Early expectations for this year.

[Saunders]

The problem with predicting the upcoming season is, we don't know from game to game - sometimes half to half or quarter to quarter - which Husker team will show up. There isn't a single team on this schedule we can sleep on. We've seen what happens when Husker teams get all big in their heads thinking they've won the game by walking onto the field (ISU 2009, Texas 2010, Washington 2.0, 2010, Northwestern, 2011 and nearly Fresno State 2011).

 

Under Bo these Husker teams seem to consistently underestimate their opponent. It's happened too often, too consistently to think this problem will magically disappear this year. If so, great. But I certainly don't expect it.

 

With that, here's my all-too-early prediction for 2012:

 

 

Southern Miss - Our opener, against a team that finished 12-2 and won their bowl game (Hawaii Bowl vs. Nevada). IMO we stand a very good chance of losing this game. We tend to start slowly out of the gate, and last year's finish doesn't bode well for this year's opener. There is zero reason to believe we'll dominate this team, and more reasons to think we'll be in a four-quarter battle than not. This is the game where Rex's Senior Leadership and Martinez' two years as a starter will HAVE TO show up. Tossup.

 

@ UCLA - I give this a 50/50 chance of winning or losing. This is not an untalented UCLA team. While they will be retooling under Jim Mora, Mora isn't a first-time Head Coach. He knows how to prepare teams and I think he'll have the Bruins ready to play. Prince is a pocket passer, so this could bode well, but will Bo blitz the guy? He seems to hate blitzing. We'll see. Tossup.

 

Arkansas St. - This figures to be a very different Arkie State team than we faced in 2010 when we won the Sun Belt Championship. Yet another new coach, Gus Malzahn, heads the Wolfpack, and any old film we may have will be worthless. This was a 10-3 club last year, but they played an exceedingly weak schedule. Still, with our propensity to blow off opponents, this is hardly a guaranteed win. Just a likely Win.

 

Idaho State - Another week, another new head coach. The easiest game on our schedule, and the most likely win. Sure, it's a possible trap game, but this opponent will not trap us - we'll have to trap ourselves. Even if we're unprepared, we'll beat these guys. Win.

 

Wisconsin - No Russell Wilson, but Montee Ball and their O Line returns, meaning we're going to be battling in the trenches all game against a team that has more than proven the ability to reload. Further, we have more than proven that we are NOT solid along either line, ever since the departure of Suh. Their latest Merc QB is a pocket-passer, which bodes well. It's at home, so that bodes well. But their strength is our weakness, and that most definitely does not bode well. I can't predict a win here. Tossup.

 

@ Ohio State - The fifth out of six teams with a new head coach, but this one's different. Urban Meyer brings his wealth of coaching acumen to C-Bus and this does not look like a win. Solid Coach. Mobile Quarterback. Night game, on the road, at The Shoe. A team that is thirsty for vengeance after the Comeback of 2011. Yeah, this is a loss. I would love to be proven wrong, but... I've watched too many Husker games of late to think we'll win this one. Loss.

 

@ Northwestern - Wouldn't it be great if simply wanting to avenge a loss meant a win for Nebraska? I'd love to predict a win here, but not only did Northwestern outplay us last year, their coaching staff thoroughly out-coached ours last year. Even one of Taylor Martinez' best games of his career couldn't pull out a win, and there's no reason to believe we'll be able to return the upset win on the road in Evanston this year. No way I can predict a win here. Not after 2010 Texas. Tossup.

 

Michigan - Denard Robinson returns. Hoke returns, and he's got a couple of top-tier recruiting classes up his sleeve as well. While Shoelace tends to play poorly away from The Big House, and while we've poached Rick Kaczenski from Iowa (whose D Line has stymied Robinson the past two years), who knows if Bo is going to change up his scheme to allow whatever magic Kaczenski has going to work here. Nebraska was dispirited and allowed several mistakes to compound on themselves last year, which led to the blowout loss. But with the talent we lose, will home-cooking and a new scheme (possibly) on Defense be enough to flip last season's results? How can you possibly say it will? Again, no way to predict a win here. Loss.

