CBS Sports: Breaking Down the Big Ten Schedules

1995 Redux said:
Okay I'll get back on track here, I went off course a bit.

Nebraskas schedule. While the absence of Ohio State, Sparty, Michigan and PSU Hurt the overall image of a true Big Ten gauntlet, there are some real gems to be found. After opening against a couple of lower tier squads Nebraska should be 2-0 heading into Fresno. They lost their QB but retain a solid coach, not an easy win by any means but Nebraska should come out on top. Playinh host to Miami in September is alot less favorable than coaxing them into a November game but we should be able to take advantage of their defensive issues and lack of offensive star power.

As for league play its all about the road games. Illinois Rutgers Purdue and Minnesota all visit Lincoln and SHOULD all fall to home field advantage as long as the team plays with heart and limits mistakes. Traveling to Sparty Iowa Wisconsin and NW is a tall challenge for any Big Ten team. Sparty is a mystery even coming off a Rose Bowl and Conference Championship, this ones a toss up for me at this time. Wisconsin seems to know more about our team than we do every time we play so I just assume this is a game we could keep close but end up dropping. Northwestern was a scrappy but injured squad last year but still gave us their all. I expect no less and they habe no home field advantage in this one (see 2012). Iowa is a make or break game if we have already dropped a couple, I expect a strong finish and a win here.

So if you end the year with a 10-2 record, losses @ Spart and Wiscy, the schedule sets Nebraska up for a nice bowl game if not a title game spot should things fall right. Truly I expect Nebraska to win the division but were talking about SOS so overall I give a completely biased A-

Unbiased Id say its at least a B to a B+ schedule. Those road games are no laughing matter.
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fresno st replaces one carr with another at qb, and iirc he is supposed to be the best of the three.

 
He may very well end up heing better than the others but Id wager The games against USC and @Utah may wear him down a bit before we roll into town. Fresnos schedule is top heavy so they should fight tooth and dagger to win 1or two of their OOC games, their entire season depends on that Duke transfer at QB. IF he lives up to the hype they could be a really good team. I just dont see Nebraska falling to them though.

 
1995 Redux said:
He may very well end up heing better than the others but Id wager The games against USC and @Utah may wear him down a bit before we roll into town. Fresnos schedule is top heavy so they should fight tooth and dagger to win 1or two of their OOC games, their entire season depends on that Duke transfer at QB. IF he lives up to the hype they could be a really good team. I just dont see Nebraska falling to them though.
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West Coast late night game. We shall see.
 
desertshox said:
1995 Redux said:
Okay I'll get back on track here, I went off course a bit.

Nebraskas schedule. While the absence of Ohio State, Sparty, Michigan and PSU Hurt the overall image of a true Big Ten gauntlet, there are some real gems to be found. After opening against a couple of lower tier squads Nebraska should be 2-0 heading into Fresno. They lost their QB but retain a solid coach, not an easy win by any means but Nebraska should come out on top. Playinh host to Miami in September is alot less favorable than coaxing them into a November game but we should be able to take advantage of their defensive issues and lack of offensive star power.

As for league play its all about the road games. Illinois Rutgers Purdue and Minnesota all visit Lincoln and SHOULD all fall to home field advantage as long as the team plays with heart and limits mistakes. Traveling to Sparty Iowa Wisconsin and NW is a tall challenge for any Big Ten team. Sparty is a mystery even coming off a Rose Bowl and Conference Championship, this ones a toss up for me at this time. Wisconsin seems to know more about our team than we do every time we play so I just assume this is a game we could keep close but end up dropping. Northwestern was a scrappy but injured squad last year but still gave us their all. I expect no less and they habe no home field advantage in this one (see 2012). Iowa is a make or break game if we have already dropped a couple, I expect a strong finish and a win here.

So if you end the year with a 10-2 record, losses @ Spart and Wiscy, the schedule sets Nebraska up for a nice bowl game if not a title game spot should things fall right. Truly I expect Nebraska to win the division but were talking about SOS so overall I give a completely biased A-

Unbiased Id say its at least a B to a B+ schedule. Those road games are no laughing matter.
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fresno st replaces one carr with another at qb, and iirc he is supposed to be the best of the three.
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The new Carr is not related to the others BTW

 
deedsker said:
1995 Redux said:
He may very well end up heing better than the others but Id wager The games against USC and @Utah may wear him down a bit before we roll into town. Fresnos schedule is top heavy so they should fight tooth and dagger to win 1or two of their OOC games, their entire season depends on that Duke transfer at QB. IF he lives up to the hype they could be a really good team. I just dont see Nebraska falling to them though.
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West Coast late night game. We shall see.
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I don't think you will see the same thing as UCLA. For one thing you knew UCLA was going to be talented Skippy had recruited well he just couldn't get them to play well. I think BP will remind them quite a bit about that game on the west coast at night. Plus they are just not nearly as talented as UCLA.

I don't think the QB from Duke is going to be their savior. If he was great he would still be at Duke. He split time with their other QB in the first half of the season, but I don't think he even saw the field in the last 5-6 games.

He is obviously better than anything they have and will be ok, but to come in a start with a month of practice and be great is a stretch. Russell Wilson is the only QB of note to transfer for that one year and have a significant impact on their new team. He is the exception not the rule.

