Pat Forde: 40 Scheduling Observations (#23 Nebraska)

[VectorVictor]

Via his column on Yahoo.com

Of note:

23. Athletic director Tom Osborne’s lovely parting gift for Bo Pelini at Nebraska: four non-conference home games to start the year. The Big Ten added a fifth straight against Illinois. The Cornhuskers do not play a road game against a team that finished 2012 with a winning record until Nov. 9, at Michigan.

Good opportunity for Bo and Nebraska to get back on the main stage, though playing tOSU in the B1G Title Game if we've run through our season untested (quite possible, if MSU and Michigan are not up to snuff) could cause us problems...

 

[tmfr15]

We will have plenty of tests....UCLA will be tough again... Iowa and Mich State will be better than they were last year. Northwestern beat us two years ago at home with Cain Coulter, Penn State should be serviceable by the time we play them and we are traveling to Happy Valley, and we've got Mich in the Big House.

Add in a first time trip to Purdue and the challenge of staying sharp against Illinois, Minnesota on the road and the out of conference schedule. We will have our plate full.

Remember what South Dakota State did to us a few years back. That game was way too competitive because we assumed the win. We got it, but with that win I hope that we learned a lesson. When a huge underdog comes to your place.... knock em out early.

 

[It'sNotAFakeID]

We will have plenty of tests....UCLA will be tough again... Iowa and Mich State will be better than they were last year. Northwestern beat us two years ago at home with Cain Coulter, Penn State should be serviceable by the time we play them and we are traveling to Happy Valley, and we've got Mich in the Big House.

Add in a first time trip to Purdue and the challenge of staying sharp against Illinois, Minnesota on the road and the out of conference schedule. We will have our plate full.

Remember what South Dakota State did to us a few years back. That game was way too competitive because we assumed the win. We got it, but with that win I hope that we learned a lesson. When a huge underdog comes to your place.... knock em out early.

I don't see Iowa being better, I think the Hawkeyes make a much needed shift towards running the ball more now that Vandenberg is gone, but we all know how Iowa likes to surprise us by doing absolutely stupid things. I fully don't expect Michigan State to be a problem either, especially without Le'Veon Bell. UCLA on paper and in memory appears tough, but I don't think they'll pose much of a threat either. The only team that could realistically give us fits at home is Northwestern.

The road games at Michigan and Penn State will be difficult.

 

[husker_99]

If Bo is going to have a break out year none better than this year. Weak schedule and a loaded offense.

 

[iowahusker09]

We will have plenty of tests....UCLA will be tough again... Iowa and Mich State will be better than they were last year. Northwestern beat us two years ago at home with Cain Coulter, Penn State should be serviceable by the time we play them and we are traveling to Happy Valley, and we've got Mich in the Big House.

Add in a first time trip to Purdue and the challenge of staying sharp against Illinois, Minnesota on the road and the out of conference schedule. We will have our plate full.

Remember what South Dakota State did to us a few years back. That game was way too competitive because we assumed the win. We got it, but with that win I hope that we learned a lesson. When a huge underdog comes to your place.... knock em out early.

I don't see Iowa being better, I think the Hawkeyes make a much needed shift towards running the ball more now that Vandenberg is gone, but we all know how Iowa likes to surprise us by doing absolutely stupid things. I fully don't expect Michigan State to be a problem either, especially without Le'Veon Bell. UCLA on paper and in memory appears tough, but I don't think they'll pose much of a threat either. The only team that could realistically give us fits at home is Northwestern.

The road games at Michigan and Penn State will be difficult.

Iowa has been projected to finish LAST in the big ten on certain sites. Theyll be garbage. None of the students are even buying tickets!

I also dont see ucla beating us. They killed us with speed last year. We have definitely upgraded in that department. But hey, im just a kool aid chugger

 

[The Dude]

We will have plenty of tests....UCLA will be tough again... Iowa and Mich State will be better than they were last year. Northwestern beat us two years ago at home with Cain Coulter, Penn State should be serviceable by the time we play them and we are traveling to Happy Valley, and we've got Mich in the Big House.

Add in a first time trip to Purdue and the challenge of staying sharp against Illinois, Minnesota on the road and the out of conference schedule. We will have our plate full.

