(I buried this this in an aged thread, but then decided it ought to be its own discussion. A Nebraska preview: )
Huskers could be more physical. They have a new defensive coordinator in Bob Diaco. Riley parted ways with his long-time sidekick Mark Banker.
It's weird about Riley. Football's ultimate nice guy has achieved below the level of predecessor Bo Pelini, who won 9 or 10 games every year but alienated everyone, yet he never makes any of those "hot seat" lists (6-7, won a bowl, 9-4, lost a bowl). With a new quarterback and a new DC this year, he'll be challenged to hit that 9/10 win threshold that Big Red fans expect, with a fervent hope of returning to the glory years of eight conference titles in every decade.and multiple national championships.
Riley is a decent man who teaches well and relates well to players, but he's not the guy to bring back the glory. He lacks the drive and vision for that task, conditioned by years of doing something with less.
Last year NU started better but finished the season losing four of six.. They won their first 7 and reached #7 in the country before falling to #11 Wisconsin at Camp Randall, 23-17 in overtime. The next week Riley's squad got crushed by Ohio State at the Horseshoe 62-3. They beat Minnesota and Maryland at home, then stumbled on the road at Iowa in their regular season finale, losing 40-10. Tennessee ran all over them in the Music City Bowl in Nashville, 38-24. Vol quarterback Josh Dobbs ran for three touchdowns and 118 yards and threw for 291 yards and another score
In short, Coach Jiminy Christmas has not fielded a good road team. They tend to win the easy ones and struggle in big games, good for about one surprise a year.
Interestingly, they beat Wyoming last season in a tune-up at Lincoln, 52-17.
This Husker team has good talent at receiver in Stanley Morgan Jr. and De’Mornay Pierson-El. Four of five starters return on the offensive line. At quarterback,Tulane transfer Tanner Lee is decent but he's no Justin Herbert (6-4, 220, 23 career TDs, 21 INTs for the Green Wave).
Lead running back Terrell Newby has graduated, so they're looking to rely on a committee of .Devine Ozigbo, Tre Bryant and Mikale Wilbon, who combined for 501 yards last season.
Like Jim Leavitt, Diaco is installing a base 3-4 defense. He has a couple of 300-pounders to anchor the 3-front. The linebackers are inexperienced, but the secondary is the strength of the team. It features Joshua Kalu, Aaron Williams and Kieron Williams. Kalu is one of the best safeties in the country.
Banker's last defense allowed 23.9 points and 363 yards per game.
A lot has been written about the composition of the crowd for NU at UO. Some have said that Big Red fans have been snatching up tickets in the secondary market, even going as far as buying season tickets to attend one game. The speculation is that Autzen could look like a Rose Bowl with as many as 20,000 of the spectators in Cornhusker Red. How real is that concern, and will it change the noise level or reduce the home field advantage?
Huskers could be more physical. They have a new defensive coordinator in Bob Diaco. Riley parted ways with his long-time sidekick Mark Banker.
It's weird about Riley. Football's ultimate nice guy has achieved below the level of predecessor Bo Pelini, who won 9 or 10 games every year but alienated everyone, yet he never makes any of those "hot seat" lists (6-7, won a bowl, 9-4, lost a bowl). With a new quarterback and a new DC this year, he'll be challenged to hit that 9/10 win threshold that Big Red fans expect, with a fervent hope of returning to the glory years of eight conference titles in every decade.and multiple national championships.
Riley is a decent man who teaches well and relates well to players, but he's not the guy to bring back the glory. He lacks the drive and vision for that task, conditioned by years of doing something with less.
Last year NU started better but finished the season losing four of six.. They won their first 7 and reached #7 in the country before falling to #11 Wisconsin at Camp Randall, 23-17 in overtime. The next week Riley's squad got crushed by Ohio State at the Horseshoe 62-3. They beat Minnesota and Maryland at home, then stumbled on the road at Iowa in their regular season finale, losing 40-10. Tennessee ran all over them in the Music City Bowl in Nashville, 38-24. Vol quarterback Josh Dobbs ran for three touchdowns and 118 yards and threw for 291 yards and another score
In short, Coach Jiminy Christmas has not fielded a good road team. They tend to win the easy ones and struggle in big games, good for about one surprise a year.
Interestingly, they beat Wyoming last season in a tune-up at Lincoln, 52-17.
This Husker team has good talent at receiver in Stanley Morgan Jr. and De’Mornay Pierson-El. Four of five starters return on the offensive line. At quarterback,Tulane transfer Tanner Lee is decent but he's no Justin Herbert (6-4, 220, 23 career TDs, 21 INTs for the Green Wave).
Lead running back Terrell Newby has graduated, so they're looking to rely on a committee of .Devine Ozigbo, Tre Bryant and Mikale Wilbon, who combined for 501 yards last season.
Like Jim Leavitt, Diaco is installing a base 3-4 defense. He has a couple of 300-pounders to anchor the 3-front. The linebackers are inexperienced, but the secondary is the strength of the team. It features Joshua Kalu, Aaron Williams and Kieron Williams. Kalu is one of the best safeties in the country.
Banker's last defense allowed 23.9 points and 363 yards per game.
A lot has been written about the composition of the crowd for NU at UO. Some have said that Big Red fans have been snatching up tickets in the secondary market, even going as far as buying season tickets to attend one game. The speculation is that Autzen could look like a Rose Bowl with as many as 20,000 of the spectators in Cornhusker Red. How real is that concern, and will it change the noise level or reduce the home field advantage?
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