Saunders

The SEC West won the CCG 8 straight times (with far worse blowouts) from 2009-2016, and they weren't freaking out about balancing divisions.

Sign me up.

This is partially true. Good defenses can still stop teams, however, scoring has been going up year over year in CFB. And an elite defense can still get whipped with the way offenses are now (see: Michigan). There's a graph I saw the other day (I'll try to find it) that showed the a average scoring per game from the 60's to now, and the trend is definitely rising. Until I can find it, here's another article: https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-scoring-average-increases-to-highest-ever-in-2016-season/

We're almost as obsessed with the past as you guys are with Nebraska.

You're right, I missed the word "total." That said, "total defense" is a bad way to judge defensive efficiency. It doesn't take into account opponents played, YPP, snap counts, number of games, defensive splits, havoc rate, etc...

In 2017, Nebraska's defense ranked 110th in S&P+. In 2018, Nebraska's defense ranked 62nd in S&P+. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I'm not saying he's a genius, but it's way too early to make any real judgement.

https://variety.com/2018/gaming/news/red-dead-online-beta-date-1203036161/

This thread is Fake News. The preview threads start in February/March. Don't @ me.

It's gonna look like Omaha Beach.

2018 Game 11 “Expert” Picks: MSU @ Nebraska ————— CollegeFootballNews.com https://collegefootballnews.com/2018/11/michigan-state-vs-nebraska-fearless-prediction-game-preview One Reason Why Michigan State Will Win The defense continues to be amazing. It stuffed Ohio State last week, but lost because the field was tilted by the Buckeye punting game. The Spartans were able to keep the Buckeye ground game in check, and on the year, it has allowed just 765 yards. Giving up just 2.55 yards per carry and just five rushing scores since the opener against Utah State, MSU’s defensive front is tough, disciplined and doesn’t miss. At the moment, it’s having a historic season – just three teams in the last ten years finished allowing fewer than 1,000 rushing yards for the season, and two of them were named Alabama. Nebraska’s running game isn’t going to work, and QB Adrian Martinez will end up being a pocket passer a bit too much. The Huskers go fast, don’t care about time of possession, and still give up turnovers a bit too much. Michigan State will seem like it has the ball all afternoon, and it’ll take the Huskers down to its level of speed. Nebraska has to prove it can somehow win in a grinding fight. One Reason Why Nebraska Will Win The MSU run defense is amazing. The secondary can be hit. The Spartans were able to stuff a run-first/run-only Maryland offense a few weeks ago, but just about everyone else has been able to throw for 200 yards or a whole lot more. The comp here might just be the Utah State team that came so, so close to pulling off a win in the opener – and is currently ranked 14th in the CFP top 25. Lots of dinks and dunks, lots of quick-hitting throws, and lots of production when it was able to move the offense like it wanted to. It was a lot of bend-but-don’t-break from the MSU D, but it broke a bit too much. Now the Spartan secondary has to deal with the fantastic Nebraska receivers and a downfield passing game that will stretch things out a bit. Throw in that it’s the last home game of the season for the Huskers, and watch out for the energy level to ramp up. It’s been a rough year, but Nebraska has won three of its last four games. Win this, and this becomes the hot team in the West going into 2019. What’s Going To Happen Martinez will be great. He’s not going to run much, and he’ll have to bomb away, but he’ll average close to nine yards per throw as the Nebraska offense forces Michigan State to come out of its shell a little bit. Michigan State – even with LJ Scott redshirting for next year – will be able to run just well enough to do what it likes to do and make this a fight, but the Nebraska passing attack will pull it off with a late scoring drive culminating with a touchdown pass that will have the fan base buzzing. Nebraska 24 - MSU 23 ————— ESPN FPI http://www.espn.com/college-football/game/_/gameId/401012887 MSU - 69.7% Win ————— Bill Connelly S&P+ https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2018/11/8/18073620/college-football-picks-week-11-2018-predictions-odds-spreads S&P+: MSU 26 - Nebraska 23 (57.7% MSU Win) F+ Projection: MSU By 9 (70.1% MSU Win) ————— DRatings http://www.dratings.com/predictor/ncaa-football-predictions/ MSU 28 - Nebraska 24 (66.8% MSU Win) ————— Ed Feng, The Power Rank https://thepowerrank.com/predictions/ Michigan State (23) will beat Nebraska (61) by 5.4 on the road. Nebraska has a 34% chance of beating Michigan State. ————— Athlon Sports https://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-football-picks-expert-predictions-every-game-week-12-2018 Steven Lassan: N Mitch Light : N Mark Ross: N https://athlonsports.com/college-football/michigan-state-spartans-vs-nebraska-cornhuskers-prediction-picks-2018 This should be a very entertaining game that’s under the national radar. You’ve got strength versus strength in Nebraska’s offense versus Michigan State’s defense. The biggest X-factor: whether or not the Spartans offense can move the ball effectively against the Blackshirts. The Nebraska defense’s most recent performances suggest Michigan State should have at least some success despite its struggles moving the football. The Huskers have to jump out to an early lead and are arguably one of the best teams in the country at doing so. Even if the Spartans are trailing by seven points or so going into the half, they’ll still be in the thick of it. Nebraska has an unfortunate habit of giving momentum back to the opponent in the second half, and that’s where Michigan State can pounce with proper adjustments. However, in the end, Scott Frost is a better offensive play caller than anyone on the Spartans staff. He has the necessary speed and efficiency on his side to take advantage of the occasional Michigan State misstep and should claim yet another win on the Huskers’ Senior Day Nebraska 27 - MSU 20 ————— Big Red Wrap-Up http://netnebraska.org/interactive-multimedia/sports/big-red-wrap-illinois-prediction-4 Kevin Kugler: MSU 31 - Nebraska 28 Jay More: Nebraska 31 - MSU 21 Damon Benning: Nebraska 28 - MSU 27 —————