TrumanBD

You know what about killed me about that website was that Ohio State ends up as a consensus #1 even though no one had them picked #1. I hate Ohio State and am so sick of them sliding into everything in the overrated Big 10.

"So far, Cornhuskers offensive lineman Matt Slauson wins the award for best quote. In fairness, he’s the only player I’ve listened to, but he had lots of intriguing comments. He also earned high grades for using the words “applicable” and “ferociousness” in the same sentence. Asked about his team’s offensive philosophy in the Bo Pelini era: “At Nebraska, we like to go against the grain,” he said. “We don’t like trends. We like to keep things simple. We like to go with the power game. We’re going to pound guys, and pound guys and pound guys.” He shied away from commenting much on ex-NU Coach Bill Callahan and what went wrong under the former regime, but he made his point talking about what he likes about Pelini. “The game is fun again. We’re playing for a coach we can relate to. He’s a guy you love to work hard for.” As for last year? “Everything was in a real bad way.” What does Husker Nation think about the new era in Cornhusker football? “We don’t really know what the fans are thinking because we don’t have that much interaction with them—other than the 86,000 who showed up for the spring game. So, I think people are pretty optimistic.” Slauson saved the best for last. Asked which game on the schedule he’s looking forward to most, he bowed his head and closed his eyes as if in some sort of trance. He looked up and spoke calmly. “We’ve been hearing so much about Missouri,” almost hissing the word like it was an expletive. He went on to say that last year’s Missouri game — the Tigers’ 41-6 victory in Columbia — more or less marked the beginning of MU’s rise and Nebraska’s demise. “Like the game last year against them when it became apparent that we were having problems. Yeah, we had a loss or two before that. … To lose that bad to Missouri was like a kick in the face to us. So, I would love to get some revenge on them. But, you know, we still have to worry about Western Michigan and all those other teams.” I am looking forward to coming to Lincoln for the MU game this year. From everything I have read it looks like Pelini is really returning Nebraska to its roots, which as a native Nebraskan is exciting to see. Should be a great game on October 4th! Go Tigers!

I'm more worried about Kansas because Mizzou lost some key players. Rucker is no longer there to bail out Daniels. The running back is gone. And, I believe that I read somewhere that Mr. Daniels has decided to pull a Mo and show up like 25 pounds overweight to training camp. Kind of makes me wonder about his dedication. IMO, the fat man is so far above and beyond pickle in terms of coaching that KU has me much more concerned at this point than Mizzou. The only key starters we lost on offense were Rucker and Will Franklin. While Rucker was a stud, our other TE, Chase Coffman is arguably better. Franklin was also a stud, but with Maclin, Alexander, Perry and Saunders back we are deep at receiver. As for losing Temple, we also have Derrick Washington coming in at tailback and when his career is over I expect he will have been a better running back than Temple was. Temple always did great in bowl games, but often struggled during the regular season. I am more worried about our loses on the Offensive line than I am about our maquee postions. On Defense we only lost 2 starters. I believe MU has more starters returning than KU does.

As a Mizzou fan, I gotta say I love coming on huskerboard and reading a thread where Husker fans are trying to bring a sense of reality to KU fans. Whether KU or MU can maintain the success they had in 07 and whether and how quikcly NU can rebound is yet to be seen. Of course as an MU fan and with the playmakers we have returning I am optimistic about next season.

