Nebraska55fan

Illinois has the bats- but their pitching isnt very deep. Long shot at best them beating Indiana today.

Maryland is 14-2 their last 16 games and have won 5 in a row They wont be swept by Michigan or Indiana

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For most of us a "successful" season cant be defined by if we get to 6 wins and get to a bowl game. We want to see improvement in fundamental football, blocking, tackling, lining up correctly, getting snaps consistently. Seeing our guys not beat themselves with turnovers, untimely penalties and bad special teams. We want to see NU dominate teams they should dominate. We want them to compete with the average teams and show up to play- take some shots at the really good teams. We are looking for a team that can play physical and is reasonably mentally tough. We are looking for a team that can threaten deep a bit and can RUN THE BALL, especially when it really needs to. We are looking at making progress on clock management and play calling. We are patient- we are just looking for legitimate signs of structural progress being made. Not all 5-6-7 win teams look alike- they are headed in various directions- we are looking for legit signs that the light at the end of the tunnel exists and that we are making progress towards it.

Measureables are great and those metrics can help in determining straight line speed and explosiveness. Unfortunately football speed and straight line speed are two different things. Ive seen and coached several promising kids with excellent straight line speed, but ended up not being very good players as they advanced up the ladder. Opposite was true for several average or above average speed guys- who did very well. Early on their coaches would kind of poo poo my hype on those slower guys because they lacked great measureables, but they were very good football players. In the end, that would always come out and invariably their coaches would be embarrassed of their initial assessment. Hard to measure toughness, ability to change direction without slowing down- body control and leverage. Back in the 80s and early 90s NU would always have some guys with out of the park measureables that the fans would always be looking for. Behind the scenes coaches said "looks like Tarzan plays like Jane" Dont get over excited about some gym stud until he puts good play on film.

Meanwhile in Volleyball the BIG awarded Wisconsin 2 wins over Northwestern. I guess it depends on what team it is before the league considers it a forfeit. Wisconsin gains a leg up- SURE NO PROBLEM. What a joke this league is. Its run like some 3rd world corrupt banana republic. "After the two matches against Northwestern, which were cancelled earlier this season, were declared as forfeits by the Big Ten" https://www.buckys5thquarter.com/2021/4/1/22363248/wisconsin-badgers-are-back-to-back-big-ten-volleyball-champions-dana-rettke-sydney-hilley

Interestingly enough the Wisconsin Volleyball team was awarded 2 Forfeits from NORTHWESTERN this year. Northwestern Baseball comes to Lincoln and played 2 games- competed well in game 2- it DIDNT RAIN HARD here today- they could have easily played. NW would have had to have some of the relievers pitch again or have position players play pitcher. Just like in football when you run out of QBs and a wideout has to play it- like NU almost had to do last year. In football would the BIG have allowed NU not to play and no forfeit if CTB would have had to play QB last year when all of our QBs were hurt? THis conference is a joke- run like a criminal Russian oligarchy "After the two matches against Northwestern, which were cancelled earlier this season, were declared as forfeits by the Big Ten" https://www.buckys5thquarter.com/2021/4/1/22363248/wisconsin-badgers-are-back-to-back-big-ten-volleyball-champions-dana-rettke-sydney-hilley

So this man makes over 1 million dollars a year to collect and count votes? Well what do they vote on? Who puts out the approach, plan, agenda, topic being voted on- the tooth fairy? Warren has stumbled and bumbled every step of the way. He is a joke and carrying the mans water only enables him to continue to take this conference into the tank. Just wait and see the kind of TV contract he "negotiates"- no excuses- all on him.

Kevin Warren LEADs the League- he has chosen not to push for baseball in the BIG- JUST like he chose not to lead for football until he was dragged kicking and screaming by the likes of Nebraska and Ohio State. The BIG got pegged as a JV conference while all the big boy pants football programs played. Had Jim Delaney been in charge, a MUCH different result.

What an embarrassment for the BIG. Not even having a single team considered to host a Regional. Thanks to Kevin Warrens incompetence. Its not safe to go play Creighton, UNO or KState midweek traveling by bus and returning home the same day- buts it's just fine to travel to COVID hotspots 1,000+ miles away and stay in hotels- got it. "Following the science" BIG doesnt care about baseball. OK to have a basketball tourney indoors- but a baseball tourney held outdoors in a Covid cold spot is too dangerous?? They make it SO easy for anyone to recruit against ANYONE in the BIG> Kudos to Will Bolt, recruiting with both hands tied behind his back and shackled to a 300 dead weight Kevin Warren with an ankle chain.

Kevin Warren was and is an unqualified, incompetent, "Woke" virtue signaling and now unfireable hire. He is a laughing stock and HE will be the man negotiating the new BIG TV contract- and hence responsible for tanking the BIG He still hasnt moved his family to BIG headquarters in Chicago. Hes just here to put a line on his resume so he can become the first black commissioner of the NFL.

Leaving out the other games each plays is a mistake. NU plays Northwestern- which hasnt played for 18 games coming off losing 5 in a row. Indiana and Michigan play Maryland- which no one has swept all season- fairly good team. Indiana has the pitching- they will have to stub their toe a bit for NU or Michigan to win it. Anythings possible at this point.

