Don’t Pencil In That Title Just Yet
Jim Tressel's resignation at Ohio State sparked the potential for turmoil amid the top of the Big Ten Conference this season. Among the favorite topics of discussion for the analysts since the weekend: whether Bo Pelini can lead the Huskers to a Big Ten Title. The theory goes, even in the first year of the new conference, the Buckeyes are seemingly "out of the way". Before Nebraska fans start popping corks and rallying meetings at 72nd and Dodge, some perspective needs to be put into place.
Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Todd Haley likes to break up his seasons into four quarters. He plans around winning each "quarter" of the season for a chance to make the playoffs. To break up the season into four quarters puts into perspective just how difficult the first foray into the Big Ten will be. At minimum, Nebraska has to go 2-1 in each quarter of the season to be on par with Bo Pelini's first year, and that would have the Huskers watching the conference championship game on their couches.
Bo Pelini's three years at Nebraska have been defined by the lulls in each season, the first two years being the October blues, and last year the Martinez-hurt-his-ankle blues. A new way to look at the season just might to think about winning it like each quarter of a football game rather than the one game at a time philosophy that Pelini espouses.
The fact is, the Huskers are installing a new, not just revamped, offensive attack. Pelini has been forced to reinvent the game plan during the previous seasons due to injury, personnel issues, or difficulty. Learning a brand new offensive style, regardless of the suitability for the current roster, means a transition period. The true ability of the offense will be uncertain until well into conference play.
And as difficult as it may be to admit, the loss of Cody Green will have an impact in the leadership of this offense. He was a quarterback who had a voice with the fans, media, and his teammates - even while Taylor Martinez started under center. He was the kind of guy called out by recruit Bubba Starling as someone he could not wait to go hunting and fishing with. A voice of this team will need to step out or this offense will continue to suffer under a lack of on-field leadership under center.
As Husker Nation hopefully learned from the Beat Texas debacle, the "Beat Ohio State = win the conference" idea is flawed in more than one way. Aside from the conference difficulties outline already, Ohio State is not even close to an automatic win without Tressel. NU may be new to the block, but not so green to think the Buckeyes will not rally and claw their way through the season to fight for a Title Game slot. The talent, fans, boosters, school, and entire coaching staff are quality enough that with or without Tressel, the Buckeyes will roll into Lincoln with more than a fair shot at winning.
Des Moines, IA
6/1/2011
Aye, I like the four quarters theme. Many times I have yet to see a team under Bo play well for 4 quarters. Maybe that should be a focus of practice.
6/1/2011
Nice article! Am so excited to see what this season brings (can’t help but think we should strap in for one heck of a ride)....94 days and counting! GO B1G RED!
6/1/2011
Very well put Mr. Cudd. Hard to disagree with any of the main points brought up here especially the implementation of a brand new offense and the lack of veteran leadership at QB. In year one of Coach Pelini’s tenure the defense started off a little shaky but made stark improvement throughout the year, especially after the Oklahoma game. We all know now what progress has been made from year one to year three. We have some things to iron out offensively, before we even threw in a brand new system. Hopefully the lightbulb will be on for these guys by midseason. The schedule is not forgiving, and if they do not have any ideas of what the offensive units overall strength, relative weaknessess, and identity then there will be the potential for another late season crash and burn on the offensive side of the ball. In addition make no doubt whatsoever that we will be getting everyone’s best shot as the newcomer on the block. To handle the scrutiny and pressure of that is far from a lock. . .
6/1/2011
Tom, I agree w/ your premise that just b/c Tressel is gone does not mean we will beat Ohio State. However, I was listening to ESPN last night and they seem to think more sanctions are looming. They think that Prior might be suspended the entire season. They also say this might effect 20-30 players. All rumors, but rumors coming from ESPN. Without Tressel but with Prior, in Lincoln, I think its 50/50. But if this effects more players and for longer, especially Prior, then I really like our odds.
6/1/2011
Makes it easier for NU or IU to win the championship… OSU shouldn’t be allowed to play for the conference championship after this mess. Also, the players in question will now enter the supplemental draft in July. NU will prob be a 9 pt favorite when OSU comes to Lincoln…
Cody Green would’ve been 3rd or 4th on the depth chart at the beginning of the season, so I do not see how this hurts Nebraska’s chance of winning the conference…
Kansas City, MO
6/1/2011
Nebraska should look at all of the games on its schedule this year as winnable games, including Ohio State. There’s just no room for trying to coast by any team because they have a new coach, or lost key players for any reason. Even the perceived “weaker” teams in the Big 12 were able to give NU scares and hand a couple of losses over the last few years. A down Ohio State should still be a tough game.
6/1/2011
Also, even if the new offense takes time to get rolling, it will be better than the offense has been the last of couple years… The defense should be good enough to take over almost every game on the schedule. However, you make a good point about every game. Now more than ever, any college fb team can win. Nebraska struggled in back to back games with Iowa St.
