robsker

Right now I'd say the B12 is probably the 4th or 5th best conference. Oklahoma is trying to escape and come to the B10 as we speak. KU will most likely come with them. That should fix a lot of the proximity issues. I am sure if OU is trying to come to the B1G or not. I have no idea. But... if so, that would be great.

Roy really likes to leap over people. He did it again Sunday. And yes... he looks good. Good for him... he was always a likeable Husker and I am sure we all wish him well.

still seems like a good move.

I am also in Idaho. As it were, I would not think that Peterson would make the move to NU. Perhaps the $ would entice him. But he has a good gig in Boise and I am not sure why he would move to NU except for money. Of course, many people do things for money. Boise is a great place to live (almost always in the top 5 in the nation rankings) and his team has had success. And the pressure is less. So... it would take a great deal to get him to move. If he were interested in NU... NU should take a look. Peterson's teams are very well coached.

Very good points. You are correct. I would imagine a huge subset of the players view posts here and the other site as well. Guys like me who are really critical of the coaches and the outlook... well we probably do not help much. None of us should bash players personally. But you are right, some optimism would be nice.

Not sure... but perhaps our QB Taylor is banged up and has been banged up for a long time --- or there is fear that running him too much will cause him to be more banged up. Or both. Perhaps that is why they went away from it.

how are we defining good? If good is upper middle of a weak conference and finishing ranked 22-30 or so is good... then NU may end up good. If to be good a team has to legitimately compete for a CC and finish top 15 or so (in a legitimate way,... not by way of easy schedule alone)... then NU is not good.

The problem here is that it's debatable on whether or not we're any good. We'll soon find out. no debate. NU is not good.

Well stated. Tressel and Petrino should get no consideration whatsoever.

I agree I don't think we could beat the badgers, I believe we will learn a lot from this weeks game. If we lose this week we will not be ranked again unless we run the table. We'll need to score 50+ to win this week...I think we'll find out how deserving our offense is. I do not think Illinois will score 50 on NU. I could be wrong... it is possible. I'd think, howeve that 35 or so is more likely. FOrtunately, Illinois has a very porous defense and has not won a B1G game on the road in like 2 years. Lets not make Illinois out to be a good team or anything. they are very average. Middle conference type team --- maybe lower-mid. They have played nobody except Washington who handled them fairly easily. For us to even be thinking that Illinois is a potential stumbling block is almost unfathomable --- but that is where we find ourselves at NU. We even fear teams like Illinois! Sad really. That said... Illinois should not score 50... at least I hope not!

I agree I don't think we could beat the badgers, I believe we will learn a lot from this weeks game. If we lose this week we will not be ranked again unless we run the table. I would think that Wisconsin would roll the Huskers on a neutral field by a minimum of 2 touchdowns and likely closer to three. It would, I suppose, end up whatever score Wisconsin chose... if they wanted to just crush the Huskers, keeping their regulars in and never throttling down it would be ugly. But... they would have little reason to do that... so I'd see 17 point differential or so... they would throttle down. OSU would be a 21-24 point score difference... again, assuming that they let up some at the end. Any part of th CCG would be ... a humbling experience for NU.

Not sure whether you are saying that SoCal and NU are a straight ahead trade and thus Bo would not be interested in SoCal... or that Kiffin and Bo are a straight ahead trade and SoCal would thus not be interested in Bo. If the thought is that SoCal and NU are a straight ahead trade... I'd disagree. SoCal has a huge recruiting advantage for obvious reasons and is in the better conference. SoCal is a clear step up (maybe two) from the NU job. So... Bo, I'd think, would be very interested.... Now... would SoCal be interested in Bo? I would think not. Why would they be? His resume is mediocre at best. Better yet, why would we want Kiffin? The same guy that left Tennessee high and dry, along with recruiting violations. Agreed. No way NU wants Kiffin! That would be horrible.

Not sure whether you are saying that SoCal and NU are a straight ahead trade and thus Bo would not be interested in SoCal... or that Kiffin and Bo are a straight ahead trade and SoCal would thus not be interested in Bo. If the thought is that SoCal and NU are a straight ahead trade... I'd disagree. SoCal has a huge recruiting advantage for obvious reasons and is in the better conference. SoCal is a clear step up (maybe two) from the NU job. So... Bo, I'd think, would be very interested.... Now... would SoCal be interested in Bo? I would think not. Why would they be? His resume is mediocre at best.

and Bo was not out-coached this past week. It was a banner week. We need more weeks like this one.

We really cannot say that recruiting at NU is no longer a concern. We cannot say that it is either. We simply do not know until it plays out. Those saying that our new recruits are better than our past recruits --- how much of that perspective comes from projecting onto these players what you desperately hope --- you want them to be good so badly that you essentially "pretend" that they will be good. Projection. It is perhaps like that girl who has dated a bunch of bums... she sees the new guy after all those bums... and projects onto him what she hopes he will be... which he may or may not be at all. We have no idea whether the new recruits are good. We do, however, desperately hope they will be --- and likely see them as such until proven otherwise. Last point... as NU continues to struggle and as the coaching fiasco continues... it becomes increasingly easier for opposing recruiters to recruit against NU. That much, I'd think, is certain.

TA has done very well with the time he has been given. And yet... you are correct... as good as he has been in that very limited setting, against a weak team... he has not enough on his resume to supplant a healthy TM. This is not a slam to TA in any way... he simply has not been given enough of a chance to earn the right to start --- unless TM is still hobbled. If TM is hobbled and still struggling physically... the Illinois game is a good one for him to sit and continue to heal --- Illinois probably is as weak defensively as any team NU has remaining on the schedule. But they do have an offense.

