Sam McKewon question from Sparty

[LRob]

How is this guy viewed by Husker fans? He left MSU out of his top 25 which seems strange...especially from someone covering the Big 10. Predicts Mich St will be 7-5..wow!

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/blogs/...cle_353189c8-668f-11e6-9122-9f846f6ce266.html

 

[Truehuskerfan]

How is this guy viewed by Husker fans? He left MSU out of his top 25 which seems strange...especially from someone covering the Big 10. Predicts Mich St will be 7-5..wow!

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/blogs/...cle_353189c8-668f-11e6-9122-9f846f6ce266.html

I looked at his AP ballot. Very odd to say the least. Doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense to me. As far as his analytical abilities, he's kind of up and down. Not terrible, but not great either.

 

[Tuco Salamanca]

I suppose I wouldn't be shocked if MSU lost at Notre Dame to Wisconsin, to Michigan and to Ohio St. Finding a fifth loss is tough for me.

 

[Pennsyhusker]

Meh. He is hit or miss. I sometimes like his analysis, but he always has a head scratcher. Miami at 11 and UCLA at 12? I think not. I understand his logic concerning MSU (new QB) but I think MSU, over the past 3 years or so, has been so good that they should be more respected despite the new QB.

 

[LBremser]

I generally like Sam's articles in the OWH, but sometimes he overthinks things.

 

[jimbosc]

UCLA will get a nice test early @ aTm Week 1 - if they get blasted they won't be 12th. After watching the bowl game I would have a tough time putting UCLA in the Top 20 - however the QB is stud and that helps them. Miami seems a little high as well - their schedule will sort how good they are.

 

[jay-cheese]

Agree...how on earth is UCLA a top 20 team in the preseason??

Count me as one who wishes they wouldn't release any college football ranking poll until October....

GBR

 

[shine003]

UCLA is being picked to make the playoff by a lot of people. They're the trendy pick to win the PAC-12. People forget they had a lot of injury problems on their front 7 on defense when we played them. They have a ton of talent at wr and maybe the best qb in the country. They also have a favorable schedule. I'm not saying that I'm buying into the hype, just that putting them 12th isn't crazy.

 

[Tuco Salamanca]

Heck with 35 year old Taysom Hill returning for his 16th season at BYU, UCLA could just as easily be 1-3 after 4 weeks as 4-0. A&M, Stanford and BYU aren't guaranteed wins. I think they handle UNLV though.

 

[JohnRossEwing]

I think he is long winded most of the time but I still read his stuff when I see it. I also think MSU will struggle a bit this year.

 

[Pennsyhusker]

UCLA is being picked to make the playoff by a lot of people. They're the trendy pick to win the PAC-12. People forget they had a lot of injury problems on their front 7 on defense when we played them. They have a ton of talent at wr and maybe the best qb in the country. They also have a favorable schedule. I'm not saying that I'm buying into the hype, just that putting them 12th isn't crazy.

I think you nailed it shine. I think their bowl loss to us last year, and late season loss to USC, are being dismissed as injury related to their defensive front 7. I think it is the hype surrounding Rosen that has them high. But even there I still disagree with rating them high. Rosen is good, but how good? Forget the hype. Our pass defense was putrid last year but played respectably against him. He still has not proven himself in my view

 

[cubsker]

he's trying way too hard to look smart. stanford not in the top 25....mmmmkay.

 

[Truehuskerfan]

The Pac-12 is the one conference that nobody seems to have a handle on who should win. I've heard UCLA, I've heard Washington, I've heard Stanford. The one I really don't get the hype for is Washington. Is it Chris Petersen hype or what? They go 8-6 in his first year, they actually regress slightly to 7-6 last year, and now they are suddenly poised to make a huge jump? I don't get where it's coming from with them. None of the other previous Boise State coaches lived up to the hype after they left there, and the record so far for Petersen isn't very great either.

 

[LRob]

I looked at his AP ballot. Very odd to say the least. Doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense to me. As far as his analytical abilities, he's kind of up and down. Not terrible, but not great either.

Thanks. I was wondering if he's the smartest one in the room type of guy.

 

[LRob]

I suppose I wouldn't be shocked if MSU lost at Notre Dame to Wisconsin, to Michigan and to Ohio St. Finding a fifth loss is tough for me.

