Saunders
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HuskerOnline: Michigan State Spring Review
If Michigan State plays up to its potential and stays healthy, Comparoni thinks they could win seven games. However, with their very difficult schedule, they could be a better team than the record reflects. Comparoni said there are a few key pieces that the Spartans need to exceed to help this team beat at least one of their most difficult opponents. He said those four are Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Washington. First, Kim must be a solid QB who stays healthy all season. Next, Comparoni thinks the offensive line should be pretty good, but they must uphold those expectations. “There’s some good veteran proven players at center, left guard and an up-and-coming player at right guard and good competition at tackle,” he said. “And they’re playing together as a unit. Increasingly, at the end of last season and in the spring, you saw some good things there. So the offensive line should be good.” With the loss of Coleman, Tre Mosley is the only receiver with more than 30 receptions in 2022. Coleman had 58 and Jayden Reed had 55 receptions. So Comparoni isn’t sure how good the wide receiver group will be.
“So you got a new quarterback, a lot of unproven wide receivers and a good offensive line,” Comparoni said. “And if the quarterback stays healthy and ends up being as good as the coaches think he can be. And if the defense doesn’t have injuries, like it did last year, I do think that I think that Michigan State has good talent. I think the front seven defensively is an overall plus. In comparison to the rest of the Big Ten, I think they’re good there.
“If those things come around, maybe Michigan State can win one of those four games,” Comparoni said of their top four most-difficult games.” However, he’s guessing the Spartans will go 6-6 this upcoming season. The SpartanMag.com publisher thinks the 6-6 record would still be moving the program upward, especially with the difficult schedule.
https://www.on3.com/teams/nebraska-cornhuskers/news/nebraska-opponent-spring-review-michigan-state/
QuoteAthlon Sports: #52 Michigan State Preview
Michigan State couldn't build off an 11-2 record and No. 9 finish in 2021 last season, as the program regressed to 5-7 and just three wins in Big Ten play. Hopes of a return to a winning mark took a hit in the spring with the transfer of quarterback Payton Thorne and receiver Keon Coleman. If coach Mel Tucker's squad is going to return to the postseason, the Spartans need a big year from Noah Kim at quarterback and marked improvement on defense.
https://athlonsports.com/college-football/michigan-state-football-spartans-prediction-preview-2023
QuoteCollegeFootballNews: Michigan State Preview & Prediction
It’s not time to panic … yet. The 2021 Michigan State team wasn’t as good as the 11-2 record would indicate, and the 2022 team managed to grind and fight much more than the 5-7 record might indicate. And no matter what, Mel Tucker is the guy for a while thanks to his 10-year, $95 million deal.
Michigan State's head coach now has a 23-21 career record - 18-14 with the Spartans struggled during his stint as the Chicago defensive coordinator in the mid-2010s, and despite doing a wonderful job helping out the amazing Alabama and Georgia defenses after his run with the Bears, his Spartan Ds have ranged between mediocre and totally miserable. 101st in the nation last year, 110th overall and dead last in college football in pass defense in 2021, and 54th overall in his first season - which he gets a free pass for in the 2020 COVID year. And he has a bowl win in his first three years - you'll see in a moment why that's a big plus in his favor.https://collegefootballnews.com/cfn/michigan-state-spartans-college-football-preview-2023
More to come...
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HuskerOnline: Purdue Spring Review
Dienhart: “It’s going to be tough for Purdue, I think. So much is new for Purdue. They’ve typically been evenly matched programs in recent years. I know Purdue’s had a little bit of an upper hand in the win-loss column. But, my goodness, from what I hear, the early returns on Matt Rhule have been pretty positive. It looks like they’ve got a pretty competent coach, and it’s going to be a pretty well-coached team.
“I’ve always thought that Nebraska is going to have better talent than Purdue. It maybe hasn’t been appreciatively better in recent years, but I just think Nebraska is going to find a way to beat Purdue this year in Memorial Stadium. That’s a program that Nebraska has got to start to beat, right? You’ve got to crawl over Purdue, Illinois, Minnesota, and those types of schools if you want to get to the top. The divisions are probably going to be gone after this year, but still.
“As much as Nebraska probably doesn’t want to look at Purdue as being a peer program, I think it has been in recent years. That’s got to stop if you’re Nebraska, and I think they’re going to find a way to maybe eke out a close one this year.”
2023 win-loss expectation for Purdue
Dienhart: “You look at some of the early projected win totals, Purdue’s been at five or five and a half (wins). That probably sounds about right to me – 5-7, maybe they can get to 6-6. It’s going to be tough. I don’t know if any Big Ten team has a more challenging schedule. In non-conference, they’ve got home games against Fresno State and Syracuse, and they go to Virginia Tech. I mean, there’s no real juggernaut there, but those are all pretty quality teams.