the 08 have not lost a game......so if you are goin to talk football.then tell me how MU has more talent TE......Cauffman....Hetzer???????? I think arguing that Coffman isn't going to be one of the best TE in the Big 12 next year is a little delusional. I've been saying this for 2 years, but in many respects, Coffman is a better TE than Rucker was. It is hard to argue that MU has the edge here, at least if you are being rational. O-line............no doubt NU This one is maybe a bit of a tossup. Our O-line played outstanding last year. Daniel had all the time in the world to throw the ball. We did lose two key players, but the guys stepping into those roles this year did get lots of playing time last year. QB.........Ganz 19 td's 8 int's in three games......or Chase....30 td's all year......I like Ganz at home +NU I think Ganz has a lot of potential, but it is hard to argue against a three year Senior who has started every game for the last two years and was a Heisman trophy finalist. RB...Lucky and Co. are light years ahead of Earl Goldsmith.....NU wins this one The edge probably goes to NU here, but Goldsmith will likely be our 3rd string running back. Jimmy Jackson and Derrick Washington had far more carries than him in 07 and that will continue in 08 as well. WR..........Maclin is awsome.......but the Tigers live and die with TE and RB play....got to like a draw at home in this column........slight edge to MU I think you have to give more than a slight edge to MU here. With Maclin and Denario Alexander our receiving corps should be just as good as last year. unfortunately for you.Keller and BC won't be around to mismanage the game...when Ganz or Lee breaks off a big run early to give the Huskers a lead at home....You will be N then The other thing completely missing from this post is any discussion of the defense. We return 9 starters on defense next year. Our defense will be tough. That continues to be a question mark for NU.

I admire your optimism. Getting to 10 wins next year would be quite a turnaround. I think it all come down to whether you believe that talent is there and that NU's struggles were all do to coaching, or whether you believe there are some problems with recruiting, but more importantly player development that will take more time to correct.

At least for MU, I think that question will be partially answered during the 09 season. We will lose a lot of our current talent after this next season, including Daniel. If we are able to stay competitive in 09 which will be a bit of a rebuilding year, than I am optimistic about future success.

Bo will have the team believing that they belong at a high level. last year it seemed to me that the defense started to fold once the team got behind and made it difficult to come back from any deficit. i will guarentee that the 500-600 yard offensive outputs against NU's defense are gooing to be few and far between. NU will not just compete with MU and KU this year, NU will beat 1 if not both in Lincoln. I have questions about MU this year because it comes a week after playing VT so who knows The 07 game got a lot of hype that it was going to be a hard fought battle that would determine the north. Maybe next year's game will live up to that hype. With KU playing the big boys of the south next year it could come down to Mizzou and Nebraska. Mizzou gets a bye the week before the Nebraska game and you guys have VT. Hopefully that will give my Tigers an edge. Don't worry about Virginia Tech too much though, KU was able to beat them

I thought MU was returning 16 starters. I think the 16 number does not include the loss of Pig Brown, who was injured against Iowa State and did not play the second half of the season. That means the only defensive starter we are loosing is Williams.

Welcome to being a Mizzou fan. High expectations followed by bitter disappointment. I am always waiting for the other shoe to drop.

A lot of MU people are still holding out for him, but some recent stuff I have heard says he is leaning towards Nebraska. Apparently he wants his younger brother who is a stud wrestler to go to the same school as him. Mizzou has an awesome wrestling team, but rumor is the NE wrestling coach is coming hard at the younger brother.

I think the difference between Coffman and Rucker is that Rucker is a better receiver. He makes some amazing catches, but Rucker is a completely tank after he has the ball and ends up dragging several defenders several yards before he is brought down. The types of plays we run with Rucker as opposed to Coffman are different. Rucker will be missd. I have never been a big Temple fan. I was fairly critical of him all season, so had to eat some of my words happily during the Cotton Bowl. We have gotten fairly used to playing without him with all of the injuries he has had. I think Jimmy Jackson actually averaged more yards per game than Temple, which is of course partly because Temple had far more carries, but I really like Jackson and often times in a short goal line situation, he got the nod over Temple because he was better and hammering it into the endzone. Washington got valuable playing time as a true Freshman and I look for him to open up a RB passing game that we really didn't have with Temple. Pig is a loss, but once again, it doesn't worry me all that much since Willy Moore stepped it up and we played half of the season without Pig. I have no doubt Nebraska will be in this game next year, but even if Mizzou loses, it will be nice to actually be in the game as opposed to our history of performances in Lincoln.

Agree with most of that. MU's defense has been underrated all year because early in the season we were young and not playing well. We actually finished at or near the top of the Big 12 in most defensive stats. We return 10 of 11 starters next year who will all be more experienced and I don't see us having the bad defensive games that we had early this year. Your defense will certainly be tougher next year and playing in Lincoln will be a definate advantage as well. I'll take your odds though, and I hope you kick some Kansas A$$ next year.

