bigg10

Nah. Nebraska's defense will be a revelation for you, apparently. And not a good one. If I am not mistaken, they both gave up the same amount of ppg last year. Then factor in there is no arguing Iowa played much more balanced teams. Finally I am not saying there were gashing holes, but if I remember right Nebraska was somewhat subject to the run. Iowa lost alot this year on D, but if you look back, we were actually a higher ranked and a better D BEFORE last years front 4 were even recruited. I am not positive but I think besides a couple years Iowa has been a top 20 D for about 10 years, and a top 10 many times.

You really think Nebraska can score 27 on one of the nations premire D's? I mean look it up, Iowa has had atleast the same D as you guys had last year, except we have been doing it for 10 or so years. You all gonna have to be pretty good on O to get 27 on Iowas D. Remember no one has beat Iowa by more than 7 in many years now. OH St cant get by with more than 3 the last two times we met. I am not saying Iowa is all that and a bag of chips, but they do show up, which is more than you can say for most of the B10. (Iowa does have a problem with losing the easy ones thou).

Yep and that is'nt even the best part!!

Please clarify why my fonts bother you? I am not yelling. Everyone is different and I am who I am. Plus, find in the guidelines that state anyone who are members had to use a certain font to make comments. Please let me know when you find it. Sorry you found my fonts to be rude. My advise would be not to read anything I have posted and I will return the favor right back at ya. Wow, take a hit and relax. I wasnt serious. Execept for the part about agreeing with you on the importance of a FB. Wowser!!!!!!

I think Direct TV has made massive amounts of money on this idea. Almost all fans I know of the B10 are direct tv. The major cable company in my area is still hurting because they would not get on board. Simply call your cable provider and tell them to look at the cable companies in Iowa, if they cant see what they need to do, then they deserve to get driven under. I get internet and Direct TV for less than the inlaws in Nebraska pay for cable, PLUS I get BTN.

Come on shellback, I was just about to forgive you for your insanely large font, due to the fact you brought up FB's the other day, and awhile back I said I suspected you all would be hearing Legates name more this year. But now I don't know.

Oh I like to stir it up a bit. I mean if we cant jab at each other once and awhile, it's no fun. As far as being legit, I dont know about that. Just a long time student of the game. But thanks, some of you guys are pretty alright to.

Thats right that 13 goes right next to Nebraska.

Sorry, but the "more dominant than Suh & Crick" bit is a little too strong a koolaid for me. Dude I am getting the impression, that the koolaid is a bit to strong for you.

[ and = and and for some . But in the end I think we are just waiting for the season to start.

Yeah we are not much for running qb's. They should be able to scramble but that's it. I have never looked it up, but I wonder how many running qb's make it thru without a fair amount of time missed due to injury. I would think it's a fairly low number. Besides, when you do that, it's alot of pressure on a qb, to carry the whole O and it's already a pretty high pressure position. Running is what 220 plus pound backs are for.

We don't like Bleacher Report because it's not a legitimate news site. There are tons, and I do literally mean tons, of articles that are all over Nebraska's stuff, if you catch my drift. We don't pay attention to those either. Some would say espn is'nt much of a news site either. If you only pay attention once a month or during the season maybe, but that's about it. Who said we like ESPN? The difference between the two is that we know ESPN is solely meant to be entertainment, it doesn't parade itself around as something different than that, and the people that can't realize that are, well, a little stupid. Secondly, the people that work for ESPN at least have some kind of resume or reputation or such that would make you assume that they have an, at worst, mediocre understanding of what they're covering. Good point, I think you give Adam more credit than he deserves. But you could be right, maybe he was a towel boy and has been around football for along time. As for the Tate comments, you have a point. As for espn loving you for being in the B10, they hate the B10. It might have something to do with the B10 network. I see now where they got Adam some help, hope that helps.

OSU will go as far as Braxton Miller (whenever he gets the starting job) takes them. He is a pass first qb but can run very well. Yeah I figured they would go more pro set with some experience behind a new qb. Hows his arm? I have not kept up with all thats happened over there. I hate that kind of news and just try and wait for it to get all settled first. Ya know it wasnt good, but how bad is the question. I am kind of excited to see t-mart this year. That first year is always rough on qb's and you can tell alot when they come back the second year how they will turn out. You guys ought to have a pretty good game (Nebraska/OH.) It will be weird if both teams try pro set more this year, and Mich says thats what they are going for, and I also read where Northwestern wants to try more rushing. Face it Mich and northwestern had to. I am not so sure either of you two have to, but with Bo's D approach it would work out best in the long run.

