Cornfed

39 minutes ago, Mavric said:

Doesn't really seem fair....

 

 

So stoked to get this kid on campus. He’s going to be part of the revival. 

39 minutes ago, runningblind said:

Don't freaking watch it then dude.  Seems pretty simple, find something else to do.

Uh no, bro. I love college football. I’m not going to not watch other games because they will be fawning over prime/CU. Thanks for the idea tho. 

Please God, we’ve been good.

1 minute ago, DefenderAO said:

I'm not sure what is more impressive.  That CU has 200% more wins this year than last in 25% of the total games played or the CU Game Preview thread is still alive with some slandering the current, and prospective, states of their program.

 

At least send them a bill for the headspace rent.

 

 

Well, to be fair…it’s shoved down our throat on every network’s commentary. Rents been paid. 

32 minutes ago, HuskerX said:

I’m a Huskers fan, donor, and longtime season tix holder.

 

Additionally, I possess enough integrity to be able to compliment other coaches/players/teams that may not be popular with our fanbase. Talent coupled with a winning mindset is a beautiful thing to witness, wherever one may find it (IMHO).

Good on ya. I appreciate that. 
 

Colorado is just the one school I just can’t with. 

20 minutes ago, TheSker said:

So if Colorado loses to top 10 teams two weeks in a row after winning 1 game last season some sort of facade is exposed?

To some degree, yes. The facade of being a magical unbeatable force will be gone. “We coming” loses its sting after a few losses. 
 

Also, the media won’t be sucking D when they are 3-2 and fall out of the rankings. 
 

Yeah, i’m ready for that. 

4 hours ago, Slow yer Roll said:

Can’t freaking wait for it to end following back to back Ls and the meltdown that will ensue when the facade is exposed. 

5 hours ago, HuskerX said:

 

I'd say CU's comeback last night and then winning in double OT after losing their best player to a cheap shot was the definition of responding to adversity.

Lol. Your username is out of order. It should be eXHusker. 

1 hour ago, runningblind said:

You're the one who called me a whiner for saying we wouldn't be good on offense this year, but we would be good on defense but they'd get gassesd late in games. How's that working out for ya.

Lol. I appreciate the long term memory.. certainly have no idea what you’re talking about but could be from the short term memory (I live in Co). No shots fired. Just tired at the general whiny a$$ attitude of the fan base. 

Just now, runningblind said:

We could, but we won't. 

Hush. Whiner. You don’t know that. 
 

I get it. It’s been a brutal 15 years. I feel the pain as much as anyone.. having dreams of our losses consistently. Let this ish play out though. I don’t care what anyone says, Rhule is not a loser. He’ll find a way. 

The whine from our fans is deafening. “We should have hired Deion bla bla bla.” Here’s what we do…we beat him at his own game and crush him in NIL (because we can) with guys like this. 

4 hours ago, RedDenver said:

Hawaii was awesome for college football. First games startd at 7am when I was getting off duty and picked up a case of beer from the Exchange walking back to the barracks. And last games ended around 7pm, so we could then go out to the bars.

Just got into Kauai today.. going to be tuning in at 6am!

22 minutes ago, ZRod said:

After reading/watching this I'm a little more confident in our defense. TCU played a lot of zone early on and then switched to more man coverage in the 2nd half, which is when the boat race started.

 

TCU's D line is better than our's, but the LBs are bad. They were slow, took horrible angles, and bit hard on PA . The secondary wasn't much better, terrible angles and slow getting their hips turned to stay with WRs.

 

Sanders just stares guys down. So, I'd like to see some calls where we drop LBs or DEs into coverage from the LOS. Maybe show a corner blitz and let them sit back and police the flats. Let those guys watch his eyes and get a tip or pick.

I disagree that TCU’s D line is better. Especially when we get Ty back. 

1 hour ago, cheekygeek said:

Well, then I guess we know which side the Mafia wants to make sure wins.

Refs are finally going to be on our side!! 

Here’s my dream: 

When it’s all said and done… 

Colorado barely beat a bad TCU team giving them a false sense of confidence. 

Nebraska lost to a really good MN team. 
 

We go into Boulder and wipe that smug smile off of Prime’s face. 

