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Nebraska Cornhuskers (corn)

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knapplc;1940439; said:
We are absolutely the favorites to win the Big Ten this year! Absolutely!


Well, unless you count the fact that our O Line hasn't performed well over the past three years, falling apart in embarrassing fashion in several games (the Holiday Bowl against Washington being the most recent example). We lack proven depth at Guard and our Center is undersized and got pushed around several times last year. Entering a conference where there's more of a focus on the run than in the Big XII, and defenses are geared to stop the run with solid D Lines, that could be a problem.

And while we're at it, we should probably talk about the fact that our QB, while fleet of foot when healthy, spent the better part of last season sucking it up once his legs got dinged up, and his top two backups have left the team due to graduation and transfer, and the fact that one of our much-ballyhooed QB recruits is now a raw but very fast WR, and our new #2 QB is a redshirt freshman, so if #1 goes down we're starting a guy who's never faced live D1A football competition before.

Or the fact that we lost Nebraska's #4 all-time rusher to the draft, and our new #1 guy, while full of heart and tough as nails, is undersized and has never carried the rock more than 25 times in a college game. And the fact that backing him up are a cadre of underachievers who will likely never see the field, meaning that we'll have to hope that one of three incoming freshman, while highly-ranked in recruiting circles but without a second of live football, can somehow exceed expectations and provide solid backup minutes. Or the fact that we barely have a blocking fullback to pave the way in short-yardage.

Then there's the fact that our WR corps is a group of dropped-pass artists, and they've had barely a lick of competent coaching in four years, and they lost their "best" WR to the draft last year, and our QB is not a natural passer so he can barely get them the ball.


Of course, there's also the fact that our D Line inexplicably gave up a LOT of rushing yards to some very pedestrian rushing offenses last year (W. Kentucky and South Dakota State being the most concerning), and we finished the year ranked a very mediocre 60-something against the rush. Again, in a conference where pretty much every team knows the value of a solid rushing game, that can be a problem.

Then there's the fact that we lost three brilliant defenders in the defensive backfield, and we have to rebuild with guys who have shown flashes of brilliance but have never been relied upon to carry the whole load in their careers, and you have some question marks in the secondary as well.

Add to that the fact that our LB corps was shelled last season when our top two LBs went down with leg injuries in Fall camp, one of whom lost the whole year and the other came back at about 3/4 speed, and we have no proven depth behind any of them, that's kind of a concern, too.

Not to mention the fact that we lost our kickoff specialist, a guy who was in the top ten in the nation in touchbacks, and we also lost to graduation (and the NFL draft) the most accurate place kicker in college football history, and that can kinda be a concern, too.


And on top of all that, there's the fact that we dismissed our OC and WR coach (and recruiting coordinator) after the bowl debacle, and the fact that our O Line coach can't seem to teach anyone anything, and the fact that our new WR coach was a high school coach last year and the year before that he had been out of coaching for half a decade, and the fact that we lost our much-respected DB coach due to "personal issues," and that we've had to add about a bazillion GAs to help coach the O Line, and the fact that our head coach has never won a conference title, so there's that.


But seriously. Aside from all that, we are definitely, definitely a lock to win the Big Ten this year.


Run, don't walk, to your bookie.
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Dude.
 
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1239024473_squirrel-catapult.gif
 
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SidehatchHusker;1940453; said:
:biggrin:

It's not THAT far fetched to think Nebraska has a chance at the conference title this year. Not saying they are the overall favorite, but they're up there.
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I can't just pump sunshine all the time. We do have some problems.

[SECRET CONVERSATION FONT]Don't sweat it, Sidehatch. I'm just telling them all our problems so they'll be overconfident heading into the game. It's all part of the plan! [/SECRET CONVERSATION FONT]
 
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muffler dragon;1940458; said:
Circular reasoning.

FWIW, I was being serious. I love the introductory video and anthem.
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Nah, you're right. It is a reasonably sweet intro. It's not as good as VA Tech's, but it's cool.

For the record, your Script Ohio is also very cool. It's traditions like these which make college football superior.
 
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Speaking of Scheelhaase (and QBs in general), I'm really interested in seeing how our pass rush does against these Big Ten QBs. Pocket quarterbacks (non-mobile QBs) had better have O Lines of steel and they'd better keep a back in to block, too, because we figure to have another devastating pass rush. We have been brutal against immobile QBs over the last few years.

Our D Line figures to be:

Cameron "The Stache" Meredith - Baker Steinkuhler - Jared Crick - Eric Martin

CamStache is a good containment end, and can rush the passer effectively when called upon. EMart is a converted LB who showed promise late last year after the mid-season position switch, then had a brilliant Spring Game against a pretty decent Left Tackle. Granted, it's a practice, but he was knifing through the line with abandon. Martin is a DE to be feared if he can get the position down.

Steinkuhler got dinged up last year and had middling effectiveness, but he's got a boatload of talent and one of the best D Coordinators in the country in Carl Pelini. Jared Crick is the "star" of the D Line, and he showed last year that he could be effective without Suh's presence. With a better Steinkuhler making it difficult to dedicate a double-team to Crick this year, I anticipate much havoc being wrought by our front four. Back them with LaVonte David (Husker single-season tackle record holder) and you've got a pretty decent force to throw against passing QBs.
 
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muffler dragon;1940471; said:
I like how the crowd quotes it with the players. Skin-chilling.
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Are you talking about the Husker Prayer? If so, that is very cool. But until last year we didn't do that every game. I think I'm the only person in my section who knows the thing by heart. When they ran it last year and I was shouting it out, people were looking at me like, "what the hell?"
 
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knapplc;1940489; said:
Are you talking about the Husker Prayer? If so, that is very cool. But until last year we didn't do that every game. I think I'm the only person in my section who knows the thing by heart. When they ran it last year and I was shouting it out, people were looking at me like, "what the hell?"
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Yep, that's it.
 
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