Nebraska vs. USC "Reserves"

[I Bleed RED]

Being a national contender is a "pipe dream"? That's the biggest load of crap i've ever heard. Last year we were out-manned in 4 games (USC, Texas, Oklahoma, Auburn). I feel as if USC could have been closer with a different game plan, we should have beat texas, statistically we beat oklahoma and auburn. We have the weapons. I think our defensive game plan always seems to be off, but offensively, i feel like we are ready to compete. Even against USC this year, we were able to move the ball with the passing game. I feel like our offensive line could use some "muscle". We keep getting top recruits, but callahan keeps playing the players who have been here for 3 years. Big-time teams often use their freshmen just to see what they can do, but we rarely use ours in extended minutes. Also, i feel like calling us "mediocre" is an overstatement. Out of the 119 teams, we're in the top 20! Thats hardly mediocre. As far as ranked teams, maybe we are, but I laugh when i hear about teams having their "first 4-0 start in 20 years", or their "first bowl appearance in 10 years". These events are commonplace in Nebraska, save for a few of the last 40 seasons. I think we're still among the top 20 teams, but maybe we aren't ready for another national title, but thats okay. Only one team is able to win a national championship and i don't think its the end of the world that we're not that team. Fans in the 1990's were spoiled! Thanks for the debate! I just wish everyone would keep the faith and continue to support the team!!

 

Well, OU beat us easily in the BIG 12 championship. We couldn't score. The issue is we used to win 10 games every year and we only played 12-13 total. Auburn was mediocre anyway and don't forget us getting embarrassed by OK St. That is pathetic! We haven't finished in the top 20 and I have serious doubts about doing it this year unless our run defense improves. We need 10 wins to make the top 20 and that might be tough. We are mediocre. 5 losses a year is mediocre.

[Sugalean]

On the DBs late in the game...

 

They (USC) did some shuffling around with DBs late in the game but we must remember that they came in with injuries at those spots so they couldn't platoon as much.

 

It seemed to me that once Keller was afforded some time to throw, the passing game improved. However, when the starters were in up front and at LBs... NU was nowhere as successful.

[kgraham7]

That may be the case, but there are 90+ other teams in the country that would love to be "mediocre". I thought i could come on here and have a friendly discussion, but you guys are intent on thinking we suck. It is becoming more and more apparent to me that i am an incredible Nebraska fan. Through thick and thin. Win or lose, i'm there! Do whatever you want, i'll be at every game, cheering on the team AND the coaches. GO HUSKERS!!

[I Bleed RED]

That may be the case, but there are 90+ other teams in the country that would love to be "mediocre". I thought i could come on here and have a friendly discussion, but you guys are intent on thinking we suck. It is becoming more and more apparent to me that i am an incredible Nebraska fan. Through thick and thin. Win or lose, i'm there! Do whatever you want, i'll be at every game, cheering on the team AND the coaches. GO HUSKERS!!

 

I will be at every game also and nobody said "sucked" we want better and we were promised it. And if 90 schools rather be us then 27 wouldn't. I don't want to be ranked 28th at NU. That is what Kansas fan would be excited about.

[Glendower]

That may be the case, but there are 90+ other teams in the country that would love to be "mediocre". I thought i could come on here and have a friendly discussion, but you guys are intent on thinking we suck. It is becoming more and more apparent to me that i am an incredible Nebraska fan. Through thick and thin. Win or lose, i'm there! Do whatever you want, i'll be at every game, cheering on the team AND the coaches. GO HUSKERS!!

 

Fan != sucking up. No one is saying not to cheer, there are a few (or only one) call to not buy the game on PPV. There have been no suggestions of burning our husker gear, buying K-State gear, or anything like that. Yeesh. I'm glad that you're proud to be a Husker, so am I, but I think we're in a bad spot right now. I think it's just as Fannish to be upset when the team does badly as it is to cheer at a game under all cirucmstances. If we weren't fans, why would we be upset if they did poorly? We're not making fun or being cruel about it.

