Way too early 2021

Hilltop said:
600 yards of offense against a 3 win team from the east, on their turf, in late December... Yes.  The defense has been there all year and has progressively gotten better.  We were a few plays on offense away from winning the west this year.  
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Hope you're right, but I don't share your optimism with the team. We've seen them splash like this over the first few years of Frost's tenure. Consistency has always been one of their biggest issues.... Now, the offensive line with 3 (or 4?) Freshmen and putting up 350+ on the ground? There's some reason for optimism there.

 
With the exception of OSU, Indiana, and Iowa (I can't believe I typed the last two) the rest of the B1G has been a grab bag of mediocrity and inconsistency.  Yeah NW is in the championship and plays solid football but even at our worst we compete with them every year.

The fact is we're no longer being beat down physically.  That gap has closed.  Where we are losing games is in execution which seems to have haunted this program all the way back to the Callahan days.  I'm not sure why but that's another topic for another day.  The point is that the execution s#!t show could start to turn around next year as this team matures.  

Next year will again be wide open in the west.  Will we rise?  That's a tough call because for nearly 20 years hope springs eternal but never pans out.  I'll stay optimistic that this team is closer to where we want to be than in the Riley years based on what I see as a team that isn't getting blown out physically.  You'd think the mental errors would be easier and next in line to fix.  If that happens to there's no reason why we won't have at least a puncher's chance to win the west next year.  

 
Hilltop said:
Where are all the pessimists now?  This team is capable of competing, as it stands, with the majority of the big 10.  With another year of development, they will be a team capable of winning the west.  Gbr
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If they played like they did the 2nd half of Rutgers, then yes definitely a contender.  They didn’t and it’s largely because they couldn’t get out of their own way with penalties, turnovers and atrocious Special Teams play.  Why should fans be convinced that will be different next season?

 
I'll wait to see if some coaches move on or are shuffled around before I'd bet on them winning 7 games. How many penalties-turnovers verse Rutgers? Got to clean that crap up if they want to win. Plus, what does the staff bring in grad transfer wise and what will it do chemistry wise? Too many  questions as of now. I'd take the under on 5 wins as of right now. 

 
If Frost and his coaches don’t find ways to fix our incompetent unspecial teams play and stop turnovers, stupid and drive killing penalties, and undisciplined play, next season will be the same as the last three. If we did not commit so many stupid penalties and turned the ball over so much and if our special teams just played decent, we would be 6-2 this season. However, it just seems like Frost and his coaches are clueless when it comes to fixing these issues. If year 4 is the magical year where Frost and his coaches finally figure this out, we can potentially have a decent season. If it is anything like this or the last two seasons then nothing is going to change other than Frost and his coaches getting richer with no real results and some fans making excuses that we are so close.

 
It just can't be overstated: something is horribly wrong with our special teams play, and we rack up too many dumb penalties.

Just fix those two things!

I think there's also a question about whether Martinez's throwing shoulder is actually capable of ever being 100% healthy. If it were totally healthy for him next year, I personally feel pretty good about 2AM going out there and leading this team.

But man, if Mills doesn't come back (which I'm pretty sure he doesn't) I also feel pretty shaky about our power run game with who we have at RB.

 
Undone said:
It just can't be overstated: something is horribly wrong with our special teams play, and we rack up too many dumb penalties.

Just fix those two things!

I think there's also a question about whether Martinez's throwing shoulder is actually capable of ever being 100% healthy. If it were totally healthy for him next year, I personally feel pretty good about 2AM going out there and leading this team.

But man, if Mills doesn't come back (which I'm pretty sure he doesn't) I also feel pretty shaky about our power run game with who we have at RB.
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The portal is an ideal place to pick up a solid running back.....

 
Patterson from Buffalo declares for draft. That is huge break for Neb next year.  I believe they lose about 90-95% of starting offense.

 
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Atbone95 said:
LMFAO. 

Imagine going back to yourself in 2016, and telling yourself that we'd be celebrating because we play Buffalo next year and we're really glad they are losing some offensive firepower so we feel good about winning it. 
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Absolutely!! Never would have thought that I would be on watch for Buffalo roster moves that gives us an advantage. It would have been unfathomable. 

 
Atbone95 said:
LMFAO. 

Imagine going back to yourself in 2016, and telling yourself that we'd be celebrating because we play Buffalo next year and we're really glad they are losing some offensive firepower so we feel good about winning it. 
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Imagine going back to 2016 and telling yourself that 5000 cardboard cutouts will fill memorial stadium as our Huskers face an 8 game schedule in 2020. 
 

crazy stuff happens. This team Is close to turning the corner. Louisiana beat a New Years 6 Iowa state team by multiple scores.  It is not a huge deal to be concerned about mid major teams with nfl talent. 

 
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Illinois - Like the Beliema hire, he will do fine there.  This needs to be a payback game for Huskers.  I still feel uneasy playing them.

Buffalo - Great coach.  They have built a winning culture.  I don't see the Huskers winning this game.

Oklahoma - we know they will score 60+.  How many will we score?

Michigan state - winnable. Do we bounce back or look beyond to Buckeyes and play awful?

Ohio State - 3rd loss of the year, for sure.

Northwestern - Depends if Pat Fitzgerald is back or not.  Always a close game.

Purdue - On paper we should win this.  On the field too.

Michigan - If they are still in a funk, we got this game.  If they are back to winning consistently and ranked, then no chance.

Iowa - Can we ever beat these guys on the field?  We are sooo close.

Wisconsin - Another tough game.  Like Iowa, we definitely can compete, but then the games get away from us.  Beating them is long overdue.  

Minnesota - We need to stop letting them look good against us.  Winnable.

We are fresh off the former season, so lots can happen.  I am not ready for kool-aid just yet lol, but I do think the schedule looks real challenging right now.  3-6 wins IMO (floor and ceiling)

 
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