Sorry for being lazy, but has anyone scouted out other teams' spring game message board threads? Are Nebraska & Iowa talking national championship again?
News out of other spring camps
- Thread starter CYCLNST8
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I think NU's expectations have fallen a little 
I don't lurk other teams' boards, so not sure what the fans are saying, but analysts have said NU should compete for the North this year... I assume Iowa will be top half of the 'leven, but I admittedly follow them less...
I don't lurk other teams' boards, so not sure what the fans are saying, but analysts have said NU should compete for the North this year... I assume Iowa will be top half of the 'leven, but I admittedly follow them less...
Iowa is cautiously optimistic...
of course there is the element of the fan base that will see "no way" Iowa wins less than 10 games.
Positives for Iowa: return of QB, return of leading receiver, 3 of 5 o-linemen starters return, Dace Richardson possibly back, number of starters (8) back on defense, kickers/punters return, overall momentum after way last season finished.
Negatives: King/Kroul gone, Doak Walker Award winner (Greene) gone, schdeule more difficult (you could make a case for Iowa losing any road game. Conference roadies against OSU, Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan State and non-con at Ames).
My own opinion: if injuries don't occur in key areas, team would have a chance to contend for conference title. Didn't say win it, I said contend. Overall record could be anywhere from 5-7 to 10-2 (if everything went well).
of course there is the element of the fan base that will see "no way" Iowa wins less than 10 games.
Positives for Iowa: return of QB, return of leading receiver, 3 of 5 o-linemen starters return, Dace Richardson possibly back, number of starters (8) back on defense, kickers/punters return, overall momentum after way last season finished.
Negatives: King/Kroul gone, Doak Walker Award winner (Greene) gone, schdeule more difficult (you could make a case for Iowa losing any road game. Conference roadies against OSU, Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan State and non-con at Ames).
My own opinion: if injuries don't occur in key areas, team would have a chance to contend for conference title. Didn't say win it, I said contend. Overall record could be anywhere from 5-7 to 10-2 (if everything went well).
Re: Iowa is cautiously optimistic...
Excellent, rational post, DodgerHawki. Consider yourself approved for future posting.
Excellent, rational post, DodgerHawki. Consider yourself approved for future posting.
I had a buddy who went to the Nebraska game -- yeah I know it's crazy to spend $10 on a spring game -- but he was saying both the first and second string offenses looked really good, but that the Husker's pass defenses left him worried.
He's a Nebraska fan, but like DodgerHawki, he's very rational when it comes to his Huskers.
He's a Nebraska fan, but like DodgerHawki, he's very rational when it comes to his Huskers.
15,000? Where were the other 8,000 hiding last Saturday?:wink:
I have nothing against Nebraska having 70,000+ at their spring game. Even my buddy thinks it's crazy, but he went anyway.
Other than that, the only other spring game report I've heard about came from a former boss in Kansas. He said two star players for the J-Hawks didn't play (suspended), but that's all he would elaborate on.
They essentially sold out. They think Nebraska is good enough to make a run at Kansas this year. My, how things have changed.
For the record they may be..........................If Pellini puts together a "Nebraska" type D of yore they'll cause the Big 12 troubles. I actually think K-st was better than they showed last year and if Snyder brought in the right assistants they'll bother people as well.
Lastly CU will be a problem for everyone as well, or Hawkins will be gone. Simple as that. They have some talent.
Mizzou I think will drop off.
Just my opinion. Take it for what it is worth.
Chad
PS......................You noticed how much less consistent and dominating KU was with a very average D and potent O, Pretty much a 180 from the previous year. Only difference is the 2007 O, was still way better than the 2008 Defense.
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Their defense was almost as bad as ISU's, and w/out Josh Freeman, their offense is going to blow. This could be an early 1980's type season for KSU. I think they are the worst team in the Big 12. We're second...
One of Nebraska's biggest concerns was at quarterback (with the graduation of Joe Ganz and the heir apparent, Patrick Witt transferring), but it appears that position may be a little better than some might have expected. Zac Lee went something like 15-18 and Latravus Washington (who was moved there from linebacker...he was a highly regarded high school quarterback) also played well at times. Cody Green, their highly regarded true freshman from Texas will probably red shirt.
