if we'd fielded the same line in all four games.  O-line is the most important unit on the field to have continuity for communication, and assignments and just knowing what to expect from the guy next to you takes time.  Given the constant changes in personnel, the line play is better than expected, but has much room to improve.  The schedule is irrelevant to me, we've been competing against ourselves up to this point.  Once we get out of our own way, the opponent doesn't matter. 

31 minutes ago, DrunkOffPunch said:

He didn't get the vast majority of his yards, nor did he set the record under Riley.

 

And Armstrong is 13th in B1G career passing yards. That doesn't make him one of the B1G's all-time top 15 QBs.

I was pretty clear when/how long he played for MR and gave the exact number of yards.

As for TA, yard totals are an objective measure just like W's and L's.  You point therefore is to say objective measures don't always tell the whole story.  Interesting.

3 or MR's QB's are in the league so not seeing where the comparison to TA is relevant unless you just wanted to get a dig in on TA.

31 minutes ago, DrunkOffPunch said:

Oregon State doesn't have a RB in the top 20 for single season rushing. Interestingly enough OSU does have a RB 3rd in career rushing...but that was while Riley was in the NFL. Otherwise his top RB's come in at 13th, 14th, and 18th for career yardage. Mannion did have the single season passing record until Jared Goff showed up. And he only had to average just over 46 attempts per game to achieve that. 

Haha.  I've been digging for the records too.  The RB you're referring to, the Pac12's  3rd career rushing leader, was actually a MR recruit it would appear and played his first season in MR's offense and ran for a 1,028 yards as a true freshman. 

Riley's Conference top 20 leaders;

P12 career rushing leaders:

3rd OSU Kenny Simonton 5,044 yards

13th OSU Jacquizz Rodgers 3,877

14th OSU Yvenson Bernard 3,862

18th OSU Steven Jackson 3,625

QB's Pac 12 top 20 carreer passing leaders:

1st OSU Sean Mannion 13,600 yards

7th OSU Derek Andersen 11,249

20th OSU Jonathan Smith 9,680 (current university of washington offensive coordinator)

WRs Pac 12 top 20 carreer receptions leaders:

10th OSU Markus Wheaton 227

11th OSU Brandon Cooks 226 (Bilitnikoff winner)

12th OSU James Rodgers 222

15th OSU Mike Hass  220 (Bilitnikoff winner)

20th OSU James Newson 213

If he can produce that many top 20 all conference career leaders in rushing, passing, and reception while recruiting classes ranked in the 40's and 50's at Oregon State, it's exciting to think what he can and will do here with top 25 classes. 

3 hours ago, bnilhome said:

 

While it's ok to listen to his opinion, it's just one opinion.  I think the bigger question is whether the pro-style system will work at Nebraska.  As was hashed out in another thread discussing the talent level required for a pro-level system, those teams that have implemented it well have consistently brought in top 5 or top 10 recruiting classes.  We are still a long ways away from having those types of classes, and I don't want to give Riley too much time for a system that we don't even know will work.  

I wish I could locate it again, but I don't remember where I saw it.  There was something I read a while back showing several seasons under MR where he produced thousand plus yard rushers.  I think 3 or 4 of his OSU backs rank top 15 all time in the Pac 12 conference for rushing yards.  Several of his QB's were conference passing leaders, I think one is THE all time record holder, and his offense also produced several WR's who made NFL rosters.  Two won Bilitnikof awards for nations best college receiver.  He did that with recruiting classes ranked in the 40's.  He can do a lot better here and has so far in recruiting.

We know Nebraska can attract and recruit great O-linemen and running backs.  MR has now shown we can also attract top WR's and Pro-style QB's as well.  The downside to his system is getting the QB past the thinking stage and to the subconscious read and react stage.  I think the first three games this year leaned heavily on the pass for the primary reason of getting Lee live game rep experience to help accelerate his command of the offense and get him closer to the read and react stage.  MR's history shows he likes to and will run the ball and when teams respect his QB's effectiveness there's not much they can do to stop the run without giving up big plays in the passing game.  A little better play from the line, the WR's and Lee and we are right there with the backs we have.

I understand your concern, however I really don't think we are all that far away from seeing a prolific offense take shape.  One that can produce rushing leaders, passing leaders, and reception leaders.  Several pieces are in place, game experience and learning are the final steps needed before it can blast off.  There's no teacher like experience and that does take some time.