Remember what South Dakota State did to us a few years back. That game was way too competitive because we assumed the win. We got it, but with that win I hope that we learned a lesson. When a huge underdog comes to your place.... knock em out early.

I don't know what to expect from UCLA. Mora took over a mess and had them competing at our level after 1 game against Rice. If they make a jump in year two, things could get ugly. Then again they lost the #1 reason they beat us to the draft. So, yeah, not sure what to expect there.

I like our chances against Michigan State at home. Their W/L will be better than last year, but I don't really expect the team to be much different.

Penn State was running on emotion, their senior leadership from last year will be missed. I don't expect much from them (then again, they surpassed everyone's expectations last year).

I'll give you Michigan, I think they'll be quite a bit better with Gardner at the helm.

Northwestern is a toss up, sadly.

If Iowa, Purdue, Illinois, Minnesota, and SDSU end up being "tests" for us, then we don't need to worry about being ill-prepared for tOSU in Indy, because we likely won't make it there.

 

[sd'sker]

Via his column on Yahoo.com

Of note:

23. Athletic director Tom Osborne’s lovely parting gift for Bo Pelini at Nebraska: four non-conference home games to start the year. The Big Ten added a fifth straight against Illinois. The Cornhuskers do not play a road game against a team that finished 2012 with a winning record until Nov. 9, at Michigan.

Good opportunity for Bo and Nebraska to get back on the main stage, though playing tOSU in the B1G Title Game if we've run through our season untested (quite possible, if MSU and Michigan are not up to snuff) could cause us problems...

is there any evidence to this? we will either play well or we will not. i do not see how previous games have any impact on this other than injuries.

 

[mrandyk]

Via his column on Yahoo.com

Of note:

23. Athletic director Tom Osborne’s lovely parting gift for Bo Pelini at Nebraska: four non-conference home games to start the year. The Big Ten added a fifth straight against Illinois. The Cornhuskers do not play a road game against a team that finished 2012 with a winning record until Nov. 9, at Michigan.

Good opportunity for Bo and Nebraska to get back on the main stage, though playing tOSU in the B1G Title Game if we've run through our season untested (quite possible, if MSU and Michigan are not up to snuff) could cause us problems...

is there any evidence to this? we will either play well or we will not. i do not see how previous games have any impact on this other than injuries.

So, if we play no one but high school teams all year we would be just as prepared? We need to be pushed to be our best.

 

[walksalone]

Doesn't Forde have something better to do, like talk about the skullduggery at the Rolla Missouri Rotary Club?

 

[tschu]

To be fair, we were supposed to play at Southern Miss, until their athletic dept went to sh#t

 

[StPaulHusker]

I would say the 4 non-con home games was a gift from So. Miss's AD not being able to manage a budget.

 

[Mavric]

I would say the 4 non-con home games was a gift from So. Miss's AD not being able to manage a budget.

Or a coaching hire.

 

[StPaulHusker]

I would say the 4 non-con home games was a gift from So. Miss's AD not being able to manage a budget.

Or a coaching hire.

One relates to the other does it not?

 

[The Dude]

Via his column on Yahoo.com

Of note:

23. Athletic director Tom Osborne’s lovely parting gift for Bo Pelini at Nebraska: four non-conference home games to start the year. The Big Ten added a fifth straight against Illinois. The Cornhuskers do not play a road game against a team that finished 2012 with a winning record until Nov. 9, at Michigan.

Good opportunity for Bo and Nebraska to get back on the main stage, though playing tOSU in the B1G Title Game if we've run through our season untested (quite possible, if MSU and Michigan are not up to snuff) could cause us problems...

is there any evidence to this? we will either play well or we will not. i do not see how previous games have any impact on this other than injuries.

So, if we play no one but high school teams all year we would be just as prepared? We need to be pushed to be our best.

My completely anecdotal evidence would be from when I was coaching baseball. One year we were just much more talented than everyone else, and coasted to an undefeated record. By the time our tournament came around we were just going through the motions and got whooped by a team that we had already killed twice. If we were challenged at all during the regular season, I have a feeling it would have turned out differently.