 

Just keep patting yourself on the back, fella.

[I Bleed RED]

That may be the case, but there are 90+ other teams in the country that would love to be "mediocre". I thought i could come on here and have a friendly discussion, but you guys are intent on thinking we suck. It is becoming more and more apparent to me that i am an incredible Nebraska fan. Through thick and thin. Win or lose, i'm there! Do whatever you want, i'll be at every game, cheering on the team AND the coaches. GO HUSKERS!!

 

Fan != sucking up. No one is saying not to cheer, there are a few (or only one) call to not buy the game on PPV. There have been no suggestions of burning our husker gear, buying K-State gear, or anything like that. Yeesh. I'm glad that you're proud to be a Husker, so am I, but I think we're in a bad spot right now. I think it's just as Fannish to be upset when the team does badly as it is to cheer at a game under all cirucmstances. If we weren't fans, why would we be upset if they did poorly? We're not making fun or being cruel about it.

 

Just keep patting yourself on the back, fella.

He can't. Everyone is using both hands to pat BC on the back.

[kgraham7]

True fans would believe in the team we have instead of bashing it and waiting around for a better one!

[robsker]

I'm willing to bet that most...if not all...of USC's "reserves" would start for a majority of the Big 12 schooles...

 

 

I would go further. The USC reserves would, if they practiced together and were all the starters, would be a top 10 team. Those same reserves will be starters in 1 -2 years and themn they will be a top 3 team. There are no scrubs at USC. My guess is that the second teamers have a rivals average of well over 4 stars (likely 2/3 4 star and 1/3 5 star players).

 

 

 

That the Huskers offense was productive against a mixture of reserves and starters in the 4th quarter was and is promising.

[Glendower]

True fans would believe in the team we have instead of bashing it and waiting around for a better one!

 

What does "believing in the team" look like? I hope we can win every week, I cheer, I jump, I stomp, I yell. But when we lose, I like to talk about why. Right now, it seems to be more systemic and not a bad break here or there. What do you do differently besides refuse to accept reasonable criticism? Do you believe we won last week or do wins and losses not matter to True Fans™?

 

I'm not trying to bash you personally at all. I dig anyone who gets into the game and has a nice time-- then again, I'm not the one saying that I'm the best fan in the world and that people who aren't like me are Bad or poorer fans than I. I think it's worse to be divisive and start labeling people as true fans vs. not true fans. Here, we're all fans but with different opinions on myriad topics... and USCtradition.

[noenwolf]

I truly believe the team sucked and was bashed by a better one!

[HSKRNOKC]

I get what your saying. Right now there are way more nay sayers than people with optimism because we went to the measuring stick and couldnt come close to stacking up.

 

Does this mean we suck????? Not in my opinion. We arent nearly as good as I would like but we arent garbage either.

 

Dont take all the negativity personally. Its coming out of the wood work this week.

[robsker]

Being a national contender is a "pipe dream"? That's the biggest load of crap i've ever heard. Last year we were out-manned in 4 games (USC, Texas, Oklahoma, Auburn). I feel as if USC could have been closer with a different game plan, we should have beat texas, statistically we beat oklahoma and auburn. We have the weapons. I think our defensive game plan always seems to be off, but offensively, i feel like we are ready to compete. Even against USC this year, we were able to move the ball with the passing game. I feel like our offensive line could use some "muscle". We keep getting top recruits, but callahan keeps playing the players who have been here for 3 years. Big-time teams often use their freshmen just to see what they can do, but we rarely use ours in extended minutes. Also, i feel like calling us "mediocre" is an overstatement. Out of the 119 teams, we're in the top 20! Thats hardly mediocre. As far as ranked teams, maybe we are, but I laugh when i hear about teams having their "first 4-0 start in 20 years", or their "first bowl appearance in 10 years". These events are commonplace in Nebraska, save for a few of the last 40 seasons. I think we're still among the top 20 teams, but maybe we aren't ready for another national title, but thats okay. Only one team is able to win a national championship and i don't think its the end of the world that we're not that team. Fans in the 1990's were spoiled! Thanks for the debate! I just wish everyone would keep the faith and continue to support the team!!