 

@ Michigan State - No Kirk Cousins, not one single starter who caught a pass from Cousins, returns - and that includes his star Tight Ends. This is a team that figures to take a major step back offensively in 2012. However, they return eight of eleven starters from an impressive 2011 defense. This will not be an easy game, and if we win, it'll be by the slimmest of margins. Our defense MUST show up to play in this game. Any slipups, at all, and we're looking at a rerun of the Capitol One Bowl vs. South Carolina. The exact same game. Tossup.

 

Penn State - Stop me if you've heard this before, but we're facing a PSU team breaking in a new head coach. That makes six out of our first ten opponents who will be sporting new coaches/coaching staffs this year. In Penn State's case, I'm not sure it will be a factor. The Nittany Lions are replacing 80% of their Offensive Line and 50% of their Defensive Line. However, this is the sixth and final game of a fearsome stretch during which we figure to face four out of five opponents ranked in the top 25. Much like Sparty when they visited Lincoln last year, you have to wonder how much gas will be left in the tank when we host Penn State. Again, cannot predict a win here, based on all factors. Tossup.

 

Minnesota - I'll predict a win here. Yes, Jerry Kill returns for his second season, and yes MarQueis Gray is a mobile quarterback. Minnesota is not on par with any of our previous six opponents, but by this time we could, legitimately, have four or five conference losses. What will we have left in the tank? All things considered, we should beat Minnesota despite our struggles with mobile QBs. But the same could be said about Fresno State last year, and we don't have the horses on defense we had in 2011. Tossup.

 

@ Iowa - There's just something about Iowa that makes me think we're not losing to them, not for a long time to come. Even as battered and bruised as we should be by this time in the season, even playing in Iowa City, even with the Hawkeyes' traditionally stout defense, I don't see us losing to Vandenberg and his depleted Offensive Line (both Tackles gone, and a Guard). McNutt is gone, as is Shaun Prater in their secondary. 2011 wasn't particularly kind to Iowa Fan despite what amounted to the easiest schedule in the Legends division, and I don't think 2012 is going to be any better. I'm calling this a Win.

 

Big Ten Championship - I sincerely doubt we vie for the Legends Division crown this year. Michigan seems to be the odds-on favorite, and our meat-grinder schedule will preclude any chance that we'll compete for the title. I'd love to be wrong. I doubt I am.

 

 

So there you have it. From one of the biggest Sunshine Pumpers on HuskerBoard, I'm predicting three sure wins, seven games that are legitimate tossups, and two certain losses. No conference championship, no Legends championship, and I don't think that's overly pessimistic - just a reality based on recent performance, and taking stock of what we've lost to graduation and what we've brought in through recent recruiting classes. Combine that with some very baffling lack of impactful growth from some touted recruits in years past and the overall difficulty of our schedule, and I very honestly think this will be the toughest year under Bo Pelini yet.

See, at least you post something to support your claim. Don't entirely agree with everything, but I'll rebut later when I have more time.

[Moiraine]

As others have pointed out you got a lot of wrong info here..

 

but to the point that we don't have enough on the lines to be a CC team -

 

we were 1 game away from the CCG last year - one game playing the toughest schedule in the conference. We had to play At Penn State, At Wisconsin and against Ohio State. We won 2 of 3. Michigan State got to play Indiana at home and Michigan got to play both Purdue and Illinois one at home and one away.

 

We scrambled a bit on the D-Line last year to replace Crick and due to that our DL is actually deeper this year than last - not to mention we get a couple redshirt freshmen into the mix that weren't available last year in Williams and Peat that should add a bit more depth in the middle.

 

Offensively our line is also deeper and more experianced this year against the BIG type of defense with the possible exception of center.