It's hard to give on point feedback without reading the article, but I'll give it a try. NU's DL is considered to be exceptional at the 1st team level with solid experience in the 2nd team. Additionally, the interior legitimately has potential talent at the 3rd and 4th team levels. That makes this the deepest position on the team and the deepest it's been in some years. NU's secondary lost 3 starters off the team from last year. Most of the time that means we'd only be returning 1 starter, but a lot of writers miss the fact that NU played with 5 or 6 DB's on the field for most of the year. And there's a ton of potential talent in the secondary with a few having solid experience.So the moral of my story is that while NU's DL is indeed deeper than the secondary, it's not that the secondary is a problem but more that the DL is just that strong. See now that (the bold) is what I saw, not a big drop off. But I do not have enough game tape to look and see what the guys taking over in the secondary, play like or their skill set, but if I recall they had some game time experience. Maybe the writer I was refering to, was just pointing out, that could be the weakest part of Nebraska D. I have been reading him for along time and he is good, but I started to wonder if I missed something or if he was off. We have some talent in our secondary, but the backups are unproven. However, assuming that we will be in a 4-3 base, we return 3 starters in the secondary, and Ciante Evans will likely take over the starting cornerback spot. As a freshman last year, he stepped up big time in some key moments and made some plays. I don't think anybody is particularly concerned with our depth in the secondary or on the defensive line. Depth at linebacker is a bit more of a question - our starting 3 should be good, but no one really knows who's behind them. The key with Nebraska's defense, and the source of the fans' confidence, is the unfailing belief in our coaches' ability to develop players. It took them one year to turn Ndamukong Suh from a nobody in the Callahan era into a Heisman trophy candidate at defensive tackle. They took linebackers like Phil Dillard who weren't contributing at all and turned them into NFL players. They've churned out a flood of defensive backs over the past several years. In 2007, Nebraska had the worst defense in the country. Pelini was hired, and in 2009, Nebraska was the #1 ranked defense in the country. Yeah Knap and I were talking about LB's, I didnt come up with any teams that depth wasnt atleast some what of a concern. Whats amazing is the large drop between 1 and 2 spot in that position for most teams. Bo is good at putting together talent. I just hope you all are not to hard on him, with expectations and all. He has a good D put together, now to keep recruiting to keep that D shored up, plus getting some O in there might take a few years, but he is a good coach and will get it done.

I wont argue that with you. I do know several players at Iowa are fairly smart and serious about their ed, but overall yes you are 100% right.

I get the impression bigg10 is saying Iowa belongs among the all-time greats. Today, yes. All-time, no. I certainly agree with you that Ferentz has your Hawkeyes looking like a worthy opponent on a yearly basis. Hopefully he's beginning to build something lasting in Iowa City. You cannot have too many good teams in your conference. I won't walk into that Black Friday game without concern. Iowa is a team that can beat anyone on its schedule. But I still expect to win that game. And I think you guys should expect that, too. Knap, I am sorry that was not what I was saying or trying to. He explained it very well how I feel about it, he just did it nicely. I on the other hand was trying to use numbers and such as that's kind of my thing and what I do alot of this time of year, while going thru last years games. I apoligize for the misunderstanding. But since I am here I will share another number or stat that I come across. Remember how last year Iowa was, just crappy. I mean I am a fan, but how do you come up with an excuse for a season where you were mentioned as a NC contender (way early) and end up 8 and 5 WITH a bowl win. I mean everybody could see on TV Iowa's D was just gassed come the 4th quater, I think I remember the announcer's even saying it. All the fans, including myself were just pissed off to no end. You could see the team just gave up and all eyes were on KF. I mean come on we lost to MN, the fricking Gophers. Like someone said about your past D you once had all the pieces were there, we expected way better, everyone in the country expected better out of us. Now this is the numbers I wanted to give to you. If my eyes did'nt fail me (and they do now and again). Nebraska played 14 games last year and you all know you got a rock solid D. In those 14 games you gave up 243 points (you can argue giving up or scheduals or even conf strength if ya want but that's been done to death). Iowa played 13 games and gave up 221.

