Saunders

25 minutes ago, suh_fan93 said:

So is Chubba Purdy basically unable to walk or throw?????  Is he still injured?!????

He's not good, so essentially yes.

19 hours ago, Red Five said:

 

He's not wrong. But... Minnesota's 5th string running back had 6 total carries on the season before rushing 40 times for 200 yards against MSU. And they couldn't run at all against us, and passed 35 times in the 2nd half alone. Meanwhile, they ran 18 straight times in the 2nd half, scored twice, and put the game away. The recipe is there, but we have to stick to it. Give Johnson, Fleeks, and even Grant the lions share of the carries, hit our shot plays, and we'll be fine.

15 minutes ago, Mavric said:

 

I'm one who has long said that QBs get too much credit and too much blame.  But this is simply not true.

 

HH might not be doing much more to win games, but he's not doing nearly as much to lose them.  Both of them have 4 INTs.  Sims has lost two fumbles.  HH has lost three.  Sims did that in two games, HH has done that in five.  A 60% reduction in turnovers is a significant help to winning games.  

 

Sims was averaging 110 passing yards per game, 0.5 TDs and 2.0 INTs.

HH is averaging 137 passing yards per game, 1.0 TDs and 0.67 INTs

 

Sims was averaging 89 rushing yards per game, 0.5 TDs and 1.0 fumbles lost.

HH is averaging 71 rushing yards per game, 0.67 TDs and 0.5 fumbles lost.

 

Sims QBR is 26.3

HH's QBR is 46.3

 

HH has done a lot more, but he's done a little more, done it a little better and done significantly less of the stuff that loses you games.

All that while Sims got to play against CU (worst defense on our schedule) and HH played Michigan.

And this isn't to say that HH is perfect, great, or hell even good at this point. He's far from it. I'd say he's playing Ok, and that's about it.But... I am also looking at his play in the same context that I am with Satterfield calling the offense. The offense is a mash unit, and they're just trying to scrape together whatever they can to survive each game.

Isaiah Garcia-Casaneda

Marcus Washington

Billy Kemp
 

Gabe Ervin Jr.

Rahmir Johnson

Turner Corcoran

Ethan Piper

Nori Nouili

Give HH all those guys, for all of his starts, and you're looking at a vastly different product IMO.

20 minutes ago, Husker in WI said:

 

I would argue HH did more for us to lose the NW game than Sims did against Minnesota. Differences are just HH's mistakes happened earlier in the game, the rest of the team stepped up against NW, and they didn't have a miraculous 4th down TD catch.

 

I'm not really calling for us to give Sims another shot - at least not anymore. But I don't think HH is doing any more to win games than Sims was. You could make that argument with the NIU/La Tech games where he was protecting the ball better, but at this point our winning games has very little to do with how the QB is playing.

I think Sims picks against Minnesota were way more egregious than Haarberg's against NW. Not to mention Sims had played about 25 more games than HH at the time.

Michigan State has lost 6 straight games. Their last win was September 9th against Richmond. Since then, they've been outscored 33.5 - 11.3, and have failed to crack double digits in 3 of those games. Nebraska needs to take control early, because Sparty is on Quit Watch.

14 hours ago, 307husker said:

Purdue flat dropped quite a few balls that could have changed the overall tone of the game, if not the final result.   Glad to have the win, but far from cocky.

True, but at the same time, we were easily a couple plays away from winning that game by 5-6 touchdowns.

For a long time, Nebraska had 2-3 PPV only games per year. It was $50-$70 a pop, and they played the same 3 ads during every commercial break.

After watching that approximately 100 times a game… I’ll gladly take the $5 a month for peacock.

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Big Ten East Final Standings Prediction
1 Michigan
2 Ohio State
3 Penn State
T4 Maryland
T4 Rutgers
6 Indiana
7 Michigan State

 

Big Ten West Final Standings Prediction
1 Wisconsin
T2 Iowa
T2 Nebraska
4 Minnesota
T5 Illinois
T5 Northwestern
T5 Purdue

https://collegefootballnews.com/predictions/predicting-every-remaining-big-ten-game-final-standings-week-10

 

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Nebraska Football Schedule
2023 Predicted Finish: 8-4
Current Record: 5-3
Projected Conference Finish: 6-3

 

Nov 4 at Michigan State W
Nov 11 Maryland W
Nov 18 at Wisconsin L
Nov 24 Iowa W

31 minutes ago, JJ Husker said:

This ^^^^
The HCMR crap has to stop. In fact it should be a bannable offense to use that acronym.

