One Reason I'll Be Glad Nebraska Is Gone From The Big 12
by Beergut on Jul 10, 2010 1:49 PM CDT
68 comments
I've been pretty vocal about my belief that the Zombie10 won't even come to fruition, that the Big 12 will blow up and members will head in different directions after the current Fox television contract ends in 2012, but whether we head to the SEC or a 10-team conference actually survives, there is one reason I'll be glad Nebraska is no longer with us: we will no longer have to put up with the biased idiots masquerading as sportswriters in the Nebraska media.
Only a Nebraska writer could see fit to work Ndamukong Suh and Bo Pelini into a preview of league quarterbacks; I've come to the conclusion that Nebraska writers just can't help themselves, that they HAVE to mention Pelini, Suh, and Nebraska's defense in every article they write about college football, or they'll go into seizures from withdrawal.
NE State Paper's Samuel McKewon on Big 12 QBs:
Tougher league defenses - spearheaded by Nebraska’s Bo Pelini - initiated a subtle change in 2009. Reesing suffered through his worst season right when he should have peaked. Oklahoma State’s Zac Robinson struggled through injuries and inaccuracy. Ndamukong Suh wrenched Blaine Gabbert’s ankle so badly the Missouri sophomore wasn’t the same for a month. In the Big 12 Championship, Suh also reduced McCoy to a big-eyed, fast-footed Colt on the run.
I'm sure it would surprise McKewon to know that Nebraska wasn't the top defense in the Big 12 last season; texas was. And while I have no problem acknowledging the greatness of Suh, who I believe is the best defensive lineman of this generation, giving Pelini credit for some defensive 'change' in 2009 is disingenuous when you consider that texas and Oklahoma had already been playing some pretty damn good defense in the Big 12 for several seasons prior to Pelini's return to Nebraska. The fact that there was little to no dominant defense being played in the Big 12 North in the last few years doesn't suddenly make Bo Pelini an innovator. Perhaps someone should ask why, if Pelini is such an "innovator" on defense, he took offensive football back two decades with the Cornhuskers' offense last season? Questioning Pelini would require analysis beyond the level of worshipful fandom from the Nebraska media, and we all know that is too much to ask from them.
Moving on to look at McKewon's quarterback rankings in the Big 12, I just have to laugh, because his Big 12 North bias shines through brightly. Blaine Gabbert as the #1 quarterback and preseason pick for conference Offensive Player of the Year? Based on what, his incredible two-interception performance against Navy, where he led his offense to a gaudy 13 points in a bowl game? The allegedly best QB in the Big 12 can't complete half of his passes against Navy? There was also his stellar performance against Baylor, where his four sacks contributed to his -33 yards rushing on 10 carries, and Missouri's 10 yards rushing total for the game. The best QB in the Big 12 was out-dueled by Baylor's second-string QB Nick Florence?
McKewon ranks Oklahoma's Landry Jones as the #2 QB in the Big 12; I really think he has spent too much time watching mediocre Big 12 North football, because when you have more interceptions (14) than you do games played (13), you're not a good QB. When your TD:INT ratio is less than 2:1 (26:14), you're not a good QB (especially when 9 of those TD passes came against Tulsa and Idaho State).
In case you had any inclination of giving McKewon the benefit of the doubt, he goes ahead and proves his stupidity by naming the 3rd best QB in the Big 12 Taylor Potts (or Steven Sheffield). Let's ignore the fact that Tech doesn't even have a designated starting QB for next season, which is why two are listed here. Let's ignore the fact that Potts has more interceptions as a part-time starter last year than he does career starts. Let's ignore the fact that Steven Sheffield apparently can't walk onto a college football field, in a game or in practice, without getting injured. How the HELL do you name an undecided starter as the 3rd best quarterback in the conference? We'll ignore the fact that Jerrod Johnson and Baylor's Robert Griffin III is better than both of these guys, I just want to know where McKEwon comes up with the logic to justify this?
Rounding out the top five, McKewon has Jerrod Johnson at #4 and Robert Griffin III at #5. These rankings are just laughable, because beside the fact that most objective college football fans would take either of these two over Potts or Sheffield, there is the fact that Johnson was a full-time starter playing without an offensive line for half the season in 2009, and he still has better stats than all the QBs ranked ahead of him. I guess McKewon's contention that Johnson "throws wildly or wide of his intended target" nullifies production on the field? I think McKewon needs to learn the difference between "throwing the ball away", something Jerrod is encouraged to do when the play isn't there, and completely missing his target. I'm not saying Jerrod is a perfect passer, because no one is, but to say he plays wildly or out of control is just ludicrous. Almost as ludicrous as all of these other QB rankings.
Whether it is caused by too much ergot in the air or too much blind devotion to all things Big Red, I won't miss Nebraska and their blatantly biased sportswriters after they leave the Big 12.
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"they'll into seizures from withdrawal."
Now who’s the idiot masquerading as a writer?
The writer was clearly impressed with Jerrod Johnson’s 21/45, 3 INT performance in a 62-14 loss to god-awful Kansas State. Or that 12/33 performance against OU. You bash on the Big 12 North, yet you went 1-2 against 3 of the 4 worst North teams.
And what makes Pelini an “innovator” is the fact that he took Nebraska from the worst defense in the country, to the #1 scoring defense in the country, in just 2 years. Nobody had ever heard of Ndamukong Suh before Bo Pelini arrived at Nebraska…but that must be a coincidence, huh?
And Nebraska’s QB played without an offensive line for half the season as well. He also had a hurt elbow and thumb. You seem to forget that Nebraska’s offense was ranked 9th and 12th nationally in 2007 and 2008. Face it, you’re just as biased as the Nebraska writer.
bias?
