2018 Schedule

Redux said:
Well the last 3 years we have gone 0-3 vs Iowa AND Wisconsin so thr guy we just fired isn't the best example.  He also managed to almost go 1-2 vs Purdue and DID go 1-2 vs Northwestern.

Since I am a firm believer in the next coach being an immediate upgrade i like our chances.  Iowa is always a beatable team.
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Mike Riley went 1-8 vs. Wisconsin, Iowa, and Northwestern.  Our goal with the next hire is to improve the performance against these teams.  I guess it may not happen right away in 2018, but it shouldn't long before we are beating Northwestern and Iowa more often than not, and beating Wisconsin at least half the time.

 
ColoradoHusk said:
Mike Riley went 1-8 vs. Wisconsin, Iowa, and Northwestern.  Our goal with the next hire is to improve the performance against these teams.  I guess it may not happen right away in 2018, but it shouldn't long before we are beating Northwestern and Iowa more often than not, and beating Wisconsin at least half the time.
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Agreed.  It was bad enough getting blasted by thr big boys, but 1-8 to top division foes is just inexcusable.

 
I like your optimism - I hope it translates to final scores on the field. I must say I am not as positive about the “immediate upgrade” part. A proper rebuild will take time.

 
moveitforward said:
I like your optimism - I hope it translates to final scores on the field. I must say I am not as positive about the “immediate upgrade” part. A proper rebuild will take time.
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Honestly, even Mike Riley's NU team should have beaten Northwestern this year.  If you keep everything the same and replace Frost with Riley at the beginning of the 4th quarter, NU probably wins that game.  Frost is going to be smart enough to play for the FG to go up 2 scores with 10 minutes left in the game against a bad NW offense.  Just like that, NU is already 1 game better than 2017.

I do agree that the "proper rebuild" will take time, but the Big Ten West is one of the easiest divisions in college football to make it look like the team is having a great turnaround quickly.  I liken it to Kirby Smart and Georgia this year.  Nothing against what Kirby has done this year, but his competition in the SEC East is down right bad, especially when Tennessee and Florida turned into dumpster fires midway through the season.  Georgia had one "tough" conference game against an SEC West team in Auburn, and they got beat handily.  EDIT - I forgot about Georgia's win over Notre Dame early in the season, which is a good win.

 
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ColoradoHusk said:
Riley probably has some good qualities to learn from, but Chryst probably realized the things that he should do that Mike didn't do.  I wasn't sure if Chryst would be a great coach when he came back to Madison from Pittsburgh.  Plus, don't underestimate the reach of Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin.  He's basically the Godfather of Madison.
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I completely agree with you about Alvarez.  Just look at what happened to Gary Anderson and Bret Bielema after leaving Wisconsin.  They both failed miserably in their next job.  But regarding Chryst, he has found a way to improve upon Wisconsin's identity to lead them to their best record.  My guess is that if Riley was hired 3 years ago as the Badgers head coach, they would be 5-7 or 6-6 right now and nowhere near undefeated.  

 
HuskerNation1 said:
I completely agree with you about Alvarez.  Just look at what happened to Gary Anderson and Bret Bielema after leaving Wisconsin.  They both failed miserably in their next job.  But regarding Chryst, he has found a way to improve upon Wisconsin's identity to lead them to their best record.  My guess is that if Riley was hired 3 years ago as the Badgers head coach, they would be 5-7 or 6-6 right now and nowhere near undefeated.  
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Agree on Chryst.  I am not sure how he's done it, since I didn't think he was that good of a coach his first year at Wisconsin.  However, what he's done the past 2 years has been impressive.

 
I think there were 4 or 5 very winnable games left on the table this past year. Talent wise Oregon, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Iowa and Minnesota weren't better than us and could/should have been wins. We need to get back to beating those teams regularly before we can talk about winning the BIG West, or beyond. I see the same types of games on next years schedule too, and IMO there's no reason not to win some or all games against less talented teams. I don't think were as far away from righting the ship as some on here do, and i'm excited to see what a new staff can do. 

 
Next year is one of those years that the fan base would be excited for a bowl game. That being said we have more talent than the rest of the division so who the hell knows where good coaching gets us. Recruit the players on the roster to stay, bring in a top 30 class - all bets are off.

 
FrantzHardySwag said:
Next year is one of those years that the fan base would be excited for a bowl game. That being said we have more talent than the rest of the division so who the hell knows where good coaching gets us. Recruit the players on the roster to stay, bring in a top 30 class - all bets are off.
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I read a number of our fans resort to the “we have more talent then the rest of the division” comment. Easy to say, impossible to support. Frankly, I don’t buy it when we win only 4 games. I look for 3 to 5 years for a turnaround - one recruit, one practice, one game, one year at a time. Unrealistic expectations will get us nowhere.

 
moveitforward said:
I read a number of our fans resort to the “we have more talent then the rest of the division” comment. Easy to say, impossible to support. Frankly, I don’t buy it when we win only 4 games. I look for 3 to 5 years for a turnaround - one recruit, one practice, one game, one year at a time. Unrealistic expectations will get us nowhere.
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Oh I don't expect us to be amazing next year. I'm just saying if we surprise some people, and win say 9 games it wouldn't shock me. Maybe "talent" is the wrong word, but I do put a lot of stock in recruiting rankings and the evidence that supports it. I think the caliber of athlete Frost will work with offensively next season, will be closer to his time at Oregon than it is at UCF currently. Don't confuse this for having high expectations, because I most definitely don't expect a big year - just saying I wouldn't count out the caliber of athlete we have and the impact of good coaching.

 
FrantzHardySwag said:
Oh I don't expect us to be amazing next year. I'm just saying if we surprise some people, and win say 9 games it wouldn't shock me. Maybe "talent" is the wrong word, but I do put a lot of stock in recruiting rankings and the evidence that supports it. I think the caliber of athlete Frost will work with offensively next season, will be closer to his time at Oregon than it is at UCF currently. Don't confuse this for having high expectations, because I most definitely don't expect a big year - just saying I wouldn't count out the caliber of athlete we have and the impact of good coaching.
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Agreed!

 
It’s not unrealistic expectations to beat lesser teams and make a bowl next year. And as far as “talent” goes there’s much to be said for development,motivation , team mentality , direction and discipline. Osborne for instance took Nebraska farm boys, walk ons , 2 and 3 star talent and had them playing at a very high level . Riley and company had much more physically gifted players playing far below their capabilities. I think that changes drastically next year especially if we get Frost and crew. 

 
Like I said previously, can't use this season as any indication on what next season will be like.  This season will go down as one of the most unassuming seasons in our football history.  MAybe the last 3 years all total will have that tag.  This was a bad hire and a bad fit from the start and it never actually left the ground once in 3 years.  Wasted time.  This early start of the season was a microcosm of that.  

I think we can look at recruiting numbers some and gage that our talent level is not rock bottom.  I think we can salvage enough from this current roster to win games next season.  This team from game 1 this season looked liked a group that was seeking some kind of direction. I think that when Eich was fired, that direction was found.  WERE getting a new coach!  SCREW this bunch.  Well thats how the fans read into it and thats actually what Bounds and Green were saying when they fired EIch.   So in all reality don't look at this last season for any kind of answers going forward.  

 
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