Winning the West - 9/30 Edition

[cheekygeek]

2 hours ago, Cdog923 said:

This is fantastically laid out.....but at the moment, I would put Nebraska at the bottom of Tier 3, maybe at the top of Tier 4. That, and there shouldn't be any more "should beats" in our vocabulary. This team, as it is currently playing, is more likely to go 2-5 than 5-2. 

 

I agree. Only a non-objective Husker fan is going to think that Nebraska is "Tier 2" based upon the evidence. 
Reminder: Nebraska trailed the OP's Tier 4 Illinois team by 14 points three different times in the game and trailed for approx. 59 of the 60 minutes of the game. We are THAT much removed from being below Illinois, objectively.

[lincoln84]

2 hours ago, Cdog923 said:

This is fantastically laid out.....but at the moment, I would put Nebraska at the bottom of Tier 3, maybe at the top of Tier 4. That, and there shouldn't be any more "should beats" in our vocabulary. This team, as it is currently playing, is more likely to go 2-5 than 5-2. 

I agree with this...we do not play consistent enough in any phase of the game to put ourselves in Tier 2. For every argument about other programs dumpster fire, MASH unit, poor play---we are in the same boat.  We are NOT putting it all together for 4 quarters---YET.  If/when that happens, we can win more games.  Nobody is afraid to play us and believes they can beat us.  Turning the ball over 4x a game will not get it done.

 

I don't care about the West this year.  We just need to GET BETTER.  Get a bowl.  7-5 would be a happy shock at this point.

[NoLongerN]

Love the thread Knapp and would love to get another shot at OSU.  It would mean much got fixed and would save the season.

 

Thanks for giving the board something positive to think about.

[broganreynik]

Just win, baby!!

[Igetbored216]

Winning the West is still possible, but I think it's going to be very difficult for the Huskers to pull off. The o-line is really bad. The d-line is just okay. This will be a problem against the "average" remaining West teams like Northwestern, Minnesota, and Purdue. Maybe we can squeak out wins against those teams like we did against Illinois. It becomes more of a problem against Wisconsin and Iowa. Two teams that usually have great lines. 

 

This means Nebraska would have to beat either Iowa or Wisconsin. In addition, they would have to beat everyone else on the schedule. With the lines that Nebraska has, I just don't see this happening. 

 

Honestly, I think it'll probably take another four or five years to have the depth at line that is needed to consistently win nine or ten games. Hopefully Frost takes line recruiting more seriously than past coaches. 

[BoNeyard]

I'll take this, Nebraska 2nd in the West and Wisconsin wins the West. That means we beat Iowa, and we don't have to get drubbed by Ohio State in the Big Ten title game. In fact, getting second in the West could very well mean Nebraska finishes the season 9-3..Losses to CU, OSU and Wisconsin. After this past weekend a 9 win season sounds ridiculous and a long shot, but it can actually be done. Just depends on how this team responds moving forward.

[knapplc]

16 minutes ago, BoNeyard said:

I'll take this, Nebraska 2nd in the West and Wisconsin wins the West. That means we beat Iowa, and we don't have to get drubbed by Ohio State in the Big Ten title game. In fact, getting second in the West could very well mean Nebraska finishes the season 9-3..Losses to CU, OSU and Wisconsin. After this past weekend a 9 win season sounds ridiculous and a long shot, but it can actually be done. Just depends on how this team responds moving forward.

 

That would be a good scenario, honestly.

[Dogs In A Pile]

Trouble is, I've seen absolutely nothing from this team to lead me to believe they should be "Tier Two". Other than the first half of the CU game and the second half of of the Ill. game the remaining 8 halves have been anywhere from decidedly mediocre to downright terrible. Of the 5 games so far, struggled against a bottom feeder Sun Belt team, collapsed in the second half against an average Pac 12 team with a first year coach, win still in doubt until late 3rd qtr. against a bottom feeding MAC team, OT win against one of the worst B1G teams & then there was last Saturday. "Tier Three" at best IMHO. Nothing is impossible but things will have to do a 180 deg. in Lincoln to have any chance of winning the West.

[BoNeyard]

2 minutes ago, Dogs In A Pile said:

Trouble is, I've seen absolutely nothing from this team to lead me to believe they should be "Tier Two". Other than the first half of the CU game and the second half of of the Ill. game the remaining 8 halves have been anywhere from decidedly mediocre to downright terrible. Of the 5 games so far, struggled against a bottom feeder Sun Belt team, collapsed in the second half against an average Pac 12 team with a first year coach, win still in doubt until late 3rd qtr. against a bottom feeding MAC team, OT win against one of the worst B1G teams & then there was last Saturday. "Tier Three" at best IMHO. Nothing is impossible but things will have to do a 180 deg. in Lincoln to have any chance of winning the West.

We shouldn't have lost to Colorado, that game was ours and we should have won. With that, Colorado isn't all that bad, they have a QB who feels he's in his 7th season and they have one of the best WR's in the country. Everything else CU has it pretty equal to ours, so yeah we aren't great and I can see the hesitation to agree with us being in the second tier. 

 

I think we can escape a close game vs Northwestern, because it's NU/NU when has this not been a close game? The game from those lower tiers that worry me is Minnesota. I don't have a great feeling about that game.

[4skers89]

7 hours ago, Cdog923 said:

This is fantastically laid out.....but at the moment, I would put Nebraska at the bottom of Tier 3, maybe at the top of Tier 4. That, and there shouldn't be any more "should beats" in our vocabulary. This team, as it is currently playing, is more likely to go 2-5 than 5-2. 

Fantasy being the root of fantastic I have to agree.

Tier One

Wisconsin

Iowa

 

Tier Two

Northwestern

Minnesota

 

Tier Three

Nebraska

Illinois

Purdue

 

We can probably beat Purdue with Sindelar being out.  We'll need to start playing better to beat 2 of Northwestern and Minnesota, Indiana but if we can, bowl eligible.  Maybe that will provide some kind of motivation for the team but I wouldn't count on it.  At this point they are used to not going to a bowl game.  5-7 likely.

[4skers89]

4 hours ago, cheekygeek said:

 

I agree. Only a non-objective Husker fan is going to think that Nebraska is "Tier 2" based upon the evidence. 
Reminder: Nebraska trailed the OP's Tier 4 Illinois team by 14 points three different times in the game and trailed for approx. 59 of the 60 minutes of the game. We are THAT much removed from being below Illinois, objectively.

Scoreboard clearly shows we are in the same tier as Illinois.

[BoNeyard]

Hey beat Northwestern this weekend and we are 4-2 with only 2 more games to get bowl eligible. I like getting to 6 wins with an injured Purdue ahead and Maryland.

[cheekygeek]

2 minutes ago, BoNeyard said:

Hey beat Northwestern this weekend and we are 4-2 with only 2 more games to get bowl eligible. I like getting to 6 wins with an injured Purdue ahead and Maryland.

You are in the wrong fantasy.
THIS fantasy is about winning the West.

 

[BoNeyard]

2 minutes ago, cheekygeek said:

You are in the wrong fantasy.
THIS fantasy is about winning the West.

 

You missed my earlier post where I drew up a 9-3 season and getting second in the West behind Wisconsin. The bowl game eligibility came in response to those saying we belonged in the lowest tier.

[BigRedBuster]

41 minutes ago, 4skers89 said:

Scoreboard clearly shows we are in the same tier as Illinois.

So, is Clemson in the same tier as UNC?