Losing all 4 of those would be a shocking. But I'm definitely more of an optimist.

 

[LRob]

I think he is long winded most of the time but I still read his stuff when I see it. I also think MSU will struggle a bit this year.

Thanks for the reply. So are you saying you would have MSU out of your top 25 also?

 

[Tuco Salamanca]

Well just to defend Sam a little, the last time MSU replaced a multi-year starter at QB they went 7-6.

As far as shocked, I guess we have different definitions of the word. All four of those teams are solid, I would bet they will be underdogs in 3 and depending on what Wisconsin does against LSU, it maybe all 4.

 

[hddude55]

Here we go again. When people were in high school or college, they couldn't have cared less about the opinions of journalism students, who seldom or ever were athletes. But the opinions of the same guys who are now professional journalists are now important? Why is that? Does one journalist disapproving of MSU's potential really matter to you? BTN's DiNardo put us down, but at least the guy has cred as a long time coach.

 

[Tuco Salamanca]

Yet you share your opinion, with no published or verified credentials, and appear to expect people to care what you wrote. Why is that?


It's a message board, full of opinions. Some are former athletes, some are internet tough guys, most are just fans Sharing an opinion.

Here we go again. When people were in high school or college, they couldn't have cared less about the opinions of journalism students, who seldom or ever were athletes. But the opinions of the same guys who are now professional journalists are now important? Why is that?

 

[JohnRossEwing]

Thanks for the reply. So are you saying you would have MSU out of your top 25 also?

Hmmmm...No, I would have them in it to start the year off because, well, why not? I just see them struggling this year and by struggling I mean 8-9 wins.

 

[Huskers_Rule]

How is this guy viewed by Husker fans? He left MSU out of his top 25 which seems strange...especially from someone covering the Big 10. Predicts Mich St will be 7-5..wow!

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/blogs/...cle_353189c8-668f-11e6-9122-9f846f6ce266.html

I can't stand the guy. Before he got paid to drink the koolaid he used to bash Husker fans and the program. He THINKS he knows the game but doesn't.

 

[LRob]

Here we go again. When people were in high school or college, they couldn't have cared less about the opinions of journalism students, who seldom or ever were athletes. But the opinions of the same guys who are now professional journalists are now important? Why is that? Does one journalist disapproving of MSU's potential really matter to you? BTN's DiNardo put us down, but at least the guy has cred as a long time coach.

61 writers vote in AP poll and 58 of them had MSU ranked. The other two guys are out of BIG country (one in Austin and the other in Jackson, Miss). Sam is in Big 10 country so I would hope he's more knowledgeable on our conference than the others. So yeah...when he's in the extreme minority (5%) I wanted a little background on him. Just curious...

 

[LRob]

Hmmmm...No, I would have them in it to start the year off because, well, why not? I just see them struggling this year and by struggling I mean 8-9 wins.

That's fair...we definitely have a tough schedule facing 3 top 10 teams.

 

[LRob]

Well just to defend Sam a little, the last time MSU replaced a multi-year starter at QB they went 7-6.

As far as shocked, I guess we have different definitions of the word. All four of those teams are solid, I would bet they will be underdogs in 3 and depending on what Wisconsin does against LSU, it maybe all 4.

If MSU loses at ND and Wisky beats LSU; MSU will still be favored at home vs them.

True about the last time we replaced a multi year starter. It wasn't pretty. However, this team has a lot more depth an overall talent than 4 years ago.

 

[litespeedhuskerfan]

Been waiting for MSU to take a step back for a few years, this year I think they finally do it. No way you can lose a QB of that caliber and not miss him, but 7-5? Prolly not.

 

[Tuco Salamanca]

I can see your point. And I don't think they lose 5, but Vegas has their over under total at 7.5.

Time will tell.

 

[hddude55]

Yet you share your opinion, with no published or verified credentials, and appear to expect people to care what you wrote. Why is that?


It's a message board, full of opinions. Some are former athletes, some are internet tough guys, most are just fans Sharing an opinion.

You missed my point. One journalist isn't impressed with MSU and the OP is obviously upset about it and questioning his credentials. I simply pointed out this is a journalist with an opinion and one probably mostly based on the same knowledge most of us have. So why bother questioning his credentials? Or yours or mine. As for DiNardo, it probably bothered a lot of people here judging from some of the posts because he does have credentials to back up his opinion.