In your brilliant tirade criticizing the author you forget to mention that in that kansas state game Jerrod threw for 314 yards and 2 touchdowns to go with those 3 ints not an admirable game by any means but certainly not the awful game you paint him to have played by merely mentioning his ints and completion numbers.
Lets look at the top “QB” supposedly in blaine gabbert and his comparison to Jerrod while gabbert is again by no means bad he’s just not as good and to rate him as better is just wrong. Jerrod threw 497 passes and completed 296 of them for a 59.6% completion rate, Gabbert threw 445 passes and completed 262 of them for a 58.9% completion rate there, so Jerrod wins this round slightly.
Jerrod threw for 3579 yards and 30 td’s with 8 int’s, Gabbert threw for 3593 yards and 24 td’s with 9 int’s, so yards Gabbert by 24yards negligible amount, td’s Jerrod by 6 solid win, ints Jerrod one less than Gabbert, combined with the touchdowns and Jerrod comes out clearly better.
Jerrod rushed for 506 yards and 8 td’s, Gabbert rushed for 204 yards and 3 td’s, so Jerrod wins this one pretty solidly by 302 yards and 5 touchdowns. Overall Jerrod is better than Gabbert by 0.7% completion rate, 11 touchdowns, 278 yards, and 1 less interception.
I dont know about you but 11 touchdowns and almost three hundred yards seems like a pretty significant difference yet Gabbert is better?…..Hm? Got me I dont know how he’s better maybe he’s prettier?
by whomperwauson on Jul 11, 2010 1:18 AM CDT up reply actions
bias?2
11 touchdowns lemme see thats 77 possible points 66 guaranteed points, spread out over 12 games thats anywhere between 6.42 to 5.5 points per game average. So Jerrods just 5.96 points per game better than Gabbert.
by whomperwauson on Jul 11, 2010 1:23 AM CDT up reply actions
It's about wins
QBs are measured by their wins and leadership ability…did Tommie Frazier have the best stats ever? No, but he led us to a lot of wins and a couple National Championships. That’s why he’s considered one of the best QBs in college football history.
Any QB who is on a team that loses 62-14 to K-State is not the best QB in the league.
Tommie Frazier is one of the most overrated QBs in college football history
no one outside of Nebraska considers him one of the best college QBs ever
the fact that Nebraska still won with a former waterboy starting at QB shows it was the team that won those games, not Frazier
I needed a good laugh today!
" Tommie Frazier is one of the most overrated QBs in college football history. No one outside of Nebraska considers him one of the best college QBs ever" – congrats sir, you are the biggest idiot to ever call himself a sports writer. But don’t take my word for it:
http://cfn.scout.com/2/561911.html
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=maisel_ivan&id=1966188
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/339830-the-top-10-greatest-college-football-quarterbacks-of-the-modern-era
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2532977/top_5_college_quarterbacks_ever.html?cat=14
http://www.texanstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41256
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/32696409
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/gallery/featured/GAL1149226/3/19/index.htm
http://www.illinihq.com/news/football/2009/09/03/10_hours_of_qbs_best_of_all-time/
http://www.edthesportsfan.com/2009/08/5-greatest-college-qbs-in-last-25-years.html
I think you get the point. MVP of 3 straight National Championship games (including one he lost) is overrated? I would expect that from a fan of a team who has never won anything. And calling Brook Berringer a waterboy? He would have been drafted if he hadn’t died in a plane crash.
congrats sir, you are the biggest idiot to ever call himself a sports writer
Arguing on this blog is fine, name-calling and personal attacks are not; do it again, and you will be banned. For the record, I don’t consider myself a sportswriter and have no desire to be one; I consider myself a blogger.
If you’re going to try to refute something I say, do better than to quote bleacher report, which is a complete crap network, or a blogger who admits he follows pro football more than college, and thinks Tommie Frazier started the era of dual-threat QBs in college, i.e. he’s never heard of the option.
And calling Brook Berringer a waterboy?
Go back and look at who the starter was for the 1994 Nebraska-Kansas State game when both Frazier and Berringer were hurt. It is shocking that you call yourself a Nebraska fan, yet I know more about the program than you do.
My eyes might be bad
But I believe he quoted a few other sources besides the bleacher report (which is a shitty site)
Nobody had ever heard of Ndamukong Suh before Bo Pelini arrived at Nebraska
this actually speaks to a theory I’ve had; Suh was recruited by Buddy Wyatt, correct? He was considered an underachiever his first two years at Nebraska, right? I’m wondering if Wyatt leaving after Callahan was fired had a lot to do with Suh’s resurgence in ‘08 and ’09; I’m thinking Wyatt is a terrific recruiter who has trouble getting his DL to play up to their potential.
Sounds like someone has hurt feelings
Can we call you a “Wah-bulance” Mr. A&M writer?
I'm a bit confused
How is a Nebraska writer biased, because he says that Oklahoma’s quarterback is one of the best in the conference?
can you explain to me
what Ndamukong Suh and Bo Pelini have to do with the Big 12 QBs going into the 2010 season?
he was pointing to reasons why quarterbacks who had great seasons before last year
suddenly had mediocre ones, or in Gabbert’s situation, one terrible game. Context is key.
I could see you bitching if he had named Pelini or Suh two of the best quarterbacks in the conference, but he was adding context.
You were looking for a reason to complain, and seized on an incredibly weak one.
by HuskerCorner on Jul 11, 2010 7:15 PM CDT up reply actions
the problem with that argument
is that Zac Robinson didn’t face Nebraska or Suh last season
Gabbert had a terrible game against Navy after having time for his ankle to heal; is he going to credit Nebraska with that win, too?