“Then, the Big Ten schedule flipped on them. They’ve got Ohio State at home, and they’ve got to go to Michigan. So, you’ve got that on your plate, too, in addition to your Nebraskas and Iowas and MInnesotas and Wisconins. So, it’s going to be tough. With all of the unknowns – if Hudson Card gets hurt, I think there are some serious issues with the backup quarterback. I think 5-7, I would feel confident in saying that. Maybe 6-6 if things break right.
“Bottom line, if this team gets to a bowl game at 6-6, I would look at it as a success given all of the transition on the roster and the coaching staff with that schedule, too.”
https://www.on3.com/teams/nebraska-cornhuskers/news/nebraska-opponent-spring-review-purdue/
QuoteCollegeFootballNews: Purdue 2023 Preview & Prediction
There are sports roller coaster rides, and there's what Purdue fans have been through since early December of 2022. The Boilermakers made their first appearance in the Big Ten Championship. It was a blowout loss to Michigan in the title game, but so what? For the football program that suffered through eight losing seasons in nine years before 2021, it got there. It was a huge moment for the school. Minnesota, Indiana, and Illinois have never played in the Big Ten Championship. Nebraska hasn’t been there since 2012. Penn State only got there once back in 2016, and relative newbies Maryland and Rutgers haven’t been close. Jeff Brohm led the team to nine wins in 2021 and eight in 2022 for the best two-year run for Purdue football since the late great Joe Tiller came up with back-to-back nine-win seasons in 1997 and 1998. And then, just as the program seemed to have found its groove, Brohm is gone to … Louisville.
QuoteAthlon Sports: #57 Purdue Preview & Prediction
Big changes are on the way for Purdue in the 2023 college football season. There's a new coach (Ryan Walters) and quarterback (Hudson Card) with big shoes to fill after the Boilermakers played in the Big Ten title game last year. Walters arrives after a successful stint as the Illinois' defensive coordinator, but there's work to do on this side of the ball with just four returning starters. Card's arrival was significant to replace standout Aidan O'Connell under center. Running back Devin Mockobee headlines a solid group of skill players for new offensive coordinator Graham Harrell.
https://athlonsports.com/college-football/purdue-football-boilermakers-prediction-preview-2023
QuotePurdue Football Schedule 2023: Game Predictions
2023 CFN Preseason Prediction: 6-6
2022 Record: 8-6
Aug 26 OPEN DATE
Sept 2 Fresno State W
Sept 9 at Virginia Tech W
Sept 16 Syracuse W
Sept 23 Wisconsin L
Sept 30 Illinois W
Oct 7 at Iowa L
Oct 14 Ohio State L
Oct 21 OPEN DATE
Oct 28 at Nebraska L
Nov 4 at Michigan L
Nov 11 Minnesota W
Nov 18 at Northwestern L
Nov 25 Indiana Whttps://collegefootballnews.com/cfn/purdue-football-schedule-2023-game-predictions-scores
More to come...
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HuskerOnline: Northwestern Spring Review
Vaccher: “My prediction is that it will be an entertaining game. Beyond that, it’s very difficult to say. Nebraska has a new head coach, a new coaching staff, new systems and a new quarterback. Northwestern will be running a new defense under first-year coordinator David Braun, and Pat Fitzgerald has turned over half of his coaching staff. So there’s not a lot of carryover from last season – which is a good thing for two teams that combined to 4-14 in the Big Ten last year.”
“I think the Huskers have an edge in overall talent, and they have home-field advantage, so I would make them the early favorites. But who knows? Northwestern is coming off of its worst season since 1989, winning its season opener and then losing 11 straight games, the longest active streak in the nation. I don’t have to tell you who that lone win came against.”
2023 win-loss expectation for Northwestern
Vaccher: “Defensively, there is hope for improvement under new coordinator David Braun if he can plug holes up front. Offensively, some questions were answered with portal additions like Ben Bryant and AJ Henning, but the unit still lacks consistency and doesn’t have much big-play potential.”
“The Wildcats’ schedule isn’t bad: they have a manageable non-conference slate (UTEP, Duke and Howard) and traded Ohio State for Rutgers in the crossovers. If they just take care of the football – they had the worst turnover margin in the nation last year at -1.58 per game – they should be able to get back to respectability. There’s nowhere to go but up, right? I think a bowl game is probably a stretch, but they should be in the 4-8 or 5-7 range this season.”
https://www.on3.com/teams/nebraska-cornhuskers/news/nebraska-opponent-spring-review-northwestern/
QuoteCollegeFootballNews: Northwestern 2023 Preview
So how has this all gone so terribly, terribly wrong? There’s a bit of a sliding scale for a program with just 48 winning seasons in 129 years of college football, but Northwestern appeared to be well past the painful dark days. Pat Fitzgerald ran with what Gary Barnett and Randy Walker set in motion with ten bowl appearances in 13 seasons and two runs to the Big Ten Championship game. Northwestern has three or fewer wins in three of its last four seasons, going just 1-8 in Big Ten play in all three. What happened?
