** 2019 Opponent Previews : Wisconsin (Game 10) **

[brophog]

19 minutes ago, Nebfanatic said:

It's weird how much more love they get to win the division over say Minnesota. I understand they are a supposed constant in the west but this looks like their toughest season in awhile all things considered.

 

They’re simply a better program than Minnesota. They know who they are and it’s easier to project players into roles when that’s the case. Heading into year 3, we don’t know who Minnesota is. It’s a question that I think is holding people back from projecting them as high as they should. 

 

There are multiple Big Ten West teams that if they had this schedule, experience, and returning production they’d be heavily favored to win the division. Minnesota is often being picked fifth or sixth. It’s a huge opportunity for Minnesota to change how they’re perceived.

[Husker in WI]

2 minutes ago, runningblind said:

Mertz will be good there I think, but I don't think he jumps in and succeeds right away like Martinez did.

 

For sure, I think some people kind of forget how crazy it is for Martinez to be this good right away. I also think it's just easier for dual-threat QBs to make an impact early, with an exception being Trevor Lawrence.

 

9 hours ago, brophog said:

 

I agree on Mertz but it’s a precarious spot for them. Open with a South Florida team I think they beat, but certainly one that could win if you gave them too many chances. Then game 3 is Michigan, game 4 is Northwestern, game 6 is Michigan St. Not a great opening half of the schedule to be introducing the QB of the future.

 

That's a good point on the schedule, I guess it depends on what they're afraid of playing him early. With their O-line he's not going to get pummeled like David Carr, so I wouldn't be worried about ruining his development that way. He'll make mistakes, but as long as they think he can grow past them instead of losing confidence I'd live with the mistakes now. They do have pressure to play the safer QB since it'll be their last year with Taylor too though.

[Nebfanatic]

23 minutes ago, brophog said:

 

They’re simply a better program than Minnesota. They know who they are and it’s easier to project players into roles when that’s the case. Heading into year 3, we don’t know who Minnesota is. It’s a question that I think is holding people back from projecting them as high as they should. 

 

There are multiple Big Ten West teams that if they had this schedule, experience, and returning production they’d be heavily favored to win the division. Minnesota is often being picked fifth or sixth. It’s a huge opportunity for Minnesota to change how they’re perceived.

Conversely, if Minnesota was dealing with the factors Wisconsin is, I think they would be projected as battling it out with Illinois for bottom spot given where they are being projected now. Definitely a big year for the Gophers 

[WyoHusker56]

1 hour ago, Husker in WI said:

 

For sure, I think some people kind of forget how crazy it is for Martinez to be this good right away. I also think it's just easier for dual-threat QBs to make an impact early, with an exception being Trevor Lawrence.

 

I also think that people forget that Martinez didn't play at all his senior year of high school and any/all post season high school games. So, he missed the opportunity to really make a move in the rankings. If he has a big senior year there is a really good chance he's a Top 100 player and maybe even a 5 star/top DT QB.

[Undone]

We play Wisconsin on 11/16. Both teams will have figured out who they are by that point in the season.

 

If I had the choice of swapping games with the Ohio State and Wisconsin dates, I don't think I'd swap them. I like the idea of our defensive roster shaking out to a solid list of blackshirts by the Wisconsin game and I think playing them that late in the year gives us a better chance of beating them. Gives us a chance to shake out all the bugs with special teams, also.

 

I'd go into strategies for us against them this season but it's way too early for that.

[NUinID]

Just watched the B1G bus tour show on Wisconsin.  So far this year the shows really haven't been anything special.  They have said OSU and Michigan have good teams etc.  Then we get to Wisconsin.  I don't know if it is just my imagination or they really are that giddy about Wisconsin.  They just loved everything about their stop at Wisconsin.  Talked glowingly about everything they saw.  They did the same thing 2 years ago when Taylor was an incoming freshman.  They actually thought Coan  was looking good and thought he would be the first game starter.  

 

For some reason DiNardo and Griffin just really like the way Wisconsin plays football.  They like the old school style.  I may be reading too much into it, but they always seem really outwardly positive about Wisconsin when they are no more than cautiously optimistic about other teams.  

[brophog]

2 minutes ago, NUinID said:

 

For some reason DiNardo and Griffin just really like the way Wisconsin plays football.  They like the old school style.  I may be reading too much into it, but they always seem really outwardly positive about Wisconsin when they are no more than cautiously optimistic about other teams.  

 

Interesting, because DiNardo didn’t seem as impressed with Wisconsin’s style just a few weeks ago.

[NUinID]

10 minutes ago, brophog said:

 

Interesting, because DiNardo didn’t seem as impressed with Wisconsin’s style just a few weeks ago.

