Pelini, Nebraska have steep learning curve

[n.e.husker]

Bo Pelini’s offseason course load might be a little heavier than the rest of his Big Ten colleagues this year.

 

While the conference’s football coaches study Nebraska, Pelini and the Huskers have a new league to learn.

 

Pelini would familiarize himself with the new opponents on Nebraska’s schedule during the spring and summer months in recent years. He and his staff would spend a few weeks breaking down the personnel and tendencies of the teams the Huskers hadn’t faced the previous season.

 

Nebraska’s jump from the Big 12 to the Big Ten left the Huskers with a schedule overhaul. They know plenty about one opponent — Nebraska played Washington twice last season, throttling the Huskies in September before losing a rematch in the Holiday Bowl — and they’re trying to research the other 11 on their 2011 schedule.

 

“It’s a bit of a challenge,” Pelini said Tuesday during a Big Ten Legends Division teleconference. “It just really requires a little bit more work in the offseason. We’ve always gone ahead and looked at the new opponents on our schedule, and we’ve just got a few more to look at this season.

 

“Ultimately, we’re really trying to develop an idea of who they are, what their philosophies are, what they like to do, and then you get into a week where you’re getting ready to play that team and you dive into more specifics. Right now, it’s just familiarizing yourself with what’s coming up in the future.”

 

The upside to the conference change includes some new rivalries — Nebraska will play Iowa for the first in November, the first time the schools have met in 11 years — and new scenery for the Huskers.

 

http://hawkcentral.com/2011/04/12/pelini-nebraska-have-steep-learning-curve/

[knapplc]

Must EVERYONE refer to the Iowa/Nebraska game as a "rivalry?" It's like crying wolf. The oftener you use the phrase the less meaning it has.

[n.e.husker]

Must EVERYONE refer to the Iowa/Nebraska game as a "rivalry?" It's like crying wolf. The oftener you use the phrase the less meaning it has.

It is getting old, before the games have been played. Id like to assume that it will develop into a rivalry, but who knows, maybe Penn state or Michigan will develop into better rivalries for the skers.

[blasted_imposter]

I'm counting on immediate rival = penn st., given the guaranteed annual scrum, & they have the tradition and rabid fan base to compete annually, but they don't have to re-build defensively ala michigan....although I expect michigan to develop into a fantastic matchup down the road.

vs. iowa does feel contrived, and IMO under no condition is this manufactured "rivalry" anything but equivalent to KSU, or missouri, a team NU has no business losing to, but does occasionally. Once every decade or so.