QuoteCollegeFootballNews: Northwestern 2023 Game By Game Prediction
2023 CFN Preseason Prediction: 3-9
2022 Record: 1-11
Aug 26 OPEN DATE
Sept 2 at Rutgers L
Sept 9 UTEP W
Sept 16 at Duke L
Sept 23 Minnesota L
Sept 30 Penn State L
Oct 7 Howard W
Oct 14 OPEN DATE
Oct 21 at Nebraska L
Oct 28 Maryland L
Nov 4 Iowa L
Nov 11 at Wisconsin L
Nov 18 Purdue W
Nov 25 at Illinois Lhttps://collegefootballnews.com/cfn/northwestern-football-schedule-2023-game-predictions-scores
More to come...
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HuskerOnline: Michigan Spring Preview
We probably should briefly mention Balas’ assessment of the Wolverines’ defense. Is it a dominating unit? “It has the potential to be,” he said. “The interior line is as deep and talented as any I’ve seen since the 1997 national championship team. They’re going to be really hard to run on.” OK, then. “I’ll say this: That was the best environment that I’ve ever been in for a college football game — that night game in Lincoln (in 2021),” said the 54-year-old Balas. “It was unbelievable. That’ll help Nebraska. I’ve said it: This is one of those sneaky games. “You’ve got a first-year coach in Matt Rhule who’s going to want to prove himself. I do think Michigan will win, but I think it’ll be tougher than people think. Nebraska will be in it in the second half, but I think Michigan will pull away.”
2023 win-loss expectation for Michigan
Let’s put it this way: There probably won’t be many losses, if any. “Michigan just has a lot of firepower,” Balas said. “But I think it will lose a game this year before it gets to Ohio State. It’s hard to go undefeated in the league. I’m not one of those guys who predicts them to go undefeated every year.” If Michigan again defeats Ohio State, the Wolverines likely will be back in the College Football Playoff — with an excellent chance to win it all.
https://www.on3.com/teams/nebraska-cornhuskers/news/nebraska-opponent-spring-preview-michigan/
QuoteCollegeFootballNews: Michigan 2023 Preview
This football thing isn’t all that hard. Who blocks and tackles better, and does it with the most talent? Michigan was always very, very good under head coach Jim Harbaugh, and then it started blocking and tackling better, the next-level talent kept flowing in, and shock of shocks, it all worked. Ever since the second half of the 2020 finale loss to Penn State - when Michigan, in a lost game in a lost season, seemed to say “enough is enough” and played one of its most physical offensive halves of the year - a switched flipped. It hasn't stopped since.
QuoteAthlon Sports: #2 Michigan 2023 Preview & Prediction
Ohio State and Penn State are contenders for the CFB Playoff, but the path to a Big Ten title once again runs through Ann Arbor in 2023. Michigan has made steady gains under coach Jim Harbaugh over the last two seasons, with the next step being a trip to the national championship game. Harbaugh returns the pieces to contend for it all again this year, as quarterback J.J. McCarthy is the conference's No. 1 signal-caller, and the backfield features a dynamic one-two punch of Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards. The defense held opponents to just 16.1 points a game last year and brings back six starters this fall.
https://athlonsports.com/college-football/michigan-football-wolverines-prediction-preview-2023
QuoteMichigan Football Schedule 2023: Game Predictions
2023 CFN Preseason Prediction: 11-1
Aug 26 OPEN DATE
Sept 2 East Carolina W
Sept 9 UNLV W
Sept 16 Bowling Green W
Sept 23 Rutgers W
Sept 30 at Nebraska W
Oct 7 at Minnesota W
Oct 14 Indiana W
Oct 21 at Michigan State W
Oct 28 OPEN DATE
Nov 4 Purdue W
Nov 11 at Penn State L
Nov 18 at Maryland W
Nov 25 Ohio State Whttps://collegefootballnews.com/cfn/michigan-football-schedule-2023-game-predictions-scores
More to come...
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HuskerOnline: Louisiana Tech Spring Review
Allen: “Tech is probably going to need a performance like they had in the mid-90s from Troy Edwards and Tim Rattay.”
In Nebraska’s 1998 season opener, the duo combined for 405 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Edwards’ mark is still the NCAA record for receiving yards in a single game. The Huskers’ went on to win 56-27 in Frank Solich’s first game as head coach.
