ESPY

He will not be fully appreciated until he is gone, and that is really sad.

I think the success and recognition he's had this year should help a lot of Husker fans realize just how good he really is. But the fact remains that we need to win championships in order for him to be truly appreciated as one of NU's best. Look back and all you see from our best QB's are championships. They maybe didn't have all the yards or TDs that Martinez has (will have), but they knew how to win championships, and that is the real gauge of a legacy.

I've definitely been hard on Martinez (and continue to criticize some of the decisions and mistakes he makes), but there's no denying he will leave a lasting impression on this program. Time will tell if we can truly call this the Martinez "legacy" b/c those typically feature championships. But there is no mistaking his huge strides as a QB have made a huge impact and could very well land us back where we belong as a perennial national power.

The losses of Baker and Justin Jackson, I am afraid, are significant.

 

 

Bo has done well prepping his teams for CCGs. His issues were more about in-game adjustments. The TX game was masterful in many ways, but, I would have liked to have seen 2 or 3 really aggressive play calls (like Black 41 Flash Reverse Pass). Had NU gotten up by 7 or more, Suh might have had 20 sacks.

 

The OU game, similarly, in my mind came down to the decision to keep a struggling, dinged up, freshmen QB on the field.

 

 

T-Mart has definitely improved. But under the spotlight he has shown to be equally electrifying and electrocuting.

 

All in all, I can't wait to see what happens.

You beat me to the punch on mentioning those key players (Stein and Jackson) not being able to play this time around. Those added variables (unmentioned in an otherwise great article) really add a level of mystery/concern for this game.

Part of the reason we had so much success in stopping their run game in Sep was the fact the Stein had his best, most dominant game of the year. And part of the reason our offense ran and passed so effectively against a stout D was Jackson's ability to open holes for the run game and give Martinez the time he needed to make as many great throws as he did.

Suh is paid an astronomical sum to be a feared, defensive bully. That's his role, and he does it well More power to him. He is a throwback that still plays mean, old school ball in our new, candy arse age of football.

 

As far as him being the greatest to come through here that also had great NFL careers, Roger Craig and Tom Rathman might beg to differ--just to name two off the top of my head. He's got a long way to go to get in that category, IMHO.

I thought he was paid to be the dominant player he was as a Husker in '09. His 20 tackles so far this year are underwhelming to say the least. On that note, did anyone hear what Warren Sapp had to say about Suh? I know none of us like Sapp that much, but the guy knows his stuff. (Although I question him saying that Nick Fairley is better.)

 

 

 

Don't ask us a question and then not answer it. What did Sapp say? Damn, leave us hanging.

x2.

My bad.

Essentially, Sapp's point was that Suh (and the Detroit Lions' HC Schwartz) needs to get contol of himself. Suh's unnecessary antics are far outweighing anything good that he's doing. Sapp then went on to say that he's really not that impressed with Suh. In fact, he said he's mostly just another player on the field taking up space, rather than being disruptive or making plays. He used the following stats to back that up: 4.5, 16 solo tackles + 4 team tackles. Sapp said Suh could learn a thing or two from Fairley, referencing that Suh isn't even the best tackle on his own team, let alone an elite tackle in the league.

I don't totally agree with Sapp, but he makes some great points.

Just wanted to mention how interesting it is that the Journal Star had a story pre-Iowa game about Stein (maybe the only Stein profile article they wrote all year), and the only other player with quotes in that article was ... (drum roll please) ... Justin Jackson.

Suh is paid an astronomical sum to be a feared, defensive bully. That's his role, and he does it well More power to him. He is a throwback that still plays mean, old school ball in our new, candy arse age of football.

 

As far as him being the greatest to come through here that also had great NFL careers, Roger Craig and Tom Rathman might beg to differ--just to name two off the top of my head. He's got a long way to go to get in that category, IMHO.

I thought he was paid to be the dominant player he was as a Husker in '09. His 20 tackles so far this year are underwhelming to say the least. On that note, did anyone hear what Warren Sapp had to say about Suh? I know none of us like Sapp that much, but the guy knows his stuff. (Although I question him saying that Nick Fairley is better.)

Methinks Suh ought to step back and re-focus on exactly what he needs to do be the league's best b/c he is not there, and I don't think he's even close. Dude has all the potential in the world (we all knew that even before he nearly won the Heisman b/c of one game's performance). Time to get back to the dominant player we all know and love, not the bully who's getting more mention of fines and suspensions than sacks and forced fumbles. Shoot, even Bill Romanowski, known for being a dirty player, performed better.

I vote for the no-look FG flip to the kicker.

 

That was my immediate thought.

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

Nebraska @ Iowa- Nebraska by 17

Michigan @ Ohio State- Ohio St by 10

Purdue @ Indiana- Indiana by 3

Wisconsin @ Penn State- Wiscy by 3

Illinois @ Northwestern- NW by 10

Michigan State @ Minnesota - MSU by 10

Rutgers @ Pittsburgh - Pitt by 10

TCU @ Texas- Texas by 7

Oregon @ Oregon State- Oregon by 10

Florida @ Florida State- FSU by 10

Oklahoma State @ Oklahoma- OSU by 2

Stanford @ UCLA- Stanford by 3

South Carolina @ Clemson- Clemson by 3

Notre Dame @ USC- Nontre Dame by 7

I wouldn't be mad if we choose to never wear them again. But if we do (and someone said we may against Wisconsin), I vote for black. As someone here said, if we're going to honor the Blackshirts, shouldn't we at least wear black... shirts?

