Enhance

Oh there has to be some out there, drinking the Snyder love juice. It's been awhile since anybody has been "feared" in the North among respective North schools. Nobody has been consistent enough. Teams seem to have a couple good seasons and then sink. Nebraska might have still been feared up and through the 2001 season, but not so much after that. You couldn't say Missouri has been feared because they aren't consistent and have tanked a couple of seasons (like last), and Colorado had some good seasons that floundered (i.e. 2005). It is a very wide open season for the North. Speaking from my brain and not my heart, Kansas and Nebraska have the best chances to win the North. I still think Nebraska has the slimmest of chances over Kansas, a chance that got reduced a bit once Q got booted. But I still think they are the slightly better team position by position.

Last season, every time the opposing team launched the ball deep downfield, an unsettling terror always gripped me-almost to the point where I couldn't breathe until after the play was over. Now is it unfair to blame the SS and FS? Maybe. But in a cover 2 scheme, if a CB or LB makes a mistake it's usually a big gain that the defense can recover from. If a SS or FS makes a mistake it's usually a TD. Yes. I can remember specifically the Colorado game last year, when Colorado scored two touchdowns off of 4 plays. Those were perfect examples of the secondary not recovering and getting beat deep. I don't recall the plays exactly, but from where I was in the stands, those receivers caught those balls with at least a couple of yards space between them and the closest defender. Just because they are our "last line of defense" doesn't mean they don't make mistakes and get a "it's ok" pat on the back after something like that. It was a prime example of our safeties getting beat deep on consecutive drives. Even if another guy makes mistakes, you're still accountable as a team and as an individual.

Good questions Husker X. I've been hearing that Helu has gained 10-15 pounds of muscle and should be able to handle the toll of the tailback position better than last. I think that's key to a successful season. I agree with the media that the loss of Castille will hurt, but I don't think it will cost the team a game....or games......as some people in the media are stating. At the end of the day Castille was only 1 player...and I've heard some good things about these young kids behind him and can only imagine this as turning into a positive for the program in the long run from an experience standpoint. I think Nebraska's linebackers will be fine. Remember, good defensive line play will make ANY linebacking corp look good, and NU has arguably the best defensive line in the Big 12. I wouldn't be as concerned as people are. Turnovers.....who knows....alot of times it's how the ball bounces. I see Nebraska's defense getting more than the offense lets go of though. Husker X does raise some good questions. Castille is a blow to the team, but I agree in that it will not cost us a game. It might cost us a few plays here and there when it's 4th and 1 and our experienced 235 pound bruisers is MIA, but I think we'll find ways to get it done. Turnovers are a concern in my eye, but it all comes down to the mental aspect. We all know the team puts a lot of effort into everything, it's just the mental side that Nebraska has had to work on since Callahan left. He grinded the teams' football mentality down to a fine powder. Helu is my biggest questions of the year. Can he hold the weight up? Can he stay healthy? So far, he has proved that the new weight and speed is hurting him in ways, what with two minor hamstring injuries in the last 6 months. But, even though you have some concerns about having to rely on Burkhead to get us to the Big 12 championship game, I think all we need is a little faith. Ahman Green was a starter for a couple games back in '95 as a true Freshman, so maybe we'll strike gold again with this young guy from Texas.

Top Rushers in Last Years Game. Robert Griffin - 16 carries 121 yds 1 TD longest run 44 yds Marlon Lucky - 16 carries 85 yds 1 TD longest run 18 yds Now, the reason we won the game Joe Ganz - 32/46 336 yds 3 TDs Robert Griffin - 9/20 134 yds 0 TDs Scoring summary... 1st Quarter BYU 14 NU 7 2nd Quarter BYU 6 NU 10 3rd Quarter BYU 0 NU 7 4th Quarter BYU 0 NU 8 Once again, we won the game because our team came back from a deficit, by no means was this game easy for NU, it was just as close as our game with VT, Colorado, Kansas, and Texas Tech. It wasnt an easy game for us last year in Lincoln, and it wont be an easy game for us in Waco this year. Baylor isnt like it used to be, when i considered BYU to be the ISU of the Big 12 South Conference. Still not enough to convince me. If Baylor beats us, I'll be the first to admit I was wrong. Until then, I'm standing by my ground. Being a good football team still has to translate into wins and losses. We can all sit here and say "this isn't the Baylor of old" but until they start translating their talent into a winning or break even season consistenly, they are still the Baylor of old.

While I agree somewhat with this, I still think it's kind of apples and oranges. There are certain levels to being a good football players, things like great coaching and the players around you. If those quarterbacks wouldn't successful at those schools, then it is also possible that Suh wouldn't do as well at another. But, back to the point, I agree that the Heisman is a joke. Completely unfair, and much more deserving of the more common name "Hypesman". It's all about numbers and what you do with your team. Rush for 2,600 yards but your team only wins three games? No Heisman. Rush for 1,900 yards and your team loses one game that year? Pack your bags for New York.