McCoy was having an average year (compared to his 2008 season) long before they faced Nebraska in the Big 12 title game
I stand by my argument that McKewon was just looking for an excuse to mention Pelini and Suh in the article, because he is a fan masquerading as a sportswriter. I’m not even sure why this upsets y’all, because this is obviously what Nebraska fans want. I have no qualms admitting that I like the fact that Dave South is anything but objective when he does play-by-play for A&M sports on our radio network; I’m not sure why y’all get all bent out of shape when someone else accuses a Nebraska writer of bias.
It's a freaking Nebraska Newspaper!
Of course he’s going to talk about Suh and Pelini. His audience is 99% Nebraska fans…not A&M fans. As a writer, you should know that you have to cater to your audience. His audience wants to read about Nebraska. Now if he was writing articles for espn.com or Sports Illustrated, then yes it would be biased. But he’s writing for the Nebraska State Paper.
And don’t kid yourself…Colt McCoy was considered all but a lock for the Heisman Trophy before the Big 12 Title game. Suh/Pelini took that away from him.
If the Nebraska writer was really biased, he wouldn’t have ranked Gabbert #1. Are you aware of the recruiting history between the Gabbert family and Nebraska? Both Gabberts de-committed from Nebraska to go to Missouri.
why does everyone who isn't a fan of nebraska talk s*** on them?
bo pelini is one of the best defensive minds in all of college football. just look at the stats. nebraska went from 116th in rushing defense, 75th in pass efficiency defense, 84th in pass defense, 112th in total defense, and 114th in scoring defense in 2007 to 9th in rushing defense, 1st in pass efficiency defense, 18th in pass defense, 7th in total defense, and 1st in scoring defense in 2009. pelini was hired because the defense needed to be fixed, bad, now that that’s fixed, he can focus on the offense. what are you talking about saying that texas was the best defense in the conference? is that total defense? Cause i don’t know about you, but i don’t care one bit if my team gave up 500 yards per game, and only allowed 10.43 points per game. I’d rather have that than give up 150 yards per game and allow 16.71 points per game. plus, just look at the head to head match-up, nebraska’s offense was inept all year, so it’s no surprise texas’ defense hardly broke a sweat. But, didn’t everyone say texas’ offense was all-powerful, oh, texas is going to run up and down on nebraska’s defense. Did that happen? no, colt mccoy almost lost the game for texas. next time you write an article, i suggest getting your facts straight
texas had the #1 total defense in the conference
yes, that is the stat I was referring to
if Pelini is ‘one of the best defensive minds in all of college football’, why is he 0-2 against Tech? Why hasn’t he figured out how to stop the Air Raid?
Don’t get me wrong, Suh is a freak of nature, and Pelini did a good job getting a squad of players who had completely quit on the team and each other in 2007 to begin caring again, but I think some of Pelini’s reputation and Nebraska’s defensive stats are derived from the fact that they play in a weaker Big 12 North.
Wrong again
I think its great that you are trying to “think” but here are the facts.
Last year Nebraska finished number 1 in the country in points allowed per game.
Nebraska strength of schedule ranked 5th in the conference last year. Ahead of 4 south teams. Including, guess who? Thats right, the Aggies who ranked 7th. And would have ranked 3rd in the Big 12 North SOS.
And oh by the way your beloved Aggies finshed a hapless 104th nationally in scoring defense. In your defense I can see why you get sick of even hearing the term “defense”, let alone anyone or team being good at it.
Proof. http://www.gberatings.com/sos/
Nebraska clearly showed they were one of the best defenses in the country, if not THE best. Alabama allowed several more yards and points against a McCoyless Texas team in back to back games.
Get your facts straight and know the truth, even if it hurts.
yup
Iowa State and Kansas sure are offensive juggernauts
Florida Atlantic and Louisiana-Lafayette must have been really tough
The only impressive non-conference game Nebraska played last season was Virginia Tech, and you lost that game. You can’t pound our chest about strength of schedule when you lose the only game that gave you any semblance of a SOS. It is interesting to note that anytime Nebraska played someone ranked in the top 15 (Virginia Tech, Texas Tech, texas), y’all lost.
Did You Watch Nebraska-Tech last year?
Nebraska held Texas Tech to it’s lowest yardage since Mike Leach’s first year at Tech – 259 total yards! Nebraska’s terrible offense out-gained them with 285 yards. Their offense was shut down in the second half – only 63 total yards! So yes, Pelini did figure out how to stop the Air Raid. But the offense couldn’t do anything.
And remember that Pelini won a National Championship as a D.C. at LSU, in the SEC. He had the #3 defense in the country every year there. So his reputation doesn’t just come from playing Big 12 North teams…he was dominant in the best conference in college football.
now you're going to argue yardage totals
that sounds like Tech fans arguing about how they outplayed their opponent because they had more total yards at the end of the game, even though they lost on the scoreboard
LSU won a national title b/c the media wanted to give them one; that two-loss team didn’t belong in the national title game after losing their final regular season game to Arkansas. Pelini was also the defensive coordinator on the Oklahome team that was anal-raped 55-19; are you going to brag about that game, too?
I made an error in my original comment, though; Tech wasn’t ranked #15 when they played Nebraska, they were unranked; Nebraska was #15. So they were #15 in the nation and lost to an unranked team at home; that’s defensive genius.
This is a pretty asinine article. The author’s point is that Nebraska writers tend to write more pro-Nebraska material? I guess that’s a crime coming from a school that hasn’t had anything positive to write about themselves for quite some time. And it’s not like he put Nebraska’s QB at number 1 (which would be wrong). So just because he picks a rival qb (gabbert – who has gotten quite a bit of national attention for his skills) over your guy, you wanna call all Husker sports writers biased?