Hmm... @Mavric whaddya think? 

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With Michigan's non-conference schedule behind them I thought we'd look ahead to their next Big Ten opponent, and their interesting defensive system. Nebraska's new defensive coordinator Tony White runs a Rocky Long 3-3-5. We've come across this defense before—even installed a version of it 14 years ago. A different branch of it is the basis of the TCU and Ohio State defenses that felt frustrating to play against despite Michigan putting up loads of points in those games.

The Nebraska edition—the 3-3-5 stack—is about as pure of a 3-3-5 as you're going to find in today's modern, Everybody's Multiple age. And it's hard to argue with White's results with it thus far. Bill Connelly has them 28th in defensive SP+ this year, up from 61st in 2022. They're already up to 14 sacks after finishing with 21 and 20 the last two seasons, and are holding opponents to just 5.02 YPA (sacks included) passing and 3.32 YPC (sacks removed) on the ground. In their four games, the defense should have led to a victory at Minnesota, kept them in the Colorado game, and defeated a pair of G5 teams despite offensive struggles.

https://mgoblog.com/content/neck-sharpies-finding-lou-holtz

 

On 9/6/2023 at 2:45 PM, Toe said:

 

Or because they're not as prone to emotional overreactions...

Bill said as much in his post on ESPN. But I think it's somewhere in the middle.

There's a clear delineation between the humans and the computers. And that's because the computers are still using mostly pre-season projections for their numbers.

2023 Game 2 “Expert” Picks: Nebraska @ Colorado

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CFN Expert Picks

Line: Nebraska -12.5, o/u: 50.5

Brooks Austin, DawgsDaily.com: Colorado
Big Game Ben, CFN: Colorado
Big Red Max, All Huskers: Colorado
Jackson Caudell, All Yellow Jackets: Colorado
Bryan Driskell, Irish Breakdown: Colorado

E, CFN: Colorado
Pete Fiutak, CFN: Colorado
Austin Hannon, Bama Central: Colorado
Casey Lundquist, Cougs Daily: Colorado
Southpaw CFN: Colorado
Jeremy Mauss, MWwire.com: Colorado
Mike McAllister, All Syracuse: Colorado
Snoopdug, CFN: Colorado

Johnny Rosenstein, SportsBookWire.com: Colorado

Scott Steehn, WinnersandWhiners.com: Colorado

Keith Stewart, WinnersandWhiners.com: Colorado

Stephen Thompson, Inside The Panthers: Colorado

Mark Wogenrich, AllPennState.com: Colorado*

Clucko the Chicken (a coin flip):  Nebraska

CONSENSUS PICK

SU 30-9 ATS 19-20: Colorado

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Associated Press - Ralph Russo

Coach Prime’s team was the story of Week 1. Now Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter and Co. make their home debut against an old Big Eight rival also rebuilding under a new coach. The Cornhuskers’ first game under Matt Rhule didn’t go nearly as well as Colorado’s under Deion Sanders, but first game results can be deceiving. If nothing else the atmosphere at Folsom Field will be as good as Boulder has seen in years.

Colorado 35 - Nebraska 28

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Sporting News

The Buffaloes are ranked after one week with first-year coach Deion Sanders, and now the challenge will be handling the hype within a classic rivalry matchup with Nebraska. Matt Rhule lost his debut in a 13-10 heart-breaker. The difference in this game? Colorado is further along on offense with Shedeur Sanders, who leads a late TD drive in another fantastic finish. Who had the Buffaloes at 2-0? 

Colorado 34 - Nebraska 30

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Dallas Morning News

Corby Davidson: Colorado

Jamie Hancock: Colorado

Selby Lopez: Colorado

Newy Scruggs: Colorado

Kevin Sherrington: Colorado

Brett Vito: Colorado

—————

247 Sports

Chris Hummer: I was in Fort Worth for Colorado’s upset of TCU, and it was impressive. I still think the Buffaloes are vulnerable because of their lack of depth (and size), but I feel confident that as long as their QB, WRs and o-line remain healthy, this team will score. I don’t know if I feel the same about Nebraska after a smashmouth game with Minnesota to open the year. But I do know Nebraska presents Colorado a much different challenge. Where TCU has a spread offense and a defense built to defend one, Nebraska is just going to hit its opponents in the mouth. I think these teams are even. Colorado is now overvalued while Nebraska is undervalued. Frankly, I just think Nebraska has extra time to prepare and Colorado is going to come in tired. That’s going to lead to an upset. 

