I agree with this post for the most part, but you didn't say we would lose to OSU... you said that was one we needed to win. That's why I took issue with your post.
Iowa and wisconsin are winnable games I think. OSU, not so much.
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Iowa and wisconsin are winnable games I think. OSU, not so much.
The general consensus among Vegas, prognositcators, media, publications, and analysts is Nebraska will likely finish anywhere from 3rd to 5th in the Big Ten West in 2017. The Huskers won't be the 2nd favorite.
Schedule is part of that - Wisky, Iowa and Nebr all have questions to be resolved. NW has fewer questions but a lower ceiling of performance. Since Wisky and Iowa have nut kicked Nebraska recently.......fair point with our schedule and that history 3rd place is a realistic assumption. Nebraska needs much better D, better oline play and a QB that executes. If we get all 3 - probably 50/50 shot to win the West.
Nebraska is projected as 2nd favorite to win the West by Tom Dienhart and Athlon Sports. Bovada and BetOnline Sportsbook each have Nebraska as 2nd favorite among West teams of winning a championship. I also saw the Chicago Tribune lists us as 5th best team in the West (ouch). At this moment, Nebraska isn't the clear-cut 2nd favorite to win the west, but that doesn't mean we won't be by the time the August comes around.
My original point was that O'Brien isn't going to transfer because the coaches will sell him on playing time for one of the best teams in the B1G West. Our staff also has a pretty good reputation for developing QB's
I'm familiar with Archie's comments. As a Bears fan, forgive me if I'm slow to get excited just because a QB has a ton of arm talent. There's plenty more that goes into it.
Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled he has the arm talent, but it takes a lot more than that to be a great QB. I'm not saying he can't be, I'm just saying we need to see him pick apart PSU or OSU before we can make that declaration.
I like Riley and hope the program progresses under his leadership. In year 3, however, I am ready to be shown that he is an upgrade from Pelini rather than relying on people telling me it is so. A 3rd place finish in the west won't do that. Despite all the bashing that Ferentz takes on here it is time for it to be evident that we have a better coach in place than they do in Iowa City.
This is also an opportunity for POB to show his leadership skills. If the rhetoric we read each day is true, that they get along well and push each other, this is golden opportunity for both to reestablish the respect for the QB position.
OSU isn't untouchable. More than half of their Big Ten games last year were within a TD.
Wisky...tied at end of regulation (7 point win)
PSU...loss
NWU...four point win
MSU...one point win
MU...three point win (on a very questionable call)
If those teams can play with OSU then there isn't really any reason why we can't do the same. We have the best qb in the Big Ten now and some of these other teams had absolute turds for qb. We will be fine.
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Love this. We act like Ohio State is invincible.I know we got obliterated but we were so banged up for that game. I would also argue that our team knew we weren't going to win the West once we lost that OT game at Wisconsin. I was in Madison for the game and it completely felt like the play-in game for Indy. The looks on our players faces immediately following the 4th down incompletion in OT told me that we weren't winning the West.
Back to OSU...we'll have the same defensive that Wisconsin runs and it took until the 4th Quarter for JT Barrett to figure that out. And last time I checked, Barrett hasn't played at Memorial Stadium under the lights. He was incredibly ineffective against PSU. I know Diaco and the unit have a long way to go learning the scheme, but OSU is still human and so is Barrett. I think our toughest game is going to be at Penn State under the lights (PSU also just announced today that game will be a blue-white stripe out).
But I fear not! Beat Wisconsin and take 1 from OSU or PSU and we can still win the West. The Oregon game will only matter if we are in CFP scenario talk.
Agree to an extent. But it's also unrealistic to expect that a team of 100+ players is going to keep something like the starting QB Silent. The media and the players are likely told nearly the same time.
Ok. But that doesn't explain how Riley's handling of it was more honest or professional than anyone else. As long as the players involved are hearing it from the coach and not the media or another player it was handled professionally and honestly. The rest is for guys like us and Sipple.
I'm tired of saying games like OSU aren't winnable. That is the rhetoric of a loser.
One more quick stat. When one adds up the yardage for the four Big Ten games in which OSU squeaked out a win last year (Wisky, NW, MSU, and MU) they were out gained in total yardage by their opponents. The closeness of all these games were not flukes. Yet we have people talk about how OSU...at our house at night...isn't a winnable game. It is the rhetoric of a loser.
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Kind of hard to overlook 62-3...
Forgive me for not pencilling in a victory this year.
Don't pencil in a double U, but I wouldn't call the OSU game not winnable. I expect us to be at least as good as NW, Wisky, and MSU and they don't walk around scared of OSU.
