No homer, but still

[It'sNotAFakeID]

What if...What if....What if...

 

What if didn't happen. What if the defense didn't allow 600 yards to UCLA, what if Braxton Miller didn't go nutty on us against Ohio State. Are we even having this conversation?

[VectorVictor]

I want to believe we win this game, but I have little faith that we will. Honestly I see us losing most of the rest. Penn State is playing very good. Michigan State needs a win badly. I think we win Iowa and Minnie, but who knows.

 

I think we can outlast Penn State--they have good players, but as soon as you go to their second string, there's a sharp fall-off. Plus, they're playing in Lincoln, we were the opponent they played when everything went to hell...emotion may factor into their trip to Lincoln.

 

As for Minnesota, I said elsewhere that Kill has that team on an upward (though unsteady) trajectory. If they aren't bowl eligible by the time we play them, they should at least have five wins and could be very hungry and dangerous--the type of team that Nebraska has laid an egg against (see NW '11, Iowa State '09, Iowa State '10).

 

The only 'gimmie' on the schedule from here until the title game is Iowa, IMO...and unfortunately, this year's Nebraska team can find a way to make that a contest as well.

 

 

What if...What if....What if...

 

What if didn't happen. What if the defense didn't allow 600 yards to UCLA, what if Braxton Miller didn't go nutty on us against Ohio State. Are we even having this conversation?

 

[robsker]

I am not playing a "one-sided what if" game at all. In fact... just the opposite. NU did have opportunities that they did not capitalize on --- several interceptions that their poor technique and inability to execute resulted in ending up as lost opportunities. Our (that is, NU's) ineptitude resulted in all sorts of lost opportunity (as it does most weeks)... and our opponents ineptitude (their dropping clear INT's) saved NU from being further exposed. The point is... NU played very, very poorly and won only because NW played slightly more poorly still. No one earned a victory in that game... NW simply was a smidge worse. Both those teams would have lost that night to just about any D1 school. They were both pathetic... and NU was LUCKY they played a team slightly more pathetic that evening than they were.

 

Because they cannot count on Michigan playing as badly as NW did, then the Sker's better improve dramatically on Saturday night or they will get stomped. Any performance akin to the Ohio State or NW performances (both about equally bad for NU's part) and the Huskers get smoked.

 

That said... the Huskers have a great deal of talent... largely unrealized on the field... but with the talent they have, there is reason to think that someday they will play up to the level of their talent... if that day is Saturday, the Huskers have a chance...

a good chance.

[robsker]

What if...What if....What if...

 

What if didn't happen. What if the defense didn't allow 600 yards to UCLA, what if Braxton Miller didn't go nutty on us against Ohio State. Are we even having this conversation?

What if...What if....What if...

 

What if didn't happen. What if the defense didn't allow 600 yards to UCLA, what if Braxton Miller didn't go nutty on us against Ohio State. Are we even having this conversation?

 

no... we are not having this conversation.. Perhaps you are. The UCLA and OSU games were never mentioned.

[Saunders]

I am not playing a "one-sided what if" game at all. In fact... just the opposite.

"If either of those throws were caught (and each should have been caught) then NU loses. "

 

Actually, you are.

[HuskerNationNick]

 

In fact, I would go as far as to say that, had Northwestern used Colter the whole time at the QB, instead of spot duty, the Huskers would be 4-3, not 5-2.

 

Colter rushed for 15 attempts and went nowhere. Why continue something that wasn't working? Our defense went in with a great scheme, executed and played well, why can't you just accept that?

[BigRedBuster]

Why is it that any time we beat a team with a mobile QB we "get lucky" and we won in spite of ourselves and then it is like the game never happened. In various threads on here, it has been listed the mobile QBs that we have beat in the last 4 years.

 

Now, I agree they burn us sometimes too.

 

But, to say we CAN'T stop a mobile QB is flat out not looking at the facts. Will we this time is the question.

[tmfr15]

For Northwestern, the notion is simple. They should have played Colter at QB and force fed the zone read between him and that RB that gashed us. The Wildcats would not have always had success and would not have piled up Ohio State like numbers, but they would have shortened the game and they would have mostly certainly had a few more GASH plays against us. As for Nebraska and their turnover issues, I don't think we can put a certain player at a certain position and eliminate that problem.

 

Also, if the Wildcats use Colter in the zone read game, the potenital picks that NU dropped....they're never thrown in the first place.

[robsker]

I am not playing a "one-sided what if" game at all. In fact... just the opposite.

"If either of those throws were caught (and each should have been caught) then NU loses. "

 

Actually, you are.

I am not playing a "one-sided what if" game at all. In fact... just the opposite.

"If either of those throws were caught (and each should have been caught) then NU loses. "

 

Actually, you are.

 

 

Again... no what if.

 

The illustration was designed to give an example (several) of how we gift-wrapped this game and tried to give the victory to NW over and over again --- and they played so poorly that they, for all intents and purposes, refused to accept the victory.

 

My point again is this... NU did not play any better against NW than they did against OSU --- the only difference (besides one being a blowout loss and the the other a win) was how well our opponents played that game. NU would have lost to most any BCS conference-level team both those games predicated upon how poorly they played... but were lucky that they won the one game because NW was simply worse that night.