Allen:“The Nebraska fans stood up and cheered when they were going to the locker room. But, they’re probably going to need a performance like that to stick with the Huskers I would expect.”
“I’m as anxious as anyone to see how they would have developed by then. By then, Tech would have played three home games. Their one away game is the second week of the season at SMU so they’ll already have a taste of playing on the road against a nationally known school.
“These guys have played Clemson last year. They’ve played in these big venues before so I don’t think being at Nebraska will be a big deal. It’s just whether or not they’ve figured out how to be better than 3-9 by then.”
2023 win-loss expectation for Louisiana Tech
Allen: “I’m going to look for them to win half their games. There are some new people in the conference this year, New Mexico State, Liberty, Sam Houston State and Jacksonville State, that none of us have seen.”
“But I would think that by mid-season around the Nebraska game, I would expect this bunch to have it figured out by then. (They’d) go at least 6-6 or 7-5 and get back in a bowl.”
https://www.on3.com/teams/nebraska-cornhuskers/news/nebraska-opponent-spring-review-louisiana-tech/
More to come...
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HuskerOnline: Northern Illinois Spring Preview
Carifio: “On the whole, I’m optimistic about NIU this year. I think there were a lot of fluke things last year. I know Nebraska is in a totally new situation with a new coach who is famous for having a bad first year and then turning it around and getting huge results in year two. So I’m optimistic for thinking NIU is going to win this one.”
2023 win-loss expectation for Northern Illinois
Carifio: “You can call me a homer or whatever but I’m thinking they can get up to seven or eight (wins). I think seven on the low end. I think they can finish up at 8-4 in the regular season. They do that, there’s a really good chance of them making the MAC championship game.”
QuoteCollegeFootballNews: Northern Illinois 2023 Preview & Prediction
There’s just no MAC program weirder than Northern Illinois. A superpower in the 2010s, NIU had five straight seasons with 11 wins or more and won four MAC championships between 2011 to 2018. Head coach Rod Carey left for Temple, Huskie running back legend Thomas Hammock took over, and … (cue the sad trombone for his first two years). Northern Illinois had one of its worst seasons in 20 years, and then 2020 asked 2019 to hold its beer with an 0-6 clunker. And then …
MAC Championship, nine wins, and everything was right with the world. So the narrative was easy. NIU had to be torn down to be built back up again, Hammock had the talent in place, the team looked like it would be the lead dog in the conference title hunt, and then everyone got hurt - at least it seemed that way.
https://collegefootballnews.com/cfn/northern-illinois-huskies-college-football-preview-2023
QuoteCollegeFootballNews: Northern Illinois 2023 Game By Game Prediction
2023 CFN Preseason Prediction: 6-6
2022 Record: 3-9
Aug 26 OPEN DATE
Sept 2 at Boston College L
Sept 9 Southern Illinois W
Sept 16 at Nebraska L
Sept 23 Tulsa L
Sept 30 at Toledo L
Oct 7 at Akron W
Oct 14 Ohio L
Oct 21 Eastern Michigan W
Oct 28 OPEN DATE
Oct. 31 at Central Michigan L
Nov 7 Ball State W
Nov 14 Western Michigan W
Nov 25 at Kent State Whttps://collegefootballnews.com/cfn/northern-illinois-football-schedule-2023-game-predictions-scores
More to come...
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HuskerOnline: Minnesota Spring Review
Greder: “I think we expect Matt Rhule, in his first game, to kind of be getting his feet underneath him. The Gophers have been able to come out well against the Cornhuskers, and I expect them to be able to do so again, just given the fact that this is Matt Rhule’s first game and there’s always a bit of an adjustment period and learning curve in those first games.
“So, I’d imagine that the game will be close but that the Gophers will be the favorites. If the spread gets to the three to five (point) range, I’d imagine the Gophers will probably be able to cover that.”
2023 win-loss expectation for Minnesota
Greder: “I’d probably put it at maybe seven, seven and a half (wins). The Gophers have a really difficult schedule this year. They get Ohio State and Michigan, and their other crossover game is Michigan State. Given that they face the two best teams in the conference, it’ll be difficult to get a much higher win total than that.
“They also have to go on the road to North Carolina, and obviously, Drake Maye is looked at as maybe one of the best quarterbacks in this (draft) class, along with Caleb Williams at USC. So, yeah, it’ll be a difficult year for the Gophers given the transition at the skill positions and along the lines.”
https://www.on3.com/teams/nebraska-cornhuskers/news/nebraska-opponent-spring-review-minnesota/
QuoteCollegeFootballNews: Minnesota 2023 Preview
At what point do we give Minnesota under PJ Fleck the benefit of the doubt and assume the production will keep on rolling no matter what? The offensive line might take a wee step back, but not by much. The receiving corps is fantastic, the passing game should be better, and the systems that helped produce all the wins over the last few years aren’t changing. There’s one big problem, though … The Big Ten West is tougher now.