Nebraska 27 - Colorado 24

Brad Crawford: The public is all over Colorado in this one and normally I'd fade as a result, but just can't do it. My eyes tell Nebraska's offense isn't there yet and Colorado can score at will. It looks like the Buffaloes could be 3-0 and potentially ranked inside the top 20 when they play Oregon at Autzen Stadium in a couple weeks. What a great story, right? Nebraska is the more physical team and has a stronger defensive front, but Shedeur Sanders is special. Vegas is going to need the Huskers in this one given the heavy money on Coach Prime's team, so be careful in this spot.

Colorado 28 - Nebraska 24

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ESPN FPI

Nebraska - 58.6% Win

—————

DRatings

Nebraska 28 - Colorado 25

Nebraska - 58.4% Win

—————

ESPN Bill Connelly SP+

Nebraska 30 - Colorado 22

Nebraska - 68% Win

—————

BCFToys

Nebraska 28 - Colorado 22

Nebraska - 67.2% Win

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More to come!!!

2023 Game 1 “Expert” Picks: Nebraska @ Minnesota

—————

CollegeFootballNews.com

https://collegefootballnews.com/cfn/nebraska-vs-minnesota-prediction-game-preview

Why Nebraska Will Win

How much better will the Huskers be right away under Matt Rhule? The offense will be more productive and versatile, but the improvements in the ground game should be the biggest difference. Georgia Tech transfer QB Jeff Sims is a dangerous all-around playmaker, and the receiving corps is better, but any quick improvements overall will come with more production on the defensive side. The secondary will be strong from the start, but the front six will need the new transfers to rise up and rock right away. Minnesota will pound, but keep the ground attack to under 200 yards - the Huskers did that last year - and this will stay close. Minnesota doesn’t have Mohamed Ibrahim around - he ran for 128 yards and two scores in last year’s 20-13 Gopher win - and it should take a game or two before the line jells without star C and new New York Giant John Michael Schmitz. However …

Why Minnesota Will Win

Nebraska has a ton of work to do - this isn’t going to be fixed overnight. The help for the Husker defensive line needs to be great fast, the offensive line should need a few weeks to be up to speed - but both lines will be better than last year’s versions - and Minnesota has the lines to be better and more consistent in the early going. The receivers are there with Chris Autman-Bell back from a leg injury, Western Michigan transfer RB Sean Tyler should be a statistic star, and the defense that finished eighth in the nation in total D and fourth in scoring defense will be even better if the pass rush can do a bit more.

What’s Going To Happen

Minnesota will grind its way to a win, but Nebraska fans will get a glimpse of what’s coming. The Husker offense will work on the first few drives, but the Gopher defense will settle in, the ground attack will take over the tempo, and the team that was third in the nation in time of possession will own the clock in the second half for - sorry, Nebraska fans; I know you’re used to this, and it’ll all get better soon - a close win.

Minnesota 24 - Nebraska 16

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CFN Expert Picks

https://collegefootballnews.com/cfn/nebraska-vs-minnesota-experts-picks-predictions-week-1

Line: Nebraska -12.5, o/u: 50.5

Brooks Austin, Lead Editor, DawgsDaily.com: Minnesota
Big Game Ben, CFN: Minnesota*
Big Red Max, All Huskers: Nebraska
Kevin Borba, Managing Editor, All Utes & All Cardinal: Minnesota
Jackson Caudell, All Yellow Jackets: Minnesota*
Jake Curtis, Cal Sports Report: Nebraska
Bryan Driskell, Irish Breakdown: Minnesota
E, CFN: Minnesota*

Pete Fiutak, CFN: Minnesota
Austin Hannon, Bama Central: Minnesota*
Casey Lundquist, Cougs Daily: Minnesota
Andrew Margolick, CFN: Minnesota
Jeremy Mauss, MWwire.com Minnesota
Mike McAllister, All Syracuse: Minnesota*
Doug Millen, CFN: Minnesota*
Andy Mitts, Blue Wings Rising: Minnesota
Johnny Rosenstein, SportsBookWire.com: Minnesota*

Scott Steehn, WinnersandWhiners.com: Minnesota*
Keith Stewart, WinnersandWhiners.com: Minnesota
Stephen Thompson, Publisher, Inside The Panthers: Minnesota
Mark Wogenrich, AllPennState.com: Minnesota*
Clucko the Chicken (a coin flip): Nebraska
CONSENSUS PICK: Minnesota*

—————

ESPN FPI

https://www.espn.com/college-football/game/_/gameId/401520148

Minnesota - 70.3% Win

—————

DRatings

https://www.dratings.com/predictor/ncaa-football-predictions/fd929455-4efb-538d-b706-ab73a84b05bd

Minnesota 22 - Nebraska 18

Minnesota - 66.5% Win

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ESPN Bill Connelly SP+

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRh9Slymcisd5-uEIvAD4zjGkJ7aeARseChhne-HdpyQeQiTSJeZD0WfyuG40O5S7Z20wz1XLYSUDUj/pubhtml

Minnesota 28 - Nebraska 16

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More to come!!!