 

[Tuco Salamanca]

You edited your post after I started my response and added a couple of lines.

As I told the MSU guy, if you told me now that MSU went 8-4 this year, I wouldn't be shocked. He would be.

As far as Dinardo and prepared goes, the day before the BTN, the network of the conference, came to Lincoln, there were comments about Greg "effing" McMullen and his addition to the middle of the DLine. Credibility lost.

 

[Cornicator]

Honestly, if Sam McKeown thinks Michigan State is going to take a step back, they will.

The dude basically called Nebraska a 7 win team prior to last season, and he also thought the Spartans were the Class of the East a year ago.

His argument makes sense. He thinks MSU will have a year similar to 2012 again.

And yes, I'm in love with Sam McKewon.

Btw, he thinks Nebraska looks like a 10 win team this season.

 

[GBRhuskers]

I think he's not very good, same opinion for the rest of the OWH and LJS media members.

 

[rrthusker]

How is this guy viewed by Husker fans? He left MSU out of his top 25 which seems strange...especially from someone covering the Big 10. Predicts Mich St will be 7-5..wow!

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/blogs/...cle_353189c8-668f-11e6-9122-9f846f6ce266.html

Worst case scenario you will be 8-4

 

[mwulf]

I can't stand the guy. Before he got paid to drink the koolaid he used to bash Husker fans and the program. He THINKS he knows the game but doesn't.

I get that vibe from Severe

 

[jeans15]

If there are no preseason rankings, then why watch the game or why is any particular game special?

Because of the name?

 

[jlb321]

Honestly, if Sam McKeown thinks Michigan State is going to take a step back, they will.

The dude basically called Nebraska a 7 win team prior to last season, and he also thought the Spartans were the Class of the East a year ago.

His argument makes sense. He thinks MSU will have a year similar to 2012 again.

And yes, I'm in love with Sam McKewon.

Btw, he thinks Nebraska looks like a 10 win team this season.

man I would be ecstatic with 10 regular season wins ... not out of the realm of possiblites but a tall, tall task

OSU, NW, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana all on the road + Oregon

I just don't see us having the def line or offensive line depth for a season like that .. we are already scrambling on the offensive line and haven't even played a game

 

[Tuco Salamanca]

So you only watch games because of what someone else tells you?

Just curious.

 

[PeliniTheCrutch]

Just another in the long list of guys that think they know more actual football because they get to watch practice.

 

[Truehuskerfan]

I looked at collegepolltracker.com, which analyzes the voters ballots and how they differ from the overall rankings. For each team that got any votes, they list how many voters gave that team their highest ranking, and how many gave them their lowest. If only 1 voter did so, that voter's name is listed. Sam McKewon's name appears 5 times as the only voter to give a team their highest or lowest ranking, the 2nd highest of any voter. They also analyzed each voter's overall ballot and how it differs from the overall rankings. Sam McKewon's ballot was listed as the 3rd "most extreme"-in other words, it differs from the overall rankings the 3rd most of any ballot.
Now, none of that means that he's necessarily wrong. But it does mean he's going out on a limb a lot more than just about every other voter. His preseason ballot is likely going to either make him look like a genius or an idiot.

 

[NikkiSixx]

Sam has some balls, well more than most reporters do. I was always waiting for him and Bo to get into it. I don't know about his journalism ability, but I think he'd be a dirty fighter in a cage match. He might kick you in the nuts and smile while doing it.

 

[cidsports]

Meh. He is hit or miss. I sometimes like his analysis, but he always has a head scratcher. Miami at 11 and UCLA at 12? I think not. I understand his logic concerning MSU (new QB) but I think MSU, over the past 3 years or so, has been so good that they should be more respected despite the new QB.

Ironic, the 5th year senior QB lead MSU over OSU in Columbus last season. Would 5th loss be bowl game?

 

[LRob]

Ironic, the 5th year senior QB lead MSU over OSU in Columbus last season. Would 5th loss be bowl game?

Granted the game was more of a defensive battle, but O'Connor did outplay JT Barrett that game....which is no small feat in the Shoe.

He was not including the bowl game.