[Husker] NU Has a "Poor Offense"

[Steve Reichenbach]

> Subject: [Husker] NU Has a "Poor Offense"
> Or so the Detroit News believes. Reading this piece, you get the
> impression that Michigan fans are less than enthused about the matchup.
> Let's hope their team feels the same. I would love to see them "mail it
> in" a la CU.
> http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051205/SPORTS0201/512050320/1004/SPORTS
> Dick Karre
> dkarre at comcast.net

Well, it isn't as if they can't support the chacterization of the
Husker offense as "poor".

NU ranks #95/117 in total offense.
NU ranks #76/117 in scoring offense (in some part thanks to the defense).
NU ranks #110/117 in rushing offense.
NU ranks #46/117 in passing offense.
It wasn't because of the difficult schedule.  NU's schedule difficulty
ranked #47/117.  Michigan's ranked #2 behind Oklahoma.

Sagarin ranks Michigan #7 and NU #39.  On a neutral field, Sagarin favors
Michigan by more than 15pts.

I took some ribbing from friends over to watch the game over my
contention before kickoff that NU could be CU.  I felt much better
about NU's chances against CU than against Michigan.  Michigan is
likely the best team that NU will play this year, so NU is 7-4
against teams not as good as Michigan.  If NU plays as well as they
did against CU, it should be a great game but I think it will take
that sort of effort for NU to be competitive.

I agree that NU might have an important psychological edge.  Michigan
has to come back from a loss to rival Ohio State, a disappointing
season overall, and a disappointment in the bowl.  NU beat its rival,
had a somewhat disappointing season but better than last year and
finished with a couple of wins, and is very happy with the Alamo
Bowl.