A look ahead at Nebraska's 2014 schedule

[zoogs]

Sort of a spin-off from another thread where SOS was mentioned, but I thought it was interesting. We do play a lot of teams with winning records in 2013.

Here's the 2014 schedule, with 2013 records.

FAU 6-6

McNeese State FCS

@ Fresno State 11-2

Miami 9-4

Illinois 4-8

@ Michigan State 13-1 (BYE follows)

@Northwestern 5-7

Rutgers 6-7

Purdue 1-11 (BYE follows)

@Wisconsin 9-4

Minnesota 8-5

@ Iowa 8-5

There are 6 games that should be absolute gimmes here: FAU, McNeese State, Illinois, Northwestern, Rutgers, and Purdue. Of the other 6, I'd split them this way:

MARQUEE OPPONENT

Michigan State

Wisconsin

Miami

DID THEY REALLY WIN THAT MANY GAMES LAST YEAR? (all these should be expected W's)

Minneosta

Iowa

Fresno State

That's 8 or 9 regular season wins not counting any of the three true marquee matchups...of which, neither Wisconsin nor Miami are that scary. They're programs in similar positions trying to make similar leaps as us. I think the regular season should finish with at most 2 losses, with 0 not at all outside the realm of possibility.

A 3-loss regular season would be a push, depending on where and how those three losses happen. If we finish with 2 or 3 losses, the postseason will be defining. Another '10 or '12 fizzle out to a 9-4/10-4/9-5 finish, or better.

A 4-loss regular season, while not impossible to imagine, would be very disappointing. We'd have to get swept by every marquee opponent and lose another one somewhere, or beat one of the top 3 but drop two elsewhere. I don't think it's possible to lose more than 4.

So, there are two ways this team finally makes that proverbial leap in 2014. A 1-loss regular season or better, or a 2-3 loss regular season with a conference championship and/or impressive bowl win. I don't think Bo has to make the leap this year to keep his job, that's a slightly different discussion. But I think this year is a very, very good opportunity to do so. I'd be quite disappointed if we didn't.

 

[kchusker_chris]

A 4-loss regular season, while not impossible to imagine, would be very disappointing.

#entitled -

 

[Redux]

I sincerely believed we would lose no more than 3 last year WITH an injury bug. We only had one game I would consider a blowoutloss but still all 4 were headscratchers.

This year I see no reason we cant smoke Miamin Lincoln and travel up to Madison and pay the Badgers back for that title game debacle. A win in Camp Randall would heal alot of wounds. MSU finally got a win in the series but I have a feeling we regain control. And Iowa is Iowa, we let them get a W as well in the series. Cant wait to watch us storm their field and take back our trophy. 11-1 IF we drop a close game.

 

[74Hunter]

I dunno, Iowa and NW have never been gimmies,,especially on the road. Road games at Fresno, Wisc, and MSU aren't gonna be easy, either.

 

[74Hunter]

I have a feeling that people think that we should win these games based on what our program was 15 to 20 years ago. Sadly, things have changed.

 

[zoogs]

Road games at Fresno-breaking-in-a-new-QB-after-Derek-Carr-State?

I can see an argument for Iowa, which is why I marked down 8 or 9 wins as a baseline for the regular season, which doesn't include any of the top three opponents (Wisky, Miami, MSU).

I'm expecting 10. I think we'll knock off two of those three (I'm going to say...Miami and Michigan State), then drop one we shouldn't (yeah, maybe Northwestern, it happens). Either that, or just one of the three, but winning all the others. That still leaves everything up to the postseason, where to transcend past years we'll need to at least a) be competitive with let's say a juggernaut Ohio State in a loss, and deliver a strong bowl win, or b) win the CCG and take home a B1G trophy.

 

[Redux]

Im really not worried about Fresno State. Call me nuts but I think our new aggressive defense smotheres their new QBand Line.

Iowa may be tough but I think we will step up for that game this year, take it a bit more seriously. Plus we will hopefully have at least our 2nd string QB in to make the start.

Northwesterns will was broken in the last two contests, theyll be pesky but manageable I feel. Cant wait to take over rtheir stadium again.

