Nebraska is the best team in the North

If you really think that MU/UNR game was never in doubt then you are either a big Mizzo fan or crazy.

That would be like saying the KU/Smiss game was never in doubt.

 
either way you look at it we have to prove how good we are on the field.

But we are going to beat the bricks off Mizzou.

I think we are have learned some things these first few games. Our D is potentially something special. Our O has more talent than we did last year, and Brooks needs to see the field.

 
SECHusker said:
either way you look at it we have to prove how good we are on the field.

But we are going to beat the bricks off Mizzou.

I think we are have learned some things these first few games. Our D is potentially something special. Our O has more talent than we did last year, and Brooks needs to see the field.
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Agreed on Brooks. How the hell has that guy been on the sideline for so many years?

 
Here's a look at defensive statistics for both teams thus far:

Nebraska

Pts/G: 7.0

Yds/G: 283

Missouri

Pts/G: 15.5

Yds/G: 351.8

The biggest match up this week will be Missouri's passing attack versus our pass defense. There is no doubt that we will be able to score points, but we're going to need to limit Gabbert in order to win. We haven't been able to do it against Missouri the last 3 years, but we will probably be able to given their QB youth and a good great d line.

 
Michael said:
Why are Missou fans puffing out their chest about their offense? They put up big numbers, but against who? Yeah, Illinois is the team they hang their hat on, but they looked real impressive in their 30-0 spanking at the hands of Ohio State. If they were a halfway decent team, you think Illinois could have at least put up a field goal. But they put up zero instead.

Let's just take a look at what the "great" Missou offense has been up against:

Illinois D--

Total D = 90th

Scoring D = 88th

Bowling Green D--

Total D = 88th

Scoring D = 82nd

Furman (an FCS school, by the way) D--

Total D = 90th

Scoring D = 76th

Nevada--

Total D = 112th

Scoring D = 109th

I mean, how can you honestly look at those stats and say the Missou offense has faced anything but well below average defensive teams?

And then the thing Missou fans fall back on is that VT is not real good. Really? Ask Miami how "bad" they are. Many people (me included) expected Miami to run away with this one, but VT didn't just win, they absolutely dismantled Miami offensively and defensively.

But I'm sure Miami was overrated right? VT has proved to be a solid team, and to say otherwise is ridiculous.

October 8th cannot come soon enough.
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I'm not saying we've played Alabama, but a lot of that has to do with the teams that they have played. Illinois has played Ohio State. Nevada played Notre Dame and and underrated Colorado State. Bowling Green played Fresno State and Troy. All of those are considered pretty good offensive teams. I would say none of those defenses are good, but none of them are bad like your schedule has arguably been outside of VT. They're average defenses and we shredded them.

Also, I think it's quite clear that Miami was overrated, which only proves that we just don't know how good many of these teams are right now. Miami was not well respected coming into the season, yet shot up to top 10 after two decent but not spectacular wins. I think it's clear they're a good but not great team. I would say the same about VT from what I've seen on the field. The win over VT seemed to have a whole lot more with Miami lacking a credible defense than VT, but maybe VT and FSU are really just offensive powerhouses and their D is actually good. I'm guessing not.

 
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VA Tech is the toughest, most physical and best coached team the Huskers will face until OU, and possibly all season. To know the Huskers traded punches with the Hokies for four qtrs on the road and get beat in the final minutes definitely gives NU an edge and confidence. It was such a tough loss, however both teams immediately got better and tougher from it as indicated from this past Saturday. The Huskers had their first shutout in several years, and the Hokies laid the wood on the Media darling Hurricanes. This is enough for me to know that the Huskers will be well prepared and road/battled tested when they arrive in Columbia. They'll bring confidence and a swagger, both defensively and on offense. And I'd like to add that Missouri will be suprised early on how physical and talented the Huskers are this year, nothing close to what they've seen so far.

Should be a great game for TV. And unlike the past few seasons where MU has clearly been the better team and favorite, I dont see that the case this year.

 
DocNice said:
I'm not saying we've played Alabama, but a lot of that has to do with the teams that they have played. Illinois has played Ohio State. Nevada played Notre Dame and and underrated Colorado State. Bowling Green played Fresno State and Troy. All of those are considered pretty good offensive teams. I would say none of those defenses are good, but none of them are bad like your schedule has arguably been outside of VT. They're average defenses and we shredded them.
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On what planet?

Here are the rankings for your "good offensive teams"

Notre Dame - 40

Colorado St. - 70

Fresno St - 28

Troy - 103

Ohio St - 55

Not one in the top 25 in scoring, yet they're "pretty good offensive teams." I'd say they're all average offensive teams at best (they average 59.2, or right about the middle of the Div 1A pack).

 
Longtime Husker fan(first game I remember, 71 OU game) who just found this board. Been reading for a while and finally decided to join the fray.

