Extremely detailed preview has Nebraska winning the West (Pick Six Previews). Discuss

[NUance]

That's the best preview I've seen. Not just because they picked the Huskers to win the west, but because of the relevant discussion and cool stats. Thanks for posting D-LineU! +1

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[Redux]

I didn't see anything that was surprising in the article. I agree with most of it. I think the season comes down to 2 games, and I am not talking about Wiscy and MSU. I think it comes down to BYU and Miami. If we can win both those games, it sets up for a great year. On the flip side, if we lose both games we are in for a long year. I believe it will come down to confidence in the game plan and coach. So winning early will be key.

BYU and Miami are early games, and non conference games. If we lost both yet went undefeated in conference play, nobody would really care much we lost those since we would be playing for a conference title at 10-2.It comes down to MSU and Wiscy, no doubt about it.

I'll disagree. It comes down to beating Wisconsin and Minnesota. If we can do that, then given we win the rest of the games on our conference schedule, whatever we do against Michigan State doesn't matter. We win, we're 8-0. We lose, we're 7-1 and hold the tiebreaker over the winner of Wisconsin and Minnesota.

I think it is probably just as important as the MSU game when you get down to it. The divisional inplications on the line against Minny are obvious, but a tougher challenge against Sparty still holds conference record on the line.

I think the consensus is Wiscy is our biggest "Must Win" if we want to hold any hope of a divisional title this year.

 

[DefensiveLineU]

That's the best preview I've seen. Not just because they picked the Huskers to win the west, but because of the relevant discussion and cool stats. Thanks for posting D-LineU! +1 :thumbs :

I've followed these guys since launch in 2012, and love their content (and Twitter). Really a College Football gem

 

[It'sNotAFakeID]

I didn't see anything that was surprising in the article. I agree with most of it. I think the season comes down to 2 games, and I am not talking about Wiscy and MSU. I think it comes down to BYU and Miami. If we can win both those games, it sets up for a great year. On the flip side, if we lose both games we are in for a long year. I believe it will come down to confidence in the game plan and coach. So winning early will be key.

BYU and Miami are early games, and non conference games. If we lost both yet went undefeated in conference play, nobody would really care much we lost those since we would be playing for a conference title at 10-2.It comes down to MSU and Wiscy, no doubt about it.

I'll disagree. It comes down to beating Wisconsin and Minnesota. If we can do that, then given we win the rest of the games on our conference schedule, whatever we do against Michigan State doesn't matter. We win, we're 8-0. We lose, we're 7-1 and hold the tiebreaker over the winner of Wisconsin and Minnesota.

I think it is probably just as important as the MSU game when you get down to it. The divisional inplications on the line against Minny are obvious, but a tougher challenge against Sparty still holds conference record on the line.

I think the consensus is Wiscy is our biggest "Must Win" if we want to hold any hope of a divisional title this year.

Except Michigan State doesn't become an issue for making it to the CCG if we beat both Wisconsin and Minnesota. Aside from MSU, we would have to lose to either @Illinois, vs. Northwestern, @Purdue, @Rutgers, or vs. Iowa, teams that have gone a combined 21-51 in conference the past two seasons.

I know it seems like Michigan State is a big game, and it is because the Spartans will more than likely be ranked in the Top 15 when they come to Lincoln. But the game doesn't mean much assuming we haven't lost a conference game up to that point and won't lose a conference game post-MSU. Let's also assume that Wisconsin wins all of its conference games besides Nebraska, and Minnesota wins all of its conference games besides Wisconsin and Nebraska (that's a pretty big ask if you've looked at their schedule).

If we lose against MSU, we'd be 7-1 in the conference. Wisconsin would also be 7-1, but we'd hold the tiebreaker over them. Minnesota would be 6-2 and out of the tiebreaker. So MSU doesn't become important unless we have a loss, and it becomes a bigger issue if we have a loss to Wisconsin or Minnesota.

 

[Redux]

If I had to pick a game to lose it would be MSU. However, for a national perception, beating Sparty in Lincoln means a whole lot more than beatting Minny on the road.

For us as a fan base and a program the Minny game is bigger. For our climb back to relevance, MSU is a big game.

 

[It'sNotAFakeID]

If I had to pick a game to lose it would be MSU. However, for a national perception, beating Sparty in Lincoln means a whole lot more than beatting Minny on the road.

For us as a fan base and a program the Minny game is bigger. For our climb back to relevance, MSU is a big game.

Would just one game make much of a difference if we don't make/win the conference?

 

[Landlord]

If I had to pick a game to lose it would be MSU. However, for a national perception, beating Sparty in Lincoln means a whole lot more than beatting Minny on the road.

For us as a fan base and a program the Minny game is bigger. For our climb back to relevance, MSU is a big game.

Would just one game make much of a difference if we don't make/win the conference?

Absolutely it would. Every year we perceive plenty of teams as being top echelon that don't win their conferences or their divisions.

 

[Saunders]

If I had to pick a game to lose it would be MSU. However, for a national perception, beating Sparty in Lincoln means a whole lot more than beatting Minny on the road.

For us as a fan base and a program the Minny game is bigger. For our climb back to relevance, MSU is a big game.

