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Is Nebraska being overlooked?

  • oldhuskerfan said...

    So is 9-4 what Bo meant when he roared "Nebraska's back and we're here to stay!!" after the Holiday Bowl a couple-three years ago? Must be.

    I think he meant Nebraska's back to the upper echelons of CFB, and it's would be hard not to see that they are in the top 20% of D1-A again.

    Nebraska will challenge for championships, but like most programs will not win them as frequently as we once did. There's more competition, it's better than it used to be, and Nebraska isn't yet as good as they were in the Eighties and Nineties, but it is good enough to win the B1G, if not this year, then in 2013.

    If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

    daddyact

  • daddyact said...

    I think he meant Nebraska's back to the upper echelons of CFB, and it's would be hard not to see that they are in the top 20% of D1-A again.

    Nebraska will challenge for championships, but like most programs will not win them as frequently as we once did. There's more competition, it's better than it used to be, and Nebraska isn't yet as good as they were in the Eighties and Nineties, but it is good enough to win the B1G, if not this year, then in 2013.

    2013 our schedule is easier. That doesn't mean we will be better. I fear that fans will continue to be totally content with bo and this program not taking the next step in recruiting or on the field because probably in 2013 we will look better record wise we should be better cuz no Wiscy or Osu. But I don't really know if we will be better we just play worse teams.
    Bo needs to prove himself now. He is in year 5 and should get the credit this whether good or bad. Yes tough schedule but other teams have tough schedules.

    This post was edited by Scooby on 7/29/2012 at 8:39 PM

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  • Normally the 5th year I would agree is put up or shutup. Not in this situation and for all the reason you would expect me to come up with. Mostly though the conference transition. It affects how we recruit and where our players fit into how we play our schemes on offense and defense. This doesn't take time to transition....?

    BTW, completly agree with you on 2013 SOS. We will look better simply because of the schedule. I do believe the team will be improving though.

    This post was edited by beardown2489 on 11/18/2012 at 8:01 PM

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  • Scooby said...

    2013 our schedule is easier. That doesn't mean we will be better. I fear that fans will continue to be totally content with bo and this program not taking the next step in recruiting or on the field because probably in 2013 we will look better record wise we should be better cuz no Wiscy or Osu. But I don't really know if we will be better we just play worse teams. Bo needs to prove himself now. He is in year 5 and should get the credit this whether good or bad. Yes tough schedule but other teams have tough schedules.

    Yes, fans should be fairly content with Bo and the program, because it's still winning 70% ofit's games, and it has played for Conference Championships two of the last four years.

    Will we win the NC? Probably not any time soon, but it's much easier to make the jump from a 9-3 or 10-2 season than from 5-7 or 7-6.

    Will we win B1G Championships? Yes, but we will no longer dominate the conference like we did when Oklahoma was the only real opposition.

    Will we get back to the Nineties? Highly unlikely, as the circumstances were uniquely situated for the Huskers. Those circumstances no longer exist.

    So what if the schedule is easier in 2013? If they win the conference they'll have won the conference.

    If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

    daddyact

  • SpartanRocky said...

    It went

    @Ohio State BYE MIchigan Wisconsin @Nebraska

    This year isn't any better, and may even be worse:

    Ohio State @Indiana (ok, psuedo bye week lol) Iowa @Michigan @Wisconsin Nebraska

    Only saving grace is that Nebraska has @Northwestern (revenge game for you guys) and hosts Michigan in a night game . . . just like how MSU hosted Wisconsin in a night game before traveling to Lincoln last year. Now, the Huskers don't have the same schedule immediately before MSU, but it's tougher than what you guys had going on last year.

    The other thought . . . it's conceivable that one or both of our squads is out of the Big 10 race by the time they play. State could lose to Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin, and Nebraska could lose to Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan. You wonder what the motivation is going to be for both teams at that point . . . which is also why it's hard to debate a match-up in the second half of the season in the pre-season.

    Thanks for correcting. It seemed to me that the Spartans had a real heavy duty month of Oct last year whereas the Huskers caught a break at a very good time.

    oldhuskerfan ●

  • Scooby said...

    2013 our schedule is easier. That doesn't mean we will be better. I fear that fans will continue to be totally content with bo and this program not taking the next step in recruiting or on the field because probably in 2013 we will look better record wise we should be better cuz no Wiscy or Osu. But I don't really know if we will be better we just play worse teams. Bo needs to prove himself now. He is in year 5 and should get the credit this whether good or bad. Yes tough schedule but other teams have tough schedules.

    Everyone's schedule gets easier in '13 when you consider PSU is about to fall off a cliff.

