***Official don’t buy any bullshit they try selling you, offseason thread***

[SlumpBuster]

2010 away Texas am 9-6

 

[nja13]

With this shit trash schedule, anything less than a solid Bo Pelini would be a catastrophe IMO

I had a such a solid Bo Pelini the other day I took a laxative.
Took too much of that and ended up having a sloppy, back-splashing Scott Frost the next morning.

 

[Lionsfan93]

For me personally, I look at the roster and have trouble answering the question why it shouldn't be this year.

On paper with all the appropriate caveats of shit happens during the season, Rhule has: 1. Rectified our biggest issues from last season (offensive game planning/playcalling and special teams). 2. Added high end wide receivers to help his sophomore QB who should, if he's the real deal, make a jump this season, and 3. Is going to roll out a very experienced OL.

The only real question mark is whether the DL can be in the ball park of as good as it was last year.

If there isn't a jump this season, I basically have no faith they'll ever make it under this staff. Indiana is a great example of a team that sucked balls and then suddenly overnight "learned how to win" and capitalized on a soft schedule, so why not us?

Indiana is the exact reason why I am slightly holding out hope for a huge jump. If they could do it, why can't we? I honestly believe that this team is more talented than last years Indiana team. Just need the ball to bounce our way a few times and capitalize on those times.

 

[nja13]

Went through really quick so this may be off but I counted 18-6 in November 2008-2013. Still way better than I would have expected. These are the losses

2008 away Oklahoma 62-28
2010 away Texas am 9-6
2011 home northwestern 28-25
2011 away Wisconsin 48-17
2013 home Michigan st 41-28
2013 home Cockeye 38-17

Well if that isn't Bo Pelini in a nutshell. Good record, but the losses are ugly blowouts. Just two close games on that list and one of them is to Northwestern.

 

[nja13]

You are absolutely correct in that we’ve shit the bed against less than daunting opposition for a long, long time. That’s part of why I think a big jump is unlikely. We still have a roster full of kids who may be better than previous years, but still haven’t learned how to win yet.

Fair point.
But on the optimistic side, maybe they haven't learned to shit the bed against less-than-daunting opposition either.

 

[Quint]

For me personally, I look at the roster and have trouble answering the question why it shouldn't be this year.

Overall answer for me is youth in many areas of the depth chart, but don’t disagree the talent appears to be there.

On paper with all the appropriate caveats of shit happens during the season, Rhule has: 1. Rectified our biggest issues from last season (offensive game planning/playcalling and special teams). 2. Added high end wide receivers to help his sophomore QB who should, if he's the real deal, make a jump this season, and 3. Is going to roll out a very experienced OL.

Agree on all points. Just the ‘Doing’ part seems to be where we’ve failed when we’ve had the preferred set up for…hell….thirty years now?

The only real question mark is whether the DL can be in the ball park of as good as it was last year.

My biggest question mark from a position group perspective as well, though again the individuals on the roster look to fit the bill. Would like a couple more proven bodies in the middle, but it is what it is.

If there isn't a jump this season, I basically have no faith they'll ever make it under this staff. Indiana is a great example of a team that sucked balls and then suddenly overnight "learned how to win" and capitalized on a soft schedule, so why not us?

Indiana was a bit of a one off, due largely to the number of kids Dickbreath (should be the autocorrect on the board for Cignetti’s name) brought in from JMU who’d played and won together…under him. NU’s roster is greater than Indiana’s was last year IMO, but we’re lacking the ‘Won together’ part. Doesn’t mean they can’t put the pieces together and do it.

Love our move at OC. Think I’ll love the move at DC. Like our roster. Still not sure I like our mental game, but we’ll start to find out in a couple of weeks.

 

[Quint]

Fair point.
But on the optimistic side, maybe they haven't learned to shit the bed against less-than-daunting opposition either.

True and we’re really down to just a few holdovers from the group that couldn’t beat Georgia Southern.

 

[dom91932]

I understand the sentiment, but when we’re saying ‘Trash Schedule’, what are we comparing it to? We haven’t been much in the win/loss column for a long time.

Sure, we took a small step forward last year, but even the ‘garbage’ teams on our schedule gave us fits.

IMO we need to win 8 to take another step forward, and as much as I want to talk myself into ‘we have a better roster’, ‘better coaching staff’, etc. like the talking heads are spouting, there are actually a lot of unknowns and this TEAM still hasn’t done it and has to prove it. Add the fact that nothing in college football is static and other schools and staffs have the exact same goal as we do. Be better than last year, and some will actually do just that. Someone will take a step up making the ‘Trash Schedule’ less trashy. If it’s a couple of teams that improve.

Looking at the schedule, three teams (Michigan, USC and Penn State) all have better talent on paper than we do. Recent history for this program means those are likely losses. 9-3. Add to that couple of teams with decent talent taking a step up, or playing way over their heads (Cockeye, UCLA) and maybe we split those and we’re 8-4. Three other teams have legit talent and I’ve heard noise about all three of them making a move (Cincinnati, Maryland and Michigan State), so how do we fare in those games? 2-1 puts us at 7-5 and a one game improvement over last year’s regular season.

