The 2014 Schedule That Might Have Been

[knapplc]

I can't get over how weird it is to be in the same conference as Rutgers and Maryland. We play Rutgers in a few days, in a conference game, and it seems like bizzarro-land.

That got me thinking - who would we have played this year, had nobody left the Big XII?

Presuming the first two games went as played this year, this is what our schedule would have been:

There's no reason to believe we wouldn't have won our first four games, and the game in Manhattan would be a tossup, much like the Michigan State game. We'd have beaten this year's Texas team - they're awful. We'd likely beat OK State, Missouri (who is also awful), Iowa State, Kansas, and we'd have a pretty fair shot at the Aggies in College Station. Colorado would have been a name-your-score game, and we would, most likely, be playing Oklahoma or Baylor in the Big XII Championship.

I see no more than two losses there, and possibly none.

 

[NUpolo8]

Not to be -that- guy but we probably can't guarantee any win by Nebraska over any iteration of a Texas team.

The potential Baylor matchup in the title game had me wondering if we were still in the XII if Nebraska wouldn't have had a different coach by now. 2011-2013 would have been rough with the defense facing Collin Klein, some salty OU teams, a damn good OSU team, Johnny Football, Mizzou last year and the scoring explosion Baylor Bears.

There likely would been some real dogs in there, and losses to those old foes really wouldn't have sat well.

 

[kchusker_chris]

A likely loss to K-State, following by a loss to Texas (does it matter how bad they are for us?). Oklahoma St is a toss up, they aren't exactly chopped liver. Missouri we beat, Iowa state is a close game (as usual) - Kansas A&M wins, Colorado a "rivalry" that is played closer than it should be.

I see 3 losses on that schedule.

 

[Scratchtown]

Not to be -that- guy but we probably can't guarantee any win by Nebraska over any iteration of a Texas team.

The potential Baylor matchup in the title game had me wondering if we were still in the XII if Nebraska wouldn't have had a different coach by now. 2011-2013 would have been rough with the defense facing Collin Klein, some salty OU teams, a damn good OSU team, Johnny Football, Mizzou last year and the scoring explosion Baylor Bears.

There likely would been some real dogs in there, and losses to those old foes really wouldn't have sat well.

So basically what you are saying is you wish we would have stayed to satisfy your thirst for a new coach. Got it.

 

[NUpolo8]

Not to be -that- guy but we probably can't guarantee any win by Nebraska over any iteration of a Texas team.

The potential Baylor matchup in the title game had me wondering if we were still in the XII if Nebraska wouldn't have had a different coach by now. 2011-2013 would have been rough with the defense facing Collin Klein, some salty OU teams, a damn good OSU team, Johnny Football, Mizzou last year and the scoring explosion Baylor Bears.

There likely would been some real dogs in there, and losses to those old foes really wouldn't have sat well.

So basically what you are saying is you wish we would have stayed to satisfy your thirst for a new coach. Got it.

No, that's what you said, just now.

 

[Minnesota_husker]

Always hard because of the speed of some of those teams.... but I think you are right on Knapp. 1 maybe 2 losses.

I think Okie or Baylor would beat us.

 

[Scratchtown]

Always hard because of the speed of some of those teams.... but I think you are right on Knapp. 1 maybe 2 losses.

I think Okie or Baylor would beat us.

I don't agree with OU. I know they should have beaten KState but OUs defense isn't great. I think we would have matchup better with them than KState.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

Too close to call. Not many "gimmes" either way.

Our current Big 10 schedule still looks easier to my eye.

Texas was awful in 2010 when Nebraska was #5 and playing them at home. That prediction didn't work out so well, so I'm not sure I'd ever put Texas in the win column until the actual game was over.

Same historical issues with Missouri. And Iowa State. And Texas A&M for that matter.

On the other hand, Colorado has charted brand new depths of awfulness. No amount of history keeps that game close.

 

[Redux]

I still say Bo just knows how to stop Big 12 offenses. Probably finish 11-1 with that shedule too.

 

[JJ Husker]

I still say Bo just knows how to stop Big 12 offenses. Probably finish 11-1 with that shedule too.

The real benefit would be that the Big 12 has generally been awful at defense these past few years. I'm not sure they believe in playing defense, as a conference, anymore.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

Our best husker team in some time lost to their worst longhorn team in a long time. At home.

I see Nebraska losing 3 games against that schedule. At K-State, Texas, and either OKST or TAMU. Just to many tough road games there.

 

[beanman]

Jeez Knapp, now I hate Texas again. I was just starting to get over it until you brought this up. Those guys could be 1-5 and I still wouldn't feel confident playing them given their voodoo hex they have against us.

I agree that Bo was better at stopping Big 12 offenses and I think the results would have been close to what you state above.

 

[corncraze]

Sigh... I miss playing these teams.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

So Bo can't defend as well against more conservative offenses?

Didn't the move to the Big 10 coincide with the loss of Suh, Crick and other defensive mainstays?

Dont we manage to lose 4 games a year, regardless of conference?

This is a weird, wishful thinking argument.

The Big 12 is no easier and likely more dangerous to a Nebraska defense than the Big 10.

 

[Chimalli]

The LongHornNetwork is what started all of this conference shuffle and last I checked nobody watches that channel, hell, Texas doesn't even play on LHN.

ESPN went into bed with Texas, results never panned, now they are with the SEC. It's too bad ESPN ruined the Big XII as a beta test for the SEC network.