    Both MSU and Nebraska add IL and Purdue instead of tOSU and Wisconsin. With PSU being crap, Nebraska's cross-over game gives them 3 mediocre Leaders opponent. MSU keeps IU also giving them 3 weak opponents.

    This is really where Michigan's protected rivalry with tOSU comes back to bite them. They have PSU and IU, 2 games they should win, but tOSU in year 2 of Urban Meyer should be pretty darn good. Whereas I'd expect Nebraska and MSU to sweep their Leaders opponents, UM could well go 2-1. That gives MSU - Nebraska essentially a leg up on the Wolverines.

    Same thing in '14.

    I have to say, I do like divisional play. Makes the schedules VERY interesting.

    Michigan State does not and will not run the 3-4 defense.

    SpartanRocky

  • oldhuskerfan said...

    Thanks for correcting. It seemed to me that the Spartans had a real heavy duty month of Oct last year whereas the Huskers caught a break at a very good time.

    Yea, same rough Oct. for MSU, though Nebraska's 2-game stretch vs. Wisky and @tOSU is no picnic either.

    The silver lining is that IF MSU survives the Oct. stretch, it sets them up very well for the Big 10 title game. The last 3 weeks are BYE, Northwestern, @Minnesota. Dantonio has Fitzgerald and Northwestern figured out and Minnesota, though improving, is still a bad team. All in all, it looks like a 3 week period where MSU can rest and get healthy for the CCG . . . if they don't already have 3 Big 10 losses at that point lol

    Michigan State does not and will not run the 3-4 defense.

    SpartanRocky

  • Nothing irritates more than when someone tells Nebraska fans that its not the 90s and we should curb our expectations. Duh, of course it isn't the 90s. That's a once-in-a-lifetime dynasty for any program. I'm not asking for another dynasty. I don't think anyone with a decent IQ is. Just the opportunity to finally see Nebraska be relevant on the field and in the polls again. You don't have to be a dynasty to achieve that. You just have to be good.

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    Blitz

  • daddyact said...

    I never said mediocrity was great. I said we need to recognize that this is not the Nebraska of the Nineties.

    As to reasons, I can give you many. Lack of a coherent, consistent offensive system the last three years. Lack of depth and talent in the Offensive Line since 2008.

    Lack of experienced play-makers on defense in 2011. Experienced being the key word.

    I don't think you win an average of 9.5 games per year without sufficient talent, but in some instances it has been a problem getting all of that talent on the same page and exerting the same amount of effort.

    Changing conferences and playing against an entire conference line-up of unknown opponents did not help last year either, but then again, I didn't expect the Huskers to win more than nine games last year. We didn't lose to the teams I thought we'd lose to, but the results were not unexpected.

    Our defense was in transition last year. Losing four NFL-caliber players from the 2010 team on defense meant that 2011 was going to be a transition year on defense, especially considering the lack of depth at Linebacker.

    Our overall talent level is much higher this season, at LB, at Safety, at CB, and at DE. Yeah, we lose David, but Compton, Anderson, Whaley/Fisher, and Santos are a big improvement. Green is better. Evans at Nickel will be better. Osborne at the Dime will be better. Jackson, Seisay, Davie, and SJB will be better. Stafford will be better, along with Cooper and Harvey. Experience in the DBackfield always improves Bo's defense, just as it made a huge leap forward in 2009 from 2008.

    This defense will improve by about seven points per game or better this year, on average.

    Our talent level in the OL is better and deeper than we've had since 2006, and perhaps even 1999.

    Our talent at WR and TE is the best we've had since the mid-nineties.

    We still don't know what we truly have behind Rex at RB, either.

    Overall, our talent level is better than any we've had since 1999, imo. Way better than 2006. We may not be better than 2009 on defense. Players like Ndamakong Suh come along once in a decade, but right now we have far more offensive talent than we've had in a decade.

    This program is not mediocre, and we have to stop equating mediocrity with winning 70% of our games. Mediocrity is a team which wins only as much as it loses. Mediocrity is breaking even over the long haul. Nebraska is not a mediocre team. Northwestern is a mediocre team. They craft a few big upsets every year, but they also lose to teams they shouldn't and end up around 50% year after year. 40-36 over six years is mediocre. 38-16 is not. 57-23 is not, which is what Bo's six year record should be if they don't get any better than they have been the last four years.

    Michigan State was a mediocre program until 2010. They've been pretty damn good the last two years, and yet if Bo finishes 9-4 again, he'll have a better record over his first five years than Mark Dantonio.

    9-4 is not a mediocre record, except in the minds of those fans who demand the Huskers win ten or eleven games every year.

    Hey DA, I agree with a lot of what you've said here.

    Kram ●

  • oldhuskerfan said...

