ESPN: First 2019 Way-Too-Early Top 25

Undone said:
Oh, they definitely still have some life. 

I think an objective pre-season poll should have us ahead of Wisconsin in the 'top 35' (not that 'top 35' is actually a thing). And I'm probably going to catch flak for this but I think Iowa would objectively be the pre-season favorite to win the west. Totally serious.

But I think by the halfway point in the season we'll emerge as the leader in the West and will probably win our division in a tight three way race.
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I wouldn't argue with you on Iowa being the favorite. They would be my favorite at this point as well. I can't get on board with us being ranked ahead of them though.... Not quite.

 
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Undone said:
Things were never "in place" for them to begin with. They were pretenders for the last three seasons. They flew under the radar by not having difficult cross-divisional games. Last season finally broke that trend when they played two good teams from the East, Michigan & Penn State. Michigan blew them out, and they lost by 12 to Penn State.

That clip of Paul Chryst saying "F*** you, motherf*****" will be such a great meme around here very soon.
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Last year they were pretenders I guess for the first few weeks. But the two years before that I'd disagree. 2017 they benefitted from a very convenient schedule, but if it was that easy to just not screw up enough to go 13-1 you'd see a lot of other teams doing it. Their one loss was a respectable and good game against OSU. 2016 their three losses were all by a single score to the #6, #7 and #10 ranked teams, respectively. And they beat two top 15 teams. So I'd say they were a deservingly top 11-14 team. 

At any rate, a trend is defined by more data points than one. People thought 2012 would be the start of a trend as well. Personally I'd be glad to see Wisconsin keep up their level of success - boosts us that much more when we start being able to beat them.

 
B.B. Hemingway said:
I wouldn't argue with you on Iowa being the favorite. They would be my favorite at this point as well. I can't get on board with us being ranked ahead of them though.... Not quite.
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Agreed. It pains me to say this but Ferentz has implemented a few spread-ish concepts in their offense, and their offense got better over the second half of the season. They strength program is undeniably great and both of those things combined gave us a pretty hard time when we played them.

I don't think their defense will have any answers for Martinez when we play them next year though.

 
Undone said:
Agreed. It pains me to say this but Ferentz has implemented a few spread-ish concepts in their offense, and their offense got better over the second half of the season. They strength program is undeniably great and both of those things combined gave us a pretty hard time when we played them.

I don't think their defense will have any answers for Martinez when we play them next year though.
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It's those zone running plays! They eat us alive with those.

I don't think anyone will have an answer for Martinez next year.... Maybe Clemson or Bama in the CFB Playoff? :dunno :lol:

 
Landlord said:
Last year they were pretenders I guess for the first few weeks. But the two years before that I'd disagree. 2017 they benefitted from a very convenient schedule, but if it was that easy to just not screw up enough to go 13-1 you'd see a lot of other teams doing it. Their one loss was a respectable and good game against OSU. 2016 their three losses were all by a single score to the #6, #7 and #10 ranked teams, respectively. And they beat two top 15 teams. So I'd say they were a deservingly top 11-14 team. 

At any rate, a trend is defined by more data points than one. People thought 2012 would be the start of a trend as well. Personally I'd be glad to see Wisconsin keep up their level of success - boosts us that much more when we start being able to beat them.
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Good data there. I would just say though to anyone calling them a legit Top 10 team during that span that I'd disagree. I'd agree on "Top 15," and I think that's sort of your point in the bolded.

 

 
Undone said:
Good data there. I would just say though to anyone calling them a legit Top 10 team during that span that I'd disagree. I'd agree on "Top 15," and I think that's sort of your point in the bolded.

 
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Yeah I mean they've squandered some opportunities, and they're certainly not 'elite' in the sense that OSU/Bama/Clemson/et al are, but I'd give them good odds against anybody over those two years. They won't be able to take that next step until they get another gamechanging quarterback though.

 
B.B. Hemingway said:
Well, I was. It was sheer domination. If Nebraska were to beat Miami 35-3 at any point, the state would lose it's mind, and declare a return to glory was on the horizon.

Wisconsin definitely slipped this year. I'm not arguing that. I'm just saying that the bowl game should that they still have some life.
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Had we played them in that same bowl game, we may have won by a similar score.  Miami wasn't motivated, and then they lost their coach.  Probably a connection.

 
Redux said:
Had we played them in that same bowl game, we may have won by a similar score.  Miami wasn't motivated, and then they lost their coach.  Probably a connection.
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We'll agree to disagree, my friend.

I do hope you're right, though!

 
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10 most-hyped teams for 2019

Nebraska was one of college football's hottest programs exiting the 2018 season and seemed to gain its footing under first-year Scott Frost after a disappointing 0-6 start. The overtime loss at Northwestern, a game that seemingly slipped away late, was the turning point. Nebraska won four of its final six games, the setbacks coming by five points at Ohio State and three at Iowa
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Not sure what everyone is on about with Wisconsin. We lose to them consistently but they’re not some national power. 13-1 was as much of an anomaly as 8-5. They’ve consistently won 10/11 games but occasionally win 9.

 
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On the debate about Nebraska placing in these rankings:

I plugged just the final 6 games into the Pythagorean win expectation formula. The result is .7287 or somewhere between 8-9 wins in a 12 game schedule. This matches the win ratio actually garnered during that stretch. 

This is the cutoff point for the bottom part of the rankings in any given year. So it’s fair to say had Nebraska played that way all season, they’d probably be ranked somewhere in the bottom 5.

 
I don't know what next season will look like, but we are a few classes away from what Clemson and Bama have in talent.  To be completely honest, we are few classes away from winning any kind of Big 10 hardware, but even further away from Clemson and Bama.

Good news is that I think after last nights debacle, Saban won't remain king for much longer.  Dabo Swinney is a much more relateable coach and gives credit to his players more than himself.  Bama's kids don't look like they enjoy playing the game, while Clemson's look like college kids having a blast.  Something to be said for that.

 
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