Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Big Red Roundtable: Midway through 2008 Edition

HuskerGuy has called together another Big Red Roundtable; not sure who's all going to show up this time. But I'll bite:

How do you see the Huskers finishing the 2008 season? Final win loss/record?
I originally said 8-4 or more likely 9-3. Well, at 3-3 and a trip to Norman, 8-4 looks like the best case scenario. It might not be unreasonable either, especially if Nebraska takes care of business this week against Iowa State. Baylor is much improved, but that game's in Lincoln. So is Kansas. But the season closes out with Ron Prince's final home game and Colorado, who has lost badly to every decent team they've played. So I'll go 7-5.

What is the most disappointing aspect of NU's performance in the first half of the season? Lack of a running game? Offensive inconsistency? Penalties?
Defense is the thing I'm most disappointed in. Yeah, defense was absolutely horrible last season, but I really had hoped they'd at least be mediocre. So far, they've merely upgraded to bad. Penalties have also been disappointing. Offensive inconsistency is actually better than last year, when we went 7 quarters without scoring a touchdown against Missouri and Oklahoma State, then went nearly 60 minutes without a touchdown against A&M and Texas.

Through 6 games, what do you think of the defense coming off of last year's debacle? Have they improved more or less than you thought they would?
Well, gee...I think I just answered that. The defensive line has shown significant improvement from last year, when they were barely a speed bump for opposing offenses. But the secondary continues to be an ongoing puzzle. I think we've got athletes, but so far, only in-state walk-ons seem to be able to buy into the scheme.

With the reality that the Big 12 may now be as tough as the SEC, how does that bode for Nebraska's attempt to regain it's former status? How long of an uphill climb do we have to re-join the leaders of the conference?
Everything is cyclical in college football. Quarterbacks like Chase Daniel and Graham Harrell are gone after this season. This may sound weird coming from me, but it all starts with recruiting. Let me explain: the last four years, we've been told that we need to recruit stars. We all can see how well that's worked out. Most importantly, it'll take time to coach 'em up and develop them. How long will it take? Count on it taking three or four years before we'll know for sure if Bo Pelini is the right guy...then we'll have an idea how long it'll be to join the upper echelon. If Bo really is the right guy, we'll probably know sooner than later.

Most disappointing/surprising players for NU thus far?
Cody Glenn has been the most surprising player; he's a playmaker on defense. (I've long felt he was a playmaker on offense who spent most of his time before in the doghouse of the previous regime.) Disappointment? Early on, I'd have to go with Larry Asante, though if his play against Texas Tech is any indication, that might be a little premature.

Others participating? HuskerFaithful

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