Nebraska hasn’t been anything more than a speed bump for the Gophers over the last four years, but it’s about to get a whole lot sharper. That’s the home opener, though. Northwestern can’t help but be better than whatever that was last year, Illinois is a bear, Wisconsin is going to be a whole lot stronger, and Minnesota couldn’t beat Iowa before and now Kirk Ferentz has a quarterback. Throw in a road game at North Carolina, and the horrible break of getting both Michigan and Ohio State from the East, and coming up with a second straight eight-win regular season won’t be easy. For now assume it’s a hard no on pulling off a win in Columbus, and until proven otherwise, winning in Iowa City is going to be rough, too. That means Minnesota can’t lose at North Carolina or Purdue and has to pull off at least three wins in home games against Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan State, and Nebraska just to get to eight.
Minnesota didn’t beat a team that finished with more than seven wins last season, and this year there’s no Rutgers, New Mexico State, Western Illinois, or Colorado to fatten up on. It’ll get to eight, and getting bowl eligible won’t be an issue, but it’s going to take something special to go into the regular season finale against Wisconsin with a shot at pulling off the Big Ten West.QuoteAthlon Sports: #34 Minnesota Preview
Wisconsin and Iowa are likely to be the preseason favorites in the Big Ten's West Division, but don't count out Minnesota this fall. Despite losing quarterback Tanner Morgan, running back Mohamed Ibrahim and a couple of key offensive linemen, coach P.J. Fleck's team returns a promising signal-caller in Athan Kaliakmanis and one of the Big Ten's top receiving corps. And if coordinator Joe Rossi can restock on defense, the Nov. 25 showdown against Wisconsin in Minneapolis could decide the winner of the West.
https://athlonsports.com/college-football/minnesota-football-golden-gophers-prediction-preview-2023
QuoteMinnesota Football Schedule 2023: Game Predictions
2023 CFN Preseason Prediction: 8-4
2022 Record: 9-4
Aug 26 OPEN DATE
Aug 31 Nebraska W
Sept 9 Eastern Michigan W
Sept 16 at North Carolina W
Sept 23 at Northwestern W
Sept 30 Louisiana W
Oct 7 Michigan L
Oct 14 OPEN DATE
Oct 21 at Iowa L
Oct 28 Michigan State W
Nov 4 Illinois W
Nov 11 at Purdue L
Nov 18 at Ohio State L
Nov 25 Wisconsin Whttps://collegefootballnews.com/cfn/minnesota-football-schedule-2023-game-predictions-scores
More to come...
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This thread will serve as a Megathread/reference guide for all the pre-season previews for the 2023 season. Click the team links for each dedicated preview thread. Once I have an initial preview for each team, just click the team name below to be taken to the thread for each team’s previews.
2023 Nebraska Previews
HuskerOnline - Predicting Nebraska's Win/Loss Record
CollegeFootballNews: Nebraska 2023 Preview & Prediction
Athlon Sports Nebraska Preview
Transfer Portal CFB 2023 Nebraska Preview
2023 Opponent Previews
Post Spring Analysis
CBS Sports Big Ten Post-Spring Overreactions
Pre-Season Over/Unders & Picks
Athlon Sports: (some) Big Ten Over/Under Win Total Predictions
CFN Spring Big Ten Game-By-Game Looks
ESPN/Bill Connelly's SP+ Projections
CBS Sports Big Ten win totals, odds, picks
CFN 2023 Consensus Big Ten Win Totals
Pre-Season Conference Previews & Predictions
Athlon Sports Magazine: Big Ten Preview & Predictions
Phil Steele 2023 Big Ten Preview
ESPN: Bill Connelly's Big Ten West Preview
Cleveland.com "Unofficial" Big Ten Media Poll
The Athletic Big Ten football preview 2023
The Athletic (Stewart Mandel's) Big Ten Predictions
CBS Sports Big Ten Predictions
Pre-Season Rankings
CBS Sports Pre-Season 133 Rankings
USA Today Pre-Season Coaches Poll
If you find a new preview, post it in the relevant thread, and we'll embed it in the root post.
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Can’t get out of our own way….
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It's still only like half of the Jimbo deal.
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4 hours ago, Mavric said:
Eh, reading a bunch of stuff over the last month or two it seems pretty obvious that Whipple likes Purdy. And Whipple keeps winning the argument.
Which is why everyone on the Mickey train needs to realize he is in no way ready to take over as HC. He should have made the call to bench Purdy for Smothers, and forced Whipple's hand. I 100% want Mickey on the staff in some way... but if he isn't ready to make hard decisions when there are zero repercussions, then he won't be any better in that role when it actually matters.
