BYU

[admo]

This is a must win game. A loss would be catastrophic.

Well then what kind of result would happen if Bo Pelini & Staff were retained?

It would have been a terrible loss. I also think it's less likely due to the simple fact of continuity.

Yes it would. But that doesn't win you ball games. Especially if you continue down the same path expecting a different result.

I do not think Bo would have better odds with the Huskers to win this game more than Riley. Otherwise we need to make a sticky of how high a climb Riley has in comparison. Riley has spring and fall so I like his chances as much, if not more.

 

[zoogs]

With sports and college football, that's just the nature of the beast.

If the Huskers were to win the division and play for a conference championship, the non-conf results will not mean as much in hindsight. Even if they come out 2 and 2.

Looking at the schedule I can very well see 2-2 with the previous staff with the same ol' questions. With the new staff, I am more optimistic. There will be new questions.

Yeah, exactly. Consider:

Defense wouldn't have Randy Gregory. Linebacker issues still present. But some of the new recruits! We want to see Bo's staff work with them, right?

Offense has lost KB and Ameer. We can't be sure we have a QB.

It'd be just another year where 7-9 wins should mean Bo gets another year. Not much different than what Bo supporters had argued for the previous years.

 

[admo]

Who the hell put BYU as a first game?

Lol pretty exciting for an opener isn't it? A lot better than the recent past. Can only imagine the anticipation building up during fall ball.

 

[admo]

With sports and college football, that's just the nature of the beast.

If the Huskers were to win the division and play for a conference championship, the non-conf results will not mean as much in hindsight. Even if they come out 2 and 2.

Looking at the schedule I can very well see 2-2 with the previous staff with the same ol' questions. With the new staff, I am more optimistic. There will be new questions.

Yeah, exactly. Consider:

Defense wouldn't have Randy Gregory. Linebacker issues still present. But some of the new recruits! We want to see Bo's staff work with them, right?

Offense has lost KB and Ameer. We can't be sure we have a QB.

It'd be just another year where 7-9 wins should mean Bo gets another year. Not much different than what Bo supporters had argued for the previous years.

Well said. Lots of questions and those are some key losses to deal with. Those three meant so much to this team. KB & AA for 3-4 years worth of knowing what to expect out of them. BYU opener and @Miami is a non-conf schedule that most teams outside the top 15 would be nervous about.

 

[MichiganDad3]

I will legit not be surprised if we go .500 next year, including an opening-day loss to BYU. Everything is up in the air. We have no idea what Riley is going to be able to do with this team.

BYU is going to come into this game with a huge chip on their shoulders, playing for their suspended teammates, all fired up to beat Nebraska in Lincoln & break that winning streak. They'll be running the same system they've always run, with players recruited to run that system, and they'll have their big-game quarterback.

Meanwhile, we're breaking in a new system, we got nothing to prove against a mid-level team like BYU, and we're going to be trying to figure out how to replace a super-stud RB.

If we win it'll be a testament to our better athletes, or Riley & Co. being damned good coaches, or BYU just having a bad game or bad breaks in the game.

yup, i see us not ready for this game........but hoping for 7-5 season.

That seems a bit pessimistic.

I'm expecting a minimum of 9 wins, no excuses.

i hope you guys are correct, but i am really concerned with our O line and no Abdullah......hope we can overcome those concerns.

Just having a real center this year should greatly improve the O-line

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

just remember guys, a whole new system is being installed this spring........no one has the experience playing in Riley's system so we would be foolish to think there won't be a significant learning curve........x2 for these kids and what they need to learn and execute......as long as we see a methodical march to improvement, realistically, that should really be enough. 7-5 or 8-4 would be very good, indeed.

The problem is I don't know what Nebraska's window is for having that breakthrough type of year. Next year is a transition season, so I expect an 8-4, 9-3 type of season. After that the schedule gets significantly harder, as we play Ohio State and Oregon each of the next two seasons with other tough B1G games sprinkled in (AT MSU and Penn State one of those years).

So while we might see improvement as far as level of play, comfort with the scheme, etc. As the years go by. The schedule probably still puts this team at 8-4, 9-3 range.

 

[strigori]

I will legit not be surprised if we go .500 next year, including an opening-day loss to BYU. Everything is up in the air. We have no idea what Riley is going to be able to do with this team.

BYU is going to come into this game with a huge chip on their shoulders, playing for their suspended teammates, all fired up to beat Nebraska in Lincoln & break that winning streak. They'll be running the same system they've always run, with players recruited to run that system, and they'll have their big-game quarterback.

Meanwhile, we're breaking in a new system, we got nothing to prove against a mid-level team like BYU, and we're going to be trying to figure out how to replace a super-stud RB.

If we win it'll be a testament to our better athletes, or Riley & Co. being damned good coaches, or BYU just having a bad game or bad breaks in the game.

yup, i see us not ready for this game........but hoping for 7-5 season.

That seems a bit pessimistic.

I'm expecting a minimum of 9 wins, no excuses.

i hope you guys are correct, but i am really concerned with our O line and no Abdullah......hope we can overcome those concerns.

We appear to have upgraded our O-Line coach. And while we don't have a lot of starting experience at RB, we should have a serviceable group of backs. Pair that with an offensive scheme where everyone is on the same page, I would not call this doom and gloom. Again, I would be much more worried with Pelini back than I am right now.

