Husker 5-4 in BIG10

[husker2612]

Sorry if this has been discussed. I have seen a few media outlets/experts predicting Neb Big10 record as 5-4. Ummm, besides Ohio St what other 3 teams beat us? We have a pretty weak schedule. I know, I know after last year anything is possible. That was a fluke season (I hope).
Iowa, Nw, Minn, Wisc are the only ones that should be close and maybe have potential to beat us. So the experts honestly think we will lose to 3 of those 4? I find that unlikely. Realistically I see us losing to Ohio St for sure, and probably 1 of the teams listed above. 7-2 should be very doable. 6-3 worst case. Agree?

 

[HuskerGarrett]

I completely agree with you. "Expert" predictions for our season have been kind of all over the board. I have seen everything from 10-2 overall, to 6-6. I would say Ohio State is most likely a loss, the rest of those Big Ten games are at the very worst a toss up. I am most scared of Minn and Wisc, but I think we should get through those Big Ten games with no more than 2 losses.

But I am CaptainHindsight. I should know more after the games are completed.

 

[EpenesaEpenesa]

 

[studed]

Sorry if this has been discussed. I have seen a few media outlets/experts predicting Neb Big10 record as 5-4. Ummm, besides Ohio St what other 3 teams beat us? We have a pretty weak schedule. I know, I know after last year anything is possible. That was a fluke season (I hope).
Iowa, Nw, Minn, Wisc are the only ones that should be close and maybe have potential to beat us. So the experts honestly think we will lose to 3 of those 4? I find that unlikely. Realistically I see us losing to Ohio St for sure, and probably 1 of the teams listed above. 7-2 should be very doable. 6-3 worst case. Agree?

you are overlooking indiana. they have a VERY good oline and talent on offense. osu beat them 34-27 and iu had the ball inside the 10 yard line . they got a bad snap from the center that ended the game. they played the second half with the second string qb. michigan beat them in double ot. not saying nebraska should not win but i expect a close game.

 

[Crushinator]

Nebraska is going to need to earn back that national respect. People no longer assume excellence or even consistency from the Huskers. That's fine by me too. I follow this team closer than any national columnist and I have no idea how this season will play out.

 

[cubsker]

we lost to purdue and illinois last year. the only way we can change perception is to actually have a good season which we haven't done in a long time.

 

[DudznSudz]

Nebraska is going to need to earn back that national respect. People no longer assume excellence or even consistency from the Huskers. That's fine by me too. I follow this team closer than any national columnist and I have no idea how this season will play out.

Yeah, I think that explains why everyone is all over the board in terms of trying to predict the schedule outcome. I've seen 9-3 down to 6-6 from legitimate, nationally read analysts. In aggregate, it seems that the average prediction is somewhere around 8-4. That would mean 4 losses, and I agree with the original poster, I am scratching my head wondering who those losses would be to other than Ohio State. I could see Oregon beating us, and then I could see dropping a game to either Wisconsin (because playing in Madison sucks) or Indiana (because even they are a weird, weird team that somehow finds ways to score tons of points even on great teams). I don't see us losing to Northwestern or Minnesota this year, and I think Iowa is very, very beatable (though they will probably be pretty good).

I've posted this before, but this is my prediction if everything comes together fairly well for the team:

Fresno State: W
Wyoming: W
Oregon: Toss up
Northwestern: W
Illinois: W
Indiana: W
Purdue: W
Wisconsin: Toss up
Ohio State: L
Minnesota: W
Maryland: W
Iowa: W

In a perhaps more pessimistic light, lets assume Oregon and Wisconsin are losses, then maybe a loss to Iowa or Indiana, but not both, and that puts us at 8-4 overall and 6-3 in the Big Ten. I think this team is too talented to do much worse than that. If they do, something is reaaaaally wrong with either game management, play calling, or coaching, I should think.

 

[nebcountry]

Sorry if this has been discussed. I have seen a few media outlets/experts predicting Neb Big10 record as 5-4. Ummm, besides Ohio St what other 3 teams beat us? We have a pretty weak schedule. I know, I know after last year anything is possible. That was a fluke season (I hope).
Iowa, Nw, Minn, Wisc are the only ones that should be close and maybe have potential to beat us. So the experts honestly think we will lose to 3 of those 4? I find that unlikely. Realistically I see us losing to Ohio St for sure, and probably 1 of the teams listed above. 7-2 should be very doable. 6-3 worst case. Agree?