 
Honestly if Nebraska cant go 4-0 heading into conference play they will be hard pressed to contend for a division title. Winning at Sparty is going to be tiugh but not mandatory. Winning at Wisfy and Iowa are definitely mandatory though. Wiscy looks to be our biggest threat in the West and Iowas scchedule is manageable enough to stack up conference wins and fight for a spot.

 
1995 Redux said:
Honestly if Nebraska cant go 4-0 heading into conference play they will be hard pressed to contend for a division title. Winning at Sparty is going to be tiugh but not mandatory. Winning at Wisfy and Iowa are definitely mandatory though. Wiscy looks to be our biggest threat in the West and Iowas scchedule is manageable enough to stack up conference wins and fight for a spot.
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I agree with your sentiment, but our non-con literally makes no difference in whether we win the division. Who thought MSU would win the division after losing to ND and playing inept offense in the non-con?

 
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NUinID said:
deedsker said:
1995 Redux said:
He may very well end up heing better than the others but Id wager The games against USC and @Utah may wear him down a bit before we roll into town. Fresnos schedule is top heavy so they should fight tooth and dagger to win 1or two of their OOC games, their entire season depends on that Duke transfer at QB. IF he lives up to the hype they could be a really good team. I just dont see Nebraska falling to them though.
Click to expand...
West Coast late night game. We shall see.
Click to expand...
I don't think you will see the same thing as UCLA. For one thing you knew UCLA was going to be talented Skippy had recruited well he just couldn't get them to play well. I think BP will remind them quite a bit about that game on the west coast at night. Plus they are just not nearly as talented as UCLA.

I don't think the QB from Duke is going to be their savior. If he was great he would still be at Duke. He split time with their other QB in the first half of the season, but I don't think he even saw the field in the last 5-6 games.

He is obviously better than anything they have and will be ok, but to come in a start with a month of practice and be great is a stretch. Russell Wilson is the only QB of note to transfer for that one year and have a significant impact on their new team. He is the exception not the rule.
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so if the kid is good but not great, is that all Fresno needs to beat us?

 
I wonder if other Big Ten teams fans count Nebraska as an automatic win as often as some Nebraska fans do the same to them? Just a random thought.

 
True2tRA said:
I wonder if other Big Ten teams fans count Nebraska as an automatic win as often as some Nebraska fans do the same to them? Just a random thought.
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Considering we have beaten everyone in this conference at least once, some twice, I wouldn't think so, with the exception of Indiana. I still have no idea how we have not played them once since we have been in the conference.

 
I want to see us win a marquee OOC game. Beating Miami will be good, plus just because Fresno State losses Carr doesn't mean that won't give us some fits, though I'm hoping we blow them out, should be an exciting year, I EXPECT nothing less than 11+ wins regardless of the schedule I personally think another 9 win season would be a disappointment. It would be disappointing to me.

 
NUinID said:
deedsker said:
1995 Redux said:
He may very well end up heing better than the others but Id wager The games against USC and @Utah may wear him down a bit before we roll into town. Fresnos schedule is top heavy so they should fight tooth and dagger to win 1or two of their OOC games, their entire season depends on that Duke transfer at QB. IF he lives up to the hype they could be a really good team. I just dont see Nebraska falling to them though.
Click to expand...
West Coast late night game. We shall see.
Click to expand...
I don't think you will see the same thing as UCLA. For one thing you knew UCLA was going to be talented Skippy had recruited well he just couldn't get them to play well. I think BP will remind them quite a bit about that game on the west coast at night. Plus they are just not nearly as talented as UCLA.

I don't think the QB from Duke is going to be their savior. If he was great he would still be at Duke. He split time with their other QB in the first half of the season, but I don't think he even saw the field in the last 5-6 games.

He is obviously better than anything they have and will be ok, but to come in a start with a month of practice and be great is a stretch. Russell Wilson is the only QB of note to transfer for that one year and have a significant impact on their new team. He is the exception not the rule.
Click to expand...
The B1G has historically stunk it up going to the West Coast to play the PAC-12, so I am expecting this to be as much us not playing up to par as Fresno State giving it one heck of a shot. It is their first home game, they will have played at USC and at Utah. They won't be scared out our athletes. They will be ready to give it a puncher's chance or they will be beat down already and we will push them around. Right now, I am more than scared of them, but I still expect a win. It will be a good game though.

 
RedDenver said:
1995 Redux said:
Honestly if Nebraska cant go 4-0 heading into conference play they will be hard pressed to contend for a division title. Winning at Sparty is going to be tiugh but not mandatory. Winning at Wisfy and Iowa are definitely mandatory though. Wiscy looks to be our biggest threat in the West and Iowas scchedule is manageable enough to stack up conference wins and fight for a spot.
Click to expand...
I agree with your sentiment, but our non-con literally makes no difference in whether we win the division. Who thought MSU would win the division after losing to ND and playing inept offense in the non-con?
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Sure, we could go 0-4 ooc, then go 8-0 in conference play and win the division. Incredibly unlikely though. Im saying 4-0 in ooc games would go a long way in cementing us as a threat. If we go 3-1 were not really on the radar as far as a contender goes. Basically if we cant beat our 4 non B1G opponents were going to struggle to win 7 or 8 league games.

 
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