Tell you what? Why don’t we settle this on the field on Nov 20? I’ll be there with a few friends in Red so it’s not like I’ll be hiding anywhere. This should be a great game pitting a pretty good Aggie offense vs a pretty good Husker defense (I hope you don’t mind that I’m a little biased too).
Good luck, and may the best team win! Go Big Red!
my point is that Nebraska writers are so blinded by their bias
that they try to bring Ndamukong Suh and Bo Pelini into every article they can, even articles that are previewing QBs
Glad Nebraska is Gone
You sir are like everybody else in texas. You have your head so far up the Longhorns backside you can’t see. Is it possible for anybody in texas to have an original thought rather than preaching the Longhorn doctrine. Your upset because Nebraska has the courage to go against the Longhorns where your school is happy to accept the scraps Texas will leave you. So you take this out on the Nebraska media your not only stupid your gutless.
welcome, first time reader
if you think we preach the ‘longhorn doctrine’ or have our heads up texas’ backside, you’re obviously just wandering in here the first time
2-5 is why you wont miss Nebraska
Nebraska suffered its worst run in decades through the Big 12 years yet has managed to “edge” the Aggies 5 of 7 times since the inception of the Big 12.
Most were not even close.
I will miss a lot of things about the Big 12 but class is not something that comes to mind. That went out the door when we invited you guys to OUR conference.
I will take it as flattery that this article isnt pointed in the direction of Colorado. Afterall, they left first. So what gives? Its obviously because you really dont want to see a good team leave the conference in spite of them smashing you all of the time.
And I dont care what you say A&M will always be looked at as Texas’ ugly cousin as long as you stay in the same conference. Everyone knows that, including Aggie fans.
I actually feel bad for you.
See you November 20th.
Your 2 wins are weak
So your 2 wins are against us when it was Solich’s first year and Callahan’s last? Heck in ’98 if we would have started Crouch instead of Newcomb we would be talking about 1-6 in what was literally our worst team in decades.
See ya in College Station THIS YEAR.
you mean Crouch the quitter?
the guy who almost left the team b/c Newcombe beat him out for the starting job, and then quit the NFL b/c they wouldn’t let him play QB?
Go back and watch that game film again; Crouch wouldn’t have made a difference in ‘98 with the way our defense was playing in that game. I would actually argue that Crouch was one of the worst option QBs y’all ever had at Nebraska, b/c he HATED to pitch the ball. He is easily the worst Heisman Trophy winner in the last 20 years.
"worst Heisman Trophy winner"
Worst 5 star General
Worst Playmate of the year
Worst Superbowl Champ
Worst pilot to drop an Atom bomb…..
You can come up with a better argument than “_______ was the worst of the best”.
the fact that you consider Crouch the best at anything
says a lot
Worst pilot to drop an Atom bomb…..
Never heard someone try to make that argument; who you got?
Jerrod Johnson is the "worst" Best QB in the Big 12
You write an article saying how great Jerrod Johnson’s stats are, but bash Eric Crouch? Crouch put up amazing numbers on an average team, and set all kinds of school records. And he did something Jerrod Johnson doesn’t – win games. But you’re right, Crouch sucks and Jerrod Johnson is amazing.
Crouch was an incredible athlete, he just didn’t have an offensive line or RBs like Frazier and Frost had.
And beating a Bill Callahan-coached team isn’t something to brag about…though I seem to remember Coach Bill went into the “Home of the 12th Man” and beat you guys.
wow, talk about revisionist history
please post Crouch’s “amazing numbers”
this should be an eye-opener for you, because your memory and the facts of what Crouch ‘accomplished’ in 2001 are two different things
Crouch was an incredible athlete, he just didn’t have an offensive line or RBs like Frazier and Frost had.
Yeah, Dan Alexander and Correll Buckhalter both sucked. Somehow, Buckhalter has managed to hide his suckitude to play in the NFL for ten years.
Alexander/Buckhalter were not Lawrence Phillips/Ahman Green
Crouch’s Records:
* NCAA record for career rushing TD’s by a QB (59)
* 13th player in NCAA history to rush and pass for 1,000 yards in a season (1,115 rushing, 1,510 passing)
* One of three quarterbacks in NCAA Division 1-A history to rush for 3,000 yards and pass for 4,000 yards in a career
* Tied an NCAA scoring record by scoring a TD via run, pass, reception in the same game (vs. Cal, 1999)
* Longest run in NU history (95 yards) at Missouri, Sept. 29, 2001
* Owns Nebraska career record for total-offense yards with 7,915, including a school and Big 12 record for most rushing yards by a quarterback (3,434), while ranking third in career passing (4,481)
* School record holder with 88 total-offense touchdowns
* Regular-season school record for rushing yards by a quarterback in a game (191 yards) at Missouri, Sept. 29, 2001
* Tied school records for most TD passes in a game (5 vs. Iowa, 2000); most rushing TD’s in a game by a quarterback (4 vs. Kansas and Iowa State, 2001); and set a QB record for most rushing TDs in a season (20, 2000)
* Set school records for most rushing attempts in a season for a QB (203, 2001); most total-offense yards by a sophomore (2,158); tied school record for most rushing attempts in a game for a quarterback (27 vs. KSU, 1999)
- 2001 Heisman Trophy Winner
- 2001 Walter Camp Player of the Year
- 2001 Davey O’Brien Quarterback Award Winner
- 2001 Sporting News National Offensive Player of the Year
- 2001 ABC/Chevrolet National Player of the Year
- 2001 First-Team All-American (AP, AFCA, The Sporting News, ABC Sports Online)
- 2001 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year (Coaches, AP, Kansas City Star, Austin American Statesman, Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Star Telegram, San Antonio News Express, Waco Tribune Herald)
you do know the Heisman is not a career achievement award?
six of the ten ‘accomplishments’ you listed above were career achievements, not achievements in the 2001 season, and therefore irrelevant
the fact that y’all think going 1000-1000 is an accomplishment tells you all you need to know about how mediocre he really was
I stand by my statement: Crouch was the worst option QB Nebraska has ever had, and the worst Heisman Trophy winner of the past 20 years.
