How good is the B1G, and how much better will it be in 2019?

[Huskerthom]

I wouldn’t discount Illinois. They’ve played a lot of young players the last two years. Need to figure out their QB situation but if they do ...

Sorry but this is the one team in my mind that can be discounted. How Mrs Howell still has a job after coaching the SS Minnow of the west I don't know. In 3 years as a head coach he has not sniffed a bowl game. Traditional knowledge states that coaches will never do more than 1-2 games better than the best season of the 1st 3 years. That means he may some day get to the toilet bowl.

 

[Huskerthom]

Bowl games are about matchups. The B1G is one of two P5 conferences not in the playoffs meaning the matchups in bowls become skewed.

If tOSU were in the playoff then Michigan would be in the Rose and someone else would be playing Florida and so on and so forth. Likely the Badgers wouldn’t be playing a pathetic Miami team but rather someone much better.

exaggerate much? Bucky might be playing someone better but "MUCH better", doubtful. They would have moved up one rung on the bowl ladder. So not Much better but better. The only two teams that would have taken a significant step up are OSU and MI if OSU had been in.

 

[Hville]

1. The Purdue QB is Elijah Sindelar. He beat out David Blough but had an ACL. Kid is a baller.
2. Wisconsin QB Jack Coan (FR) looked good running the O against Miami tonight. RB Taylor is back with 7 of 10 OL.
3. Ohio St QB Haskins hasn't decided on the NFL yet. OSU has ridiculous talent.
4. Nebraska has holes at WR, RB, OL (center) plus many holes on the defense.

Thoughts?

It seems interesting that you bring up their QB's as their strength but then only fire back the holes you see that we have. Purdue loses 14 of their two deep on offense including 8 starters and 4 offensive lineman. Coan looked good handing off the ball. He completed 6-11 passes with one interception and 2 more that should have been intercepted. They are losing 2 offensive lineman starters too and quite truthful.....don't have much in the receivers corps. Certainly no one in the Spillman category. Yes they do have Johnathon Taylor. But even with him and a two year returning QB they only managed to go 7-5 in the regular season.

 

[Hville]

The truth is none of this is going to be settled on Huskermax. Its just that for the first time in a long time I just feel like we are doing all the right things to be competitive in every game and next year we are going to see some returns on it.

 

[CrabHusker]

The truth is none of this is going to be settled on Huskermax. Its just that for the first time in a long time I just feel like we are doing all the right things to be competitive in every game and next year we are going to see some returns on it.

100% agree.

Even the second half of last year looked different from years past. It's headed in the right direction and we're all in agreement there. I think the only point of contention is where NU is at on the upswing. Discussing how much we've improved and having that be the focus is a win in my book. I don't feel like the future is a complete unknown as I did under Riley or that we were just going to keep plugging away struggling to win 9 games and not winning any that really matter. 2019 will be the year we don't see blowout losses and we do see a Nebraska team compete with a major case of red ass for four quarters in every...single...game.

Looking forward to it.

 

[One Hit Wonder]

It seems interesting that you bring up their QB's as their strength but then only fire back the holes you see that we have.

Purdue loses 14 of their two deep on offense including 8 starters and 4 offensive lineman. Coan looked good handing off the ball. He completed 6-11 passes with one interception and 2 more that should have been intercepted.

They are losing 2 offensive lineman starters too and quite truthful.....don't have much in the receivers corps. Certainly no one in the Spillman category. Yes they do have Johnathon Taylor. But even with him and a two year returning QB they only managed to go 7-5 in the regular season.

Yes, because my responses correlate to the items in OldFatHerbie's post. Most of the conjecture about expected losses and how good one team may be v. another in the conference is subjective. It's always fun to look at next season's schedule and try to guess at what may happen and hope for the best and dream a little. I prefer to look at what Nebraska needs to fix because that is the element they can control. Fill some holes, build some depth, become more cohesive as a team, learn how to win and the schedule will take care of itself.

 

[NUinID]

Yes, because my responses correlate to the items in OldFatHerbie's post. Most of the conjecture about expected losses and how good one team may be v. another in the conference is subjective. It's always fun to look at next season's schedule and try to guess at what may happen and hope for the best and dream a little. I prefer to look at what Nebraska needs to fix because that is the element they can control. Fill some holes, build some depth, become more cohesive as a team, learn how to win and the schedule will take care of itself.

There is nothing wrong with looking at your teams deficiencies, but every team has them from one year to the next.

Going into 2018 Wisconsin was short on d-linemen and WR. They also didn’t have a proven TE and it showed. They didn’t have the depth of past teams and limped to a 7-5 season. They get healthier for the bowl game and it showed. Pretty sure Miami was favored.

I am optimistic about next season I think the west is wide open and won’t be surprised to see a 6-3 team in conference win it.

 

[Middle-aged_Ball_Coach]

People aren't dismissing the likes of Purdue and such nor are they failing to understand some holes we need to fill.

I'm not sure which "people" to whom you are referring, but it seems like approximately half of the comments on HM threads are assuming that everyone in the B1G West will be worse, and we'll definitely be better. If people really were saying what you're saying, I wouldn't have started this thread.