No hate mail from me. The Baylor game looks very dangerous. Is Baylor's home field advantage going to be a big factor? From what I've heard, their stadium is not as intimidating as say a Texas, Nebraska, or Oklahoma. Either way, I see the big toss up games as being Baylor, Texas Tech, Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado. Win 5 of these, and Nebraska is sitting pretty. 4 will be a decent season and likely Big 12 North championship. 3 will be a season like last. Anything less than that I feel would be a disappointment. Baylor's home field advantage is nothing. It seats 50,000, and even if Nebraska is going to be a big game for them, they still probably won't get a sold out stadium. I don't think Nebraska fans are going to overpower them in numbers, but I would venture to say that a good chunk of that stadium will be Husker fans, a bigger chunk will be Baylor fans, and a small chunk will be empty seating. Baylor is going to have to win this one on pure talent and pure talent alone, as the crowd won't be a factor. I still don't think Baylor has enough talent to make a big splash this year. Yes, Griffin is very good. Yes, they turn quite a few starters and yes, they have a pretty talented linebacking corp. But, there still isn't enough to convince me that this years' game won't turn out any different than last years.

I'll be at all the games in the student section!

Correct. Are you coming up for the game, OwlFamily?

Yeah, I'm not sure I agree with him on this one. I think you have to include the WHOLE atmosphere, which also includes the actual game that is played. Traditionally, Nebraska has great home games and the stadium experience is second to none. Army Navy games while interesting, never really amount to much in my eyes, considering they are both still bottom of the barrel most years.

B)--> QUOTE(Husker B @ Aug 28 2009, 07:50 AM) 457523[/snapback] Rest assured you'll see more red in that stadium next Saturday than you ever have, or will again. Ask Note Dame, Wake Forest, hell, ask just about anyone we've played on the road. Really wish I could have got down there. Such an awesome place to go see a Husker game. I think he was talking about 600 tickets sold for FAU fans to come up to Memorial Stadium, because it's a home game for us.

It's possible. The first game of the season is against Alabama, and Alabama still has a fairly talented football team. If VaTech can beat Alabama, then they very well could be pushing the limits of top 10. Either way, they will be ranked when we travel down there, and a victory against any ranked team looks good for us.

Yeah, I thought so too. I can see where they are coming from though. I bet a lot of places they visit have nice workout facilities. I really enjoy hearing that players love our coaching staff. That should always been the number one priority in my mind. If you don't like the coaches, then you shouldn't want to come to the program.

I lol'd pretty hard.

Agreed. Being near the top of north stadium it was difficult to see replays, or even some action on the other end of the field, and I am 26 years old. The two screens were GREATLY needed. As far as the ribbon boards...my jury is still out until after I see them in action in person. Agreed. If anything, the ribbon boards are the things that may end up being too much. Does anybody know what is going to be on the ribbon boards? Will it be advertisements or player stats or what? I've only been to a stadium that ribbon boards once and it was quite awhile ago, so I don't remember.

Good point. I forgot they have been saying that Reed could maybe get down as a fullback. That would be extremely interesting. And I think Mendoza, with his WR knowledge from this year, could make an impact in the passing game.

Mizzou? I hope you smacked yourself after speaking such blasphemy I don't really care who beats who in the conference, as long as we are the ones holding the Big 12 championship trophy by season end.

I really wish someone would take a picture of Tuff Tiger at the game and post it. You know..To help settle a bet. I can't wait to see this picture.

Houston, we have a problem... damn, that sounded just like that chick in the tunnel walk when they did that stupip parachute bit... lame lame LAME!! That was the absolute WORST video I have ever seen. It was over done, poorly designed, and terrible constructed. Watching that video made me lose interest in the game, it wasn't until the players came out onto the field that I cared again.

There are a lot of options for this I think. Anybody who is really athletic in one shape or form could do something interesting for us.

Not sure. There was some talk about the defensive back depth chart coming out as early as Monday, so we may see something similar from the linebackers around that time. I think it will be Compton and Dillard at Mike and probably Lawrence then May at weak side.

Hell, I'd settle for a top 20 team right now.

I think this will be another tough year for KSU here in Lincoln. They just don't have the size or talent to really compete with any of the schools in the upper tier of the conference.

I think there is some animosity towards Mizzou huh!? lol It's ok, we have a good chance of beating them this year. I bet the early point spread will be at least 5 points in our favor.

Sometimes, and I hate to say it cause when of my good buddies wants to be one, journalists are just stupid. Obviously he's upset, obviously he didn't like the way practice went, so why keep asking him the same question five different ways. He said they had a bad practice, which means they had a bad practice. I know they want to get the story and all its ins and outs, but come on. It was pretty self explanatory. But yeah, every team has bad practices every now and then. Nothing to be worried about that much. This has been the first practice where Pelini has been overly pissed off (even though he rarely shows just how mad he is after practice). Things should be better next practice. The team usually shapes up after that.

Hopefully "the Assassin" can get his stuff together for this season. He really just needs to tighten up his pass coverage, as does the whole secondary. That really is our Achilles heel on the defense. We had great run defense last year, and piss poor pass defense.