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I learned that Chubba Purdy might be the worst QB to play in Memorial Stadium since Joe Bauserman… and he might actually be worse. Whipple sticking with him for so long cost us the game, and Mickey not pulling rank and benching him shows he’s not remotely ready for a head coach gig.
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21 minutes ago, Mavric said:
It's a long time to guess at "still".
But a conference championship and (likely) a BCS bowl win (we would have played a middling UConn team in the Fiesta Bowl) would have made a significant difference in the perception of the program.
He would have been able to recruit better with that, and likely wouldn't have had Eichorst & Perlman actively working against him to kneecap the program.
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23 hours ago, MyBloodIsRed16 said:
I just learned there was an 80yr old woman who fell down the stairs at the game and was rushed to the hospital. She died from her injuries.
Are you sure she didn't just walk on the field?
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2022 Game 7 “Expert” Picks: Nebraska @ Purdue
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Why Nebraska Will Win
Did the Huskers just break the hex? After years of discovering new and exciting ways to lose close games, Nebraska caught the break it never, ever, ever got under Scott Frost with a late penalty on Rutgers helping the cause in a 14-13 win. Combine that with the win over Indiana and your 2022 Nebraska Cornhuskers are on the top of the Big Ten West standings. They’re starting to play okay under Mickey Joseph. The running game isn’t doing much outside of whatever cool run Anthony Grant is able to come up with, but the passing attack has been okay and the defense is starting to hold up better. Indiana and Rutgers don’t have Purdue’s passing game, but the Husker secondary was strong over the last two weeks – the three interceptions against the Scarlet Knights helped – and should come up with a few takeaways in this. The Boilermakers have turned it over eight times in the last three games – Nebraska might need those mistakes, but …
Why Purdue Will Win
It’s not like Nebraska’s offense has taken off. It’s been okay through the air, and it’s not all that bad overall, but it’s good for two turnovers a game, the ground attack really doesn’t do enough averaging 2.4 yards per carry over the last two games, and the line is way too leaky in pass protection. Purdue’s defensive front is holding up well against the run. There aren’t enough plays in the backfield, but it’s okay on third downs and is coming off two pitched gems in wins over Minnesota and Maryland on the road. As long as the offense can chill a bit on the turnovers – there are way too many fumbles for a team that doesn’t run all that much – it should be able to control the game throughout with midrange passes.
What’s Going To Happen
This is a huge moment for Nebraska. The two straight wins were nice, but getting by Purdue would be different. The Boilermakers are two plays away from being 6-0, got a strong win over Maryland, and were brilliant against Minnesota. It’s going to take them a little while to put this away. Effort has never been a problem for the Huskers, and it’ll show in a great start and an early lead. The Purdue offense will finally start to click midway through the third quarter with two good scoring drives, and the momentum will roll from there.
Purdue 30 - Nebraska 17
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Purdue - 85.1% Win
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Purdue 33 - Nebraska 23
Purdue - 78.3% Win
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Purdue 34 - Nebraska 20
Purdue - 80% Win
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Mike’l Severe: Purdue 38 - Nebraska 20
Jay Moore: Purdue 31 - Nebraska 24
Sean Callahan: Purdue 34 - Nebraska 24
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Steven Lassan: P
Mark Ross: P
Ben Weinrib: P
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More to come!!!
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My heart says yes, my head says 1 more win... maybe. And it's all because of the OL. Defense is playing better, skill positions on Offense are good enough, but the OL is so bad, that it's going to drag us down tremendously.
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2022 Game 6 “Expert” Picks: Nebraska @ Rutgers
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Why Rutgers Will Win
Yes, Nebraska was able to come up with a win over Indiana but it wasn’t able to run the ball. It ripped off runs in chunks against North Dakota and Georgia Southern, but it couldn’t do anything against Oklahoma and was stuffed too often by the Hoosiers. Rutgers got run over by Ohio State, but that’s Ohio State. Against everyone else the Scarlet Knight defensive front was a brick wall. Granted, it didn’t deal with anyone who could pound, but beating Boston College and holding up against Iowa wasn’t horrible. Combine that with a strong secondary and lots of plays on third downs, and Nebraska will stall way too often.
Why Nebraska Will Win
The Huskers finally got to exhale a bit. The pressure was off, they had too weeks to let everything calm down, and what did they do? They were able to win a tight game for once. It was 21 all against Indiana in the fourth quarter, and everything was set up for yet another close loss when the team turned into Jell-O. Instead, Nebraska got a huge pass play and another scoring drive to win by 14. Did that signal any sort of a change? Is it simply a case of the team needing to actually know it could do it? That might be a bit of a reach, but the offense is moving the chains, there are plenty of big plays, and this week the defense gets a break against a Rutgers offense that’s struggling to find anything that works. But …
What’s Going To Happen
Can Rutgers stop turning the ball over and go back to being the defense that takes it away in bunches? It had to press against Iowa and Ohio State, and then bad things started to happen. Nebraska defense doesn’t take the ball away, and the offense has given it up multiple times in every game against Georgia Southern. The Huskers will dominate the game in total yards, but time and again the Rutgers defense will hold firm and/or force a big mistake. It won’t be anything pretty, but the Scarlet Knights will take it.
