What is this year about?

[JJ Husker]

I don't know about anybody else but I haven't lowered my expectations at all.

If Pelini was still coach I would be expecting 8 to 9 wins with a couple of the losses being ugly head shakers.

With MR as coach I am expecting 10 or more wins with no, zero, nada blowouts.

That sure doesn't seem like lowered expectations to me.

 

[teachercd]

I am a bit shocked with the moral victory stuff...

It's not just a moral victory to play competitively and not get embarrassed. That is a very real, tangible, good thing. It is just as important, if not moreso, than hanging a W on some nobody.

I feel sorry for anybody who can't grasp this. If that W is the ultimate thing, why even watch the games? You can get all you need by checking the scores Saturday night.

Ahhhhh, I get your point now. You mean it more from an "entertainment" point of view, yes, I agree with that. Close games (either way, win or loss) are usually more entertaining.

But, I feel sorry for any fan of a team that doesn't think the W is the ultimate thing. That is why they keep score.

Again, the Holiday Bowl is the perfect example.

The Nebraska football program is in chaos. Players mourning the loss of Pelini. The fans' least favorite Husker coach -- Barney Cotton -- taking the helm, and the team has four weeks to prepare for USC, one of the most physically talented teams in the nation. For a notoriously fragile Husker team and their vilified OC it's a recipe for another nationally televised disaster.

But the team comes out focused, prepared and creative. The offense runs thirty (30!) more plays than their season average in a crisp, no-huddle offense we we told they weren't capable of. Tommy Armstrong has his best passing game, there's a sharp decline in turnovers and penalties, and a notable increase in emotion and enjoyment on the Nebraska sideline. Not only was it an entertaining game, it could easily have been a win. The defense just wasn't there yet.

It went on the record as an L, but it felt a lot different than the other Ls. I was proud of the team.

Sure, a W would always be better than a L.

Or would it?

McNeese State still shows up as a W.

Southern Cal still shows up as an L.

But I like the team from the Holiday Bowl better.

What if they played like they did vs McNeese against USC and won...

 

[knapplc]

"And our new coach is going to do it in his first year or there'll be hell to pay."

I don't think anyone is saying that. I just refuse to lower my standards and expectations for Nebraska Football because it is Riley's first year. As mentioned in another thread:

I was trying to be funny. I am not funny.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

I am a bit shocked with the moral victory stuff...

It's not just a moral victory to play competitively and not get embarrassed. That is a very real, tangible, good thing. It is just as important, if not moreso, than hanging a W on some nobody.

I feel sorry for anybody who can't grasp this. If that W is the ultimate thing, why even watch the games? You can get all you need by checking the scores Saturday night.

Ahhhhh, I get your point now. You mean it more from an "entertainment" point of view, yes, I agree with that. Close games (either way, win or loss) are usually more entertaining.

But, I feel sorry for any fan of a team that doesn't think the W is the ultimate thing. That is why they keep score.

Again, the Holiday Bowl is the perfect example.

The Nebraska football program is in chaos. Players mourning the loss of Pelini. The fans' least favorite Husker coach -- Barney Cotton -- taking the helm, and the team has four weeks to prepare for USC, one of the most physically talented teams in the nation. For a notoriously fragile Husker team and their vilified OC it's a recipe for another nationally televised disaster.

But the team comes out focused, prepared and creative. The offense runs thirty (30!) more plays than their season average in a crisp, no-huddle offense we we told they weren't capable of. Tommy Armstrong has his best passing game, there's a sharp decline in turnovers and penalties, and a notable increase in emotion and enjoyment on the Nebraska sideline. Not only was it an entertaining game, it could easily have been a win. The defense just wasn't there yet.

It went on the record as an L, but it felt a lot different than the other Ls. I was proud of the team.

Sure, a W would always be better than a L.

Or would it?

McNeese State still shows up as a W.

Southern Cal still shows up as an L.

But I like the team from the Holiday Bowl better.

What if they played like they did vs McNeese against USC and won...

Winning on a thrilling final play against a higher ranked team?

That would be fine.

 

[The Dude]

I don't know about anybody else but I haven't lowered my expectations at all.If Pelini was still coach I would be expecting 8 to 9 wins with a couple of the losses being ugly head shakers.With MR as coach I am expecting 10 or more wins with no, zero, nada blowouts.That sure doesn't seem like lowered expectations to me.

