Hercules

The fans have treated Taylor like crap, but Bo has had his back pretty much from day one. If you're the Martinez family, I don't know how you could have a better relationship with another coaching staff.

You're thinking of 2012 Alabama. 2011 Alabama didn't even win their own division, much less the CCG.

It has also gone unmentioned that the SEC's 14 teams make Alabama's path easier, not more difficult. They didn't have to play Florida or South Carolina, and they only had Georgia in the conference championship game. The only three top 15 teams they played were Georgia, LSU, and Texas A&M. They lost one of those, and very nearly lost the other two. 2011 Alabama is the same way - they played Arkansas, Florida, and LSU - and they lost one of those. They didn't have to play South Carolina or Georgia. It makes no sense to me to discredit Nebraska for not being able to play Michigan or Penn State when that was the Big Ten's fault, while giving Alabama extra credit for being in the SEC despite not even winning the conference each year and not playing the best teams in the conference every year.

That doesn't matter. If Ohio State hadn't been banned, it would have been Notre Dame-Ohio State. Alabama would have been playing Clemson. And it's very possible that in that scenario, Alabama would still be the best team in the country. But they would have been on the outside looking in. Come to think of it, 2012 Alabama has more in common with 1999 Nebraska than it does with any of the national championship Nebraska teams. Stifling defense with a good enough offense, and both teams lost a game they probably shouldn't have lost. The only difference is that Alabama was lucky enough to have it happen in a year where one of two undefeated teams was banned from bowl play, while Nebraska was not so fortunate. 2011 Alabama has more in common with 2001 Nebraska than any of the 94-97 national championship teams. Didn't even win their own division, and yet they somehow stumble into the national championship game, which they didn't deserve. Imagine if 2001 Nebraska had to play 2011 LSU and helpless Jordan Jefferson for the national championship, instead of 2001 Miami, one of the best teams ever. Frank Solich might still be our head coach. 2009 Alabama is the only year they didn't have a mark on their record or require a tremendous stroke of luck to win a national championship. You could compare them to 1997 or 1994 Nebraska, but they weren't as dominant as '95, and they didn't play anyone as scary as that 1994 Miami team, with Ray Lewis and Warren Sapp.

Just don't do this ---> http://www.huskerboa...n-green-the-hat <--- and you should be fine. Apparently NU compliance got wind of that thread and reported it to the NCAA. Not sure what the end result was, but if I had to guess, a secondary violation. But what if God tells him to do just that?

I honestly think our skill position players on offense are good enough, with the exception of the turnovers. On the offensive line, I think we probably need to be 10-20% better than we were this year, and our backups need to be as good as our starting five was this year. And we need to eliminate penalties. On the defense... Our 2-deep needs to be so good that everyone who started this year (with the exception of Ciante Evans, Eric Martin, and Baker Steinkuhler) would be third string. Ciante would be a good nickelback or dimeback, instead of our best corner, and Eric Martin would be a situational player, instead of our best defensive end and the only guy who could get pressure on the QB. Baker would probably be second string. That's how far away I think we are on defense.

You may respect their competition more, but it's not like they came out unscathed. They lost to that competition. Nebraska went undefeated and nobody can say that Nebraska would've lost to those teams too... you just can't say that. I can just say that. Manziel and a bunch of young Aggies would demolish the 1994 Nebraska football team if they played today. It wouldn't even be close. But really you do make a good point. There is something to be said for NU not losing a single game during that period, and while they went undefeated they also, in my opinion, didn't play as good a competition as Alabama has but NU won those games like they should have...by a lot but then again Alabama's points for/against average is damn good too. I guess it comes down to how you want to measure it. There is not definitive way to determine which had/has the better dynasty. The answer to that question is going to vary from person to person. I'm comfortable just letting them stand how they are, saying that both were amazing sets of teams and sitting back to see how Alabama plays the next few years out. Warren Sapp, Ray Lewis, Peyton Manning, Danny Wuerfel (heisman winner), etc.... but you're right, Bama played waaaaaaaaaaaay better competition. *sarcasm* Peyton Manning doesn't hold a candle to Garrett Gilbert, Jordan Jefferson, and Everett Golson.

It's amazing how quickly people have forgotten just how good those Nebraska teams were. Modern-day Alabama is not on the same level. If you were to combine Oregon's offense and Alabama's defense - THAT was what Nebraska was like. The only reason Nebraska's defensive stats aren't as impressive as Alabama's is because the offense was so dominant that the reserves usually played most of the second half. Just looking at that Florida game - the Blackshirts gave up 10 points to an offense that was being called the greatest of all time, and then scored 9 of their own.

Tom Osborne vs. Nick Saban 1995: Nebraska 50, Michigan State 10 1996: Nebraska 55, Michigan State 14

The only reason we're having this discussion is because of Alabama's supposedly stronger competition - The only reason they had a chance to accomplish this feat was because people currently have such a hard-on for the SEC that they rematched Alabama and LSU in 2011 despite the fact that LSU had already beaten them. It's utterly ridiculous that people are even arguing about this. Nebraska was undefeated in each of its national championship seasons, Alabama had two losses. Nebraska only lost 2 games over the span of four years, Alabama lost 5. In 2011, the year of Alabama's second national championship, they didn't even win their own division, much less their own conference. In 2012, the only reason Alabama made it to the national title game was because Ohio State was banned. On top of that, Nebraska was a bad clipping call or a field goal away from another national championship in 1993, and they were arguably a flu bug away from playing for the national championship in 1996. At this point in time, Nebraska's run was objectively better.