 

[MichiganDad3]

I worry the offense will not be as productive this year. TA is a terrible as a drop back passer. He cannot check down, has trouble with short routes, and is good for two to three bone-headed throws a game. Maybe this staff can help him improve his passing, but his strength is his running ability, and his ability to run the option. I think the defense will be greatly improved. Teams figured out Bo's scheme, and he was too stubborn to adjust even when a single player ran for 400 yards. Banker says he will let the D attack. It has to be better. We have 5 gimme games, so winning 9 should be feasible.

 

[Hunter94]

I worry the offense will not be as productive this year. TA is a terrible as a drop back passer. He cannot check down, has trouble with short routes, and is good for two to three bone-headed throws a game. Maybe this staff can help him improve his passing, but his strength is his running ability, and his ability to run the option. I think the defense will be greatly improved. Teams figured out Bo's scheme, and he was too stubborn to adjust even when a single player ran for 400 yards. Banker says he will let the D attack. It has to be better. We have 5 gimme games, so winning 9 should be feasible.

Banker has got to show me he can stop the run for starters........then we shall see. letting guys fly around can make for some undisciplined play/results.......i flat worry about Banker and the D.

 

[MichiganDad3]

I worry the offense will not be as productive this year. TA is a terrible as a drop back passer. He cannot check down, has trouble with short routes, and is good for two to three bone-headed throws a game. Maybe this staff can help him improve his passing, but his strength is his running ability, and his ability to run the option. I think the defense will be greatly improved. Teams figured out Bo's scheme, and he was too stubborn to adjust even when a single player ran for 400 yards. Banker says he will let the D attack. It has to be better. We have 5 gimme games, so winning 9 should be feasible.

Banker has got to show me he can stop the run for starters........then we shall see. letting guys fly around can make for some undisciplined play/results.......i flat worry about Banker and the D.

I am also concerned about Banker and the D, but I expect improvement this year. I don't see how anything can be worse than the garbage Bo put on the field the past few years. I expected Cosgrove's records to last forever, but Bo brought the D to a new low.

 

[skersfan]

I think we have a tough game with BYU at this point. Will need to see how the team comes together. Riley seems to be winning over the fans with his different ideas, his charm, and similar actions to a past great.

I do not expect nor demand a certain number. I just want to see a team play the whole game, have a clue as to what is going on, and to see coaches make adjustments. I have seen Coach Riley's team play SC a couple of times. I know that Pete Carroll respects Coach Riley. A tough competitor.

Be as good as you can be, win what we can, but if we lose, do it giving every effort to win. I know the kids will and I feel now the coaches will.

I don't think a well played game ending in a loss will have a huge affect on the team. It takes time to build a program, get your kids here. He has his work cut out for him, but I will back him no matter the outcome of the season.

 

[ScottyIce]

Who the hell put BYU as a first game?

BlameBo

 

[The King]

I worry the offense will not be as productive this year. TA is a terrible as a drop back passer. He cannot check down, has trouble with short routes, and is good for two to three bone-headed throws a game. Maybe this staff can help him improve his passing, but his strength is his running ability, and his ability to run the option. I think the defense will be greatly improved. Teams figured out Bo's scheme, and he was too stubborn to adjust even when a single player ran for 400 yards. Banker says he will let the D attack. It has to be better. We have 5 gimme games, so winning 9 should be feasible.

I guarantee you Tommy won't be starting if he is, as you say, a terrible passer.

 

[caveman99]

just remember guys, a whole new system is being installed this spring........no one has the experience playing in Riley's system so we would be foolish to think there won't be a significant learning curve........x2 for these kids and what they need to learn and execute......as long as we see a methodical march to improvement, realistically, that should really be enough. 7-5 or 8-4 would be very good, indeed.

No, I don't buy that. If BO was able to win 9, then so should Riley. Heck we all talk about about how Riley seems like he won't just force a round peg into a square hole like Callahan did. This team has a lot of talented players, it is better in talent than almost every team on the schedule. Riley and his staff should be able to get at least 9 wins out of them. BO did coming off of a losing season and no one thought he would.

 

[zoogs]

People did not expect Bo to win 9 games his first season. They knew we were installing a new system on one side of the ball and knew that a new coaching staff meant a significant culture shift. They also knew the offense was in relatively good hands, and had a smooth transition coming.

I would argue that the team Riley is inheriting is much less talented than the team Bo inherited. We have talent, yes. We also have serious depth issues, especially at DE and at LB -- this after a defensive mastermind's unit last year got wrecked (again) by Minnesota, et al. There is zero continuity and a new system being put in place on both sides of the ball.

A lot of it will come down to Tommy. Does he stumble in Year 3, or get replaced by a different QB in Riley's first season? Or can he steady the team like Ganz did with his prolific '08? Unlike in '08, we also have some serious playmaker attrition on offense. People underplay how important Kenny was to the team, and most people I think recognize how Ameer practically carried this team last year.

If you recognize that Bo's string of successive 9/10 win seasons was unusual, then it should follow that the expectation is most coaches will not have that as a baseline under which their program never, ever crosses. Think of Bob Stoops, who has had 7, 8, and 8 win seasons spread throughout a dominating career. Nick Saban, who had 8 wins two out of his first three years at LSU. Or any other coach people have claimed Bo to be in exclusive company of, or with.

So, the idea that Riley must win 9 in a total transition year, with what Bo left him with his somewhat under-recruited classes...I mean, it'd be pleasant, and a goal within reach. Not more than that.