Posting this a day early, because I probably won't have power tomorrow. Hurricane's suck.

Yup, gimme a bowl game, and I'll be happy. I also reserve the right to get mad after our first loss.

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Big Ten expert picks 2023: Most overrated and underrated teams, projected order of finish, bold predictions

The last year of the 14-team Big Ten is upon us with a three-headed monster attempting to take the conference and national landscape by storm. Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State sit as unanimous preseason top-10 teams across the AP Top 25, Coaches Poll and CBS Sports 133 with all seemingly having a case to reign atop the Big Ten once the season comes to a conclusion.

However, only one will get a chance to play for the league title out of the Big Ten East as 2023 marks the final season that the Big Ten Championship Game will be contested between opponents from different divisions. With the conference moving to 18 teams in 2024 -- USC, UCLA, Oregon, Washington on joining from the Pac-12 -- this certainly feels like something of a series finale for the Big Ten as we know it. Part of that includes not necessarily having the two best teams in the league playing for the conference title in December.

That's not to say the Big Ten West is without talented programs and interesting storylines, particularly with Luke Fickell taking over Wisconsin, Matt Rhule stepping into the top job at Nebraska, Illinois attempting to continue a turnaround under Bret Bielema and Iowa entering the campaign on what seems to be on a first-of-its-kind doomsday clock needing to score 25 points per game for its offensive staff to keep its jobs. (Don't worry, we'll be counting all season.) 

As such, our CBS Sports college football experts are here to provide their picks and predictions for the Big Ten ahead of the 2023 campaign. Check them all out below.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/big-ten-expert-picks-2023-most-overrated-and-underrated-teams-projected-order-of-finish-bold-predictions/

 

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Stewart Mandel’s Big Ten predictions: Michigan poised to three-peat

Here, now, I present to you the final season of Big Ten divisions. The most fitting ending would be a 2008 Big 12 South scenario in which Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State all go 8-1 in league play and 1-1 against each other, forcing the league to invoke its complicated tiebreaker procedures.

That’s not exactly what I’m predicting, though.

https://theathletic.com/4784237/2023/08/21/big-ten-football-predictions-mandel-2023/?source=emp_shared_article

 

East

TEAM	BIG TEN	OVERALL
Michigan	8-1	11-1
Penn State	8-1	11-1
Ohio State	7-2	10-2
Maryland	6-3	9-3
Michigan State	4-5	6-6
Rutgers	2-7	5-7
Indiana	0-9	2-10

West

TEAM	BIG TEN	OVERALL
Wisconsin	7-2	9-3
Iowa	6-3	9-3
Illinois	5-4	7-5
Minnesota	4-5	6-6
Nebraska	3-6	5-7
Purdue	3-6	5-7
Northwestern	0-9	2-10

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2023 college football picks, predictions by conference

Just when it looked like college football was settling down for the final season of a four-team playoff, conference realignment shook up the sport once again.

UCLA and USC are leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten in 2024, along with Oregon and Washington. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah are jumping to the Big 12, leaving the Pac-12 on life support.

What else has changed? Matt Rhule is coaching Nebraska, Deion Sanders is at Colorado, Hugh Freeze is back at Auburn and Luke Fickell will be on Wisconsin's sideline.

What hasn't changed? Two-time defending national champion Georgia is still the team to beat in the FBS. The Bulldogs, 29-1 the past two seasons, will attempt to join Minnesota (1934 to 1936) as the sport's only teams to win three national titles in a row.

Before the 2023 season kicks off with seven games Saturday, here are predictions heading into the year.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/38221760/college-football-picks-predictions-champions-conferences

Predicted Finish: Big Ten

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Big Ten football preview 2023: Will Michigan top Ohio State for 3-peat before expansion?

Since Big Ten football teams last took the field, when Michigan and Ohio State lost in dramatic fashion on New Year’s Eve in the College Football Playoff semifinals, plenty has gone down in the conference.

Four new head coaches settled into place in this turbulent offseason. The latest change came with the July firing of Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern after accusations by former players of systemic hazing in the program. August brought the impending additions of Oregon and Washington to the Big Ten in 2024 with Pac-12 mates USC and UCLA.