It's hard to give on point feedback without reading the article, but I'll give it a try. NU's DL is considered to be exceptional at the 1st team level with solid experience in the 2nd team. Additionally, the interior legitimately has potential talent at the 3rd and 4th team levels. That makes this the deepest position on the team and the deepest it's been in some years. NU's secondary lost 3 starters off the team from last year. Most of the time that means we'd only be returning 1 starter, but a lot of writers miss the fact that NU played with 5 or 6 DB's on the field for most of the year. And there's a ton of potential talent in the secondary with a few having solid experience.So the moral of my story is that while NU's DL is indeed deeper than the secondary, it's not that the secondary is a problem but more that the DL is just that strong. See now that (the bold) is what I saw, not a big drop off. But I do not have enough game tape to look and see what the guys taking over in the secondary, play like or their skill set, but if I recall they had some game time experience. Maybe the writer I was refering to, was just pointing out, that could be the weakest part of Nebraska D. I have been reading him for along time and he is good, but I started to wonder if I missed something or if he was off.

[This is the difference between a solid football program who had a decent decade (Iowa), and a GREAT program who is a consistent, dominating winner, NEBRASKA. Before I even pull up any numbers, I will say you do know that back in the day, B10 teams were only allowed to play in the Rose bowl, right? One big 10 team played post season for a very long time (9 game seasons, 10 with the Rose)). I think in the 60's they might have added a game to make it a 10 game season.

But you're not a top 15 program for the 00s, you're #22. Your rank at #15 is that arbitrary three-year range that means nothing. That's the problem with Iowa Football - up, down, up, down, up, down, up, down - it's like a roller coaster. 70s - 48th 80s - 26th 90s - 37th 00s - 22nd 10s - ?? I can say with reasonable confidence that, even with Ohio State's impending troubles, that they will almost certainly rank higher for this decade than Iowa. Why? Because they have the funds, the boosters, the fan support and the history that will keep recruits coming back. That's a huge advantage that a program like Ohio State has that an Iowa doesn't. Same reason Nebraska won so many recruiting battles against Missouri, even when the kids were from Missouri. Sure, Missouri would produce a decent team here and there, but when you go on a recruiting trip to Missouri you're not going to be shown the National Championship Trophy Room, or the Heisman Room, or anything like it. There's a certain cachet that some programs have and some don't. OSU has it. Nebraska has it. Michigan, downtrodden though they are at the moment, has it. If you're a betting man and someone offers you a bet on who will win the National Championship first, Iowa or Michigan, take Michigan. Take Ohio State. Take Nebraska. You're being a blind homer if you take the Hawkeyes. I agree that those things do have their advantages. As far as money, Ia is right up there. As far as sending them to the pros, Ia is right up there, as far as education Ia is right up there. In the end that matters more than weather a school won every game from 1940 to 1970, these kids were not even born yet, but as the numbers show during their life times Iowa's name has been out there. Maybe not a house hold name like Nebraska or OH St, but out there quite a bit. IF I was a betting man, I would take Iowa with a NC before OH St or Mich. Mich has several years to go before they will be back. OH St is going to get the ban hammer and face it kids dont want to go if they cant play in the BT ccg or post season. As for Nebraska I said it along time ago in another post, Iowa and Nebraska are in a race to the top. Which one gets there first is anyones guess.

I did clear back to the 70's Knap to show that from 1970 Iowa went from barely making a top 50 program to now being in the top 15. I agree Iowa very well could have dropped those games. Point about the field goals is, you all remember the "1 second" now you know that game could have gone either way, then imagine if TX had been found breaking the rules during that time, yet some TX fan wants to talk smack to you. Face it OH St was not all that and a bag of chips anyway. Yes they have won more in the past, but their future does not look bright. Any more recruits bail today?? The numbers show Nebraksa has slide, yet I have faith they wont need to cheat to get back to their former selfs. Bo has it going on, he just needs a few more recruiting classes to get some O in there. Edit. Another number to futher show my point is from 1894 to 1969 Wiskey was 30-17-1 over Iowa From 1970 to today they are 12-26-1. I cant pull up the numbers right now, but Oh St holds a sizeable all time against Wiskey, yet over the last ten years Oh St has stuggled with Wiskey.