I can see where an outside observer would predict away losses to our division opponents that all won at least 10 games last year. Iowa, N'western, and Wiscy.

 

[jlb321]

you are overlooking indiana. they have a VERY good oline and talent on offense. osu beat them 34-27 and iu had the ball inside the 10 yard line . they got a bad snap from the center that ended the game. they played the second half with the second string qb. michigan beat them in double ot. not saying nebraska should not win but i expect a close game.

yes .. Indiana on the road will be tough

they lost their QB, the stud RB and an NFL offensive lineman .. but got a very good JUCO QB, a returning 1000 yrd rusher and still have a veteran off line

http://collegefootballnews.com/2016/indiana-hoosiers-football-preview-2016

 

[DPDWU]

Sorry if this has been discussed. I have seen a few media outlets/experts predicting Neb Big10 record as 5-4. Ummm, besides Ohio St what other 3 teams beat us? We have a pretty weak schedule. I know, I know after last year anything is possible. That was a fluke season (I hope).
Iowa, Nw, Minn, Wisc are the only ones that should be close and maybe have potential to beat us. So the experts honestly think we will lose to 3 of those 4? I find that unlikely. Realistically I see us losing to Ohio St for sure, and probably 1 of the teams listed above. 7-2 should be very doable. 6-3 worst case. Agree?

Northwestern is a classic trap game. I see closer to 9 total wins depending on injuries and other situations. All of our tougher conference games on paper are on the road so that makes it tougher to just roll over teams.

 

[jlb321]

while personally I think we are better than 5-4, however, from an outside perspective 5-4 is a very reasonable prediction

we were 3-5 last year
we are replacing the majority of our offensive and def lines
our QB has been turnover plagued over his 3 years

our toughest games - Iowa, Wisc, NW, OSU and if you throw in Indiana are all on the road


given the above, 5-4 might be a pretty accurate prediction

 

[Cornicator]

Northwestern is a classic trap game. I see closer to 9 total wins depending on injuries and other situations. All of our tougher conference games on paper are on the road so that makes it tougher to just roll over teams.

NW isn't a trap game. Conference road games played under the lights aren't "trap games." It's especially difficult to play a trap game vs an opponent that beat year the season prior. The fact it's the conference opener will also create and emotional factor. Nebraska will be up and ready for that game.

Playing Wyoming at 11 am, sandwiched between a raucous opening night and a big game with Oregon, now that's the definition of a trap game. Facing Purdue on a brisk Saturday morning before back to back night games at Wisconsin and Ohio State is also a trap game.

I expect Nebraska to beat NW the same way they beat the Cats two years ago.

 

[Truehuskerfan]

NW isn't a trap game. Conference road games played under the lights aren't "trap games." It's especially difficult to play a trap game vs an opponent that beat year the season prior. The fact it's the conference opener will also create and emotional factor. Nebraska will be up and ready for that game.

Exactly-in fact, I think "trap game" is the most overused and misused term in football. It seems to me that the games usually labeled as "trap games" are ones we usually end up winning. To the extent that trap games exist(which as I say is exaggerated), there is no sense in which Northwestern is a trap game. A trap game is usually one in which the opposition doesn't seem that tough, but the game could be tougher based on where it sits on the schedule. Northwestern beat us last year and always plays us tough. That is not at all the definition of a trap game.
I do find it interesting though that a lot of people have Northwestern almost chalked up as an automatic loss. In fact, I even saw one analysis say they have "owned us since we joined the B1G". Really? How in the world do you "own" a team you have a losing record against(we are 3-2 against them since joining the B1G). Some people seem to forget that they have yet to beat us in Evanston, and it's not at all clear that they can sustain the success of their 10 win season last year. When they went 10-3 in 2012, many people expected that success to continue in 2013, but they went 5-7. They have 2 10 win seasons in the last 4 years sandwiched around 2 5-7 seasons. So they have shown they are very up and down and have not been able to put together a consistent record of success.

 

[Husker Sledge]

Call me crazy but I think we win in Columbus this year.

 

[Cornicator]

Call me crazy but I think we win in Columbus this year.