 

Yeah I read the article.  Look I don't know if you ever watch any of those shows, but I pretty much watch them all to see what every team has got and to get a feel for what they think.  I mean of coarse they say OSU, Michigan and even to an extent PSU are going to be good, they can't help but be good.  They just really gush over what they saw.  DiNardo said the offensive line looks even better than last year.  They may not be as talented, but they looked better.  They loved the D-line depth.  They weren't huge but very athletic and active.  Loved the WR depth.  

 

It just seems like they don't hold back at all when they talk about Wisconsin.  

[runningblind]

50 minutes ago, NUinID said:

Just watched the B1G bus tour show on Wisconsin.  So far this year the shows really haven't been anything special.  They have said OSU and Michigan have good teams etc.  Then we get to Wisconsin.  I don't know if it is just my imagination or they really are that giddy about Wisconsin.  They just loved everything about their stop at Wisconsin.  Talked glowingly about everything they saw.  They did the same thing 2 years ago when Taylor was an incoming freshman.  They actually thought Coan  was looking good and thought he would be the first game starter.  

 

For some reason DiNardo and Griffin just really like the way Wisconsin plays football.  They like the old school style.  I may be reading too much into it, but they always seem really outwardly positive about Wisconsin when they are no more than cautiously optimistic about other teams.  

Recall that in 2017 (I think) under Riley, they also said we had some of the best practices they'd seen.  So take that with a giant grain of salt.  These guys have jobs to do, and part of that is drumming up viewers. 

[brophog]

34 minutes ago, NUinID said:

 

Yeah I read the article.  Look I don't know if you ever watch any of those shows, but I pretty much watch them all to see what every team has got and to get a feel for what they think.  I mean of coarse they say OSU, Michigan and even to an extent PSU are going to be good, they can't help but be good.  They just really gush over what they saw.  DiNardo said the offensive line looks even better than last year.  They may not be as talented, but they looked better.  They loved the D-line depth.  They weren't huge but very athletic and active.  Loved the WR depth.  

 

It just seems like they don't hold back at all when they talk about Wisconsin.  

 

I haven’t seen this one, but more than enough to know they sound as you describe. 

[Dansker]

Like SF said, they haven't earned anything yet. TBH, I'm kind of getting tired of the talk from media and players. This team has to earn their stripes. We accomplished nothing in year 1 except establishing a culture. It's just time to start backing up the talk and not putting guys up on pedestals that haven't done squat.

 

Not that it isn't great to have expectations, but we were 4-8 last year. To get back to being a blue blood program, you've got to win games. It's that simple. Until then, I take everything everyone says about our program with a grain of salt. My biggest concern is depth. The top programs have that, we don't just yet and I can't see us skating by on that. It may cost us 2-3 games this year.

[Husker in WI]

4 minutes ago, FTW said:

Like SF said, they haven't earned anything yet. TBH, I'm kind of getting tired of the talk from media and players. This team has to earn their stripes. We accomplished nothing in year 1 except establishing a culture. It's just time to start backing up the talk and not putting guys up on pedestals that haven't done squat.

 

Not that it isn't great to have expectations, but we were 4-8 last year. To get back to being a blue blood program, you've got to win games. It's that simple. Until then, I take everything everyone says about our program with a grain of salt. My biggest concern is depth. The top programs have that, we don't just yet and I can't see us skating by on that. It may cost us 2-3 games this year.

 

The team is saying all of the right things about needing to earn it, and if you're asking fans and media to stop talking the team up in mid-August you're gonna have a bad time. I don't think a sudden decrease in the stories about how great players/team will be would have any effect on whether the players are overconfident or not. Take it with a grain of salt for sure, but for fans the off-season is all about hype.

[NUinID]

23 minutes ago, runningblind said:

Recall that in 2017 (I think) under Riley, they also said we had some of the best practices they'd seen.  So take that with a giant grain of salt.  These guys have jobs to do, and part of that is drumming up viewers. 

 

I get what you are saying, but their is a difference in saying it was the best practice we have seen and being so overtly positive about what they are seeing.  You really just have to watch the shows I think to see what I am talking about.  

[Nebfanatic]

As @Husker in WI said, the players have said nothing but needing to earn it on the field. Very consistent message from the players and coaches this camp

[Decoy73]

8 hours ago, FTW said:

Like SF said, they haven't earned anything yet. TBH, I'm kind of getting tired of the talk from media and players. This team has to earn their stripes. We accomplished nothing in year 1 except establishing a culture. It's just time to start backing up the talk and not putting guys up on pedestals that haven't done squat.

 

Not that it isn't great to have expectations, but we were 4-8 last year. To get back to being a blue blood program, you've got to win games. It's that simple. Until then, I take everything everyone says about our program with a grain of salt. My biggest concern is depth. The top programs have that, we don't just yet and I can't see us skating by on that. It may cost us 2-3 games this year.

This post pretty much sums up why I think realistically our ceiling is 8 or maybe 9 wins.  Anything more than that is possible, but would require some really good breaks along the way (no significant injuries or penalty issues, etc.).