 

On Defense we lost no rotational linemen out of 10 (I don't count Crick who was missing most of the real season anyways)

We return Ankrah, Martin, Carter, Meredith, Williams, Rome, Guy, Moore, Steinkuhler and Randle from the rotation (10 of 10 rotational linemen)

We add Todd Peat jr. and Kevin Williams who redshirted last season.

So last year we had 10 rotational defensive linemen, this year we return all 10 and could have 11 or 12 and possibly more available depending on some of the sophmores.

 

on the offensive side

We lost Hardrick, Jones and Caputo (3 of 11 rotational linemen)

and bring back Sirles, Rodriguez, Choi, Pensick, Long, Qvale, Thompson and Moore (8 of 11 rotational linemen)

and add Klachko, Long, Moudy, Givens, Reeves and Sterup who all redshirted last season and we'll see how Mark Pelini does at center.

Last year we had 11 linemen in the rotation, we may have as many as 13 or 14 this season.

 

 

Are we young in some of our depth? yes. But we're still far deeper on both lines and possibly more talented overall than we were last season on both sides and there was actually a lot of improvement as the year went along on the offensive line last year as our new staff members started taking over and I expect big improvement on the defensive side as well with our new d-line coach.

But Michigan plays that same easy schedule this year. So that's not something we expect to change.

 

Our OL is deeper? Are you using the same logic that led us to believe our DL was deep last year? That logic being "potential" and "should be".

 

 

Huh?

 

"This" year Michigan plays Alabama, Nebraska, Notre Dame & Ohio State on the road. Purdue on the road may not be a cakewalk also. Iowa, Michigan State & Air Force even at the Big House are no creampuffs either.

 

Their schedule is wayyyyyyyy more difficult than last year.

I believe he was referring to conference schedule, since the post before his mentioned the CCG.

[kchusker_chris]

 

Wisconsin - they've proven the last few years they are good for 10-11 wins. Replacing a QB does not seem to be an issue for them, as they do it yearly. They don't rely on their QB to be spectacular either - and it's much easier to find a QB that fits their mold than it is to find one that fits ours. Also, that guy named Monte Ball is back, maybe you've heard of him?

 

Not arguing with you, I just noticed that you can do the following.

 

Nebraska - they've proven the last few years they are good for 9-10 wins. Replacing a QB does not seem to be an issue for them, TM is returning. They don't rely on their QB to be spectacular either - and it's much easier to find a QB that fits their mold than it is to find one that fits ours . Also, that guy named Rex Burkhead is back, maybe you've heard of him?

Since we replaced TM so easily in 10'? I agree we are good for 9-10. While Rex is the man, he's not going to put up 35+ TDs for us though. We do require our QB to do a lot more than Wisconsin because of that. Wilson would not have been as successful in our offense. He distributed the ball for them...he'd have to do a lot more here.

[kchusker_chris]

Huh?

 

"This" year Michigan plays Alabama, Nebraska, Notre Dame & Ohio State on the road. Purdue on the road may not be a cakewalk also. Iowa, Michigan State & Air Force even at the Big House are no creampuffs either.

 

Their schedule is wayyyyyyyy more difficult than last year.

I believe he was referring to conference schedule, since the post before his mentioned the CCG.

Yeah this. They get Purdue, Illinois, Minnesota, Northwestern - bottom tier B1G schools. Iowa at home, MSU at home. Away to Nebraska, a team they beat by 30ish last year. That's set up very nicely for 6-7 wins before losing to Ohio State. 7-1 is very likely. They play the same teams this year as last year.

 

We on the other hand get Minnesota, and Northwestern in the bottom tier of the B1G. Then Wisconsin, Ohio State, Michigan, MSU, Penn State, and Iowa (road game). We play the entire top half of the B1G. You can't tell me that Purdue/Illinois are tougher opponents than Penn State/Wisconsin.

