SouthAfricanHusker

Funny they list Santos. I would put him as the 3rd most talented LB. Zaire being top and a senior. Guess he didn't play enough from injuries to get noticed. Rose is better but too young. Banco could be better than all of them but no game film. The youngsters on the team will keep us in this list for years.

Everything I am hearing is, yes, there is something more to the Alexander issue. At this point nothing that should end up affecting playing time but we shall see. It may be a good excuse to build depth and hopefully it all blows over in a week or two.

I guess it would be a win either way for us. If he goes to the NFL it's because he absolutely balled out this year meaning we likely had a championship kind of year. If not we still ge him another year.

When the B12 was formed everyone thought the north was the power division. Things change. What happens in a few years when Mich and PSU are looking for new coaches? Urban leaves like he always does after 3-5 years? Dantonio isn't a spring chicken. To think all will reload is a bit of a stretch.

Thank God he doesn't. He does very well with other coaches top talent. I'm sure there are plenty of mistakes in the blog but the one you noted isn't one. We all make mistakes, no worries.

Have you been reading my mind? Not the exact same as my prediction but fairly close. At least the ending (conference title and playoffs). I'm not as sold on Tommy being a superstar but he will be more than we need at the position. The D will be special.

In honor of fall camp starting I wanted to share my prediction for the year with the board. Here is a little preview... check the link for the rest. http://southafricanhusker.wordpress.com/2014/08/03/nebraska-2014-prediction/

Great read. More support for the (not so) cautiously optimistic 2014 crew. Nebraska will be the toughest opponent on our schedule.

Lot of coach speak. Nothing earth shattering. The D up the middle will be solid. Questions at DE and CB more relating to experience.

i agree. and, it seems you can do a lot with a run game that is working that will keep the other team on their toes. i think our oc needs to be careful not to out-think himself. I think the bigger issue is what type of pass play is called. Is it a bomb to KB with a 50/50 shot at completion. Sure thats a huge play if it works. If not you are staring at 2nd and 10 and the smart money is to pass then, and again on 3rd down. However if the first down play is a screen pass to Newby or a short out route, something high percentage but shorter, that will work better. You may have a 75% chance of completion or better. It may only be 2nd and 5 but you do several things. The D is now at least considering a pass play, the offense gains confidence, and it can help setup future plays by eliminating the trend of running every first play of a drive. The biggest thing is the way you become a top notch play caller (like TO was) is to keep them guessing. So we can't allow our offense to rule out passes when the run is working. We just need high percentage plays that we know we can execute. If that means simplifying the playbook so we know we can execute every play we have available... I'm all for it.

Callahan had a solid breakdown of the season. Very close to where I am in my prediction for the year. Lots of positives about the program.

If they don't change it this year when will they? This is a great chance because half the fanbase is vocal in support of something new and another quarter is open to it. Even VTech needs to change their Enter Sandman too. Both songs are older than nearly every player on the field. Change ain't so scary people.

Solid article with plenty of fodder for the Bo-leavers and hope for Bo-lievers.

We are right there with first string talent. The problem is when someone goes down as we saw last year. There will always be some positions that you are thin at. Top notch coaches ensure those positions are never OL or DL. Bo is learning in that department. A few years ago he started taking ~4 OLs every year. He was close at DL a few years ago but attrition took it's toll. If you look at the depth chart he is setting himself up for some great years of depth along the lines. Hopefully he will be here to coach it.

Not really a surprise coming from outsiders. The way we finished the conference schedule it's hard to pick us as stronger than Iowa or Wisconsin. This team will have to earn respect. I expect them to earn that and more this year.

RG4 was a big reason last year and will continue to be a factor this year. But don't sleep on Collins, VV, and the rest of the Dline. Also guys like Newby and Zaire in certain situations. In general this defense SHOULD be in the discussion for the best under Bo at the end of the year. I don't know if they will capture the scoring D title like we did in 09 though.

I agree withh most of what you said. I will point out that preseason All Conference awards are pretty useless. It's basically who has the most experience at the position. If you start as a freshman for Indiana. You will probably get the. I'd your junior year because you are a 2 year returning starter. Nevermind that you couldn't hold the jock of half of your counterparts in conference.

You guys are falling for the fallacy that the QB is more important that he really is. Don't get me wrong he is most important but not by a wide margin. Take Brady and Manning. Widely considered the 2 best in the NFL. Brady goes down early in a year and Matt Cassel took them to a first round bye. Manning went down early and they earned the first pick. System and surrounding talent have a huge influence. My take in last year is the offense was designed for Taylor. Tommy needs a different offense to be successful. The way things went down last year it wasn't conducive to switching midstream. With the OL and RBs we have this year the QB shouldn't be a huge concern.