6/1/2011
Tom, I respectfully disagree with nearly everything you state in this article. You seem rather negative. No one is saying it will be a walk in the park, but I think we are going to absolutely annialate Ohio State when they come to town. Everybody is going to be gunning for them. We will win that game unless we lay an egg. We can win every other game in the B1G too, including Wisconsin. Look what TCU did to them in the rose bowl…they didn’t look all that tuff to me. Our late season blues can be explained away easily…our star got hurt, theirs can’t.
Our offense will be better this year than at any time under the Bo Pelini era. With a guy like Taylor Martinez running the show, and with all the talent we have now and especially with the talent coming in, how could anyone not be positive about the teams future?
The teams in the Big 10 aren’t all that much better or bigger than they are in the Big 12. If anything, their play is easier to defend, and less complicated. They might be a little more physical, but anyone who has been around Nebraska football for any length of time knows that’s our specialty. The Big 10 overall is down right now, as evidenced by their bowl record and what types of teams beat them regularly. They only won 1 bowl game last year out of how many? Like 6? No, Mr Doom and Gloom, you are wrong. In fact, there couldn’t be a better time for Nebraska to enter the conference. Many of the top teams are in some state of disarray. That does not bode well for winning against the likes of Nebraska. Most are on a down turn where Nebraska is on an upswing and has been for 3 years.
Kansas City, MO
6/1/2011
PE, I agree with you on one thing for sure, we couldn’t have picked a better time to come in a take this conference by force. But can Pelini do it? Media prognosticators don’t seem to account for all angles. I have been thinking more and more lately that we will make a solid run for the Title game this year, but all these articles since Tressel’s resignation about the conference being Nebraska’s to lose has got me playing devil’s advocate today. We all just need to think through the season before putting the Championship belt on when the fight hasn’t even started.
6/1/2011
If Pryor plays in Lincoln, it will make the NCAA look very bad and very ineffective. It opens the door for the Department of Justice to push aside the paper-tiger NCAA to finally get the push needed for a play-off system. That threat to their power base alone is why the NCAA will circle their wagons and put an end to TP and many other players on the Ohio State team before October 8th. The NCAA still has Cam Newton egg on their faces and we have no idea what they will find when the peel back the layers of the Buckeye over the next 8 weeks. Look for far more permanent suspensions of some very good OSU players. I feel bad for their fan base. They don’t deserve any of this, but someone has to carry the cross.
6/1/2011
Tom, I really like your respect of other teams (foes) and their respective fan bases.
That goes a long way in my book.
6/1/2011
Ohio State will probably be better off without Pryor at this point. I’m sure he’s a divisive force in the locker room. All the rule-abiding Buckeyes see him as the guy that got their Dr. Tom fired (that’s what Tressel was to the Buckeyes…a Dr. Tom-like figure).
That being said, even if the Tat-5 aren’t a part of teh OSU when teh OSU comes to town, I’d be willing to bet they still field a team with higher rated recruits than we do. I’m not a believer in the star system as the be-all end-all, but it is one measurement method of talent. That makes them dangerous if they somehow reach the proper emotional state for the game in Lincoln. In the college game, talent and emotion will overcome coaching and effort nearly every time.
As for the B1G title hunt, going undefeated in the Legends Division may not be enough for us, as Sparty has an easier crossover schedule, for instance.
San Diego, Ca.
6/1/2011
Tom,
Speed.
The 1st. string QB (whoever he is) will have it. His backup (or 1A) will have it, too. They’re being trained to throw to open guys only, not to a spot. Shoot, or scoot. Or, make it look like you’re doing one, then do the other. The young QB’s will at least get to feel more confident, like they know what they’re doing. So they can do it all and do it quickly.
All the little things that had to be mastered everywhere in the other offense, or it sluggo’d to a stop, or worse, won’t cause quite the same inconsistant or ineffectual performances you enjoyed so much, these last 6 years.
Sure, the offense will have to be grown into. But, it’s a single offense, not an amalgamation of incomplete ideas. Entire position groupings won’t be that extra .1 of a second off the pace, as often.
They’ll be close enough to full speed by the Be adgerz game, to justify the majority of National opinion and predictions of them. They’ll be the fastest team in most all of their games.
They should also have Pelini’s best all around defense, at Nebraska.
The kickers, though…
6/2/2011
Let’s not forget that last year’s National Champs (Auburn) had plenty of Cam controversies. A good coach can turn all this controversy into a us-versus-them theme and create a good team chemistry. There is no doubt in my mind that Ohio State has enough talent left, under any scenario, that if properly motivated and coached, they could win the Big Ten championship.
Furthermore, I fully agree that there are a good number of other teams who “are here to win-it”: Michigan State; Wisconsin; Michigan; Penn State; Iowa; even Northwestern. Yes, NU could win any of these games; but we also could lose any of them as well; and we have to face ALL of these teams this year.
Des Moines, IA
6/5/2011
I just want to know if our new O can produce first downs. Also, if Martinez gets hurt again… who knows. I am tired of only being excited when the Blackshirts on are on the field.
6/9/2011
I completely concur with DrZoldberg.The Huskers haven’t displayed a total team effort since the days the” Tommy O” show left town.