The year Crouch won the heisman trophy, the RB was Derrin Diedrick, who rushed for 1200 yards that year, but the following year only rushed for 900. Alexander and Buckhalter both graduated in 2000. Speaking of Crouch, and the option, is that I think Solich’s offense was designed to have the QB run as Jamal Lord led the team in rushing attempts both years he played for Solich.
Mutual Respect
I’d like to rewind a bit and let you know that I don’t think any Husker fan hates or despises or looks down on any Aggie fan. If you read the Aggie blog on HuskerExtra or CornNation you’ll definitely see as much. Most Huskers will tell tales of mutual respect between fan bases and that you guys always seem to treat us great when we visit y’all in C.S and we definitely hope we do the same when you visit us. We’re passionate about our football just like we know you guys are as well, and honestly this whole Big 12 breakup thing really hurts most Husker fans (including this one)!
I think this story just touched a nerve because it seems to pick on our media and generalize us as less than intelligent fans that only have 2 things to hang our Big Red Hat on: Pelini and Suh. And while it’s true we are definitely proud of our defense and last year’s captain, we definitely have other things to be proud of about our team now. And we know you guys also are looking particularly dangerous with this year’s squad. So once again, cheers to the upcoming football season and the best of luck to you. This will be our last year in the Big 12, so we hope it will be a memorable one for everyone involved! Go Aggies, and Go Big Red!!!
by MojoHusker on Jul 12, 2010 8:38 AM CDT reply actions 2 recs
Here, here
Just wanted to jump in and give this comment a thumbs-up. Good to see people who focus on the positives and show respect for opposing teams and fans. Personally, I’m sorry that Nebraska chose to leave the Big VII, and I’m glad that some NU fans are feeling a little sadness at what they are leaving. Hope you can at least get OU back on your schedule from time to time.
by Mirabeau Lamar on Jul 13, 2010 3:47 AM CDT up reply actions
Same goes for you guys
Thanks Lamar. I actually live in Texas now and let me tell you, it was tough watching the Big 12 championship for me and my 2 brothers with all of our Longhorn friends. We had a great time with the game, and it’s too bad somebody had to lose. But, we cheered you on vs Bama and we’re looking forward to this years game with you guys. I’m sure it’ll be another classic (most of our games have been really, really close) and we hope we can come out on the winning end of it this time!
But, most every Nebraska fan I know from back home absolutely hates our move to the Big 10 and if they would have had a statewide vote, it wouldn’t have happened. We looked forward to our games with you, OU, A&M, Mizzou, and really everybody else in the 12. And if it was ever possible, I wish we could schedule you guys on a rotating basis for NonConference games in the future. But no matter what happens, I’m sure we’ll play each other again someday, maybe even for all the marbles! Good luck to you guys too, and see you October 20!!!! GBR!
Absolutely NONE of my friends or family share your sentiments about the Big Ten move, we’re all excited about what it means for our University.
I am surprised to hear someone state that NU fans are against the move to the Big 10. Granted, there are some built in rivalries that are going to be left behind, but the upside of getting out of this sinking-ship of a conference has to outweigh the tradition. My biggest gripe, if I was a fan of NU, would be that they’re moving into the highly overrated Big 10 – a conference full of sure-of-themselves teams. You give up the attitude of UT for the attitudes of OSU and Michigan.
Absolutely
You’re right on both accounts. I’m not against the move and my friends and family aren’t against OUR university. And I’m not trying to speak for every Husker fan here because obviously there are many who are excited to go to the Big 10. But if you are a college football fan as well as a Husker fan, you’re probably going to be a little nostalgaic about our past and the rivalries that we built over the last century. Part of the reason that these blogs get so heated around here is that we’ve played each other so much. But even if we’ve beaten teams for 20 years, I was always nervous about playing them the next year because I knew how much they wanted to beat us EVERY year. And even with a team that has had our number (UT) in the Big 12, I still know every year that we can beat them and I believe that eventually that tide would turn and we’d bring them behind the woodshed for a few years in a row.
But the bottom line is that I liked being in the Big 12 and playing these teams, and I also thought that we were a better football conference than the Big 10 most of the time. And I really like UT, OU, A&M, and MU better than MIchigan, Ohio State, and Michigan State.
Also, I live in Texas now. So I have to say goodbye to all those trips to Baylor, Lubbock, College Station, and Austin. Guess I’ll just have to save for trips to Chicago, Iowa, and Ohio instead and learn to love the new rivalries we’re going to develop in the future. But, just like I feel that our soon-to-be ex-conference mates should understand that they truly will miss us one day, I think that we need to understand that we’re going to miss playing them a little bit, too! So for this year and beyond, Go Big 12, Go Big 10, and Go Big Red!
Different perspective
I guess when I read McKewon’s article, I kept in mind that he was writing an article and basing his rankings based on the potential to have monster years that both Gabbert and Landry have. I think anyone could argue that Johnson and Griffin are as good, if not better than Landry and Gabbert. However, I don’t think anyone would be surprised this year if Landry and Gabbert blew up and had monster years. Likewise, if Griffin doesn’t bounce back from injury at 100%, and Johnson plays inconsistently, is anyone going to be shocked?