I put the over/under for Nebraska in 2019 at 8-4, but I see a very wide range of plausible outcomes. If Nebraska goes 9-3, it would be great. If they go 11-1, Frost should sweep every Coach-of-the-Year honor again. On the other hand, we're one or two injuries away from struggling to be bowl eligible. In the offseason fans seem to always assume that none of our players will get hurt, everyone will improve on our side, but nobody will improve on the other side. The only team in the B1G West that I expect to be worse next year is Northwestern, and it won't be much of a dropoff because they choked so badly in their non-conference games this year.

 

[Middle-aged_Ball_Coach]

Bowl games are about matchups. The B1G is one of two P5 conferences not in the playoffs meaning the matchups in bowls become skewed.

If tOSU were in the playoff then Michigan would be in the Rose and someone else would be playing Florida and so on and so forth. Likely the Badgers wouldn’t be playing a pathetic Miami team but rather someone much better.

I agree about OSU skewing the match-ups by not being in the playoffs, but when I lined up the teams to see the matchups if they were, the B1G would still win 2/3 or more of their bowl games, and I would not have been shocked if OSU could have beat Alabama again. If I have time later today, I'll post what I thought the matchups would have been. I thought that Iowa and Michigan State would have had better shots at winning, and few others would be worse off.

 

[Oracle of Lincoln]

I'm in agreement on all of your bullet points and have a hard time understanding why everyone thinks NU is going to roll in the West in '19.

Improvement was obvious throughout the year, but the roster just isn't where it needs to be overall. I think it gets there in '20 and keeps improving under Frost, but the bar in my eyes for 2018 is still a bowl game and a winning season. Contending for the B1G West isn't completely out of the question, but Wisconsin, Northwestern and Iowa at minimum will give NU a run for their money. I'm not convinced PJ Fleck can't get Minnesota up to a consistent 7-8 win a year team, so that leaves a young Illinois team that showed flashes and has a ton of good, young talent as the lone outlier. Maybe.

Bottom line, Nebraska has too many holes outside of Martinez and a lot of hopeful youth to rattle their sabres just yet.

So the 2018 edition wasn’t above .500 level talent. You are finally starting to come around.

 

[Middle-aged_Ball_Coach]

In 3 years as a head coach he has not sniffed a bowl game.

You realize that they had 5 wins this year, right? I'm not sure what your definition of "sniffed" is, but Illinois would have been at the top of the list for 5-7 teams if there hadn't been enough 6-win teams, and they had opportunities to win a 6th game but didn't. They fired their DC, and I thought that that was by far their biggest issue. They will be better in 2019, and I'm confident that they will "sniff" a bowl game.

 

[Oracle of Lincoln]

I agree about OSU skewing the match-ups by not being in the playoffs, but when I lined up the teams to see the matchups if they were, the B1G would still win 2/3 or more of their bowl games, and I would not have been shocked if OSU could have beat Alabama again. If I have time later today, I'll post what I thought the matchups would have been. I thought that Iowa and Michigan State would have had better shots at winning, and few others would be worse off.

You are dreaming if you think a paritially committed Urb and tOSU could beat Bama. Let’s Keep it real.

 

[NUinID]

I'm not sure which "people" to whom you are referring, but it seems like approximately half of the comments on HM threads are assuming that everyone in the B1G West will be worse, and we'll definitely be better. If people really were saying what you're saying, I wouldn't have started this thread.

I put the over/under for Nebraska in 2019 at 8-4, but I see a very wide range of plausible outcomes. If Nebraska goes 9-3, it would be great. If they go 11-1, Frost should sweep every Coach-of-the-Year honor again. On the other hand, we're one or two injuries away from struggling to be bowl eligible. In the offseason fans seem to always assume that none of our players will get hurt, everyone will improve on our side, but nobody will improve on the other side. The only team in the B1G West that I expect to be worse next year is Northwestern, and it won't be much of a dropoff because they choked so badly in their non-conference games this year.

See when I read posts I feel like there is a lot of “people” that downplay Nebraska’s strengths and play up other teams. I think Nebraska will be improved I also think Minnesota, Purdue, and Wisconsin will be better. I think Iowa will be good, like this year. I think it is going to be a fun season.

 

[CrabHusker]

So the 2018 edition wasn’t above .500 level talent. You are finally starting to come around.

Wrong again, but you should get something for being persistent.

Above .500 talent doesn't equate to winning the B1G West or playing championship football. Playing/coaching poorly with above .500 talent will get you a 4-8 record.

With the SR departures this year the overall talent level of the 2019 version of the Cornhuskers will be about the same as it was in 2018 in August. When the season is over, I don't think anyone will be able to say the same thing.

 

[Huskerthom]

You realize that they had 5 wins this year, right? I'm not sure what your definition of "sniffed" is, but Illinois would have been at the top of the list for 5-7 teams if there hadn't been enough 6-win teams, and they had opportunities to win a 6th game but didn't. They fired their DC, and I thought that that was by far their biggest issue. They will be better in 2019, and I'm confident that they will "sniff" a bowl game.

My definition of sniffed is being in position without needing a once in ten years set of circumstances to make it.