    So is 9-4 what Bo meant when he roared "Nebraska's back and we're here to stay!!" after the Holiday Bowl a couple-three years ago? Must be.

    Are you saying that a 9-4 record is bad? He shouldn't have said that" Nebraska is back and we're here to stay" but to me a 9-4 season is pretty good. I would prefer a 13-0 record but that may be beyond our reach for the next two seasons but we'll get their very soon.

    Kram ●

  • beardown2489 said...

    Normally the 5th year I would agree is put up or shutup. Not in this situation and for all the reason you would expect me to come up with. Mostly though the conference transition. It affects how we recruit and where our players fit into how we play our schemes on offense and defense. This doesn't take time to transition.

    BTW, completly agree with you on 2013 SOS. We will look better simply because of the schedule. I do believe the team will be improving though.

    There was a contingent of fans that said the same thing about Tom Osborne heading into his 5th year. After the season he interviewed with Colorado.

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  • Zonie87 said...

    There was a contingent of fans that said the same thing about Tom Osborne heading into his 5th year. After the season he interviewed with Colorado.

    Just think how badly that would of turned out for the huskers if TO had actually left the program.

    Kram ●

  • Kram said...

    Are you saying that a 9-4 record is bad? He shouldn't have said that" Nebraska is back and we're here to stay" but to me a 9-4 season is pretty good. I would prefer a 13-0 record but that may be beyond our reach for the next two seasons but we'll get their very soon.

    A 9-4 year again may be a pain for you guys, but given the schedule, would still be pretty solid. I don't see Nebraska as heads and tails above MSU, Michigan, tOSU or Wisconsin . . . but none of those games are definite Ls for the Huskers either.

    Big 10 title this year is really more of a "first amongst equals". I think those 4 schools above + Nebraska are all "9-3" quality teams this year. I don't think a single one is elite nationally. The Big 10 champ will likely be 10-2, with probably a fluke bounce or two making the difference in the season.

    Michigan State does not and will not run the 3-4 defense.

    SpartanRocky

  • Andy Staples likes this thread. When being asked about Wisconsin's chances of winning the Leaders division, he just interjected that it'd be either Michigan or Michigan State playing them with no consideration of NU, in a definite manner in which our team wasn't even an option. Kind of pissed me off.

    We all know opinions are like ______, but I hope this team uses everything as motivation.

    This post was edited by coolsig3 on 7/30/2012 at 1:03 PM

    coolsig3 ●

  • daddyact said...

    Yes, fans should be fairly content with Bo and the program, because it's still winning 70% ofit's games, and it has played for Conference Championships two of the last four years.

    Will we win the NC? Probably not any time soon, but it's much easier to make the jump from a 9-3 or 10-2 season than from 5-7 or 7-6.

    Will we win B1G Championships? Yes, but we will no longer dominate the conference like we did when Oklahoma was the only real opposition.

    Will we get back to the Nineties? Highly unlikely, as the circumstances were uniquely situated for the Huskers. Those circumstances no longer exist.

    So what if the schedule is easier in 2013? If they win the conference they'll have won the conference.

    You know what Sccoby, I don't care about downvotes.

    If you don't like my opinion then tell me.

    If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

    daddyact

  • Blitz said...

    Nothing irritates more than when someone tells Nebraska fans that its not the 90s and we should curb our expectations. Duh, of course it isn't the 90s. That's a once-in-a-lifetime dynasty for any program. I'm not asking for another dynasty. I don't think anyone with a decent IQ is. Just the opportunity to finally see Nebraska be relevant on the field and in the polls again. You don't have to be a dynasty to achieve that. You just have to be good.

    Quite the contrary, Blits, a large percentage of fans that came of age during that run in the Nineties actually think that Nebraska should be able to return to that level, if only we get the right head coach.

    This completely ignores the realities of recruiting as compared to the late Eighties and Nineties, and the fact that it's much harder to win in today's expended conferences.

    Nebraska will be in the running for the division title, and the conference crown this year, next year, and very likely for the foreseeable future, barring the occasional dip after a large crop of talented Seniors graduate.

    We have to be prepared for these fluctuations in record every four to five years. That is the current reality of CFB. Few teams have the requisite talent to ride over such fluctuations. Yes,I wish the Huskers were one of those teams, but the reality is we're not. Not anymore.

    If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

    daddyact

  • Blitz said...

    Nothing irritates more than when someone tells Nebraska fans that its not the 90s and we should curb our expectations. Duh, of course it isn't the 90s. That's a once-in-a-lifetime dynasty for any program. I'm not asking for another dynasty. I don't think anyone with a decent IQ is. Just the opportunity to finally see Nebraska be relevant on the field and in the polls again. You don't have to be a dynasty to achieve that. You just have to be good.