There was a lot of talk on media reports that Ben Cotton was a pleasant surprise throughtout the spring (he had four catches and a touchdown in the spring game). Some had felt he ended up at Nebraska simply because of his dad, but it sounds like some of the nay-sayers are starting to change their story.
Nebraska certainly isn't anywhere near national championship caliber, but my guess is it will boil down to them and Kansas in the North. Nebraska plays KU in Lawrence, but has a more favorable South schedule. Nebraska plays at Baylor and is home against Oklahoma and Texas Tech, while Kansas is at home against Oklahoma and on the road at Texas Tech and Texas. That, my friends, is a murderous South schedule.
I think the North will be interesting. Missouri could still make some noise and who knows about Colorado.
There was a lot of talk on media reports that Ben Cotton was a pleasant surprise throughtout the spring (he had four catches and a touchdown in the spring game). Some had felt he ended up at Nebraska simply because of his dad, but it sounds like some of the nay-sayers are starting to change their story.
Nebraska certainly isn't anywhere near national championship caliber, but my guess is it will boil down to them and Kansas in the North. Nebraska plays KU in Lawrence, but has a more favorable South schedule. Nebraska plays at Baylor and is home against Oklahoma and Texas Tech, while Kansas is at home against Oklahoma and on the road at Texas Tech and Texas. That, my friends, is a murderous South schedule.
I think the North will be interesting. Missouri could still make some noise and who knows about Colorado.
You may be right.................I thought they actually had a few athletes, but honestly I didn't watch them quite as closely as others. I do think Prince signed some solid kids and Snyder is a wily cat. They'll run more and I'll be surprised if they don't have a decent O. But I do think you are right, their D in fact may have been worse than ISU’s and probably was.
Chad
I went to the Nebraska spring game and I have a relative on the team so I will try and give my rational breakdown.
Offense: QB is/was a big question mark. Zach Lee looked good Saturday (so did LaTravis Washington), but the QB's were wearing green "hands off" jerseys so it wasn't a true test for them.
RB: Helu hurt his hamstring halfway through spring practice and was held out of the game as a precaution. Before that he was being billed as the Huskers best offensive player. He bulked up to 220 and tested out faster than ever before. Castille lost about 15 lbs and looked quicker at the game. Feel pretty good about those guys and they are probably the only 2 who will get playing time.
WR: Weak spot on the offense. Meno Holt and Niles Paul are expected to be the top 2 and they are average guys. Chris Brooks finally (he was a 4 star from same class as Lucky) looked good in spring game as well as freshman Antonio Bell. Still will be weak spot.
TE: Pretty good there. Mike McNeil had a good season last year and they have about 3 other guys (Dreu Young, Cotton, and Kyler Reed) who will split time as the other TE's getting time.
Line: Should be pretty good. Pretty much set at 4 of the 5 positions. RG has been an issue, so much so they moved Jacob Hickman (2 yr starting center) over to RG as an experiment during some scrimmage time. If they get someone to step up at RG and can keep Hickman at Center they could have one of the better lines in the Big 12.
DL: Suh is a beast and dominated what little he played during spring game. Barry Turner has a little ways to go to recover from his knee injury. Pierre Allen is looking good at other DE and I think Baker Steinkuhler will end up starting at the other DT over Jared Crick. Steinkulher was all over the place during spring game. He has freakish athletic talent, he just needs to get stronger.
LB: Very young here and unproven. Coaches think they will be okay here. They are definitley more athletic than they have been in the last 4 years or so, but still very young and unproven.
DB: Actually have a ton of depth here. Should be much improved. Last years problems in secondary were more a problem with busted assignments in zone coverage and not a lack of skill. Pelini has said the secondary is way ahead of where they were last year even during the end of the season.
Biggest Strength: On offense, it should be running game. Helu should have a monster season and look for Lee (He has good speed) to run quite a bit on zone reads. On defense it should be the D-line mainly because of Suh.
Biggest Weakness: Offense will be the receivers. They have a lot of posession type guys and no real game breakers. Defense will be the linebackers. They are athletic, but inexperienced.