13 hours ago, runningblind said:

This is so incredibly cruel for the most devoted fans in all of sports. 

If CU ends up winning this I wonder if they’re ranked next week.. 
 

Obviously not confident we win.. but if we did it would make it a little sweeter if they’re ranked. 

Just now, Caveman said:

Didn’t that ball break the plane?

Yes it did. 

GBR fam!

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4 minutes ago, admo said:

Ummm, volleyball in a football forum ???

 

I'm glad you feel happy, but that is a chick sport with spandex shorts.  Lots of older guys love it.  We have them here on the board.  

 

Not blaming you, but if the bowling team wore spandex would you feel the same way? Would you follow it?  And if the girls rifle team won today, would you be this happy?  If the lady's volleyball team didn't win much, but still wore little shorts, bending over and jumping and diving, would there really be this much excitement for a covered sport ??  Almost all of that is done in Tennis and Track & Field, but that's not VB.  

 

Let's keep the football forum for football. 

 

VB has a subforum on here somewhere.  And also, there is nothing wrong with having dreams for success.  

 

Queue the "What"?" responses.... as if something said was not correct 

Who are you the HB police? Let the man celebrate. It was a victory for all Nebraska athletics. 

56 minutes ago, cheekygeek said:

I feel pretty confident that the team we see and the effort we see on the field on 8/31 will be promising (to say the least).

I have a hard time thinking of ANYTHING that Matt Rhule has done since being named Head Coach that has not resonated with me (and most Nebraskans). This is not just Kool-aid. This is a list of the tangible things that Rhule has already made SOLID IMPROVEMENTs in.
Let me count the ways:

1. He has a Masters degree in Educational Psychology. If you don't think that means anything, I think it explains why he is such a great motivational speaker/leader. For those that don't remember: Osborne earned a Master's degree in educational psychology in 1963 and completed his doctorate in 1965. Osborne used to preach the importance of the first drive out of the locker room in the 2nd half, for affecting the opponent psychologically. Similarly, Rhule has spoken many times about his emphasis on the "middle 8" (last 4 minute of the 1st half & first 4 minutes of the second half).
2. The staff that he has built (assistant coaches and beyond). I believe he is truly the first CEO type of Head Coach we have had at Nebraska. He delegates responsibility, holds people responsible (including himself), and yet makes the final decisions on just about everything. I think this is important, especially with how huge an operation a big-time college football program has become in this era of N.I.L. and transfer portal.
3. Breaking down that staff: In general, he has high energy assistant coaches, and a lot of them have NFL experience. I believe that coaches who have played in the NFL and/or coached in the NFL are not going to have to convince players to listen to them, if they want to know what it takes to make it to the NFL. This is important in recruiting and in getting players to "buy in".
4. He's brought back a serious and scientific nutrition program to Nebraska football, and seems intent on enforcing it. He understands that nutrition is not just "fuel" but is important in reshaping the body in the off-season and the recovery process during camp & the season. Kristin Coggins was a major get as Head of the Performance Nutrition Department and she has an impressive staff. Scroll down the page to see all of the people and their roles in that department. https://huskers.com/performance-nutrition In my opinion, we will look back at Kristin Coggins being as important to the Cornhusker football turnaround, as Boyd Epley was with his Strength & Conditioning program to the Huskers in the 70's.
5. Speaking of Strength and Conditioning, I feel there may be no more single important change (besides head coach) in the program than Rhule's hire of Corey Campbell. It is very clear that, combined with the performance nutrition program, he is literally reshaping Husker players to fit Rhule's mold - and Rhule's mold is what those position players look like in the NFL. His emphasis on flexibility, with an eye towards preserving speed, seems to be more multi-faceted than the simple "lift big weights/get big muscles" approach of yesteryear. He certainly LOOKS like he practices what he preaches, and that is a radical change from what Zach Duval looked like.
6. With regard to points 4 & 5: It is worth remembering that one of Rhule's first official acts as the new head coach was the removal of Zach Duval from Strength and Conditioning, and Dave Ellis from Director of Performance Nutrition (on 11/28/22). I think it is pretty clear that Rhule identified both programs as needing an overhaul, if the Cornhuskers were going to build a new foundation. He announced Corey Campbell that same day and the hiring of Kristin Coggins was announced on Jan. 30, 2023.
7. He's all about process. He reminds me a lot of Saban in this regard. He knows you have to focus on the present, over and over again, in order to reach your desired destination. He has shown a mindfulness towards a process in almost everything he has done - from sending Foley out on a State High School tour in his first weeks, to building a team brotherhood - sometimes in out-of-the-box ways (like the 2 weeks in the dorms, as just one example). The end result of process is culture.
8. He seems to have a staff of people who are always recruiting (within the rules of the game). If I have to give examples, you just aren't paying attention - so probably aren't reading this far.
9. His practices definitely seem aimed at building toughness. It doesn't seem to me that he is being reckless about it, but there seems to be an abundance of live tackling. I seem to recall a lot of astonishment when it was revealed that Frost like to teach tackling without tackling. (An exaggeration perhaps, but the Huskers recent national ranking on the defensive side of the ball has been embarrassing. Rhule seems determined to change the trajectory.)
10. He understands the importance of Husker Fans. Whether this is at Alberts' direction or not, Rhule is vocal with appreciation for the fan base, like few coaches I remember. I think he knows that, like players, the fans will live up or down to your expectations for them & he is reinforcing both the ticket buyers and the casual fans, both here and across the nation, to root for the team and respect it's brand.
11. He values the Cornhusker BRAND. Let's face it, this is a blueblood brand, if not (in several years) deserving of being called a blueblood program. I don't think he's just giving lip service to that. I think he truly appreciates (and has long looked up to) the N as one of the nations top BRANDS.
12. He is attentive to learning from others about what worked (and why). Tom Osborne may be the most obvious one that he has listened to (and queried) but he also has done it with Solich, and Pelini (and probably a lot that we don't know about.) His philosophy clearly aligns with Trev Alberts' regarding building a winning program and winning football games, but bringing back things that we once took for granted, like being the team that's dominance was asserted in the 4th Quarter & bringing back the Fullback, as just two examples.
13. He himself is a worker. He's clearly not a leader who preaches "Do as I say, not as I do." He's out front when it comes to standards and nose to the grindstone. I don't think the team can help but be molded by their head coach and position coaches (to follow their example). If we have players dedicated to outworking the opposition again, we will have a team that make the state proud again.