While Rucker and Franklin are very serious weapons and will be missed, losing them actually doesn't bother me awhole lot. In many ways, Coffman is a more talented receiving Tight End than Rucker and he will see much more playing time next year with Rucker gone. Franklin is good, but with Maclin, Denario Alexander, Tommy Saunders, ect, we will still have a strong receiving corp. While Temple had one hell of a game in the Cotton Bowl, he did not have that great of a season. Jimmy Jackson played well this year and I think Derrick Washinton will end up being better than Temple. I do worry about loosing Spieker and Luellen. They were really unsung heros this year in my opinion. As for the Defense, we played half of the season without Pig this year and did quite well. Lorenzo Williams is a loss, but I think getting back the rest of our startes the experience they have almost makes up for losing Williams. I have no problem with you guys winning 3 of those 4 games as long as the one you drop is against Mizzou!

This year showed that any team can win on Saturday (or Thursday if you're the Big East). I also expect to compete with every team. Agreed. How do you tolerate living in Jhawk land?

As an outsider looking in, it just seems like when the going got tough, your players just gave up. I would think/hope that has more to do with coaching than it does with the players. I really think Callahan never figured out that coaching college kids is much different than coaching professionals who are playing for a paycheck. He never figured out how to motivate. He may be a good X's and O's coach, but coaching in College takes so much more.

You have to expect it to happen, that is part of believing.... The problem with that is then you become disappointed with anything less IMO. As a fan I think you need to be reasonably optimistic. I'd rather be surprised than disappointed. Welcome to being a Mizzou fan . . Years of unrealistic expectations and dissapointment.

I agree. A picture snapped at the wrong time can make things look worse than the probably were. As long as he isn't pulling a Frank Solich or a Tony LaRussa, I don't have a problem with it either. If I had been in any way associated with winning a NC, I would be celebrating too.

Do you think MU or KU has a better chance of maintaining their success next year and for the future in general?

Interesting question. Did anyone think Stanford could beat USC this year? The college game has become more like the pros in terms of what injuries do to a team. In 1994, we had the depth to overcome losing Frazier. Most teams do not have this luxury anymore because of more scholarship limitations. If Daniels would have gone down to injury this year, Mizzou more than likely would have potentially lost an additional game or two because of it. If KU and MU are at their best when we play them, I would lean towards no we probably won't win. However, there's a lot of things that can change with an injury or two and things of this nature. If Bo has our D playing really well and we can slow/stop the spread attack much like OU did to MU this year in the Big 12 Championship game, I give us a good shot. If we learned anything in 2007, it was that just one injury or two can nearly kill a team. I think we've known all along that turnovers kill. You give us a turnover or two, I think we can beat everyone on our schedule as long as we're not putting the ball on the carpet as well. I agree with most of what you said. We likely would have lost an exta game or two if Daniel had gone down, actually our backup QB was more highly recruited than Daniel was, so he is better than many might expect. No doubt Daniel is good, but we have so many stud receivers that make him look good, that I optimistically hope that Chase #2 could step in if he had to, but no, we don't have the depth NU had in 1994.

If the game was in Columbia I would feel a lot more confidant, but since it is in Lincoln it still scares me a little.

When I see that picture I can't help but make the contrast between Pelini and Mangino. Mangino wouldn't even let his team to the gatorade thing. Its good to see a coach enjoying a win (a NC none the less). I don't think Mangino even cracked a smile at the trophy celebration. Mangino is no doubt a good coach, but it would seem that Bo may get more out of players because he is more human and can relate to them better. The changes in Pinkel's attitude have certainly improved his coaching the last couple of years.

I'm looking forward to coming to Lincoln for our game next year. Going to a game in Lincoln is always special. I am curious if you guys think Pelini will have you improved enough next year to compete with MU and KU?

Hopefully he can get into College Baseball. Nothing quite like the Omaha experience.