ESPN: First 2019 Way-Too-Early Top 25
- Thread starter Saunders
- Start date
Undone
New member
Good post. By "classes" I assume you mean "tiers," right? If so, I agree. Especially athletically on defense.
Beating both Wisconsin and Iowa in the same season is a bigger feat than most fans probably realize or care to admit. If it happens this season I will be a little bit surprised. Winning one of the two could still possibly put us in Indy.
At any rate, nice to see us in the pre-seaon rankings mix.
Redux
Donor
We almost beat them in Madison with one of the most head scratching inconsistent shoot ourselves in the foot teams in program history. It just feels like the series is about to swing.
BigRedBuster
Active member
Both of those programs have a lot more talent than Nebraska has currently. Alabama, has taken running out of their ears and this year's class is no different. Out of 28 commits, only one is not a 4* or 5* player. That's absolutely nuts. However, when looking at Clemson. Their class is much more pedestrian. Yes, it's better than Nebraska's. I'm not trying to say Nebraska's is equal to them.
But, they have 2 - 5*, 11 - 4* and 13 - 3*
Nebraska has 0 - 5*, 6 - 4* and 19 - 3*
I actually think we will end up with at least 8 - 4* commits.
Yes, Clemson's talent is better. No question about it. But, if we keep improving in recruiting, I think we can get to their level.
Interesting thing about Clemson's class. We all probably agree we need to dominate in the trenches and that's a large part of how Clemson beat Alabama. However, only 2 of their 13 4 or 5* players are linemen. Meanwhile, I think we will end up with 2 4* linemen also.
everybody knows my name
New member
Aggravating to this Gophers fan - after our 3-1 finish with blowout wins over Purdue, Wisconsin, and GA Tech, that Nebraska is ranked higher than Minnesota. That, my Cornhusker friends, is the lingering benefit of Nebraska's longtime reputation.
Toe
New member
@BigRedBuster What I always notice is that when you look at the recruiting rankings, there's a clear top tier in the B1G of Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State. We've typically been at the top of the second tier in the conference, but it's a pretty noticeable gap. And while this year's class ain't bad, overall it's still in that '#25 class, give or take' range we've been in for ages and a long way from closing that gap with the top-tier teams. (Though having a class that's even this good after back-to-back 4-8 years is perhaps a feat in itself.)
BigRedBuster
Active member
The feat will be getting such a class to respond on the field. The attrition rate has been so high the past few years that we aren’t hitting even normal levels of contribution. We may be hitting top 25 numbers on signing day, but we aren’t on Senior day. That’s going to change, though, especially with this 2019 class. Some real go getters in this group. The coaches are very honest in their recruiting pitch, and while that may turn off some kids, I think we will get more out of the ones we do get.
BigRedBuster
Active member
I think the contribution % of a class is about normal at Nebraska. Problem we have had over quite a while is that the top of our class doesn't contribute. So, while we have a 20-25 ranked class, the guys who are contributing would probably make up more of a 40-50 ranked class.
I believe that will change under Frost and it's why I believe we will see a big improvement in the product on the field even though we haven't (yet) improved the rankings of our classes.
Last edited by a moderator:
swmohusker
Active member
It has to do with Nebraska beating Minny fairly easily and the fact Frost is in going into year 2 and Fleck is in year 0 (Version 3.0) or whatever he wants to call it. Plus going 4-2 in the final 6 games with the only 2 losses coming on the road to #3 OSU and Iowa. Both very winnable games.
McGuillotine
New member
No way. The coaching changes have gutted whole classes, and too many walk-ons have been forced to play significant roles to compensate for that.
We are in total agreement on Frost, though.
BigRedBuster
Active member
Of course this coaching change has cause a huge turnover in players, which I find as a positive.
The statement you quoted was meant to be about over the last 10+ years of our program floundering.
A lot of it is UCF. That’s what gives a neutral observer the benefit of the doubt on those last 6 games. Some of that is the success they had under Frost, some of that is the continued success they had this past year. It paints the picture that he knows how to get there, even if he hasn’t yet at Nebraska.
Minnesota also finished 4-2 after losing 4 straight. It just doesn’t feel like it because while Frost continually tries to raise the bar, Fleck seems to lower expectations. It diminishes his accomplishments, which were rather significant during the last half of the season.