Ruters 24 - Nebraska 23
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Rutgers - 54.6% Win
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Nebraska 27 - Rutgers 22
Nebraska - 59.8% Win
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Nebraska 27 - Rutgers 25
Nebraska - 54% Win
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Mike’l Severe: Nebraska 27 - Rutgers 17
Jay Moore: Nebraska 24 - Rutgers 20
Damon Benning: Nebraska 24 - Rutgers 23
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Steven Lassan: N
Mark Ross: N
Ben Weinrib: N
—————Omaha World Herald - Sam McKewon
Nebraska 24 - Rutgers 20—————
Bleacher Report
Nebraska 28 - Rutgers 17
—————Sean Callahan: Nebraska 31 - Rutgers 24
Steven Sipple: Nebraska 24 - Rutgers 20
Andy Kendeigh: Nebraska 27 - Rutgers 20
Jim Rose: Nebraska 27 - Rutgers 17
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Brian Fonesca: Ruters 38 - Nebraska 31
Pat Lanni: Nebraska 24 - Rutgers 17
Steve Polti: Nebraska 24 - Rutgers 20
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Dallas Morning News
Scott Bell: NFelisa Cardenas: N
Chuck Carlton: RCorby Davidson: N
Joseph Hoyt: R
Selby Lopez: N
Newy Scruggs: N—————
Husker247
Mike Schaefer: Nebraska 24 - Rutgers 16Brian Christopherson: Nebraska 23 - Rutgers 20
Michael Bruntz: Nebraska 25 - Rutgers 23
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More to come!!!
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19 hours ago, Guy Chamberlin said:
Against Northwestern it looked like Whipple wanted to show off his high efficiency passing offense and new quarterback, and it was working pretty damn good right up to the third quarter onside kick. After that.....I don't know. It wasn't playcalling as much as the familiar teamwide freakout. Whipple didn't exactly abandon the running game against Northwestern, but it certainly wasn't delivering the yards per play the passing game was. Our RBs were getting stuffed.
You didn't mention Mike Riley's run philosophy in 2016. That's the year we started the season 7-0 and won games by nursing modest leads with a fourth quarter running game. That's what either Whipple or Frost did in the fourth quarter of North Dakota. You really can't have a Tom Osborne scheme when you are playing from behind and can't trust your defense.
The passing game fell off a cliff in the 2nd half of the NW game. Could that be because of adjustments by the NW defense, the absence of Vokelek, or the team going all "here we go again..." I don't know. But the run game was abyssmal pretty much the whole game, and it was very vanilla, and it wasn't working. It was basically Inside Zone, with a few OZ runs, and almost no counters.
And that's why I compared it to the Riley run game in those specific years. In 2015, they tried to make Tommy a drop back passer, and use the OSU run scheme (Mostly IZ/OZ, little pulling), and we were just plain bad at it. Then they had an epiphany in the bowl, and adjusted to our strengths, and ran all over UCLA. They carried over many of those same adjustments to 2016, and it worked. But once Tommy was gone, and Tannner Lee took over, it was right back to vanilla IZ with little variation.
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3 minutes ago, Guy Chamberlin said:
Well with two minutes left in the third quarter, Nebraska was tied with North Dakota. A skeptic might say it was a heroic individual effort by Grant that got them the lead, at which point they successfully bled the clock with a running game. Or that skeptic might point out that it was North Dakota, and it was almost unimaginable the Huskers wouldn't prevail in the fourth quarter.
Offensive playcalling doesn't seem to be the issue. I liked most of Frost's offensive playcalling last season, and I think Casey Thompson is the better decision maker we need. But we seem to have the least physical offensive and defensive lines in memory at the same time.
Just like last year, it's not unimaginable the coaches and players put together a serious challenge or win against Oklahoma. There's gotta be some development and evolution, right?
I don't believe that play calling is really the issue (which is why I think this whole topic is irrelevant). But, I do think our run scheme in game 1, and the first half of game two was just not getting it done. It reminded me of Mike Riley's run philosophy in 2015, and 2017.
But as for your last sentence, yes, absolutely. But I fear it is too late.
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Game 1: Team doesn't adjust in the 2nd half, loses.
Fans: Why don't the coaches make 2nd half adjustments?
