ESPN: First 2019 Way-Too-Early Top 25

Someone thinks the Husker Hype is a bit premature.  Some thinking in the opposite direction.


 


5 teams that are getting too much national love in post-spring Top 25 rankings



5. Nebraska


Rankings: No. 17 (CBS Sports), No. 19 (USA Today)

Ah, the Husker hype train. It’s a beautiful, beautiful thing. It often starts chugging along with such promise and hope, only to get derailed after big-game losses. But just for fun, let’s ride the Husker hype train and see where it takes us.

Did Nebraska finish 4-2 with nail-biter losses on the road against a pair of teams who finished in the Top 25? Yup.

Do the Huskers return a preseason Heisman Trophy contender quarterback in Adrian Martinez who has all the makings of a star? Yup, yup.

Do they have Scott Frost, AKA the guy who led UCF to an incredible, undefeated season in Year 2? Yup, yup and yup.

So why is Nebraska not worth being a top 20 team to start the year? Well, a few things.

One of which is the elephant in the room. Despite that impressive finish, it was still a 4-win team. An extremely flawed 4-win team, at that. The Huskers were atrocious from a discipline standpoint (No. 116 in penalty yards per game). For a team that essentially attempts to play bend-don’t-break defense, that doesn’t work. This team, which ranked No. 88 in scoring defense last year, has major questions to answer on that side of the ball, which isn’t exactly Frost’s area of expertise.

And yeah, while this is Year 2 with Frost, Penn State and Purdue are actually the only teams in the Big Ten who return less of their production from 2018 (top receiver Stanley Morgan, leading rusher Devine Ozigbo and top defensive playmaker Luke Gifford are all gone).

There are a lot of teams worthy of being ranked to start the season. Nebraska just isn’t one of them.
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This one is similar to the above: https://saturdaytradition.com/big-ten-football/two-b1g-teams-too-much-love-two-b1g-teams-not-enough-love-preseason-polls-2019/

Nebraska


Rankings: No. 17 (CBS Sports), No. 19 (USA Today), No. 24 (Sports Illustrated), No. 25 (Sporting News)

Look. I get it. I lived in Nebraska for the better part of 3 years and I know what the Husker hype train looks like. It takes off faster than others in the preseason because of how badly the fans want it and how much the season is anticipated. That goes double when you finish a season like Nebraska did in Year 1 of the Scott Frost era (4-2 with 2 one-possession road losses to top-25 teams).

I don’t blame anyone for the Husker hype train leaving the station after a couple years of bowl-less postseasons. That’s what I expected. But is it going a little too fast? Absolutely.

Just because Nebraska has its most promising quarterback and head coach combination in a couple decades doesn’t mean this thing will automatically fix itself. I’m still worried about the defensive side of the ball, where Nebraska was No. 88 nationally in scoring and it returns just 55% of its production.

Losing someone like Luke Gifford on the defensive side and Devine Ozigbo in the backfield might not be considered insurmountable hurdles, but those are major holes to fill. That’s the thing. Yes, it’s Year 2 of the Frost era, which we all know was when he took UCF to an unprecedented new height. But it’s a different story to make that kind of jump in the improving B1G West, especially when you rank No. 12 in the conference in returning production.

Could Nebraska finish as a top-20 team? Absolutely. But to start there suggests that last year’s undisciplined 4-win team has some massive influx of talent. I’ll wait and see.
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Apparently the way national media ranks us is determined by how excited we the fans are? :dunno

 
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Well, the great thing about Husker Hype and possibly starting the season in the Top 20 is that we will have every opportunity to prove we belong.

If we can win some or most of the big games, we will quickly advance into the Top 10. If we deserve it.

Equally, if we come out flat, we will be expelled from the Top 25 rapidly. I am hopeful that we can finish the season ranked higher than wherever we start. That would be progress in my opinion. And if we reach 8 wins or more, I will be happy. Anything more than 9 and I will be ecstatic. A trip to Indy, even if we lose would be amazing, as long as it's not a blowout. A win in Indy seems incredibly unlikely, should we get that far, but that would cause a week-long party at my place that you are all invited to attend.

 
The outsiders forget our “storm out” to start the year. 

Then the douche who hurt AM. Which directly led to the loss by a team we should never lose to. 

In Cornhusker fan minds, there is no doubt we will be better than last year. We have to be! Especially just win v loss. Doubters can print the “stop the train” articles. We WILL be better. No doubt. 

And that’s why we play the games. Let the cards fall...I for one think a season ending top 20 ranking is in those cards. 

Glad others see we could be there too. 

 
Okay, you've all convinced me.  This completely arbitrary and unnecessary and unofficial ranking DOES matter! Someone please contact ESPN and explain to them that since we have gone 4-8 the last two years we haven't "earned" this stupid ranking, that what they expect of us this year ISN'T important! It's what happened last year and the year before under a different staff! Hopefully these maniacs listen.

:sarcasm

 
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LumberJackSker said:
On paper i cant really argue with you harbaugh has done a great job of recruiting but they struggle to beat their little brother and until they beat ohio state I'm skeptical.
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The Ann Arbor melt down will be massive if they end up losing to a Meyer-less tOSU this year.

IIRC, Michigan is losing a ton of critical pieces from last year's defense, but they should have the athletes to still be fairly good. Patterson is back - he's good, but not a surefire NFL talent. They have two-to-three really good WR's, too. On paper, they have a strong opportunity to win the east and make it to Indy. Their potential problem is going to be the same one they've dealt with during the Harbaugh era - his teams get out-coached in big moments.

 
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Enhance said:
The Ann Arbor melt down will be massive if they end up losing to a Meyer-less tOSU this year.

IIRC, Michigan is losing a ton of critical pieces from last year's defense, but they should have the athletes to still be fairly good. Patterson is back - he's good, but not a surefire NFL talent. They have two-to-three really good WR's, too. On paper, they have a strong opportunity to win the east and make it to Indy. Their potential problem is going to be the same one they've dealt with during the Harbaugh era - his teams get out-coached in big moments.
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I re-watch the Michigan game, and a few others. It seem Huskers could run away from other defenses, but not Michigan. Backs could hit the corners, and receivers could split the seams against other defenses. At Michigan, the defenders were too fast. Maybe it was AM being hurt, and then not playing. 

 
MichiganDad3 said:
I re-watch the Michigan game, and a few others. It seem Huskers could run away from other defenses, but not Michigan. Backs could hit the corners, and receivers could split the seams against other defenses. At Michigan, the defenders were too fast. Maybe it was AM being hurt, and then not playing. 
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Yeah, I think that was combination of a lot of things - injured Martinez, a more talented Michigan team (especially defensively), and probably some psychological issues related to the team's poor start. I think Michigan might've also had a chip on their shoulder based on some of Frost's comments when they played UCF.

Nebraska wasn't in a good place at that point in the year. Things changed quite a bit as the season went along, though. The Huskers went to Columbus and played tOSU to within a score in early November once they started to figure things out. Sports are crazy like that.

 
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