 

NU did not improve in going from OSU (overall) to NW. The differing results were based entirely upon the opponent. The Huskers showed some comeback grit against NW and some on the team really played well in parts of that game... but overall, the Huskers stunk it up last week.

 

 

Lets hope NU improves now.

[scarletNcream]

NW's game plan was confusing. They tried to throw deep a lot and continued to do it thinking that "everyone else has big plays against this secondary, why not us". Denard can't throw period. He can get lucky with a pass or two but when the chips are down he will run. Michigan's D is 1st in the league in pass defense but I don't think they have faced a receiving corp like ours or the new TMart. Our defense shut down NW, look at the stats, granted their game plan was confusing to me and everyone had opportunities from miscues but I don't see a Michigan blowout.

[Saunders]

NW's game plan was confusing. They tried to throw deep a lot and continued to do it thinking that "everyone else has big plays against this secondary, why not us". Denard can't throw period. He can get lucky with a pass or two but when the chips are down he will run. Michigan's D is 1st in the league in pass defense but I don't think they have faced a receiving corp like ours or the new TMart. Our defense shut down NW, look at the stats, granted their game plan was confusing to me and everyone had opportunities from miscues but I don't see a Michigan blowout.

They threw deep because they had to. We played press coverage with a single high safety look (cover 1 robber i believe) in order to stop the running game and short passing attack. Other than 1 play, we did.

[clyde40]

Let's just let the Northwestern game go. It doens't help to play the what if game all day and say we shouldn't of won that game. It really doesn't matter WE DID WIN. When it came down to crunch time through all the struggles they found a way to win. The only part of the game we didn't dominate was the scoreboard we should be proud of the team for fighting and winning. Yes it's not what we wanted but hey it wasn't how they wanted the game to go too, it's just the way it happens. At least they didn't fold at halftime, or the third quarter especially after the way the Ohio State game went.

[robsker]

Let's just let the Northwestern game go. It doens't help to play the what if game all day and say we shouldn't of won that game. It really doesn't matter WE DID WIN. When it came down to crunch time through all the struggles they found a way to win. The only part of the game we didn't dominate was the scoreboard we should be proud of the team for fighting and winning. Yes it's not what we wanted but hey it wasn't how they wanted the game to go too, it's just the way it happens. At least they didn't fold at halftime, or the third quarter especially after the way the Ohio State game went.

Let's just let the Northwestern game go. It doens't help to play the what if game all day and say we shouldn't of won that game. It really doesn't matter WE DID WIN. When it came down to crunch time through all the struggles they found a way to win. The only part of the game we didn't dominate was the scoreboard we should be proud of the team for fighting and winning. Yes it's not what we wanted but hey it wasn't how they wanted the game to go too, it's just the way it happens. At least they didn't fold at halftime, or the third quarter especially after the way the Ohio State game went.

 

I agree with each of your points. At a certain level, a win is a win. Also I agree that grit in the comeback was displayed and NU should feel good about that. And they never quit. That too is good.

 

I merely wish to point out that, at least in my opinion, the NW game does not really represent progress for the Huskers (generally). They played no better (overall... and factoring in the differences between the opponents) against NW than they did against OSU. So... Husker fans... I contend that no real progress since the blowout has been made.

 

Until... hopefully this Saturday... where vast improvement will be necessary so as not to get smoked.

[HuskerNationNick]

I merely wish to point out that, at least in my opinion, the NW game does not really represent progress for the Huskers (generally). They played no better (overall... and factoring in the differences between the opponents) against NW than they did against OSU. So... Husker fans... I contend that no real progress since the blowout has been made.

 

Until... hopefully this Saturday... where vast improvement will be necessary so as not to get smoked.

 

That would be the only thing I disagree with. When watching that game, our team took accountability for their actions. When we had a lineman get through untouched, to sack Taylor, Cotton called him out on it, and he shook his head, knowing it was his fault. From then on, no one came through untouched. Our real progress was Defense. Two plays got by us. One passing play, and Venric Martin's 80 yard run. I know its the if game, but IF Stafford would have been where he was suppose to be, that play would have gone for 15 yards, but then again, Martin could have broke the tackle. I am just pointing out, that our defense had two bloopers during that game, which is uncommon for how they have played. They played with their heads held high, and worked together to get eachother in position. The defense didn't look confused. First game I think Pelini didn't have to call timeout because someone didn't know where they were suppose to be. Defense progressed the most after the OSU game, and I expect that to carry over to the Michigan game, with the same scheme. Like I said before, Colter had 15 carries, and got nowhere on each of them. Colter is a better player than Robinson IMO.

[scarletNcream]

NW's game plan was confusing. They tried to throw deep a lot and continued to do it thinking that "everyone else has big plays against this secondary, why not us". Denard can't throw period. He can get lucky with a pass or two but when the chips are down he will run. Michigan's D is 1st in the league in pass defense but I don't think they have faced a receiving corp like ours or the new TMart. Our defense shut down NW, look at the stats, granted their game plan was confusing to me and everyone had opportunities from miscues but I don't see a Michigan blowout.

They threw deep because they had to. We played press coverage with a single high safety look (cover 1 robber i believe) in order to stop the running game and short passing attack. Other than 1 play, we did.

 

I agree, looked like cover 1, but to not exploit the sideline (single safety support) or drags to take advantage of our slower LB's just confused me. I glad they didn't.