I'm surprised people's expectations were actually X number of meaningless wins. I just thought that was a cheesy way to argue Bo Pelini was just like Osborne and/or Saban and that he shouldn't be fired.
My expectations are to play championship caliber football again, but I realize were a ways away from that right now. It'll take a little time. If it doesn't happen Riley will eventually be let go and we'll try again.

 

[knapplc]

I talked about #9wins a lot when Pelini was here, but although the only other coaches to do that were Saban and Kelly at Oregon, I don't think anyone was ever trying to say Pelini was equivalent to those guys, or Osborne or Devaney (although he had a Devaney-esque temper).

It's just that winning nine games a year isn't easy. Pelini got embarrassed at least once per year, but that nine-win-per-year accomplishment can't be ignored. It's a heck of an oddity, but it's there in the books all the same.

I'd add that I have no idea how to put those seven straight years of nine wins into context with Pelini, either.

 

[JJ Husker]

I am a bit shocked with the moral victory stuff...

It's not just a moral victory to play competitively and not get embarrassed. That is a very real, tangible, good thing. It is just as important, if not moreso, than hanging a W on some nobody.

I feel sorry for anybody who can't grasp this. If that W is the ultimate thing, why even watch the games? You can get all you need by checking the scores Saturday night.

Ahhhhh, I get your point now. You mean it more from an "entertainment" point of view, yes, I agree with that. Close games (either way, win or loss) are usually more entertaining.

But, I feel sorry for any fan of a team that doesn't think the W is the ultimate thing. That is why they keep score.

Again, the Holiday Bowl is the perfect example.

The Nebraska football program is in chaos. Players mourning the loss of Pelini. The fans' least favorite Husker coach -- Barney Cotton -- taking the helm, and the team has four weeks to prepare for USC, one of the most physically talented teams in the nation. For a notoriously fragile Husker team and their vilified OC it's a recipe for another nationally televised disaster.

But the team comes out focused, prepared and creative. The offense runs thirty (30!) more plays than their season average in a crisp, no-huddle offense we we told they weren't capable of. Tommy Armstrong has his best passing game, there's a sharp decline in turnovers and penalties, and a notable increase in emotion and enjoyment on the Nebraska sideline. Not only was it an entertaining game, it could easily have been a win. The defense just wasn't there yet.

It went on the record as an L, but it felt a lot different than the other Ls. I was proud of the team.

Sure, a W would always be better than a L.

Or would it?

McNeese State still shows up as a W.

Southern Cal still shows up as an L.

But I like the team from the Holiday Bowl better.

What if they played like they did vs McNeese against USC and won...

We really need to keep the what ifs plausible.

The way we played against McNeese wasn't even enough to beat them without a Herculean effort by Ameer. How on earth could we play that poorly and hope to beat USC? Answer is, we couldn't so let's not raise ridiculous hypotheticals.

We played well above our average for the year and still lost to USC, and you want to ask what if we played our crappiest game of the year and won.....

 

[knapplc]

We really need to keep the what ifs plausible.

The way we played against McNeese wasn't even enough to beat them without a Herculean effort by Ameer. How on earth could we play that poorly and hope to beat USC? Answer is, we couldn't so let's not raise ridiculous hypotheticals.

We played well above our average for the year and still lost to USC, and you want to ask what if we played our crappiest game of the year and won.....

All it would have taken against McNeese State was for Tommy to throw that pass away at the two yard line. He does that, we kick a field goal and lead at halftime 24-7, and that game is all but over. That pick-six made that game way closer than it should have been.

 

[Saunders]

We really need to keep the what ifs plausible.

The way we played against McNeese wasn't even enough to beat them without a Herculean effort by Ameer. How on earth could we play that poorly and hope to beat USC? Answer is, we couldn't so let's not raise ridiculous hypotheticals.

We played well above our average for the year and still lost to USC, and you want to ask what if we played our crappiest game of the year and won.....

All it would have taken against McNeese State was for Tommy to throw that pass away at the two yard line. He does that, we kick a field goal and lead at halftime 24-7, and that game is all but over. That pick-six made that game way closer than it should have been.

Yeah, that game was another example of the fragile mentality of Bo's teams. Too often, they lacked killer instinct.