 

[jlb321]

Call me crazy but I think we win in Columbus this year.

would be interested in the analysis that led you to this prediction .. position groups where we have an advantage, etc

please share ..... or are you just talking out of your backside??

 

[Truehuskerfan]

would be interested in the analysis that led you to this prediction .. position groups where we have an advantage, etc

please share ..... or are you just talking out of your backside??

How do you think upsets happen? If every team that had great advantages in every area won, there would never be an upset. Do I think an upset will happen here? Probably not, but it's not totally out of the realm of possibility.
Interesting how people love to come up with games that we could lose in an upset, but never even consider the possibility that we could pull one off too.

 

[GaRed]

We no nothing of our D line and Tommy Turnover is still at the helm ,so it's a mystery to me.

 

[jlb321]

How do you think upsets happen? If every team that had great advantages in every area won, there would never be an upset. Do I think an upset will happen here? Probably not, but it's not totally out of the realm of possibility.
Interesting how people love to come up with games that we could lose in an upset, but never even consider the possibility that we could pull one off too.

of course there are upsets

he stated "I think we win" which implies that according to his analysis there is a > 50% chance of Nebraska winning .. I am interested in how he came up with this

making predictions is about what is probable not possible .. of course it is possible we beat OSU in Columbus .. but it isn't probable

I could make predictions all day long about what possible .. it is possible I could flip a coin 100 times and it come up heads every time, but it is highly improbable

my guess is that if Husker Sledge had to wager a months salary on the outcome of that game he would go with the more probable outcome rather what is merely possible

 

[JohnRossEwing]

How do you think upsets happen? If every team that had great advantages in every area won, there would never be an upset. Do I think an upset will happen here? Probably not, but it's not totally out of the realm of possibility.
Interesting how people love to come up with games that we could lose in an upset, but never even consider the possibility that we could pull one off too.

No kidding, we found that out last year vs BYU, Illini, Wisconsin, NW, Purdue and Iowa.

 

[GretnaShawn]

NW isn't a trap game. Conference road games played under the lights aren't "trap games." It's especially difficult to play a trap game vs an opponent that beat year the season prior. The fact it's the conference opener will also create and emotional factor. Nebraska will be up and ready for that game.

Playing Wyoming at 11 am, sandwiched between a raucous opening night and a big game with Oregon, now that's the definition of a trap game. Facing Purdue on a brisk Saturday morning before back to back night games at Wisconsin and Ohio State is also a trap game.

I expect Nebraska to beat NW the same way they beat the Cats two years ago.

The nice thing about the NW game is that NW is terrible at home. Under Fitz they are 40-30 at home and 28-23 on the road. That is figuring in their non-con schedule. If you want to take that out and just use the conference schedule, they are 17-24 at home and 20-20 on the road.

 

[hexumhawk]

Outside observation here:

Fresno St- W
Wyoming - W
Oregon - W - call me crazy
@ NW - L
Illinois - W
@IU - W but not easy
PU - W
@ Wisky - L
@ OSU - L
Minn - W
Maryland- W
@Iowa - L

8-4 with a bunch of swing games that could go either way.

 

[NikkiSixx]

Based on what we saw last year, I'm gonna go with opposite theory.. the Oregon and Ohio State games are the ones we win.. it will be the Purdue game, the Illinois game, Northwestern, and Maryland ones that we could lose. heck throw in Indiana too.

That would be so terrible, 4 of those in a row.. ugh

I hope last year was a fluke

 

[ellobo]

would be interested in the analysis that led you to this prediction .. position groups where we have an advantage, etc

please share ..... or are you just talking out of your backside??

I'll play...while it is probably better to play them early the one potential issue I see (one could call it wishful thinking I guess) is their power running game. With Dunn they had a 1, 2 punch. He has been kicked off the team. That puts a lot of pressure on Weber, this will be his first rodeo and it is not unheard for a younger guy to wear down during the season.

If that happens, it will make them more of an east/west offense which plays to your LB strength and minimizes your concerns at DT. And as long as we are going the wishful thinking route, Barrett is injury prone and if Weber wears down you probably have to run him more to keep other teams honest between the tackles.

With that said...I'm expecting them to be firing on all cylinders by the second half of the season.

 

[phoenix4nu]

Outside observation here:

Fresno St- W
Wyoming - W
Oregon - W - call me crazy
@ NW - L
Illinois - W
@IU - W but not easy
PU - W
@ Wisky - L
@ OSU - L
Minn - W
Maryland- W
@Iowa - L

8-4 with a bunch of swing games that could go either way.