Before they defect, another season awaits — with storylines abound this year.

https://theathletic.com/4769182/2023/08/14/big-ten-football-predictions-preview-2023/

 

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Tired of all the offseason noise in college athletics? Eager to see some actual games?

Well, you’ll still have to wait a bit longer. But we’re getting closer. The release of the preseason USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll brings the promise that football is just a few weeks away.

Two-time defending national champion Georgia unsurprisingly will open the season at No. 1. The Bulldogs were picked first on 61 of the 66 coaches’ ballots. It is the second preseason No. 1 ranking for the Bulldogs since USA TODAY began administering the poll in 1991. The first came in 2008 when Georgia finished at No. 10.

 

https://www.usatoday.com/sports/ncaaf/polls/coaches-poll/2023-2024/2023-08-07/

 

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College football rankings: Georgia near-unanimous No. 1 as SEC dominates top of 2023 Preseason CBS Sports 133

The two-time reigning national champion Georgia Bulldogs will likely start the 2023 season where they have finished each of the last two seasons: the No. 1 spot. In fact, coach Kirby Smart's 2023 squad is indeed the No. 1 team as we present the 2023 Preseason CBS Sports 133, a comprehensive ranking of every FBS team.

What's perhaps a bit surprising is that this is the first time Georgia has been the top team in our rankings heading entering a season, coming in as the near-unanimous selection for No. 1 ahead of No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 Ohio State. The Bulldogs have often been among the top teams in our preseason rankings, just never this high Last year, Alabama was a near-unanimous No. 1 with Georgia placing No. 3.

In taking the top preseason spot from Bama, a program that held that honor across five of the seven prior years -- only falling short in 2019 and 2020 (Clemson) -- UGA has added another piece of puzzle to the clear transition of power that has taken place within the SEC. Whereas it used to be a coin-flip proposition as to whether the Crimson Tide would win a national championship before the games were even played, that honor now belongs to the Dawgs.

Alabama is not far away, though. It checks in at No. 5, though that is good for third in the SEC behind rival LSU at No. 4. USC joins the preseason top 10 at No. 6 followed by No. 7 Penn State, a duo of ACC title contenders (No. 8 Florida State, No. 9 Clemson) and Washington rounding out the top 10. 

From a conference perspective, the SEC dominates the top of the Preseason CBS Sports 133, representing nearly one-third of the top 30 with nine teams between Georgia at the top and Arkansas at No. 30. The Pac-12 has five of its teams in the top 25 of the rankings, matching the Big Ten's mark. Tulane at No. 22 is the lone Group of Five program inside the top 25.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-rankings-georgia-near-unanimous-no-1-as-sec-dominates-top-of-2023-preseason-cbs-sports-133/

 

Opponent Rankings

#2 Michigan

#19 Wisconsin

#25 Iowa

#33 Maryland

#36 Illinois

#42 Minnesota

#51 Purdue

#54 Nebraska

#58 Michigan State

#85 Colorado

#98 Northwestern

#108 Northern Illinois

#111 Lousiana Tech

Wisconsin definitely is going to have a transition to work through, but Iowa still employs Brian Ferentz.

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For the first time in four years, Ohio State football is not the preseason favorite to win the Big Ten Conference. Michigan earned a comfortable margin as the projected conference champion in the 13th annual cleveland.com Preseason Big Ten Football Poll. Of the 37 voters from across the league, 27 picked the Wolverines to win it all, compared to eight for Ohio State. A third East Division team — Penn State — took the other two. Every voter followed through by picking their East Division winner as the overall champ. The West Division prediction, though, came down to a single point. Wisconsin received 20 first-place votes and totaled 233 points, while Iowa’s 16 first-place votes led to 232 points.

https://www.cleveland.com/osu/2023/07/michigan-clear-favorite-over-ohio-state-in-13th-annual-clevelandcom-preseason-big-ten-football-poll.html

 

Big Ten East

1-Michigan (27 first-place votes) 248

2-Ohio State (8) 226

3-Penn State (2) 192

4-Maryland 143

5-Michigan State 105

6-Rutgers 74

7-Indiana 48

Big Ten West

1-Wisconsin (20 first-place votes) 233

2-Iowa (16) 232

3-Minnesota (1) 176

4-Illinois 152

5-Nebraska 116

6-Purdue 89

7-Northwestern 38

Gotta say, for an upstart, the Transfer Portal guys did a great job. I only posted the NU page, but the full preview is 186 pages, and pretty well done.