2016 Season Set Up To Be Big

[cornographic]

I was revisiting Oregon State's record over the last 10 years and was thrilled to see they had a couple of excellent seasons. then I noticed that was when Erickson was the HC there....

[cornographic]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figured now was a good time to bump this. My expectation for 2016 is 9 regular season wins. There's really no need to not get to that benchmark. Only game that appears to be a near certain loss is @ Ohio State. God help our secondary in that game.

What was your expectation for this year?

 

The talent was there this year. On D we'll most likely lost Collins and Gangwish and Byerson Cockrell are seniors so they are gone but on offense we lose Alex Lewis, Ryne Reeves, Zach Sterup not to mention Andy Janovich.

 

I actually see us struggling more next year.

 

Sigh...

No it wasn't.

 

Talent wasn't there at RB, DE, CB and we had serious depth issues at LB and QB. Talent wasn't "there". We have talent in certain spots, but overall Nebraska lacks depth and needs to improve the talent top to bottom.

I guess those 9 players that just made All Conference was just a figment of everyone's imagination. Not to mention the 4 other players that made the Big 10's All Freshman team.

 

Also you are insinuating that I said we have talent 'from top to bottom' which is extremely rare for most college football teams to begin with.

 

Those 9 all conference players say that you're statement that the talent 'isn't there' is completely false so again yes the talent is and was 'there' this season.

 

Enough talent to warrant being better than 5-7 which is the point I was trying to make but instead was sorely misinterpreted by yourself.

If by 'talent being there' you mean we have a few good players, then sure.

 

If by 'talent being there' you mean we can compete for and win the conference championship, you're dead wrong. Nebraska had one player make all conference on defense, Collins was second team by the coaches and third team by the media. On offense, Westerkamp was second team by the coaches and second team by the media. Alex Lewis was third team by the media. The rest came from honorable mentions.

 

For special teams, Sam Foltz was first team by both the coaches and media (also won an award for best punter), and Drew Brown was second team by the media. Special teams has been one of the strengths of Nebraska for awhile now.

 

Just to give you an idea, I count Illinois as having 11 'All Conference' players by the media, Indiana as having 8 'All Conference' players by the media, Wisconsin as having 10 'All Conference' players by the media, etc. Getting players on 'All Conference' isn't terribly hard when there are 3 teams plus honorable mentions by two different outlets (Coaches and Media).

 

I'll do a complete breakdown of the Big Ten later today when I have time.

I tend to agree with you quite a bit, but not in this instance. We have more talent than Iowa, yet they are 12 and 0, playing for the CCG and a shot at the playoffs.

 

It's a general consensus that others tend to disagree with me on, but I stick by it.

 

When I say that Nebraska doesn't have the talent, I mean they can't walk onto the field against the best teams in the conference and consistently compete with them. Sure, Nebraska might pull off the upset, but those happen in college football. If Nebraska wants to have a serious chance every year, we need a talent upgrade. For the record, I don't think Iowa is that team. They're nothing more than a decent team that has taken advantage of one of the most forgiving schedules in the conference. For Nebraska, I don't want to make a CCG just because our schedule was easy and allowed us too.

 

I want to see Michigan, Michigan State or Ohio State on the schedule and STILL think Nebraska has a chance to win the division. Right now, in my opinion, Nebraska isn't there. I think talent is a big reason why.

 

 

Nebraska is effectively a B level team, a 2nd tier team, whatever you want to call it--have been for a number of years now and maybe fans just need to get that through their heads so as all the dismay and self flogging might be ameliorated. And news flash, there are many teams out there that are similarly 2nd tier, so NU doesn't really stick out of the crowd anymore. I know, it's a tough pill to swallow for most fans, it is for me as well. We're just another face in the crowd and all our tradition and what not doesn't necessarily mean squat to recruits these days as they weren't on the planet when all that was happening and we ain't won anything of note over the course of their lives. Teams like Baylor and TCU have as much or more appeal to recruits these days, and that just tells us old timers how much times have changed.

 

Can't say as I see this changing much anytime soon. Our recruiting will continue to center around the 3* level and I can't say as the current coaching staff is of particularly championship caliber. Maybe we'll win our average division once every 5 years or so, but the idea of NU becoming a dominant team again seems fairly remote to me.

 

I keep saying, if, when, and until our recruiting centers around the 4* and occasional 5* player, we will be middle of the road for the foreseeable future. Not sure how that is going to happen. I don't see much change in recruiting with this current coaching staff.

 

So, I just take it one game at a time. It's better that way, since, these days, you don't know, from week to week, if we will beat Sparty or lose to ILL. Big Red football, the new normal.