Should be a pretty good season for the Huskers. I'm worried about going to Kansas. The last two times Nebraska has been to Lawrence it has been very ugly. However that was under idiot Callahan. Nebraska actually played well on the road last year (except for at OU) so I think they will go into Kansas and beat them. Plus I am not convinced Kansas is going to be that good. Their D as a whole and their O-line will be weak in my opinion.
Offense: QB is/was a big question mark. Zach Lee looked good Saturday (so did LaTravis Washington), but the QB's were wearing green "hands off" jerseys so it wasn't a true test for them.
RB: Helu hurt his hamstring halfway through spring practice and was held out of the game as a precaution. Before that he was being billed as the Huskers best offensive player. He bulked up to 220 and tested out faster than ever before. Castille lost about 15 lbs and looked quicker at the game. Feel pretty good about those guys and they are probably the only 2 who will get playing time.
WR: Weak spot on the offense. Meno Holt and Niles Paul are expected to be the top 2 and they are average guys. Chris Brooks finally (he was a 4 star from same class as Lucky) looked good in spring game as well as freshman Antonio Bell. Still will be weak spot.
TE: Pretty good there. Mike McNeil had a good season last year and they have about 3 other guys (Dreu Young, Cotton, and Kyler Reed) who will split time as the other TE's getting time.
Line: Should be pretty good. Pretty much set at 4 of the 5 positions. RG has been an issue, so much so they moved Jacob Hickman (2 yr starting center) over to RG as an experiment during some scrimmage time. If they get someone to step up at RG and can keep Hickman at Center they could have one of the better lines in the Big 12.
DL: Suh is a beast and dominated what little he played during spring game. Barry Turner has a little ways to go to recover from his knee injury. Pierre Allen is looking good at other DE and I think Baker Steinkuhler will end up starting at the other DT over Jared Crick. Steinkulher was all over the place during spring game. He has freakish athletic talent, he just needs to get stronger.
LB: Very young here and unproven. Coaches think they will be okay here. They are definitley more athletic than they have been in the last 4 years or so, but still very young and unproven.
DB: Actually have a ton of depth here. Should be much improved. Last years problems in secondary were more a problem with busted assignments in zone coverage and not a lack of skill. Pelini has said the secondary is way ahead of where they were last year even during the end of the season.
Biggest Strength: On offense, it should be running game. Helu should have a monster season and look for Lee (He has good speed) to run quite a bit on zone reads. On defense it should be the D-line mainly because of Suh.
Biggest Weakness: Offense will be the receivers. They have a lot of posession type guys and no real game breakers. Defense will be the linebackers. They are athletic, but inexperienced.
Should be a pretty good season for the Huskers. I'm worried about going to Kansas. The last two times Nebraska has been to Lawrence it has been very ugly. However that was under idiot Callahan. Nebraska actually played well on the road last year (except for at OU) so I think they will go into Kansas and beat them. Plus I am not convinced Kansas is going to be that good. Their D as a whole and their O-line will be weak in my opinion.
Also, I'm going on the record saying K-State will be terrible. They will not win a game in the Big 12 and could be one of the worst Big 12 teams in history along with many of the past Baylor teams.
I think Snyder is a good coach. He was a great one, but not sure how he will do this time around. He has inherited a terrible situation...again.
I think Snyder is a good coach. He was a great one, but not sure how he will do this time around. He has inherited a terrible situation...again.
Re: Iowa is cautiously optimistic...
Wow, Dodgerhawki....might be the most rational Hawk poster on the board!
I think the biggest potential problem for the Hawks is that they are losing, arguably, their 3 best players in Greene, King, and Kroul. Two things could be true: they were helped by their teammates a lot more than it seemed, or they made their teammates a lot better and carried the team last year. If the former is true, I could see them approaching 8 or 9 wins (10 being absolute best case scenario) and if the latter is true, then it could be a very long year in IC.
Wow, Dodgerhawki....might be the most rational Hawk poster on the board!
I think the biggest potential problem for the Hawks is that they are losing, arguably, their 3 best players in Greene, King, and Kroul. Two things could be true: they were helped by their teammates a lot more than it seemed, or they made their teammates a lot better and carried the team last year. If the former is true, I could see them approaching 8 or 9 wins (10 being absolute best case scenario) and if the latter is true, then it could be a very long year in IC.
