Why Is Everyone Predicting A Mediocre 2017 Season for Nebraska football?

[teachercd]

I am starting to think that people are not underrating NU...I am starting to think that people are just rating Riley in line with where he has been most of his career. A coach trying to make bowl games.

Thing is...it was "cute" at Oregon State...at NU it is sad.

 

[The Dude]

Without​ Armstrong and Banker, worst case scenario should be title game appearance.

 

[teachercd]

Without​ Armstrong and Banker, worst case scenario should be title game appearance.

I agree 100%

I can't see more than 2 losses.

 

[NUinID]

I love it when teams like Wisconsin and Michigan State, both of whom recruit lower rated classes than us, just 'reload' on both sides of the ball...but when it comes for us to do that...even though we have higher ranked talent...no one in the media thinks we'll do it.

Athlon picks Michigan State to be 4-5 in conference and 6-6 overall so they're not exactly high on them either.

Wisconsin returns 8 starters on offense so they're not having to reload. And they return about six starters on defense and they've been able to maintain a pretty good defense for quite a few years.

So I don't think your comparison really means much.

Wisconsin's offense was pretty bad last year, and defense was pretty good (duh). I think the offense will get a bit better, while the defense regresses with the loss of guys like TJ Watt and D.C. Dave Aranda. The new D.C. Jim Leonard was an AA Safety at Wisconsin, but he's only been coaching for a couple years, so a dropoff is almost assured.

Wisconsin will be Wisconsin. I don't see them being better or worse than last year. A very solid team that could/should win 9-10 games. Offensively they will always have a decent running game with a decent game managing QB. They always have 1 decent reciever and a good TE to throw to.

Defensively they return quite a bit, but they lose Watt and Biegle and a 3 year starter at safety and are moving on to a new DC. They may not be quite as good, but they seem to have an endless supply of 6'3" 240lb nasty linebackers. They just seem to plug them in and keep playing.

A good team but nothing new or different on that team. Nothing super dynamic. It the last 2 years are any indication the game with them should be a battle and could go either way.

 

[Hoosker]

I think people are sleeping on Tanner Lee. Obviously there are other factors at play, but he's a major unknown, even to a lot of Husker fans.

He could be the next Sam Keller. He could be the next Zac Taylor.

I tend to lean more towards Zac Taylor, but I've been drinking Kool-Aid since birth.

Nothing to do but wait and see, unfortunately.

And I love how people just assume that the defense will take a step back because we're shifting schemes.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but we just spent another offseason trimming the fat and hired a top shelf DC in his place.

I know the scheme change won't be a seamless transition by any means, but I don't think we're going to suffer like the national guys say we will.

Oregon should tell us quite a bit about how good of a fit Bob Diaco is at Nebraska.

Oregon will go through their own growing pains with a new staff and system.

They return a ton of talent/speed on offense and the defense has nowhere to go but up after firing Hokey Dokey. The guy they hired worked wonders at Colorado last season.

 

[GBRFAN]

I am starting to think that people are not underrating NU...I am starting to think that people are just rating Riley in line with where he has been most of his career. A coach trying to make bowl games.

Thing is...it was "cute" at Oregon State...at NU it is sad.

Yeah last year was a close call - luckly he could stop TRYING after the 6th game. Usually people save the word "trying" for somebody that hasn't done it yet and by my last count he is 2 for 2.

 

[teachercd]

I am starting to think that people are not underrating NU...I am starting to think that people are just rating Riley in line with where he has been most of his career. A coach trying to make bowl games.

Thing is...it was "cute" at Oregon State...at NU it is sad.

Yeah last year was a close call - luckly he could stop TRYING after the 6th game. Usually people save the word "trying" for somebody that hasn't done it yet and by my last count he is 2 for 2.

Kinda seemed like after the 6th game there was not much more trying