I write all that to say I think this is our ‘Put up or Shut up’ year, because to date we really haven’t proven dick. Beat those teams we’ve somehow found a way to lose to in recent years, don’t drop one to an up and comer with good talent, and bury the three genuinely bad football teams on the schedule and finish 9-3. That’s a nice step forward, schedule be damned. Finish 8-4 and I’m not pissed off, but my thoughts on this team will be confirmed.

We’re not there until we prove we’re there.

Every team on our schedule is looking at us and counting it as a win. We haven't earned any gimmes yet.

 

[TampaBaySkers]

Every team on our schedule is looking at us and counting it as a win. We haven't earned any gimmes yet.

lol every team ?

 

[dom91932]

lol every team ?

Well except the two rummies-Akron and that school from Houston-whatever they call themselves now

 

[Jim14510]

Well except the two rummies-Akron and that school from Houston-whatever they call themselves now

I'm sure a lot see it as a toss up but I don't think there's over half that have us penciled in as a W.

 

[Mavsker]

I understand the sentiment, but when we’re saying ‘Trash Schedule’, what are we comparing it to? We haven’t been much in the win/loss column for a long time.

Sure, we took a small step forward last year, but even the ‘garbage’ teams on our schedule gave us fits.

IMO we need to win 8 to take another step forward, and as much as I want to talk myself into ‘we have a better roster’, ‘better coaching staff’, etc. like the talking heads are spouting, there are actually a lot of unknowns and this TEAM still hasn’t done it and has to prove it. Add the fact that nothing in college football is static and other schools and staffs have the exact same goal as we do. Be better than last year, and some will actually do just that. Someone will take a step up making the ‘Trash Schedule’ less trashy. If it’s a couple of teams that improve.

Looking at the schedule, three teams (Michigan, USC and Penn State) all have better talent on paper than we do. Recent history for this program means those are likely losses. 9-3. Add to that couple of teams with decent talent taking a step up, or playing way over their heads (Cockeye, UCLA) and maybe we split those and we’re 8-4. Three other teams have legit talent and I’ve heard noise about all three of them making a move (Cincinnati, Maryland and Michigan State), so how do we fare in those games? 2-1 puts us at 7-5 and a one game improvement over last year’s regular season.

For every team that underperforms its talent level, there is a team that overperforms its talent level.

Yet here at Nebraska, we can basically bank on underperforming. Like if the "starting point" of talent is 9-3, we always have to adjust down. Half of all teams get to adjust up!

I know this is an obvious point, it's just infuriating

 

[Quint]

Every team on our schedule is looking at us and counting it as a win. We haven't earned any gimmes yet.

I don’t think it’s that simple, but we went from the nightmare nobody wanted to play, to being scheduled as a teams homecoming game.

That says a lot.

 

[Quint]

For every team that underperforms its talent level, there is a team that overperforms its talent level.

Yet here at Nebraska, we can basically bank on underperforming. Like if the "starting point" of talent is 9-3, we always have to adjust down. Half of all teams get to adjust up!

I know this is an obvious point, it's just infuriating

I honestly don’t remember the last Nebraska team to outplay it’s potential on paper.

I really don’t think it’s happened in the 21st century.

 

[Baron Winnebago]

I honestly don’t remember the last Nebraska team to outplay it’s potential on paper.

I really don’t think it’s happened in the 21st century.

Outplaying talent is squishier but outplaying expectations, I've got 2008.


Fin.

 

[Cornicator]

I honestly don’t remember the last Nebraska team to outplay it’s potential on paper.

I really don’t think it’s happened in the 21st century.

Are you serious?

I can point to about 20 losses where Nebraska literally outplayed its potential and their opponent ..... ON PAPER. Hell, Cockeye won last year's game with 155 yards and 5 first downs.

 

[Quint]

Outplaying talent is squishier but outplaying expectations, I've got 2008.

That was a weird roster, so I might agree with that.

 

[Quint]

Are you serious?

I can point to about 20 losses where Nebraska literally outplayed its potential and their opponent ..... ON PAPER. Hell, Cockeye won last year's game with 155 yards and 5 first downs.

You misunderstood what I’m saying.

I don’t remember a SEASON Nebraska outplayed it’s talent…on paper….I.E, we had a better record and better team than our roster indicated we should going into the year.

Since you bring up Cockeye, they do what I’m talking about almost every damned year.

 

[Mavsker]

Are you serious?

I can point to about 20 losses where Nebraska literally outplayed its potential and their opponent ..... ON PAPER. Hell, Cockeye won last year's game with 155 yards and 5 first downs.

You guys are talking about two different things.

He's talking about a team outplaying potential over the course of the year and having that reflected in wins

You seem to be talking about individual games, especially those we outplayed the other team and still lost. Yes that has happened but we are not talking about that.

 

[Baron Winnebago]

You guys are talking about two different things.

He's talking about a team outplaying potential over the course of the year and having that reflected in wins

You seem to be talking about individual games, especially those we outplayed the other team and still lost. Yes that has happened but we are not talking about that.

In Cornicator's defense,it's kind of hard to see around the absolute mountain of bullshit that is made up of all the games Nebraska has pissed away over the last 15 years