Yeah, a person can reference statistics until they are blue in the face, but the fact is that Landry Jones was a redshirt freshman last year thrown into the fire, and his line was pretty awful. If a person can’t see that he has the physical tools to be dominant, especially if you consider he’s throwing to Ryan Broyles (and if Murray stays healthy), then they aren’t very knowledgeable sports fans, or are just being blinded by some sort of ill-conceived bias.
How you can rank Potts/Scheffield at #3, I have no idea. I would put Johnson and Griffin light years ahead of those guys in terms of ability and potential. We could get into discussions about being a ‘system’ QB and how that translates to overall greatness, but that’s probably a discussion for a different day.
The one major issue I have with the whole article is trying to spin UT’s defense as #1 in the conference. Total yards versus points allowed . . . which one would you rather be #1 in? Pretty sure any coach in the country would agree that being #1 in the country in points allowed is a much bigger statistic.
Lastly, yes OU and UT have posted some great defenses, but up until 2008 the Big XII has largely been viewed as a gun slinging conference with wide open offenses. Keep in mind that even might UT, in the span of 5 games in 2008 gave up 150 points. I don’t think anyone would argue that 2009 saw a noticeable shift in many teams offensive styles. UT is going to a more traditional offensive set, OU will be under center more often, NU, KSU, BU, ISU will all be dependent on their ground games for successful seasons. I do think it a rather bold move to say that Pelini was the sole reason for a shift in conference offensive dynamics, but I do think that his attitude of defense/ball control is part of the reason of the move. Although UT and OU could play hard nosed defense, they had a quick strike, score as quickly as possible mentality, and I do think that is changing. Only time will tell I suppose.
if you're going to go on potential to have a 'monster' season
you’d still have to put Johnson and Griffin ahead of Gabbert and Jones
I can understand the hype for Gabbert, but Jones is nothing special. Even getting past the redshirt freshman part, he is more of a caretaker and game manager than playmaker. Bradford was special, Jones is just another Nate Hybl.
Lastly, yes OU and texas have posted some great defenses, but up until 2008 the Big XII has largely been viewed as a gun slinging conference with wide open offenses. Keep in mind that even mighty texas, in the span of 5 games in 2008 gave up 150 points.
The perception that the Big 12 doesn’t play defense didn’t start until 2008, and it is a misconception based on the fact that offensive numbers were way up that season, coinciding with an abundance of upperclassmen QBs running spread offenses. It isn’t a coincidence that offensive numbers dropped last year as players like Chase Daniel, Graham Harrell, and playmakers like Michael Crabtree were no longer in the conference. The Big 12 was known as one of the dominant conferences in college football for defense from its creation up until now; the “Big 12 plays no defense” meme didn’t start until 2008, and I think that was largely to answer the “SEC plays no offense” meme that was coming from Big 12 members and bloggers (and I still believe the SEC is an inferior offensive conference b/c of their lack of star QBs). Trying to say we’re a “gun-slinging conference with wide-open offenses” ignores where we’ve come from; there is a reason we had three 2000 yard rushers at the end of the ’90s in the Big 12; we were a ground-bound conference known for our running games and our defenses.
texas is going to a more traditional offensive set, OU will be under center more often, NU, KSU, BU, ISU will all be dependent on their ground games for successful seasons.
texas will be using 12 and 21 personnel more often because they want to emphasize their running game and take pressure off their true sophomore QB, not because of a shift in defensive personnel. KSU will run the ball b/c that is what Snyder does; he isn’t a spread coach. Baylor will still be running the spread, I have no idea why you think they’re going to be dependent on their running game; they’ll go as far as Robert Griffin’s arm and legs can take them. OU was under center a lot in 2008 when Bradford was winning the Heisman; they run a multiple offense and won’t be changing their scheme at all.
I think if you try to give Pelini any credit for what these teams are doing this year, you’re making an incredible reach. It is a reach to think coaches are going to change their coaching styles or schemes because of what one team, who won’t be in the conference in 2011, did this past season.
Although texas and OU could play hard nosed defense, they had a quick strike, score as quickly as possible mentality, and I do think that is changing.
Are you supposed to score slowly? Again, to attempt to connect texas’ move to a more rush-based offense to Nebraska or Pelini is an incredible stretch. texas hasn’t been able to effectively run the ball for two seasons now; their attempt to focus on running the ball has more to do with trying to fix a weakness than it does with anything any other school is doing.
Nope
It’s nice to just grab snippets of an argument, take them in whatever context you want, and run in a direction that is convenient to your opinion.
Yes, as a conference we had great running attacks in the ‘90s and then, and this was my entire point, which you conveniently overlooked, there was a drastic change in style of play. You can argue whatever side of it you want, and say it’s personnel driven. But when Leach, Mangino, Pinkel, and then later Gundy, Prince, Briles and Sherman were hired, that is over 50% of coaches dedicated to wide open offense. Fast forward and what types of hires do you see? Gill, Rhoads, Pelini, Tuberville and Snyder are the 5 most recent hires (off the top of my head), and all are ball control oriented. Please don’t try and tell me that Tuberville isn’t; he’s dealing with the hand he was dealt and the personnel he inherited. He tinkered with the idea of the Malzahn school of offense for about two games at Auburn before he went back to conventional play. Gill might be a little bit more multiple, but still wants a controlled running attack.
And no, UT isn’t moving to more traditional sets because they have a sophomore and wish to take pressure off of him. That is contrary to everything I’ve ever read or seen. It has 100% to do with the fact that their running attack the past several years has been horrid and they have gotten dominated at the line of scrimmage (see Alabama and Nebraska last year for examples). They are trying to make their team a more physical and hard nosed unit.