Sipple said today that he has heard from frequent practice observers that Jonathan Rose will likely be the team's best cornerback next year. That means in our base defense, our starting CB's will likely be Ciante Evans and Jonathan Rose - and if Rose is really that good, that will be a formidable challenge for any team in the Big Ten. Against teams like UCLA and Northwestern, we'll likely need Green, Mitchell, and/or Jean-Baptiste to step up. I'm excited about Harvey Jackson and Charles Jackson at the safety spots - if they can learn the defense, I think they might already be stronger tacklers than Stafford and Smith were. I also saw Cooper on the field in the Capital One Bowl for the first time since non-conference season, I think. Did anybody see where he was? Was he playing in the dime, or were they using him as an outside linebacker? Or safety? Never saw him line up, just saw him around the ball a couple times. I'm also excited about the starting 5 on OL, which will probably be: RT: Sirles RG: Cotton C: Pensick LG: Long LT: Qvale However, we're really thin and unproven after that. I don't know if they need to change the way they practice, as some observers have said, but they really need to find a way to develop more depth. The schedule should also help with that - five of our first six games should be absolute blowouts, with the backups playing the whole fourth quarter, if not more. If the starters take care of business against Wyoming, Southern Miss, Illinois, Purdue, and Minnesota, they should be able to get some rest and the backups should be able to get a lot of experience early on in the year before we hit the grind at the end of the year (Northwestern, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Iowa).

I wouldnt be surprised one bit to see Armstrong give him a run at it. If anything Taylor will be that much better. From what I hear, Tommy is flat out jaw dropping, so much more balanced, and not nearly as raw a passer as Taylor was at that stage in his career. Tommy has to go after it though, not just sit back and wait for 2014 to coast into the starting job. He has to get after it now, like he wants to earn the job for 2013. That compeitiion will make both guys better. Tommy also has to have the maturity to understand if he does lose the battle to buck up, and not go running off to tranfer like some others have done lately. Thing is, I think Martinez will improve on his mechanics and decision-making again this offseason, and that will probably lead to fewer turnovers. And I think you're going to hear more stories about him stepping up as a leader during winter conditioning and spring drills. I think everybody can see how hungry he is out on the field, and I think that has to translate into the locker room and onto the practice field one way or another. It will be his team next year. That said, Armstrong needs to compete and be completely ready, because I don't know if we'll be lucky enough to have another full season without Taylor getting injured.

Here's the thing - Taylor's not wrong. Michigan State, Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin all had tougher defenses than Georgia's, in my opinion. Hell, even Iowa held us to 13 points.

1. He has to fix it with his players - hasn't done that yet. This is the first time he's been anywhere long enough for people to see what a program made up entirely of his recruits looks like, and while I think there are various positives (strong character, good academic standing, few off-the-field issues, explosive offense), the defense was horrendous this year. 2. He needs to do it in time to take advantage of a championship level offense (which we had this year, and which we should have again next year), and a vulnerable 2013 schedule.

What angers me about that whole situation is the spin put on by the commentators. The nerve of them guys to place the blame on Taylor for not getting out faster. What the hell. The SEC love fest and bias is out of control. I'm not defending the commentators, but I definitely saw their point. He was running hard, but than jogged it the last couple yards allowing the defender to catch up and make contact in bounds. If he keeps running he wouldn't of been hit or it would have been a penalty. Any defensive player worth his salt will put a legal hit on the QB every chance he gets. There were multiple dirty shots on Taylor at the end of that game. The commentators seemed to act like it wasn't even happening but so were the rest of our offense so to hell with it huh? If our own guys don't feel a sense of duty in protecting their QB and having each others backs then hel why should anyone else. That really rubbed me the wrong way. Where's the enforcers on this team? I guess we don't have one. Maybe next year well have some guys step up. I didn't think the hit on Taylor next to the sideline was dirty. The commentators were right in that Taylor slowed up, and the hit occurred before or just as Taylor went out of bounds. I also didn't think the hit was even that violent, but it looked worse than it did because Taylor was pushed in the same direction as he was moving, and slid into the bench. I thought the sack towards the end where the guy had Martinez in a headlock and spun him down was way more questionable, and possibly deserving of a flag - but I also know I'd be furious if Nebraska made a play like that and got flagged. My problem with that call is the feeling that we DO always get flagged on plays like that, and it seems like the opponent never does. I also feel like the commentators (and maybe Taylor's teammates) don't spend as much time "defending the QB," because Taylor seems perfectly capable of defending himself. After that interception yesterday when one of UGA's players decided to block Taylor hyper aggressively, most QB's would get abused in that situation, and the commentators would be calling for unnecessary roughness on a defenseless player. Taylor held his own, and instead the story became his toughness, rather than a penalty flag.

Haven't seen this... Can you link to an article?

Gotta say, I'm a little worried that giving up 45 points and 600 yards doesn't even warrant a message board meltdown anymore. Atrocious defensive performances have apparently become that routine.

Bo's been pretty good about evaluating and adjusting in the offseason. Several years ago, he took steps to make sure the offense improved, and look how well that has worked out. Last year, he took steps to improve player accountability and leadership, and I think the 6-game winning streak and the series of comebacks make it hard to argue that we didn't make progress in that department. Now, he needs to fix the defense. He did it once already, when he came in after 2007. Success next year will likely depend on whether or not the coaches put our young athletes on defense in a position to succeed. We talk all the time about adjusting your offensive scheme to fit your players' strengths - we need to see that on defense in order to get better immediately.

I'm surprised how many people are ripping on the O-line after today. I thought they were dominant until Sirles got hurt and Rodriguez came in. We need more depth on the O-line, but I was surprised how well they held up today.

Welp. Time to get back to work for next season.

Got straight up outcoached on that playcall.

fify amazing what a difference just one offensive lineman makes.

Arod.

Need a turnover.

Movin' the ball on the ground, then of course we go with two straight passes to put us in third and long.