You want to talk about another team, ok lets do that. How about Wiskey? I'll start, I dont think they lost the best of their backfield when Clay left. I know he had more carries, but was the elder also. I think Ball is a better RB and will show that this year. Come on now, messageboard 101, that's called "off-topic". If you want to talk about Wisconsin, start a new thread! Point taken. I was reading something last night that was written by an outsider to the B10. It said Iowas O line is legit 7 deep (good enough to sustain a few injuries with no drop off). It also said Nebraska's D is legit deep, it did not say how much, but it made mention it's deeper upfront than in the secondary. I know you all are very good at shutting down the pass, so I am wondering if there is any truth to that? Is there a big drop from secondary starters to 2nd string? I went thru the numbers, I didnt see a huge drop, yes I thought there could be some if a player or two got injured back there but I found it wierd that this was pointed out so much in what I was reading.

This is the difference between a successful program's fans and an average program's fans. An Ohio State fan has every reason to expect to beat every team he plays. Sure, some games they should anticipate will be harder than others, but if you don't have confidence that OSU will beat Iowa every time they play, OSU has a major problem. OSU is 33-6-1 vs Iowa in the past forty years, if I did my research right, and 45-14-3 all time. With a lopsided history like that, Iowa wins can best be described as, "even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes." Or the difference between a realist and someone with blinders on. Sure the all time series says alot. But I got one for you to look at, Most winning percent. We all KNOW OH and Nebraska should be right up there right? I mean they are old school power houses and won many games in the day. 1970-2010 #1 Nebraska #2 OH St #48 Iowa 1980-2010 #1 Nebraska #4 OH St #26 Iowa 1990-2010 #2 OH St #4 Nebraska #37 Iowa 2000 -2010 #4 OH St #18 Nebraska Tied at #22 Iowa 2005-2010 Tied at 2nd OH st 25th Nebraska tied at 30th Iowa 2008-2010 Tied at 4th OH St Tied at 14th Iowa 19th Nebraska Now imagine if Iowa had beaten OH St in 09 and 10 OR imagine if the B10 takes those wins away for getting caught running a shady program. That would mean in 09 OH ST should have never been B10 champs but rather Iowa and Iowa goes to the Rose. As a OH St fan that "expects" to beat Iowa, you must be proud, you had to run a shady program to beat us by a field goal (one in OT), two years straight? I mean a field goal each time, it shouldnt be hard to imagine the W turning into a L. Basically 1 ball that got dropped turned into a catch. So basically all three are top 20 teams. Infact since 08 Iowa and OH St are top 15. When you get down to the top 20 teams you know as well as I do anything can happen. Who has home field, heck even wind in a stadium can influence a game. So as an Iowa fan, I will say I dont think Nebraksa or OH St have much room for chest beating. And if you think you do, ya better start making room for more chest beaters. Now onto non chest beating football talk. With TP gone, do you expect OH St to run the ball more? I think you have some talent at RB, no more TP and a less experienced qb now. Mabey back to a more "pro set"?

Jaws, I know your OH fan, but to say you expect a W over Iowa, makes you sound like a homer. WE have met twice in the last 4 years. The 09 game was Vandy's first start ever, we took it to OT, and we were the second highest scoring team on you that year with 24 points, behind Navy who put 27 on you. 2009 final 27-24 in OT. In 2010, Again you beat us by a field goal and Iowa held you to your lowest scoring game that year @ 20. 2010 final 20-17. So if you EXPECT a win over Iowa, you are not paying attention. Infact, I would suspect other stats would show Iowa has been your toughest comp for awhile now. I know Northwestern gave you some close ones in there as well. Yes OH ST is good, I am not saying that. I am saying it's not like your leaps and bounds above a few other B10 teams and yes that now includes Nebraska.

You want to talk about another team, ok lets do that. How about Wiskey? I'll start, I dont think they lost the best of their backfield when Clay left. I know he had more carries, but was the elder also. I think Ball is a better RB and will show that this year.

We don't like Bleacher Report because it's not a legitimate news site. There are tons, and I do literally mean tons, of articles that are all over Nebraska's stuff, if you catch my drift. We don't pay attention to those either. Some would say espn is'nt much of a news site either. If you only pay attention once a month or during the season maybe, but that's about it.