Would just one game make much of a difference if we don't make/win the conference?

Absolutely it would. Every year we perceive plenty of teams as being top echelon that don't win their conferences or their divisions.

And if you're in the SEC, you can win the "national championship" without even winning your division!

 

[Redux]

If I had to pick a game to lose it would be MSU. However, for a national perception, beating Sparty in Lincoln means a whole lot more than beatting Minny on the road.

For us as a fan base and a program the Minny game is bigger. For our climb back to relevance, MSU is a big game.

Would just one game make much of a difference if we don't make/win the conference?

A lot of us don't even expect to win the division. So really, what is left if we can't do that? Beating a top 10 team, maybe top 5 by the time we play them, would surely be a big stepping stone.

Say we lose the Wiscy game. We cannot win the division unless they have a serious meltdown at the end of the year. Would a win against Minnesota really be the big conference win of the year? Kudos to Jerry Kill but Sparty is a way hotter commodity to take down.

 

[husker98]

I love how the Broken Chair is listed as a trophy game.

It's a legit trophy game!

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2014/11/23/7269933/nebraska-minnesota-broken-chair-trophy

I love this trophy, that an Minnesota has the most football history with the big red of any of the schools in the BIG. I hope this trophy is made official soon

 

[Red Five]

If I had to pick a game to lose it would be MSU. However, for a national perception, beating Sparty in Lincoln means a whole lot more than beatting Minny on the road.

For us as a fan base and a program the Minny game is bigger. For our climb back to relevance, MSU is a big game.

Would just one game make much of a difference if we don't make/win the conference?

Absolutely it would. Every year we perceive plenty of teams as being top echelon that don't win their conferences or their divisions.

And if you're in the SEC, you can win the "national championship" without even winning your division!

I'm not sure we have the ability to talk smack about not winning your division and having a chance at the NC.

 

[Redux]

If I had to pick a game to lose it would be MSU. However, for a national perception, beating Sparty in Lincoln means a whole lot more than beatting Minny on the road.

For us as a fan base and a program the Minny game is bigger. For our climb back to relevance, MSU is a big game.

Would just one game make much of a difference if we don't make/win the conference?

Absolutely it would. Every year we perceive plenty of teams as being top echelon that don't win their conferences or their divisions.

And if you're in the SEC, you can win the "national championship" without even winning your division!

I'm not sure we have the ability to talk smack about not winning your division and having a chance at the NC.

The BCS is at fault for that, not us.

ESPN and the BCS are at fault for Bama getting in over Okie Lite.

 

[Saunders]

If I had to pick a game to lose it would be MSU. However, for a national perception, beating Sparty in Lincoln means a whole lot more than beatting Minny on the road.

For us as a fan base and a program the Minny game is bigger. For our climb back to relevance, MSU is a big game.

Would just one game make much of a difference if we don't make/win the conference?

Absolutely it would. Every year we perceive plenty of teams as being top echelon that don't win their conferences or their divisions.

And if you're in the SEC, you can win the "national championship" without even winning your division!

I'm not sure we have the ability to talk smack about not winning your division and having a chance at the NC.

Nebraska fans didn't go around telling everyone how they deserved to be there.

 

[Mierin]

If I had to pick a game to lose it would be MSU. However, for a national perception, beating Sparty in Lincoln means a whole lot more than beatting Minny on the road.

For us as a fan base and a program the Minny game is bigger. For our climb back to relevance, MSU is a big game.

Would just one game make much of a difference if we don't make/win the conference?

Absolutely it would. Every year we perceive plenty of teams as being top echelon that don't win their conferences or their divisions.

And if you're in the SEC, you can win the "national championship" without even winning your division!

I'm not sure we have the ability to talk smack about not winning your division and having a chance at the NC.

The BCS is at fault for that, not us.

ESPN and the BCS are at fault for Bama getting in over Okie Lite.

As is Oklahoma State

 

[It'sNotAFakeID]

If I had to pick a game to lose it would be MSU. However, for a national perception, beating Sparty in Lincoln means a whole lot more than beatting Minny on the road.

For us as a fan base and a program the Minny game is bigger. For our climb back to relevance, MSU is a big game.

Would just one game make much of a difference if we don't make/win the conference?

A lot of us don't even expect to win the division. So really, what is left if we can't do that? Beating a top 10 team, maybe top 5 by the time we play them, would surely be a big stepping stone.

Say we lose the Wiscy game. We cannot win the division unless they have a serious meltdown at the end of the year. Would a win against Minnesota really be the big conference win of the year? Kudos to Jerry Kill but Sparty is a way hotter commodity to take down.

Sure, and we're not disagreeing, we're speaking using different conditions. In my scenario, we beat Wisconsin, which would mean that Minnesota game would be really important and probably more important than Michigan State. In your scenario, we lose to Wisconsin, which means that we probably don't get to the CCG. Yes, in that case, beating a Top 10-15 Michigan State team would help national perception in Riley's first year.

I'm not devaluing the MSU game, as beating Sparty will really help national perception. But the MSU game could more than likely not play a major role in determining whether we get to the CCG, and I think getting to the CCG is what fans want to see more than one quality win over a quality team.