 

Michigan has things set up very nicely for it again this year. Their likely challenger to the Legends, MSU...they get at home. I see Michigan walking away with it, and MSU and Nebraska both finishing with 3 losses...with Nebraska holding the tie breaker over MSU for 2nd.

[mrandyk]

9 wins at most. This defense is probably going to be pretty bad, especially compared to the last few years. Even less excited for this season than I was for the last one. I just don't expect too much from this group.

[bshirt]

Huh?

 

"This" year Michigan plays Alabama, Nebraska, Notre Dame & Ohio State on the road. Purdue on the road may not be a cakewalk also. Iowa, Michigan State & Air Force even at the Big House are no creampuffs either.

 

Their schedule is wayyyyyyyy more difficult than last year.

I believe he was referring to conference schedule, since the post before his mentioned the CCG.

Yeah this. They get Purdue, Illinois, Minnesota, Northwestern - bottom tier B1G schools. Iowa at home, MSU at home. Away to Nebraska, a team they beat by 30ish last year. That's set up very nicely for 6-7 wins before losing to Ohio State. 7-1 is very likely. They play the same teams this year as last year.

 

We on the other hand get Minnesota, and Northwestern in the bottom tier of the B1G. Then Wisconsin, Ohio State, Michigan, MSU, Penn State, and Iowa (road game). We play the entire top half of the B1G. You can't tell me that Purdue/Illinois are tougher opponents than Penn State/Wisconsin.

 

Michigan has things set up very nicely for it again this year. Their likely challenger to the Legends, MSU...they get at home. I see Michigan walking away with it, and MSU and Nebraska both finishing with 3 losses...with Nebraska holding the tie breaker over MSU for 2nd.

 

Ok, my mistake then as you're just talking conference. Sorry! Also, you're right that our Big10 schedule is much tougher than theirs.

 

Nevertheless I still think it wears on them. Heh, let's just say their ooc schedule is a LOT tougher than last year. I really, really doubt they'll push Notre Dame & Alabama around much on the road. They'll be lucky to get a split but more likely go 0 - 2 with those guys. Now, maybe that won't make any difference? Maybe.

 

We'll see!

[Chaddyboxer]

It looks like Iowa also has a relatively easy road to the CCG, but I just can't take them seriously. They're Iowa.

They had a pretty easy road last year, too. Fat lot of good that did them.

Does Iowa even have a running back? or a stable one for that matter? lol

[Chaddyboxer]

The two games and only games I see NEB losing are the Michigan and Ohio St games. NEB might have a first half scare with Southern Miss, however, Miss losing plenty of senior starters on their team. UCLA will get curb stomped by the Huskers for the simple fact that UCLA doesn't do so well against superior opponents, and NEB is a superior opponent. UCLA's record has been pretty mediocre to poor at best as of the past 5 years.

[carlfense]

The two games and only games I see NEB losing are the Michigan and Ohio St games. NEB might have a first half scare with Southern Miss, however, Miss losing plenty of senior starters on their team. UCLA will get curb stomped by the Huskers for the simple fact that UCLA doesn't do so well against superior opponents, and NEB is a superior opponent. UCLA's record has been pretty mediocre to poor at best as of the past 5 years.

I sure hope that you're right but I think that is wildly optimistic. Given our talent level and inconsistency I just can't see it.

[Guy Chamberlin]

UCLA is not a tossup. That's a W.

 

Every game in the Big 10 could go either way. Depends on which team shows up.

 

And that's kinda the point about gauging returning starters, schedule strength, home vs. away and previous years' results. Bo Pelini took the same defensive personnel that failed so miserably in 2007 and turned them into a good defense in 2008 and a great defense in 2009. Unfortunately the offense went south, and the team started playing better on the road than at home.

 

So much of it is about chemistry and motivation and unpredictible injuries. I'm happy about Nebraska's returning starters, but more interested in how they plan to do things differently this year. Talent is vital, but it's still largely a head game.