 

I'll stop now, but I could probably name more - like how good he is in front of a microphone, or how he's like a motivational speaker on a day-to-day basis. I'd love to hear his locker room speeches. EDIT: Dang, I also forgot a biggie: His return to recruiting players from the state of Nebraska (and players returning to Nebraska, like blocking FB Barret Liebentritt who wanted to play for the Huskers out of high school but was not recruited and ended up a Notre Dame.) We have two Nebraska WRs as freshman that may take the tops off defenses when necessary this season.

 

Postscript: I think it is a big ask for a new staff to take on a Big Ten opponent as solid as Minnesota, on the road, for their Game One. I expect a low scoring game, what with the wind and the expected emphasis on the run game by both teams. But given all of the "little things" (many of which are MAJOR things) are just about guaranteed to bring a team with more effort (and hopefully discipline) than we have seen in a long while. I also would not be surprised to see The Husker's Special Teams make a splash play or three. Rhule's philosophy on using starters and even single digits on Special Teams & not fair catching (or at least fair catching SMARTLY) will definitely be more entertaining - and you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. I'm hoping we get the WIND in the 4th Quarter and would not be surprised if Alvano is called upon to make a game winner in his first game as a Husker. I'm calling it:
NU 23
MN 20

Spot on! 

The whole series was really great...especially the speech in ep3 (45 mins in). Love how it ended too. 

1-0

LFG

GBR

2 hours ago, HuskerX said:

Big risk starting a freshman as kicker. Rhule should have eased him into it.

eh. some people are built for it. tbd

1 hour ago, runningblind said:

Who is at RB won't matter much if the line is still below average, which I see coming looking at that depth chart.  WR aren't going to scare anyone and Sims will be inconsistent.  We will struggle to score points, but the defense I think will be better until they get worn out late in games which will be lame.

Whiner.

The speech in episode 3.. 45 mins in.. goosebumps. I really believe this is the right guy for the job. We’re in good hands.