I’m not saying score slowly, but I do think there is something to be said in ball control and keeping your defense off the field. I would think as an A&M homer, you would be on my side of the argument there. Given the fact that you all were #65 in time of possession and #103 in scoring defense, I’d think you’d maybe want the ball in your hands longer, and your defense out on the field less. Interesting concept, isn’t it? On the flip side, the top four defenses in terms of scoring allowed (Nebraska, TCU, Ohio State, and Alabama) were 51st, 17th, 21st, and 12th respectively in terms of TOP (Nebraska being somewhat of an anomaly because of the horrid offense and number of 3 and outs that resulted).
I just think that there is more of a fundamental shift in the coaching view points of the Big XII of how to win games. Saban has written a script that coaches are going to try and emulate for at least the next few years, and Pelini comes from the same mold. If you don’t hold the same view point, and think that the Gundys and Pinkels are the future of Big XII, we just won’t be agreeing.
Knowing what we know as of today, that Griffin is on a rehabilitated knee, is going to have defenses keyed at destroying him, and doesn’t have a lot of talent around him, I think it a rather bold move to think he is going to be more impressive than Landry Jones this year. Time will tell, but I will be amazed if Griffin is more productive than Jones. I think Jones has a monster year. I also think Johnson should be set for an amazing year, and I’d probably rank him #1 in the conference but to just discredit others and spout of excuses and lame stats about why Johnson is superior is laughable. Tell you what, let me know who gets drafted first next year, between Johnson and Gabbert. Also: Johnson 12-33 115 yards, 1 TD 1 INT against OU; Landry Jones 24-39 392 yds, 5 TD 1 INT.
Don’t know about you but head to head match-ups mean something to me in this discussion. You can reference the lack of A&M defense which we are all very much aware of, but that is pretty embarassing any way you slice it.
But when Leach, Mangino, Pinkel, and then later Gundy, Prince, Briles and Sherman were hired, that is over 50% of coaches dedicated to wide open offense.
Leach: Yes
Mangino: Maybe
Pinkel: No
Gundy: No
Prince: They ran an offense under him?
Briles: Yes
Sherman: No
Mangino was an offensive line coach before he became an OC, and he was always a strong believer in the running game. It isn’t a coincidence that Kansas’ offense was most successful when they had a power running attack to complement their weapons at WR. He wasn’t specifically a spread-oriented coach, but he had elements of it in his passing game; this is the reason he won a national title at OU while Leach did not.
Pinkel actually tried to run a more run-based offense with Brad Smith complementing a play-action passing game early on; it damn near cost him the team and his job. He only switched to a more wide-open spread offense before Smith’s senior season, to adjust for Chase Daniel’s presence in Columbia.
Gundy has never really been a true spread coach; he is more a balanced-attack kind of guy, while always having a power running game. I believe they’ve had a 1000 yd rusher every year he has been head coach at OSU, even in his first year, when they were terrible. He was the OC under Les Miles, who believed in 12 personnel and a power running game. Gundy is only now going to a wide-open spread after hiring Holgerson to run the Air Raid.
Prince: I was never sure what he was trying to accomplish on offense at K-State.
Sherman: Sherman is a WCO guy, and a true believer in the power running game. We didn’t begin going spread until halfway through the 2008 season, after it was obvious we couldn’t run the ball with our OL. We just went full-fledged no-huddle spread last season, and it is more of a necessity b/c of the talent we have on hand; if we had the OL depth and TE depth needed, I’m sure we would be in 21 personnel 80% of the time, b/c that is Sherman’s preference.
Gill, Rhoads, Pelini, Tuberville and Snyder are the 5 most recent hires (off the top of my head), and all are ball control oriented.
Gill tried ball-control his first few seasons at Buffalo, failed miserably, went to the spread, went to a bowl, and then did a spread-option last season. I’m sure he’ll be a ground-bound coach, simply b/c of his pedigree with Nebraska. However, it won’t stop them from having a losing season this year.
Rhoads, Pelini, and Tuberville are all former DCs, and saying a DC prefers a running game is like saying water is wet. Most defensive coordinators just don’t want the offense to lose the game for the defense, which is why they like a running game. Snyder was ground-bound when he was here before Prince, and he simply hasn’t changed the way he has coached. To credit Pelini or Nebraska with the scheme preferences of Rhoads, Tuberville, or Snyder is ludicrous.
I would think as an A&M homer, you would be on my side of the argument there. Given the fact that you all were #65 in time of possession and #103 in scoring defense, I’d think you’d maybe want the ball in your hands longer, and your defense out on the field less.
Either you have a short memory, or you haven’t been following college football for very long. We tried the whole “dominate time of possession, keep the defense off the field” angle in 2005-2007 under Fran; it works great against poor team, terrible against good teams who can score.
And no, texas isn’t moving to more traditional sets because they have a sophomore and wish to take pressure off of him. That is contrary to everything I’ve ever read or seen.
I’d really love to see what you’re reading, then, because if you tried to tell them they’re doing this to become more hard-nosed so they can beat Nebraska over at BON, they’d laugh you off the blog. You think texas didn’t have a power running game in 2005 with Young at the helm?
Knowing what we know as of today, that Griffin is on a rehabilitated knee, is going to have defenses keyed at destroying him, and doesn’t have a lot of talent around him, I think it a rather bold move to think he is going to be more impressive than Landry Jones this year.
Defenses tried to destroy him in 2008, too, and it didn’t work out too well for them. You think the defense at Northwestern State just somehow got lucky? Griffin was already more impressive when he was a true freshman in 2008 than Jones was as a redshirt freshman in 2009. Sorry, more interceptions than games started doesn’t impress me.
Tell you what, let me know who gets drafted first next year, between Johnson and Gabbert.
People who try to use the NFL Draft as a measuring stick of college success don’t understand college football or the purpose of the NFL Draft. Using this argument, Stephen McGee is more successful than any QB Nebraska has had in the last twenty years, because he was drafted as a QB in the fourth round. See how that works?