[True2tRA]

I expect some young players to see the field this year. I keep reading from various websites how deep Nebraska is at certain positions. I am not sure how a player on the depth chart who has never taken a meaningful snap is considered as adding depth. You can have 10 DT's on the team, but if only 3 of them have ever played a game, can you really expect the other 7 to make an immediate impact? If so, why? I expect Bo Pelini to learn the value of repetition on the collegiate level. Reps, reps, and more reps. The more reps, for more guys, the better the team. My biggest expectation from this season, is for Bo to learn the hard way that he needs to SIMPLIFY. SIMPLE, SIMPLE, SIMPLE. Be GREAT at something, not mediocre at 10 things.

[Chaddyboxer]

The two games and only games I see NEB losing are the Michigan and Ohio St games. NEB might have a first half scare with Southern Miss, however, Miss losing plenty of senior starters on their team. UCLA will get curb stomped by the Huskers for the simple fact that UCLA doesn't do so well against superior opponents, and NEB is a superior opponent. UCLA's record has been pretty mediocre to poor at best as of the past 5 years.

I sure hope that you're right but I think that is wildly optimistic. Given our talent level and inconsistency I just can't see it.

The internal Husker optimist and yet I am somewhat of a realist....thinks this will be Bo's best Husker team to date. With Bo taking over much of the reigns of the defense, the young talent that has another year of experience, and the young coaching staff having another year to get things hashed out, I see the Huskers doing quite well this year. Nebraska had a young team last year and I expect better results from the team overall. We'll see. We'll see if my 1-2 loss prediction holds up.

[True2tRA]

UCLA is not a tossup. That's a W.

 

Every game in the Big 10 could go either way. Depends on which team shows up.

 

And that's kinda the point about gauging returning starters, schedule strength, home vs. away and previous years' results. Bo Pelini took the same defensive personnel that failed so miserably in 2007 and turned them into a good defense in 2008 and a great defense in 2009. Unfortunately the offense went south, and the team started playing better on the road than at home.

 

So much of it is about chemistry and motivation and unpredictible injuries. I'm happy about Nebraska's returning starters, but more interested in how they plan to do things differently this year. Talent is vital, but it's still largely a head game.

I think we differ in the fact that I really believe the coaching staff has failed this team. I don't see it so much as the team failing. You clearly put the focus on the players, but I think you can watch the games and see that we are truly not helping them improve. We have repeatedly had a very poor game plan on both sides of the ball. Player development, talent development has been almost obsolete. I assure you from your last comment, these players are not planning on how to do things differently, the coaches expect these young men to execute "THE COACHES PLAN", not the other way around. Nebraska's returning starters aren't drawing up the gameplan, or calling the plays, they are only asked to execute them. Execution has been on a very rapid decline the last 2 years, it makes you wonder why?

[HuskerFowler]

didnt Southern Miss get a new head coach too? They lost their QB too if im not mistaken? Lots of negative posts on this page. LOL at Knapplc for having a tossup for darn near every game, way to go out on a limb.

 

You guys know Bo is back coaching the defense right? Did all spring. Our secondary is going to be lights out, see you all on the bandwagon after we beat Wiconsin heading for the Shoe 5-0

[HuskerFowler]

I expect some young players to see the field this year. I keep reading from various websites how deep Nebraska is at certain positions. I am not sure how a player on the depth chart who has never taken a meaningful snap is considered as adding depth. You can have 10 DT's on the team, but if only 3 of them have ever played a game, can you really expect the other 7 to make an immediate impact? If so, why? I expect Bo Pelini to learn the value of repetition on the collegiate level. Reps, reps, and more reps. The more reps, for more guys, the better the team. My biggest expectation from this season, is for Bo to learn the hard way that he needs to SIMPLIFY. SIMPLE, SIMPLE, SIMPLE. Be GREAT at something, not mediocre at 10 things.

 

 

I vote for you to be coach when we fire Bo after this season, you seem to have it all figured out.