I have one question(or concern), due to other committments I haven't been able to see any of the games this year. How has our pass coverage been. Obviously we had a blown assignment in the VT game, but other that single play I'm wondering how its been. It seems liket the last few years we've been a little supspect in that area. Are our linebackers faster this year so they can add that extra layer of coverage?

Can our front four get enough pressure on him so we don't have to bring our backers? Gabbert sounds like he's the real deal, but does he get happy feet when the pocket is collapsing?

 
3rd and long said:
Longtime Husker fan(first game I remember, 71 OU game) who just found this board. Been reading for a while and finally decided to join the fray.

I have one question(or concern), due to other committments I haven't been able to see any of the games this year. How has our pass coverage been. Obviously we had a blown assignment in the VT game, but other that single play I'm wondering how its been. It seems liket the last few years we've been a little supspect in that area. Are our linebackers faster this year so they can add that extra layer of coverage?

Can our front four get enough pressure on him so we don't have to bring our backers? Gabbert sounds like he's the real deal, but does he get happy feet when the pocket is collapsing?
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Overall our pass def has been OK. Better than in years past, that's for certain. We are ranked 31st in passing defense right now, but take that with a grain of salt - VT is a run-first offense, and while two of our opponents from the Sun Belt run Spread offenses, only ULL is a pass-first spread (AR State runs from the spread formation for the most part).

With that said, we've seen fewer guys running open downfield than in years past. That O'Hanlon play against VT has been well dissected here and shown that he wasn't as much at fault as you may initially believe. Aside from that play there probably haven't been five more plays where opponents have roamed freely in our backfield.

And let's also remember this - we did not blitz against FAU or ASU, and we barely blitzed against ULL. We had some run blitzes against VT and a couple of pass blitzes, but for the most part we've done what we've done without bringing extra guys. That bodes well for blitz packages against weaker offensive lines like we'll face in the Big 12.

 
knapplc said:
3rd and long said:
Longtime Husker fan(first game I remember, 71 OU game) who just found this board. Been reading for a while and finally decided to join the fray.

I have one question(or concern), due to other committments I haven't been able to see any of the games this year. How has our pass coverage been. Obviously we had a blown assignment in the VT game, but other that single play I'm wondering how its been. It seems liket the last few years we've been a little supspect in that area. Are our linebackers faster this year so they can add that extra layer of coverage?

Can our front four get enough pressure on him so we don't have to bring our backers? Gabbert sounds like he's the real deal, but does he get happy feet when the pocket is collapsing?
Click to expand...
Overall our pass def has been OK. Better than in years past, that's for certain. We are ranked 31st in passing defense right now, but take that with a grain of salt - VT is a run-first offense, and while two of our opponents from the Sun Belt run Spread offenses, only ULL is a pass-first spread (AR State runs from the spread formation for the most part).

With that said, we've seen fewer guys running open downfield than in years past. That O'Hanlon play against VT has been well dissected here and shown that he wasn't as much at fault as you may initially believe. Aside from that play there probably haven't been five more plays where opponents have roamed freely in our backfield.

And let's also remember this - we did not blitz against FAU or ASU, and we barely blitzed against ULL. We had some run blitzes against VT and a couple of pass blitzes, but for the most part we've done what we've done without bringing extra guys. That bodes well for blitz packages against weaker offensive lines like we'll face in the Big 12.
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Cool, thanks for the info. How is our linebacker speed. It's seemed like in the last few years, we have a really nice blitz set up with a backer coming free, but he's just not quite fast enough to get to the QB before he gets rid of the ball. I have those memories of guys like Terrel Farley coming flying in off the corner and blowing the QB up.

 
Overall, I think I am starting to see alot of players come into their own. The d-line is building depth, the linebackers are young, but have looked pretty good, and our secondary has improved alot from one year ago.

I really like our team this year and if they continue to get better, the North better look out.

 
3rd and long said:
Cool, thanks for the info. How is our linebacker speed. It's seemed like in the last few years, we have a really nice blitz set up with a backer coming free, but he's just not quite fast enough to get to the QB before he gets rid of the ball. I have those memories of guys like Terrel Farley coming flying in off the corner and blowing the QB up.
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Our LBs are young and fast, with emphasis on "young." They're doing fine, and they have plenty of speed, but they're not breaking down on tackles like you'd hope quite yet. They're learning on the job and doing well despite their inexperience. Phillip Dillard got into the VT game and played against ULL and did just fine. He provides some great Senior leadership to this team, so it’s great to see him out there and productive.

The funny thing about your question is this – we need less speed from our LBs right now because our D Line is so crazy fast. We’re seeing Crick and Suh running guys down all the time, and two times in the ULL game Cameron Meredith came flying off the End and ran someone down.

 
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