It would be likely that a good showing on offense against Illinois would be discounted and declared no big deal. And , if so, it would probably be legitimate. The Illinois defense is horrible. It is really, really, really bad. They are better on D than the Huskers... but not by very much. So... NU putting up yards and points on Saturday should not be viewed as a major accomplishment --- Illinois would leave up yards and points... probably plenty of them... to a good Texas high school team. The question is rather... can the NU defense stop Illinois? Expect much Husker offensive success --- no matter who is QB --- on Saturday. In a sense, I hope we see a great deal of Armstrong... the context for success is there.

As odd as this sounds... following NU football at present is quite interesting. One cannot predict, really, what to expect in a game anymore. On paper, Illinois and NU appear, essentially, even. We have a slight edge on O --- both have good offenses... neither have offenses that can be deemed better than good... but both are good. Both have laughably bad defenses. But Illinois is slightly less pathetic. I will assume a coaching advantage to Illinois. Home field, of course, to the Huskers. Confidence going in? Probably favors Illinois. So... who knows. Both teams should score 30+ points. Maybe both teams score approaching 40 points... though that seems high. Given the turnover problems at Illinois and it is at home for the 'Skers... I will predict a narrow Husker victory... maybe 38-35. But who knows. NU could get rolled. Or.. it could be the opposite. I assume NU has a huge talent advantage... but we all know how little that has helped of late. If NU is flat again or folds... NU is in trouble. Again... it is, if not a good time to cheer for NU, it is an interesting one...

I'm not saying one way or the other but have you actually looked at Northwestern this year? They beat a Cal team who's only win is over Portland St. ... by seven points. They beat a winless Western Michigan team who just made Iowa look like Alabama. And they had a lot more trouble with their FCS team this week than we did. There are plenty of problems to go around. It's all going to depend on who can improve and who can make some plays. True enough. No one in the B1G except for OSU looks good. Maybe Wisconsin is pretty good --- they got robbed in the ASU game. But the rest... Illinois, Northwestern, Minnesota, MSU, Michigan and PSU all look decent but it would be tough to argue that any of them are demonstrably better than decent right now. Some of those teams will improve, I am sure... but right now the B1G looks potentially weaker than even the last two years... except for OSU. To lose more than say two games to that lot would be pretty bad...

Also, at this point in Bo's time here we should not feel like baby-sitters watching a child grow up. It is amazing how many posts talk of Bo beginning to "mature" (or still needing to mature) --- as if he were a child and we hope he "grows into a professional". Astounding really, that such comments are necessary. But, they are.

The only thing that this proves is that we fans don't have a damn clue about anything. Well stated! Good point. Actually, there are so many variables that it is tough to predict just what to expect.. That said, the "young/inexperienced" excuse card is over played. As a 50 year Cub fan, I am so used to hearing"next year." Oddly, and not so pleasantly, being a Husker fan is beginning to sound that way too. "next year." Next year NU will be better. But next year never comes. or... at least it hasn't in some time now.

Actually, if you look back at posts from 2011, many, many posters pointed to 2013 as a year that NU should make a NC run. Many posted such things (not me or quite a few others... but still, a good size subset made such claims). Many prior to the 2012 season again said things like... 2012 should be good, but 2013 will be great. It seems odd that now 2103 is viewed as a "rebuilding year" when 2013 was previously thought to be the year the Pelini magic would finally come. In 2011 many argued "we are young, inexperienced" 2012 and 2013 in particular NU will rock. Seems that by 1/3 of the way through each season here the last few years, the coping mechanism kicks in and says "yeah... this is an inexperienced and young team... a rebuilding year." Interesting how that works. NU has a 4th year QB. Bell, Enunwa, AA, the whole secondary is basically 3rd/4th/5th year players, Turner, relatively experienced OL, on the DL you have Randle, Ankrah... the point is that there are plenty of experienced players. Yes.. the LB'ers are young and the TE's. And the defensive interior. But overall... this team has enough experience for the 'young/inexperienced" excuse to be not overly compelling. Generally, NU fans drew the "young/inexperienced" card each of the last two years... how many consecutive years can that one be played?

it would really be hard to lose more than 2 more games against this schedule. It is an easy schedule. Not even sure if Michigan is very good. I think losing more than one more game would be somewhat disappointing --- not because NU is that good (they are not) but rather because those on the schedule are so mediocre.

on a pure talent level it does not look incredibly bright. It does, however, look pretty good to quite good. Doubtless, the emerging talent at OSU and Michigan exceed the emerging talent at NU. The talent that is emerging at Wisconsin, PSU and MSU --- that is less certain... but NU should have an emerging talent base equal to or modestly exceeding that of these programs. All is, of course, pure speculation... and yes, the NU talent base does look good... but is by no means, incredibly bright. NU's talent level now exceeds the production of that talent on the field. That is the issue... can NU play up to its talent level? Thus far, the answer is no. In the future... that remains to be seen.

I live AA but I disagree here. He is a threat to break a long run but he will get run down from behind.. True. AA is elusive, a quick cutting back, and tough for his size... but small. He is of reasonable straight-ahead speed... but will get caught from behind if the distance is great. AA is a very good back... but not a home run threat. A 30-40 yard threat.. yes. A 60-80 yard threat? Not so much (often he would get caught). This is not to disparage AA at all. He is quite good (sans the fumbles) and can hit seams that Cross is not quick enough or agile enough to hit. That said, Cross gets much more YAC and is a bruiser. Both are very good. neither are a home run threat (yet both can score readily if 30-40 yards are all they have to do). Imani is fairly fast for his size. They have different attributes and, I'd think, complimentary attributes. Against a team where holes are not there... Imani should tote the rock. Otherwise, swap them in and out.