Which game means more to the direction of the program- Purdue or Cincinnati?

[seaofred92]

The 2020 season is a critical one for Scott Frost and company in Lincoln. There are big tests early in the year, starting with the first game v Purdue and the non-conference finale against a top 25 opponent in Cincinnati. 

 

The opener v Purdue is a huge game, but Purdue Is coming off a 4-8 season that followed a 6-7 season in 2018. They’re not expected to be a top 25 team by any stretch of the imagination in 2020, and should finish no higher than 4th in the Big Ten West. Rondale Moore is a serious threat, but Purdue is breaking in a new QB in 2020 and Nebraska will be the favorite in this game. This is one the Huskers should (and has to) win at home. 

 

Cincinnati is the first game we’ll play in 2020 vs a Top 25 team. The Bearcats are coming off back to back 11 win seasons and are in the top 15/20 of almost every pre-season rankings I’ve seen. They played for the American conference championship game last year and would’ve gone to the Fiesta Bowl if they won (lost a close game to Memphis). QB Desmond Ridder returns along with S James Wiggins, Michigan DL transfer James Hudson, and Alabama transfer RB Jerome Ford. Nebraska will most likely be a slight favorite in this game, no more than a TD. 

 

Which game to you would a win mean more for the direction of the program?

[Landlord]

Which game is more important between

 

A) the first game of the season against a conference and division opponent

 

B) a next-to-meaningless non-con game against a G5 team

 

 

That's the question? If so, I'll take A. Also why would we be a favorite in a game against a top 15 team???

[seaofred92]

7 hours ago, Landlord said:

Which game is more important between

 

A) the first game of the season against a conference and division opponent

 

B) a next-to-meaningless non-con game against a G5 team

 

 

That's the question? If so, I'll take A. Also why would we be a favorite in a game against a top 15 team???

 Per the early release lines for the Games of the Year Nebraska is approximately a 6 point favorite v CIncinnati and a 9 point favorite v Purdue. I’m fairly surprised at the results of the poll to be honest, if we beat Purdue and lose to Cincinnati people will lose their collective minds. Lose to Purdue and then rebound and win a game vs a Top 25 team, and people would be more confident headed to the second half of the season IMO. 

[Hilltop]

17 minutes ago, seaofred92 said:

 Per the early release lines for the Games of the Year Nebraska is approximately a 6 point favorite v CIncinnati and a 9 point favorite v Purdue. I’m fairly surprised at the results of the poll to be honest, if we beat Purdue and lose to Cincinnati people will lose their collective minds. Lose to Purdue and then rebound and win a game vs a Top 25 team, and people would be more confident headed to the second half of the season IMO. 

Losing the first game of the year has major implications that are difficult to overcome.  Name a decent season we have had where we dropped the opener.  

[knapplc]

10 minutes ago, Hilltop said:

Losing the first game of the year has major implications that are difficult to overcome.  Name a decent season we have had where we dropped the opener.  

 

In 1981 & 1985 we lost the opener and finished 9-3 each year. 1981 loss was to Iowa, 1985 loss was to Florida State.

 

We didn't lose another opener until 2015 when we lost to BYU on the Hail Mary at the end of the game, and finished 6-7 after getting an exemption to go to a bowl game at 5-7.

 

We then lost the opener again in 2018, although it's kinda wonky since the actual opener was Akron but that got canceled due to lightning. Then we played Colorado in our "opener" and losing on a last-minute touchdown by Laviska Shenault.  We ended the season at 4-8. Bleh.

 

The good news is, we haven't lost an opener since 2018 (1-0).  Yay! 

[Hilltop]

That's the point, it's pretty dang rare to have a good season when you drop the opener.  Especially so when you have a team with somewhat of a confidence issue over the past several seasons.  I would venture to say we win 3+ more games in 2018 if we beat Colorado.  A team that believes is pretty hard to beat.      

[Saunders]

Losing to Purdue 3 years in a row would suck.

[tmfr15]

My answer is both. Nebraska needs to go 7-0 in any way that they can get the job done. It would be a huge booster going into a grinder of a finish. Minnesota got their season going with some wins early on against less than great foes and by less than impressive scores or favorable circumstances. IMHO, they would not have upset Penn State had they not pulled out those early season wins. And, as a result, Row the Boat, would have a lot less ring to it these days in Minneapolis

[BoNeyard]

We beat Purdue, lose to Cincy, but Purdue is the bigger game.

[Treand3]

Purdue and it's not even a close for me. Conference opponent, Brohm having 2 straight wins on Frost, potential momentum in an early season. 

[Husker in WI]

2 minutes ago, Treand3 said:

Purdue and it's not even a close for me. Conference opponent, Brohm having 2 straight wins on Frost, potential momentum in an early season. 

 

Not to mention if we can't beat a Diaco defense, we're in for a loooong season.

[Treand3]

19 minutes ago, Husker in WI said:

 

Not to mention if we can't beat a Diaco defense, we're in for a loooong season.

That would be some s*** if Martinez and the offense couldn't move the ball. If we're going to win it will come down to the defense's ability to get pressure on their QB and make sure open field tackles.

[Husker in WI]

45 minutes ago, Treand3 said:

That would be some s*** if Martinez and the offense couldn't move the ball. If we're going to win it will come down to the defense's ability to get pressure on their QB and make sure open field tackles.

 

Which is a little concerning haha. For some reason our defense has come out of the gates pretty hot as far as getting to the QB each of the last 2 years, albeit against Colorado and South Alabama. But hopefully Chins can use the extra time before week 1 scheming up some pressure.

[Treand3]

1 hour ago, Husker in WI said:

 

Which is a little concerning haha. For some reason our defense has come out of the gates pretty hot as far as getting to the QB each of the last 2 years, albeit against Colorado and South Alabama. But hopefully Chins can use the extra time before week 1 scheming up some pressure.

Agreed. I also think this isn't a game where you get cute on offense to show off. It should be a roll your sleeve up, get it done type of game. 

[Gorillahawk]

I chose Cincinnati, solely because i think it would be huge for our program and Frost to finally beat a ranked team. But it wasn’t an easy vote for me, there’s a lot of reasons listed on here why beating Purdue is a big deal as well