Athlon: Huskers Third in Big Ten West

[NUance]

Keep in mind this is from Athlon. Not exactly known for indepth analysis.

 

[lo country]

Fun fact: Only once since joining the Big Ten has Nebraska finished with less than 3 losses or higher than 3rd in our division.

So for all the talk about fishing 3rd or 3 losses being abysmal, it's basically been the status quo over the last 5 years.

Man, thats some depressing truth being dropped right there.

 

[BigRedBuster]

Why do people get all worked up over a January prediction as to what someone thinks is going to happen 8-10 months from now?

And...no....nobody will be satisfied with a 3rd place finish in our division.

Even if we are in a position to win every game? Because that's the stated goal now... or at least level of satisfaction.

BS

 

[BigRedBuster]

Why do people get all worked up over a January prediction as to what someone thinks is going to happen 8-10 months from now?

And...no....nobody will be satisfied with a 3rd place finish in our division.

Eichorst will. A record of 7 wins or more will be regarded as "marked improvement" and will be said and played over and over again in an attempt to convince fans that we're headed in the right direction.

BS

 

[Redux]

Why do people get all worked up over a January prediction as to what someone thinks is going to happen 8-10 months from now?

And...no....nobody will be satisfied with a 3rd place finish in our division.

Eichorst will. A record of 7 wins or more will be regarded as "marked improvement" and will be said and played over and over again in an attempt to convince fans that we're headed in the right direction.

Derp

 

[BigRedBuster]

Why do people get all worked up over a January prediction as to what someone thinks is going to happen 8-10 months from now?

And...no....nobody will be satisfied with a 3rd place finish in our division.

Eichorst will. A record of 7 wins or more will be regarded as "marked improvement" and will be said and played over and over again in an attempt to convince fans that we're headed in the right direction.

Derp

Derpity derp derp. Derp.

 

[HuskerNationNick]

I see no reason why we can't win the West. If we don't, I will lose all hope for this program until Eichorst and Riley are gone.

Northwestern, they are Northwestern. No one knows how good they will be, and they find ways to win.

Illinois, not a great team. Should be a win, unlike last season. We will be better.

Indiana is going to be a much different team, without Sudfeld. This could be a win, but also a loss.

Purdue, I don't see being a threat, if this staff can remember what a team's weakness is and stick to it.

Wisconsin losing their DC, is huge, because they were mediocre at best this season, and they lose a lot as well.

Ohio Sate- I am counting this as a loss, and probably will the the largest point deficit in Riley's tenure here, until I see something otherwise.

Minnesota, lets face it, they aren't what they were two years ago.

Maryland- Come on, should be a win.

Iowa- Losses a lot. Overrated this will be a win in Iowa City.

Seriously, I see one loss, two possibly in Conference play. Our opponents could have 2+ losses, with their schedules. Iowa, once again, has the easiest, and could be our biggest threat. I haven't been impressed with anyone in the West last season, outside of Northwestern's Power 5 school wins in the non conference schedule. I see us going into conference play 2-1, ending the season at 9-3. 8-4 at worst. Again, I could be VERY wrong, like I was this last season.

 

[skersfan]

Hey how is Youngstown State doing. I see we still have a lot of their fans hanging around here, so thought I would ask.

 

[Saunders]

Keep in mind this is from Athlon. Not exactly known for indepth analysis.

They've actually gotten alot better, and have been neck and neck with Phil Steele the last few years. My only problem with them, is that the entire cfb staff is SEC guys, so they have a massive bias towards that conference (and against the B1G). It's readily apparent in their podcast too.

 

[JJ Husker]

Unfortunately, picking Nebraska 3rd in the west makes complete sense and would be the odds on money guess. That is who we are until we quit performing like a 3rd (or worse) B1G West team. Really, anyone would have to be crazy, or a diehard fan, to pick us any higher.

 

[DomiNUs]

After watching our final four games of the season, and seeing the turnaround that happened, there is no reasonable excuse as to why we should not be one of the top contenders for the west.

 

[Kiyoat Husker]

I agree with most of the optimistic posts in this thread. Too many to quote. Iowa was lucky to have the record they did last year. Wiscy has a brutal schedule. We were snakebit. Lazy analysts don't watch the games and just crunch the numbers. I'll be disappointed if we don't win the West.

I will put more stock in Vegas's preseason numbers than Athlon's.

 

[Redux]

Honestly I could see Nebraska and Iowa meeting at the end of the season to determine the West with us at like 9-2 or 10-1 and Iowa the same. Would really make our trip over there a nationally relevant game.

 

[VectorVictor]

Unfortunately, picking Nebraska 3rd in the west makes complete sense and would be the odds on money guess. That is who we are until we quit performing like a 3rd (or worse) B1G West team. Really, anyone would have to be crazy, or a diehard fan, to pick us any higher.

Hell, after this past season, I thought putting us at third in the B1G West was just Athlon's way of trolling Nebraska fans during the off-season.

Until this team shows it can play competent defense and our OC shows that they've learned something from the Foster Farms bowl and Illinois games, we're going to be treading water. Yes, we're getting some great recruits coming in and some good talent showing up on the roster now, but if they're not put in a position to succeed via coaching, then it's all for naught.

I do hope we can do well and be 2-1 or 3-0 headed to Chicago come the end of September. Maybe we can get some momentum going our way then and talent can overcome any obstacles at that point.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

Why do people get all worked up over a January prediction as to what someone thinks is going to happen 8-10 months from now?

And...no....nobody will be satisfied with a 3rd place finish in our division.

Eichorst will. A record of 7 wins or more will be regarded as "marked improvement" and will be said and played over and over again in an attempt to convince fans that we're headed in the right direction.

Well, on a strictly factual basis, 7 wins would be improvement and fall within the definition of the "right direction" since that's what "improvement" is all about.

Doesn't mean you're satisfied with a 3rd place finish.

You'd want to see "continuous" improvement, which is how Nebraska got here in the first place.

But that would likely require a third and fourth season.

Should Nebraska land its first elite or even semi-elite quarterback in decades, and turn around its long and mysterious decline in defense, we might indeed be headed in the right direction.

But you have to play those seasons first to find out.

Come on. It'll be fun.