 

 

I believe that you and Tuz actually agree. Tuz is saying what you are saying --- the players and the talent are likely there. But the coaching is not. Tuz and I (sorry if I am incorrectly speaking for you Tuz) are similar, I think, in that we both love the Huskers and both will continue to root for and support them --- but some of the joy in so doing is removed because of a perceived (and, I think anyway, REAL) sense of hopelessness with this coaching staff.

 

I know for me that winning titles is not so big a deal. You are right that only one team wins and we (or anyone else for that matter) can rarely be that team. And yes we were spoiled in the 1990s. My problem is a team that is ill prepared with poor fundamentals with predictable offensive schemes and weak defensive schemes --- a team that is not physical, does not hustle (at least like the teams of old), and does not seem to take systemic moves to improve. Now, this I will grant --- the team still has some heart and a no quit attitude. But, this coaching staff has problems --- they may improve, and man they need to. Will they, I fear not. I fear we have seen all that they have.

[kgraham7]

I apologize if i come off as conceited. That was not my intention at all. After the USC loss, I've just heard so much negative about our team's future and hardly any positive. I've even heard predictions of Ball State beating us. Two weeks ago, this was going to be a cupcake game. I still feel like we have the ability to be contenders, but Callahan's subsitutions and play calling are so sporadic and most of the time i have no idea what Cosgrove is thinking. Thanks for your posts!

[HSKRNOKC]

I apologize if i come off as conceited. That was not my intention at all. After the USC loss, I've just heard so much negative about our team's future and hardly any positive. I've even heard predictions of Ball State beating us. Two weeks ago, this was going to be a cupcake game. I still feel like we have the ability to be contenders, but Callahan's subsitutions and play calling are so sporadic and most of the time i have no idea what Cosgrove is thinking. Thanks for your posts!

 

 

Thanks for trying to be optimistic. With all the doom and gloom around here it is refreshing.

[Glendower]

I apologize if i come off as conceited. That was not my intention at all. After the USC loss, I've just heard so much negative about our team's future and hardly any positive. I've even heard predictions of Ball State beating us. Two weeks ago, this was going to be a cupcake game. I still feel like we have the ability to be contenders, but Callahan's subsitutions and play calling are so sporadic and most of the time i have no idea what Cosgrove is thinking. Thanks for your posts!

 

Heh, I think that Cally's offense is looking pretty decent, they just aren't dominant enough to function well in conjunction with an ineffectual defense. In one thread, and I wish I could recall who it was off the top of my head, someone asked if the offense had kept it close the entire game, would we be complaining about the defense? I thought that was a really good question and I didn't have a good or even a smart-assed answer for it beyond "That's a good question." I think that a really great offense can make a bad defense invisible. I don't think that we would have been complaining that they hung 49 (or however many points they would have put on us had the game remained close because of the offense) if we had a "quality loss" or a win. I was at the KU game last year (and couldn't talk the next day... that was exciting). We did win, but it was frighteningly close. In *that* game, I think it was okay to complain about the defense because the game shouldn't have been close.

 

I don't think we'll lose to Ball State, but I also don't think they ought to be able to score much at all against us, but there is a chance that we will (but they probably won't be able to stop our offense, either). If we do hold their offense to 3-and-out most of the time, that will be a good sign. But if they move the ball a lot and we still win, I think it's still legit to complain about the defense if a team that shouldn't move the ball does. Am I making much sense here?

 

Well, anyway, I know what you were saying-- sometimes it can look like too much criticism can come off as hate, and that is definitely not the case!