Game 2: Team makes second half adjustments, wins.
Fans: No, not like that!
But for real, even though I have a very small glimmer of hope that this will end well, whatever they did, it worked (on offense). The staff has to get creative, instead of just doing the same things that aren't gonna work.
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2022 Game 3 “Expert” Picks: Georgia Southern @ Nebraska
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Why Georgia Southern Will Win
This is not your older brother’s Georgia Southern team. New head coach Clay Helton wanted to change things up a bit, and while the running game will still play a big role, the passing attack is about to get going. In came Buffalo transfer Kyle Vantrease, and at least for one week, everything clicked as he threw for 367 yards and four touchdowns in the blowout win over Morgan State. Nebraska’s defense is far, far better, but it’s still shaky, it got pounded on by Northwestern’s ground game, and overall it took a little too long to put North Dakota away in a 38-17 win. Georgia Southern will move the ball better than the Fighting Hawks did, and they ran for over five yards per carry.
Why Nebraska Will Win
Again, Nebraska might be struggling, but it’s not Morgan State. If might be a tough go so far in the 1-1 start, but the Huskers found an explosive runner in Anthony Grant, QB Casey Thompson has been strong in spurts, and it has to keep being said, even though no one wants to hear it – it’s EARLY. The Huskers have the parts to be far better, but they’re still looking like a team getting the timing down. Georgia Southern isn’t going to be great against the run – Grant and the ground attack should have a nice day – and everything should be fine as long as …
What’s Going To Happen
The Nebraska turnovers have to stop. They were an issue against Northwestern, and the two against North Dakota didn’t help. The Huskers don’t have to be perfect, but they’re getting killed whenever there’s the slightest momentum shift. Fortunately, controlling the game on the ground – and getting to Vantrease with the pass rush – should help take care of that.
Nebraska 35 - Georgia Southern 17
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Nebraska 44 - Georgia Southern 18
Nebraska - 84.2% Win
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Nebraska 36 - Georgia Southern 18
Nebraska - 89.1% Win
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Nebraska 37 - Georgia Southern 16
Nebraska - 89% Win
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Mike’l Severe: Nebraska 34 - Georgia Southern 17
Jay Moore: Nebraska 35 - Georgia Southern 21
Damon Benning: Nebraska 41 - Georgia Southern 20
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More to come!!!
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On 9/2/2022 at 3:26 PM, Hilltop said:
I just don't see how our offense doesn't put up a big number in this game. So many "experts" only picking us to score a touchdown or so more than we did against NW just doesn't seen realistic but who knows I guess. I personally think we cover easily.
Welp.... lol
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2022 Game 2 “Expert” Picks: North Dakota @ Nebraska
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Why North Dakota Will Win
The Fighting Hawks should be able to keep things moving. The offensive line is good enough to pound away a bit – maybe not like Northwestern did last week against the Huskers in Dublin, but enough to get the ground game going – and QB Tommy Schuster is careful with the ball. He can hit the short, midrange throws, he’ll get time to throw, and the team has a way of controlling the clock and keeping things moving. However …
Why Nebraska Will Win
You think Nebraska is going to be just a weeeeeee bit fired up to get back on the field?There were a whole slew of things that went wrong in the meltdown loss to Northwestern, but Casey Thompson threw for 355 yards and was solid in the first half, there was a little bit of a ground game when the offense tried, and even after giving up 528 yards of total offense, the defense actually held up more than it got credit for. North Dakota won’t be able to grind it out like Northwestern did, the team should come out with a renewed energy, and …
What’s Going To Happen
How much does it matter that Nebraska is coming off that long, rough trip to Ireland? This is supposed to be the breather of a week – Northwestern is taking it off – but North Dakota is just physical enough overall and strong enough defensively to make the base grouchy. The Nebraska passing game will kick in after the first quarter, but it’s not going to be as smooth as everyone might like, at least for a little while.
Nebraska 41 - North Dakota 17
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Nebraska - 97.9% Win
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Nebraska 36 - North Dakota 13
Nebraska - 92.5% Win
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Nebraska 37 - North Dakota 14
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Mike’l Severe: Nebraska 37 - North Dakota 14
Jay Moore: Nebraska 42 - North Dakota 21
Sean Callahan: Nebraska 41 - North Dakota 17
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More to come!!!
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- Popular Post
- Popular Post
Like just about everyone... I was all about the Frost train. But it's just not working.
If he won the next 15 games in a row... he'd have a worse record than Riley did when he was fired.
If he won the next 22 games in a row... he'd have a worse record than Callahan did when he was fired.
If he won the next 50 games in a row... he'd still have a worse record than Bo did when he was fired.
It sucks... but it's all but over at this point.
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** 2023 Opponent Preview : Maryland (Game 10) **
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