What a surprise that you picked Iowa to win.

 

[Husker Sledge]

would be interested in the analysis that led you to this prediction .. position groups where we have an advantage, etc

please share ..... or are you just talking out of your backside??

OSU is gonna get their ass kicked in Norman Sept 17th, conversely I think we will look good against the Ducks and get a victory that same day. I'm just not buying into this notion that the 2016 Buckeyes are gonna be ultra powerful after losing all that talent and experience to the NFL. Will they improve as the season goes on? Absolutely. But so will we and I believe our OL will be much better than people think. Now if we lay a big ole Duck egg Sept 17th things could change big time. That's a huge weekend for us.....and I guess for OSU as well.

 

[hexumhawk]

What a surprise that you picked Iowa to win.

Thats because I think Iowa has a better team, but not by much...mainly at QB.

I do think Wisconsin is ripe for the picking this year for you guys and everyone else. Their talent level is down and their schedule is brutal.

 

[DPDWU]

NW isn't a trap game. Conference road games played under the lights aren't "trap games." It's especially difficult to play a trap game vs an opponent that beat year the season prior. The fact it's the conference opener will also create and emotional factor. Nebraska will be up and ready for that game.

Playing Wyoming at 11 am, sandwiched between a raucous opening night and a big game with Oregon, now that's the definition of a trap game. Facing Purdue on a brisk Saturday morning before back to back night games at Wisconsin and Ohio State is also a trap game.

I expect Nebraska to beat NW the same way they beat the Cats two years ago.

NW isn't a trap game. Conference road games played under the lights aren't "trap games." It's especially difficult to play a trap game vs an opponent that beat year the season prior. The fact it's the conference opener will also create and emotional factor. Nebraska will be up and ready for that game.

Playing Wyoming at 11 am, sandwiched between a raucous opening night and a big game with Oregon, now that's the definition of a trap game. Facing Purdue on a brisk Saturday morning before back to back night games at Wisconsin and Ohio State is also a trap game.

I expect Nebraska to beat NW the same way they beat the Cats two years ago.

I expect us to beat Oregon. All I am saying is when we do beat Oregon everyone, media included will be praising them and rightfully so that it could be hard to focus on the right things. We should beat Northwestern by a couple scores. However, I think most agree nothing has gone as planned the last 17 years. I am calling my shot with Wyoming now we win by 21+. Sometimes teams have let downs after big wins and it could happen after Oregon. I wasn't talking about Northwestern I was more talking about us. Northwestern happens to be the next team after Oregon is all.

 

[Cloud@Heart]

A year ago, could you imagine losing to Purdue and then beating Michigan State?

Not that much different than losing to Maryland after upsetting Ohio State this year, imho.

Hard to correctly predict college football outcomes in today's world of 85 scholarships (regardless of how many are walk-ons).

 

[k9_r]

I too am predicting we beat OSU this year. I do this b/c I can.

Don't know if it will be on Nov 5th at their place or Dec 2nd in Indy but, yeah...

 

[Bill_Callahan2.0]

This guy might have selective memory and forgot Iowa was 34-30 in the 5 years prior to 2015. Totally nuts to think maybe Nebraska can improve on its 6-7 season last year.

Getting old sucks, I'm here for you, guy.

 

[marteau]

Call me crazy but I think we win in Columbus this year.

 

[marteau]

agree---we take the Buckeyes

 

[jlb321]

agree---we take the Buckeyes

I guess I underestimated the number of people who think we win this game .. hope to hell you guys are right

I maintain, however, that very few if any of you if forced to wager a significant amount of money would bet on Nebraska to win outright in Columbus

these predictions are like bluffing large amounts of play money in free online poker

 

[dockentwo]

How do you think upsets happen? If every team that had great advantages in every area won, there would never be an upset. Do I think an upset will happen here? Probably not, but it's not totally out of the realm of possibility.
Interesting how people love to come up with games that we could lose in an upset, but never even consider the possibility that we could pull one off too.

Thats right; there are upsets every week. Not only that we have beat them before; not to mention when Braxton got hurt while Lavonte was turning it on, TM led a huge comeback for a phenom victory. Captain Hindsight, that did happen, right?