Hard to argue any of that. It’s pretty spot on imo. The last sentence says all that needs to be said.I also have concerns with the offense. Sure, if everything clicks based on talent alone, but we are not more experienced on offense than last season. And our QB depth concerns me. Will we actually utilize our running backs and limit Martinez's carries? Can Martinez be a capable downfield passer to take advantage of the fact that we are probably more loaded at receiving options than anywhere else? The offensive line is not more experienced than last season, but it is possibly more talented -- will that be enough?
But I'm also not convinced the schedule is incredibly tough.
There's two games we shouldn't expect to win: OU and OSU.
Michigan is next, but they've really only been the 3rd or 4th best team in the Big Ten East the past few seasons (and were horrible last season, FWIW). OSU is clearly better, Penn State is typically better, and Indiana has recently been better. This is the type of team I would have expected any four-year coach to be at least capable of beating with the game in Lincoln.
Illinois, Fordham, and Buffalo (especially now without their head coach) are teams we should have beaten by halftime.
Purdue is not far behind that group above. Same with Michigan State.
Northwestern has the fewest returning starters of any team in the Big Ten.
That's six wins (Illinois, Fordham, Buffalo, Purdue, Michigan State, Northwestern) that we should win with our talent level alone. I'm not necessarily saying we will win them all, but a good coach in year four should win them all.
That leaves Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. Just win one of those, and you're at 7 wins. And again, that's with me chalking up Michigan as a loss -- but I really don't think we should have to, as the Wolverines have not been juggernauts the past four years -- only top 15 one of those four (#14 in 2018). And again, that game is in Lincoln.
Making it even easier:
2 losses: OU and OSU
Win 5 of these 6: Illinois, Fordham, Buffalo, Purdue, Michigan State, Northwestern
Win 1 of these 4: Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa
And you've got 6 wins and a bowl game. That seems not at all unrealistic. If you truly believe the 2021 Huskers will be a significant step better than any of Frost's other NU teams, you could find 7-8 wins on that schedule. Nobody is demanding 9-10 wins.
That schedule is only incredibly tough because Nebraska has been incredibly poor.
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