Clearly You Haven't Been to HuskersIllustrated
One of the “biased” writers there ranked the Big 12 QBs:
1. Jerrod Johnson
2. Blaine Gabbert
3. Robert Griffin
4. Landry Jones
5. Garrett Gilbert
Four Big 12 South QBs. And not one mention of Suh or Pelini in the article. How can that be? All Nebraska writers are biased! Clearly Robin Washut is a reputable sportswriter masquerading as a Nebraska sportswriter.
I think...
…someone is upset they did not get their ta la la touched today!
You know, their ding ding dong!
I’ll be glad when NU is not in a conference with such embarrassing idiots as A&M has!
http://www.break.com/usercontent/2009/10/texas-a-m-yell-leaders-1465515.html
Take our old AD and shove it!
http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2010/06/texas_am_bill_byrne_voicemail.php
I think that voicemail alone is enough reason to fire Byrne
but we have weak people in positions of power in our administration, so that won’t happen
I’m just going to have to wait until he retires.
A shame
I’ve always had a lot of respect for A&M until they fired RC not only one of the better coaches in the conference but in the country. We made our mistakes firing Solich and hiring one of the worst coaches EVER! Then A&M hires Dollar Bill who was destroying our program and took over where he left off at A&M! Can someone tell Bill no one cares about underwater bowling?
A&M fans were very gracious to me when I attended a Husker game so no complaints there. It’s a shame a FEW morons start bad mouthing because the Huskers had the foresight to get out of the B12. We are not going to be bootlickers for the Whorns! If the rest of the conference members enjoy carrying water for TU, be my guest! Lets see how that works out for in the long run! Trusting TU to do the right thing is like crawling into bed with a cheap hooker and believing she loves you because she told you so…..
The self styled football expert that claims Bo isn’t one of the best defensive coaches in the nation will get a lesson this season. I’ll be back to listen all the excuses he offers after we get done pounding A&M this year. We’ll see where you all finish as opposed to the Huskers. We’ll be playing for the B12 Championship while A&M watches from the outside in once again. Have a great summer and we’ll see you this fall…..
More Cornhusker Propaganda
Here ya go Beerbelly, here’s one more article from your sportswriter buddy Sammy Mckewon from the Nebraska State Paper.
http://nebraska.statepaper.com/vnews/display.v/ART/4c3b445f4e9eb
In it he ranks the best running games in the Big 12. And although his biased, homerific brain can’t help but rank his Huskers very high in the conference (#2 overall), you should note that he ranked your aggie backfield at number 1. And he did it without mentioning the words Bo, or Suh, or Pelini, or Ndamakong or even Blackshirt Defense! Crazy
But I’m sure he’s just being contrarian and playing the devil’s advocate. ;-)
obviously
he read this story and is now trying to prove me wrong ;-)
This does bring up another subject for criteria, though: when you rank the best backfields, do you consider the offensive line, and how play there may effect the running game? Obviously, Nebraska had issues on their offensive line last season, which means what Helu was able to do is pretty remarkable. Do you just look at the RBs when ranking a backfield, or do you consider how the offensive line will effect RB production?
Also, someone needs to tell McKewon the difference between a WCO and a spread offense, b/c he seems confused about what we ran last season.
Like a roof on a barn.......
You can’t have one without the other. I think, especially in the college game, you have to consider the O-line when ranking backfields. They are intricately linked together, because these RB’s only have up to 4 years to work their way up to being worthy of national attention. And they have to do this while transitioning from high school to a whole new level of football. And without a consistent line, how is anyone going to really know that a back is any good or if he’s just an extension of his line’s play (good or bad). In the NFL, we can step back and say that guys truly are great with or without their O-line playing great because we have the benefit of time and hindsight. Some guys (Barry, anyone?) thrive in spite of their teams horrible line play. My point is, there is too much turnover and adjustment going on in the College ranks to single out one element of the running game without considering (even subconsciously perhaps) all the parts that make it good or bad.
Now, we definitely had issues on our line last year and still remained committed to running the ball. But even though our RB’s had a successful year on an individual level, our running game wasn’t good enough to be able to carry our bad offense. Now we have several returning starters to our line so this could be good or bad but, knock on wood, we’re healthy now and we also have more quality depth. So, we consider our line to be a strength going into the season. Only time will tell if our line and backfield will be the force we need it to be, however.
And for you guys, correct me if I’m wrong, but your line looked pretty solid last year. What’s the feeling in Aggieland with your line and ground game this year?
Oh, and don’t worry. I’m sure that Sammy’s still keeping up with your blog and the next article he writes will be even more unbiased, and also more accurate!
Nebraska allowed the fewest points of any defense in the NCAA without a picnic schedule either…
They were the top d in the Big 12, the Huskers offense was horrid and they scored only one point less against the solid Texas defensive squad then the Longhorns obviously superior offense was able to score against the blackshirts.
There is no doubt, that stats show it, the game showed it, don’t be disingenuous here dude.
beergut, you do realize, don't you ...
… that Nebraska StatePaper is not a real newspaper? It is not printed, it’s just an online thing, just a couple of guys making a go of it
I got lost in the...
…verbosity of the article, but before I went drifted off and finally went to sleep I happened to agree with you. It really is true that whether is NE sports writers or bloggers, they just can’t seem to help themselves, they have to mention Suh or Pelini or something about the good ole days. I’ve often wondered if fermented sour mesh can cause a person to be irrational. And I think the jury is in; it truly can. Actually I’m beginning to wonder if last year was a fluke. I guess time will tell, but it seems NE may be propping the wagon up with training wheels.
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