 

[BigRedBuster]

There is no reason why our defense shouldn't start off the year where they ended the year last year or better. The offense should be improved with more experience at QB.

So...I'm optimistic about the beginning of the year. I'm optimistic about the rest of the year depending on who injuries go. We will always have some. But, too many injuries will decrease the production of just about any team.

 

[sd'sker]

I have a feeling that people think that we should win these games based on what our program was 15 to 20 years ago. Sadly, things have changed.

people get upset with NUpolo8 for being "negative", but this attitude is much more disconcerting. have things really changed that much that we should not expect to win 10/11 of our next 12 games?

 

[Redux]

I have a feeling that people think that we should win these games based on what our program was 15 to 20 years ago. Sadly, things have changed.

people get upset with NUpolo8 for being "negative", but this attitude is much more disconcerting. have things really changed that much that we should not expect to win 10/11 of our next 12 games?

Nebraska itself hasnt changed much. Its the rest of the college football world that has changed drastically.

 

[zoogs]

I have a feeling that people think that we should win these games based on what our program was 15 to 20 years ago. Sadly, things have changed.

By the way, I'm looking at it through a lens of, "If Bo has successfully taken this program to the next level, what's the outlook."

I think we're all hoping for that to be the case this year. I'm actually not sure why you aren't more optimistic -- our defense really came on last year, and the offense continues to come together under Tim Beck and a truly impressive roster of playmaking ability. I think a big injury on offense (namely, at QB) is the only thing that could really hold us back. If that happens, I do think a 4-loss regular season is a more reasonable expectation.

Beyond the season predictions, this is also about "what does a __-__ finish mean?"

 

[sd'sker]

I have a feeling that people think that we should win these games based on what our program was 15 to 20 years ago. Sadly, things have changed.

people get upset with NUpolo8 for being "negative", but this attitude is much more disconcerting. have things really changed that much that we should not expect to win 10/11 of our next 12 games?

Nebraska itself hasnt changed much. Its the rest of the college football world that has changed drastically.

so, you are saying that things have changed so much that we should not expect to win 10/11 games next year?

 

[74Hunter]

I have a feeling that people think that we should win these games based on what our program was 15 to 20 years ago. Sadly, things have changed.

people get upset with NUpolo8 for being "negative", but this attitude is much more disconcerting. have things really changed that much that we should not expect to win 10/11 of our next 12 games?

Nebraska itself hasnt changed much. Its the rest of the college football world that has changed drastically.

I think that we should have learned over the past 10 years that no win is a gimmie,and I do think that we've changed as well as football in general.

 

[tmfr15]

Expectations, in my view, are constructed with an eye toward what the team has done in the recent past.

Everyone would like to see Nebraska win the national title. Taking an unbiased look at such a proposition....

Teams that win the national title have near-perfect record of beating the teams they are supposed to beat. Nebraska hasn't done that. Minnesota last year is the perfect example. Coach Osborne rarely lost to the unranked. He was freakishly good at knocking down the teams Nebraska should beat.

Teams that win the national title game have a talent base that is equal with the other top teams in the country. We have not demonstrated that we have talent that rivals the top teams. We are doing better on the recruiting trail but we need to see those gains on the field before we can have much faith in the talent base.

Teams that win the national title have had seasons, usually multiple, but they've had seasons where they've gone unbeaten through a majority of the schedule and there for have experienced the pressure and attention that comes with being 9-0 or 10-0. Nebraska hasn't been unbeaten that deep in the season for a long, long time.

Teams that win the national title have played in major bowl games. Nebraska hasn't been competitive in a major bowl game since Frank and the Huskers beat the Vols in the Fiesta.

Add in the X factor of the new playoff and it's even more important that teams seriously vying for the title be ones with a championship resume.

Nebraska needs to beat the teams it is supposed to beat, demonstrate that it has the talent some of the other top teams enjoy and then go on a run under pressure before winning a conference title and gaining experience in a major non-playoff bowl game.

Do that, and Nebraska, with a returning signal caller and a maturing roster would begin to position itself for a serious run at the title.