[NU Sports] Football Talk

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

I'm all for football talk anytime of the year ... and also thankful that I'm in Arizona and not the midwest with that heat wave plus humidity. :)

I agree our schedule is favorable (missing OSU and UW - though that became a heck of a lot less favorable a few months ago) ... but we still have a pretty tough road to Indy (OSU's downfall actually hurt us there, as it would have been better if they had been up on their game to give UNL another loss). I like that most people are overlooking us in the HuskerHype ... though I wish people weren't overlooking Iowa as much. :)

Breaking down our schedule ...

FIRST THIRD
* The opener at Boston College is the typical NU non conference trap game - I hope Fitz has cured us of this habit, but that game could go either way. Hopefully Persa will be back at full strength.
* Other than that, we should be able to beat EIU and Army for a 3-0 (or 2-1 at worst) start
* The Illinois game could be big on Oct. 1 ... thankfully we have a by week to prepare. We owe them one for Wrigley last year and although it's early for a rivlary game (thanks Big Ten STUPID DIVISIONS for that), hopefully we get up for the game and start the league on a winning note.

SECOND THIRD
* Here comes the big stretch that will make or break the season ... hopefully we learned from last year. In 2010, we had Purdue and MSU at home for a huge homestand - we came in 5-0 and left 5-2 with two games we could have won but gave away (especially that Purdue game under the lights).
* This year, it's a three game mega-stretch, all under the prime time lights with two at home: Michigan, Penn State and @ Iowa. Michigan will be better than under RichRod, Iowa will be gunning for us and PSU is the only team not wearing red and white that I can legitimately see in Indianapolis for the title game. This is where Persa needs to shine and the team needs to rise to the moment at home. If we can make it out of this stretch at 2-1, then we could be in for a special season. Our season comes down to the 15 days between Oct. 8 and 22 ... are we ready for prime time?
* The last game in October at Indiana could be a doughnut game if we come off the night stretch strong and are looking ahead to Lincoln - but we should win.

FINAL THIRD
* The November opener at Nebraska is the one game on our schedule I'm having a hard time expecting victory with ... even if the pre-OSU collapse scenario where I could see us in Indy, it still had us slipping up in Lincoln but UNL losing one more league game than us with those games at Wisky, PSU and the Bucknuts at home. Still, if we come out of the prime time stretch strong, it could be a big attention game for NU.
* Rice and Minnesota at home are must-wins ... which along with gottawins EIU, Army, Indiana and Illinois are the six wins necessary for a bowl berth. Gotta win the gottawins!
* The finale is the big ??? of the season ... mostly because Sparty could come into that game playing for a big bowl if they have a magical run like last year ... or (more likely) beat up after a tough schedule and breaks that didn't go their way this year (and we all know that when the going gets tough, Sparty folds). We've struggled with MSU lately, but it's not out of our reach - especially if it's not a big deal to MSU.

If healthy, I love our chances in just about every game with Persa and our returning players ... I'd like to see a bit more solid running game and defensive help (as always), but I think we're right there with Iowa to challenge for a spot in Indy if the Huskers slip up because they're not in Big XII land anymore and have to show up every week. :) I'm hoping 10-2, but we'll see how that opener at BC goes before worrying about the 15 days in October. In bowl terms, the league will likely get its two B(C)S teams, and with OSU out of the mix, that should bump everyone up a notch. I'm thinking somewhere in Florida???

As for the league, I don't think Nebraska's cakewalk will be as easy as the experts think (don't they remember PSU's arrival in the league they were supposed to dominate???), but it sure looks like the opening night Husker-Badger game will be repeated in Indianapolis. The league schedulemakers did do something right, though, as PSU-Wisconsin and Iowa-UNL are both set for the final weekend and both games likely match up the top two teams in the divisions. I just can't wait for all the great matchups yearlong with the new league. It's gonna be fun!

GO CATS!!!
-SjT
 
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STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!! GEAUX SAINTS!!!
Super Bowl XLIV Champions!
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