 

[knapplc]

It'll be interesting to see how much of a hangover there is this year. Fall camp sounds loose & fun, but when the going gets tough, how will these guys respond this year? These coaches have a lot of rebuilding to do between the ears.

 

[QMany]

It'll be interesting to see how much of a hangover there is this year. Fall camp sounds loose & fun, but when the going gets tough, how will these guys respond this year? These coaches have a lot of rebuilding to do between the ears.

 

[knapplc]

What's he going to say, though? "Bo left this team an emotional shambles. They're bearing the mental scars of years of verbal abuse. I'm going to have to do a lot of work to rebuild the team's psyche."

No coach is going to say that. Except Mike Leach, but he's a pirate.

 

[Enhance]

"And our new coach is going to do it in his first year or there'll be hell to pay."

I don't think anyone is saying that. I just refuse to lower my standards and expectations for Nebraska Football because it is Riley's first year. As mentioned in another thread:

I read that we should have vast improvements in the program, including:

• Better head coach.
• Ridding of culture/mentality problem that some feel we have.
• Better WR coach (read: not golf). Kenny Bell came back to work with him. Before one game, saying we need to open the checkbook.
• No more Coach Kaz.
• "Aggressive/attacking" defense.
• More coaching experience across the board.
• QB Whisperer.
• No more Tim Beck or getting Beck'd.
• Dedicated special teams coach.
• Recruiting "effort."
• Less WR option routes = less confusion.
• Better "player development."
• Better strength and conditioning program.
• All of our tough conference games are at home, not away like last year.

Did I miss anything?

On the other hand:

• We lost Ameer and Randy (who allegedly took plays off).
• We have to play BYU (home). They are experienced and good.
• We have to play Miami away, while they lost more talent to the NFL than we did. Zero players on ACC preseason team.

If all of the above is true, I think we should win more than nine games.

When you cut yourself, you put ointment on a bandage and put the bandage on your skin. Does it heal immediately or does the skin take time to right itself?

 

[Saunders]

"And our new coach is going to do it in his first year or there'll be hell to pay."

I don't think anyone is saying that. I just refuse to lower my standards and expectations for Nebraska Football because it is Riley's first year. As mentioned in another thread:

I read that we should have vast improvements in the program, including:

• Better head coach.
• Ridding of culture/mentality problem that some feel we have.
• Better WR coach (read: not golf). Kenny Bell came back to work with him. Before one game, saying we need to open the checkbook.
• No more Coach Kaz.
• "Aggressive/attacking" defense.
• More coaching experience across the board.
• QB Whisperer.
• No more Tim Beck or getting Beck'd.
• Dedicated special teams coach.
• Recruiting "effort."
• Less WR option routes = less confusion.
• Better "player development."
• Better strength and conditioning program.
• All of our tough conference games are at home, not away like last year.

Did I miss anything?

On the other hand:

• We lost Ameer and Randy (who allegedly took plays off).
• We have to play BYU (home). They are experienced and good.
• We have to play Miami away, while they lost more talent to the NFL than we did. Zero players on ACC preseason team.

If all of the above is true, I think we should win more than nine games.

When you cut yourself, you put ointment on a bandage and put the bandage on your skin. Does it heal immediately or does the skin take time to right itself?

Does putting the bandage on make the wound worse?

 

[teachercd]

We really need to keep the what ifs plausible.The way we played against McNeese wasn't even enough to beat them without a Herculean effort by Ameer. How on earth could we play that poorly and hope to beat USC? Answer is, we couldn't so let's not raise ridiculous hypotheticals.We played well above our average for the year and still lost to USC, and you want to ask what if we played our crappiest game of the year and won.....

All it would have taken against McNeese State was for Tommy to throw that pass away at the two yard line. He does that, we kick a field goal and lead at halftime 24-7, and that game is all but over. That pick-six made that game way closer than it should have been.

Yep...and if USC picks off ANY of those 5 passes that TA threw right at them that USC game is probably a blowout. No one is talking about that USC game being awesome if that would have happened. Just like no one would be using the McNesse State game as a measuring stick if they go in at the half 24-7
We don't lower expectations here. We have a well respected coach now with what appears to be a very impressive staff with a team that will be favored in all but 2 games and has out recruited all the teams they face but 1. With their two hardest conference games at home.

9 wins would be average. 10 would be sweet....anything over that and we are really in for a sweet ride with MR