Cam is an incredible athlete. One of the few Centers Ive seen who can pull effectively and make second level blocks. Dang son, clean up the snaps and you can be a freaky weapon at Center. We all have been frustrated with his snaps. However this is why Frost has stuck with him through the problems.

Northwestern lost the most- on both a terrible offense and a very good defense. Always well coached and great special teams, a tough out, but pretty vulnerable this season. Should be a winnable game. The transfer portal makes it tough to predict really well, you dont know who the QB will be- but it wont be Ramsey. Michigan State also went deep into the portal, but had a lot of ground to make up. If NU could somehow get to 5 wins in the first 6 games, it might be enough of a boost to make that bottom half killer schedule a little less daunting.

Yes it will. Plan on being there Friday and Sunday. If NU can find a way to sweep a rusty NW team- then 30 wins is very doable and that probably wins the league. Going 3-2 against Michigan/Indiana and Splitting against OSU. Maryland may be the kicker. No one has swept them, pretty fair team. Michigan and Indiana play Series against Maryland- we have Northwestern.

Illinois 60% win Fordham 98% Buffalo 80% Oklahoma 10% Michigan State 60% Northwestern 55% Michigan 45% Minnesota 40% Purdue 65% Ohio State 10% Wisconsin 35% Iowa 45% 4-7 Win Team I would be very happy to get to 7 wins and play well in a Bowl game to get this thing started back on the right path.

Michigan has 2 of the top 6 pitchers in the league. They are no joke. They also have the highest batting avg For NU to sweep Northwestern NU that may be a tall order. Indiana and Michigan didnt BUT NW has lost 5 in a row and havent played in 18 days. That may help. A sweep would be huge. NU does that and most likely back in first with Indiana and MI playing this weekend

True. However Im not sure you can put most of the blame on Frosts shoulders here. Im guessing Frosts approach to practice and out of season work may have had a part to play in those leaving. For the most part most of the kids that transferred out- havent done much where they landed. Rileys recruiting was all smoke and mirrors. What alpha male stud 18 year old football player really wants to play for Mr Rodgers with his sprinkles, goofy bike helmet and Prius?

I agree, he looked pretty sharp. But weve been fooled by Spring Game performances in the past. He definitely looked quicker, the QB draws were well blocked money. Not sure how we do that in the BIG a bunch and keep him healthy. He had a nice toss to Manning that was dropped. Would like to see them slow it down a bit, play action more and a quick on rhythm read- then the underneath route as a backup. No more "no fear of failure" backyard football stuff. And in the name of all things holy- saving me from a stroke- PLEASE no more backward passes!!!

Not sure we can extrapolate any QBs performance just from the Spring Game. If you were there like I was, you knew the wind was pretty strong and gusting, coming from different directions at times it seems. Going into the wind, really tough to tell how effective the QBs throws were. What I CAN say is Smothers was behind his intended receivers early and the balls didnt seem very tightly thrown. Didnt look promising. HH- tough to say, didnt just YOLO throw, tossed several away etc. Was heavily pressured. Martinez minus the pic and backward pass to the tackle (wtf) looked pretty sharp though. .

Frank was an OK HC, a great position coach, not so good OC and a weak CEO> He should have been kept around after the 2003 season to give the new staff a chance to mature. Then gracefully move him into an admin role once NU found a good replacement. Solich to Bo to Frost would have been a much healthier path than Solich- Callahan- riley- Frost

No doubt he wont have as many open breakaway TDs against DI talent or probably any scheming him to wide open TDs. However the way he gets to contested balls, tracks the ball into his hands and adjusts his routes is really tough to teach- few have those kind of skills. No one Ive seen in recent memory. Yes- Westerkamp like- but Westercamp wasnt 6 3" and wasnt able to make the first tackler miss very often, especially in the open field.

I dont recall saying anything of the sort. I hope Martin does become a legit 3rd threat. Only having a single threat has really hampered this offense. Martin didnt have any success at Michigan or as a home town Iowa City hero favorite in Iowa. This is his third stop. Toure on the other hand is 1-1 and had very good success all 3 years that he played. Burrow isnt a good comparison here. He was playing behind GREAT QBs- Cardale Jones and Dwayne Haskins Haskins would go on to complete 373 of 533 passes (70 percent) for 4,831 yards, 50 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. Martin wasnt playing behind those caliber players at Michigan or Iowa. If we can find a player who finishes a competition an eyelash behind someone like Haskins or Jones- SIGN THEM UP>

Some Toure Highlights from one season. He catches contested balls well and does a great job of adjusting to the throw to put himself in position to make a catch. He makes some tough catches- that only if youve been a receiver- can you really appreciate how tough they really are. Check out the grab at 1:05 and 1:17 He is also really good at making the first tackler miss on those wide receiver screens we all love so much Toure Highlights

Yes, weve been burned before on over hyped guys over the years who for a variety of reasons never really produced big- Collins, Bell, Mills etc etc Toure may be a bit different. He has the size, the smarts, good football speed (can change direction and accelerate quickly), exceptional route runner and work ethic that NU needs in that position group. He looks so fluid- smooth- natural on the field. Martinez looked to him right off the bat. Hopefully this one will be paydirt. "He's very smart," Lubick said. "He's an experienced player… Learns fast. A big-bodied guy that has a great catch radius. He can go up and attack a ball in the air. Fifty-50 balls aren't 50-50 with him; he goes up and gets them. Then he's a really good route runner. He's very polished…"