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You are right, it is a winnable game. It's in Lincoln, likely under the lights, so we have a chance.
My statement was that I liked our chances against Iowa and Wisconsin. OSU, not so much. Doesn't mean it's an automatic loss. But I do believe it's an uphill battle, maybe more than you do. We didn't match up well at all last year with them. Maybe this year we match up better. I don't think it'll be 62-3, that's for sure.
Have to say, other than the last sentence, two good posts in a row - really well done in the first.
Agree but there are many on this board who are concerned that announcing before summer was a mistake. Claiming he should have waited until the fall to reduce likelihood that he will transfer.
I'm simply applauding the staff for making the announcement with transparency vs holding a decision for selfish reasons.
There are staffs who would do it the other way.
I think this staff has made lots of improvements, and certainly they have worked very hard at recruiting, and it has started to pay off for them.
The way the program is run I think is a lot better. Certainly media relations, and fan relations are much improved. I think coach Riley is a good CEO for the football program. I would feel better about our identity when we can actually prove it on the field, and then repeat some level of success with it annually.
A lot is to be determined.. There will be people with excuses at the ready if the season doesn't go how they desire. There are others that will say, enough of the rhetoric, and win the games in front of you. Both sides will be right.
The way the program is run I think is a lot better. Certainly media relations, and fan relations are much improved. I think coach Riley is a good CEO for the football program. I would feel better about our identity when we can actually prove it on the field, and then repeat some level of success with it annually.
A lot is to be determined.. There will be people with excuses at the ready if the season doesn't go how they desire. There are others that will say, enough of the rhetoric, and win the games in front of you. Both sides will be right.
Did you read my post? The entire thing embraces playing Ohio State. I actually think we're going to beat them. Of course every game matters. What I was saying was that even if we drop the game to Oregon, it does not affect Big Ten West standings.
even though we've mostly sucked the last 15 years, we've still been pretty tough to deal with at home at night. If we're any good at all, we should be right there.
Riley commented that at one time he didn't announce after the spring and without elaborating said he would not do that again. So he is doing this from a position of experience from both sides. Trust the guy to know what the heck he is doing. He spends a lot of time with these players and knows them very well. Honesty is always better and waiting and wondering about transfers can't be a factor.
It's probably the only game on the schedule that isn't worth playing. It will be a bloodbath again.
With the exception of blood baths against Rutgers and Maryland, the rest of the Big Ten played OSU very well. Are we really that much worse than NW, MSU, MU, or Wisconsin? If this game is a bloodbath, some seats need to start getting very, very warm.
Yes NU is that much worse. No, seats (except for one or two assistants) should not be warm.
Gotta give Riley a chance to get a decent roster together. It takes some time.
If teams like NW, Wisky, and MSU are obviously better than us next year, then once 2018 hits we better see Mike reconnecting with his wife and spending most of his time biking on the trails around Corvallis.
Urban Meyer won the playoff national championship in his 3rd year at OhSU. Meyer's two-deep was littered with freshman and sophomores. I would never believe nor try to convince anyone that NU and OhSU were in similar positions. But, Meyer upgraded OhSU. If our talent has upgraded, if our coaching has upgraded, then we should see it.
I think we will see it against teams like Wisconsin and Iowa. Will we see it against Ohio State? That's a tall order… We will definitely play them closer in Lincoln. But I still see this not going our way.
We now have the best qb in the Big Ten. Look above in the thread. This is year three of Riley's regime. Being worse than Wisky, MSU, and NW is not acceptable. Methinks you are looking for excuses even before the season has begun.
And this right here is classic Tom. Not Tom's wife, but Tom. Welcome back, Tom.
Ill say this about Tom. He carries on an argument like a woman. I used to get into week long discussions about Solich back in the day. And he would drone on until you just get tired and give up. Lol
Plus the biggest instigator to boot. Why I call him the Ernie Chambers of this board.
+1000... made me laugh. Never saw a poster on this board take one comment from a poster (in this case, TL is best in B1G) and run with it the way Tom does. He just wears ya down.
He's right though. In year three we should not be worse than wisky nw and msu. Especially with the season msu just had. Maybe wisky is better this year but not much better.
I do believe we will see improvement. Some of you are so scared to expect improvement because it might mean being disappointed in riley later. Not exactly a vote of confidence.
But you are also correct in not expecting us to beat OSU. Neither do I. That would be more than a bonus.
Yeah, I really don't take issue with his take on NW, Iowa, Wisconsin, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if we win all of those.
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