Fitz is trying to have some fun and he knows he can't talk about anything on the field. So he makes a joke that nearly all of our opponents have said for years. Heck Bob Costas even poked fun at the fact that there are no other major universities or pro teams within our borders after the 95 Orange Bowl win. Let him enjoy this now. Husker Nation will remind him how we love football at his crib.

They're better than us. Didn't say they weren't. Merely brought up the comparisons as a point of discussion. There are a lot of people in Nebraska that I've heard on radio, message boards, etc., that would take the consistency and lack of titles without the six or seven win losses. It's fine to disagree with them, just pointing it out. I'd rather have the conference titles myself. As much as I think the fan base has unrealistic expectations this isn't the choice we have to make. We are Nebraska. We should expect at a minimum consistency. From there we expect to compete for (and win some) conference titles. One thing I would point out is MSU showed a steady climb upward with the exception of 2012. That being said I don't feel they are a great team. They have a great game plan, great D, potentially good O. That is a recipe to contend in most games. Last year they converted on most of their chances. I look for them to lose 2-3 this year which may not include Oregon.

Good discussion and I agree with most everything here. Exception being that Bo's defense needs to be simple and only works against weak offenses. It was only a few years ago that we were touting performance against first round QBs like Locker and Gabbert. Remember the MSU home game where their best WR had 1 catch all day, can't remember his name right now. In all of those games Bo had a complex D. Blitzes from all levels, standing 4 man front, etc. The difference from 2009-2010 and 2011-2012 was talent. The last half of last year showed we are close on talent now. That should make us all very excited about this fall. That is exactly what the LJS pointed out.

Reilly has more speed than either if the other two. He can flat out fly. So he isn't the possession type receiver the others are. Aside from that both sets are white and play the same position.

This is hard to judge based on what many of their teams lost last year. We all saw the bowl games this last year and it's not like the SEC blew out the B1G. If this was truly a series where the SEC had to travel to some B1G stadiums I think you find it will be incredibly equal. SEC West vs. B1G East Alabama (SEC West 1) vs. Ohio State (B1G East 1) - hard not to go with Bama but OU schooled them with a quick offense. Urban is a much better offensive mind than anything OU has. Give Bama the nod but it's closer than you think. Auburn (SEC West 2) vs. Michigan State (B1G East 2) - MSU has a defense that will neutralize the Auburn offense. Think this one goes for Sparty. LSU (SEC West 3) vs. Michigan (B1G East 3) Michigan is way overrated but I think they keep it close if it's in the Big House. LSU Ole Miss (SEC West 4) vs. Penn State (B1G East 4) - Ole Miss is overrated. Penn State is over hyped. Think Penn State takes it. Texas A&M (SEC West 5) vs. Maryland (B1G East 5) - A&M has no defense and Mr. football is gone now. Didn't that team almost lose to Duke? Maryland has the athletes to compete. I'll say they surprise a few and win. Mississippi State (SEC West 6) vs. Indiana (B1G East 6) - this one goes either way I'll say home team wins. I'll say Miss State for argument. Arkansas (SEC West 7) vs. Rutgers (B1G East 7) - didn't Arkansas lose to Rutgers last season? Rutgers still SEC East vs. B1G West Georgia (SEC East 1) vs. Wisconsin (B1G West 1) Georgia loses a lot in Murray. I don't know if they can take the power run game from Wisky. I'll say Georgia but it's close. South Carolina (SEC East 2) vs. Nebraska (B1G West 2) I'm a homer but I see no way that we can't beat them. Execution. Huskers Florida (SEC East 3) vs. Iowa (B1G West 3) Florida was horrible last year. This is likely Muschamps last season. Iowa Missouri (SEC East 4) vs. Northwestern (B1G West 4) Missouri should be higher up on this list. But still they lose 2 draft picks on the DL. Tigers but it's close. Tennessee (SEC East 5) vs. Minnesota (B1G West 5) tossup. Take the home team Vanderbilt (SEC East 6) vs. Illinois (B1G West 6) Vandy for another year. Then Illinois will be better and Vandy drops off. Kentucky (SEC East 7) vs. Purdue (B1G West 7) Kentucky until stoops gets on probation.

Let's have some fun with projected rankings through the year. As of now we will likely start I unranked. Assuming that holds pick out when/where we debut in the rankings, highest rank, if we fall out, and final regular season rank. I'm going with an overly optomistic projection, I drank the cool aid today. Debut after McNeese St at #23 Up to #16 before a loss to Mich St then down to #21 Then up to #14 before beating Wisconsin Then head into the B1G title game at #7 and 11-1.

It amazes me at how many people discount the OSU win due to Miller's injury. Especially when those are the same people that generally don't give NU the benefit when considering the OL and QB injuries in 2013. As others have said NU had brought the game back to within 7 by Bauserman's first full drive. The D was stopping OSU before the injury. The O was rolling. At worst if the injury hadn't happened OSU and NU trade scores to end the game and we lose by one possession but that is likely less than 50% likely.