    I like this comment almost as much as your wall decorations. biggrin

    oldhuskerfan ●

  • Kram said...

    Are you saying that a 9-4 record is bad? He shouldn't have said that" Nebraska is back and we're here to stay" but to me a 9-4 season is pretty good. I would prefer a 13-0 record but that may be beyond our reach for the next two seasons but we'll get their very soon.

    9-4 is bad when 3 of the losses are blowouts on Nat'l TV and the 4th is to a ballclub that you had better talent than but were outcoached. THAT's when 9-4 is bad.

    oldhuskerfan ●

  • daddyact said...

    I think he meant Nebraska's back to the upper echelons of CFB, and it's would be hard not to see that they are in the top 20% of D1-A again.

    There are what--100 D-1A CFB programs? And top 20% would be in top 20. Well, the Huskers are there but just barely per the end of the season. Upper echelon would be Top 15 IMO. Nebraska was 9 spots behind Nevada-Reno for Pete's sake. (Oh for dedication to the Pistol offense but that's another thread sometime by someone.)

    oldhuskerfan ●

  • daddyact said...

    Quite the contrary, Blits, a large percentage of fans that came of age during that run in the Nineties actually think that Nebraska should be able to return to that level, if only we get the right head coach.

    This completely ignores the realities of recruiting as compared to the late Eighties and Nineties, and the fact that it's much harder to win in today's expended conferences.

    Nebraska will be in the running for the division title, and the conference crown this year, next year, and very likely for the foreseeable future, barring the occasional dip after a large crop of talented Seniors graduate.

    We have to be prepared for these fluctuations in record every four to five years. That is the current reality of CFB. Few teams have the requisite talent to ride over such fluctuations. Yes,I wish the Huskers were one of those teams, but the reality is we're not. Not anymore.

    I hope you're right DA. It'd be real nice to see the boys win a trophy of relevance.

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    Blitz

  • oldhuskerfan said...

    I like this comment almost as much as your wall decorations. biggrin

    biggrin

    Thanks OHF.

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    Blitz

  • That's Good D! said...

    From a Michigan State fan...

    I'm hearing a lot of hype surrounding Michigan in the Legends division, with others are giving MSU a good chance at repeating as division champs.

    I will admit that I know close to nothing about Nebraska's 2012 team right now. I do know that Burkhead is a very solid RB and Bell could emerge as a top WR in the league. Other than that, I know that Dennard and David are gone. I'm not too high on Martinez as a passer. A good option QB.

    Overall, what are your thoughts/predictions for this year? Would you call yourselves the best team in the Legends? What is the prediction for the game in East Lansing?

    BTW, I'm not too sure how Michigan beat you so badly last year while you completely frustrated MSU. MSU >> Michigan last year. Anyways, I'll hang up and listen.

    No. We have to prove we belong in discussions about contenders. Until we do, we are right were we should be. We need a chip on our shoulders anyway. You have to earn it. We win, we will get discussed plenty.

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    Humble Warrior

  • Humble Warrior said...

    No. We have to prove we belong in discussions about contenders. Until we do, we are right were we should be. We need a chip on our shoulders anyway. You have to earn it. We win, we will get discussed plenty.

    Humble and Gopher in the same day? Is it Christmas?

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    Blitz

  • oldhuskerfan said...

    There are what--100 D-1A CFB programs? And top 20% would be in top 20. Well, the Huskers are there but just barely per the end of the season. Upper echelon would be Top 15 IMO. Nebraska was 9 spots behind Nevada-Reno for Pete's sake. (Oh for dedication to the Pistol offense but that's another thread sometime by someone.)

    In point of fact, there are 120 D-1A programs, and that 20% would put them in the top 24, which they have been the last for years.

    That leaves one hundred other programs that wish they were as good as Nebraska has been.

    Am I satisfied with that? Hardly, but I am realistic, and I do understand the reasons why we haven't been able to crack that top ten/fifteen consistently. I have talked ad nauseam about those reasons, so it's a waste of time to get into them here.

    I do think most of those reasons have been addressed, especially on offense. It remains to be seen if the issues on defense from 2011 have been resolved. There are simply a few too many questions that remain. We'll find out this year.

    I expect no less than a 9-3 regular season mark, but am expecting at least a 10-2 record,which may or may not be good enough to make it to the CCG. Assuming we do get there, I would fully expect the Huskers to win the B1G, but that's a big if.

    Others may not believe it, but my predictions for the regular season the last two years have been right on the mark; ten and nine wins. The post-season has been disappointing both years, but post-season play is frequently unpredictable.

    If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

    daddyact

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