 

Love your idea here. Looks devastating with that pic of Quincy.

Haven't read through the entire thread, but I suppose all sorts of possible recruits watch ESPN Gameday. I'm guessing something like this from ESPN could affect recruiting for us, or at least make it that much tougher to land some guys.

Much thanks to the jerks at ESPN for making it even tougher to land recruits.

I guess Michigan (Howard) and Ohio St (Herbstreit) really do want their almamaters to blow us out of the water. Geez

Under - 1 sack by Caveman

O/U - 100 receiving yards by Kenny

Under - # of special teams TD by NU - 1

Under.

O/U: Rushing attempts by Braylon Heard - 5.5

NU wins 27-24.

Rush 245

Pass 240

So I got into work today and not 30 minutes later I'm in our company's big conference room listening to the legend himself promoting the Teammates Mentoring Program. This was the first time I've had the pleasure of listening to TO speak in person, and it was just that, a pleasure. He is most definitely an incredible man with passion for the University, passion for this program and passion for humanity.

I want to mention the 3 big qualities he attributes to effective mentors because I believe he has exemplified these qualities as AD, coach and as the man of faith he is.

1. Care unconditionally

2. Affirmation

3. Vision

Feel free to leave any comments you have, but I just wanted to share how much it means to have been in the presence of someone like TO and learned from some of his life experiences along with his passion about the Teammates program.

I think the close game predictions by the so-called experts are right on the money. This one is a toss-up in my mind, and I think the game will be very much last year's 17-14 triumph in State College. I think both teams score in the 20s, and I'll give Nebraska the edge.

 

O/U: Run play percentage: 60%

 

Over...I think we run until they can't tackle in the 3rd and 4th quarter. No depth to help them...

 

Number of fumbles 2

 

Over...unfortunately.

 

O/U: The number of times the NU/PSU pre-game prayer from 2011 is shown on ABC during the broadcast: 3

Under - # of yards rushing by TM - 85

Under

O/U: Number of sacks by Eric Martin - 1.5

Huskers - 16

Spartans - 13

Rushing yards - 130

Passing yards - 210

I went with not turn the ball over, but in making that choice I meant we need to win the turnover battle, which means our Blackshirts gotta play a heckuva game to win that battle. The more we have the ball, the more we'll score. The fewer times they have the ball, the fewer points they'll score. Simple as that.

So I've read through this thread and haven't seen any mention of this, BUUUUUUT.....

 

What if the SEC produces no undefeated teams (Bama loses to LSU this week, for example)? Would the SEC champion (a 1-loss team) get into the BCS national title game if Oregon, K-State and Notre Dame finished the season undefeated?

 

I would like to think 'no', but the landscape of college football these days makes me think at least 2 of these (possible) undefeateds would get snubbed even if the SEC champ has a loss.

 

No chance.

ND/KSU/Oregon aren't Boise/Utah/Etc.

True. But the SEC is the darling of college football. Something tells me even the computers would somehow manage to get that 1-loss SEC team the points they need to at least defend the SEC's 6 (or 7) straight years of national titles.

So I've read through this thread and haven't seen any mention of this, BUUUUUUT.....

What if the SEC produces no undefeated teams (Bama loses to LSU this week, for example)? Would the SEC champion (a 1-loss team) get into the BCS national title game if Oregon, K-State and Notre Dame finished the season undefeated?

I would like to think 'no', but the landscape of college football these days makes me think at least 2 of these (possible) undefeateds would get snubbed even if the SEC champ has a loss.

Can this be seen online? I don't get BTN and would love to see this.

I just hope that we can return to this thread with continued praises for Martinez after our game at MSU. While he's had lots of electrifying moments and taken the team on his shoulders in several wins, he's still too prone to strange decisions and costly turnovers, especially in important B1G road games, which is what we have again this week.

To me, the perfect word to describe Martinez is "enigma". On that note, I will say that he belongs with Miller as the top QB in this league. But for me, the jury is still out on whether or not he's better. A big indicator of that comes in the form of being able to play consistently well and win conference road games, and Martinez isn't there yet.

I'll go with the over, just barely (10.5).

If we got Oregon in the Rose Bowl, I'd be tempted not to watch. Not only would their offense hang 50 points on us, their D would force several turnovers and probably prevent us from even reaching the 23 Mich held us to. No disrespect to our guys, but Oregon is on a completely different level.

I would change "I want to say yes, but I want to wait another game" to "I want to say yes, but we're too sloppy and inconsistent".

There's no doubt we have a potent offense with many exceptional players at the skill levels. If we could put it all together and keep from making dumb mistakes or turning the ball over, we would be without a doubt one of the nation's most dangerous offenses.