Dreaming of the perfect storm

[Deeringfish]

This year has the potential to be a year when NU makes a huge splash in the world of college sports.

We all have our concerns about how good the Football team will be but much of what I read is how many teams are in transition and how our D is really looking pretty solid. All it would take is a slight improvement on offense and somebody to fair catch on special teams to get us into a winnable bowl. We continue to recruit well and should expect to return to a higher level of success.

BB really could make the NCAA this year. Collins is making a big splash in recruiting and we really could make the Tournament for the first time, a big story all by it self.

We really should see shovels in the ground for the athletic facility. The story line can be spun many different ways (and has) but having a showcase facility will be news and where most of the talk is about football, I'm already hearing speculation about how BB will get some new spaces as the shuffle and expansion develops.

If all this comes together, there should be some great energy for recruiting to continue the momentum.

Go Cats!!!!

 

[NJCat83588]

This year has the potential to be a year when NU makes a huge splash in the world of college sports.

We all have our concerns about how good the Football team will be but much of what I read is how many teams are in transition and how our D is really looking pretty solid. All it would take is a slight improvement on offense and somebody to fair catch on special teams to get us into a winnable bowl. We continue to recruit well and should expect to return to a higher level of success.

BB really could make the NCAA this year. Collins is making a big splash in recruiting and we really could make the Tournament for the first time, a big story all by it self.

We really should see shovels in the ground for the athletic facility. The story line can be spun many different ways (and has) but having a showcase facility will be news and where most of the talk is about football, I'm already hearing speculation about how BB will get some new spaces as the shuffle and expansion develops.

If all this comes together, there should be some great energy for recruiting to continue the momentum.

Go Cats!!!!

1) I am very optimistic about basketball. NU should be a bubble team, and even if they don't make it this will continue to strengthen Collins' recruiting.

2) I think shovels will go in the ground in the spring of 2016, so if you mean "school year" you will be correct. This will be a game changer for NU sports.

3) I have no optimism around NU football this season. Best case is probably a 7-5 record, and a minor bowl. Realistically all we can hope for is a 6-6 or 5-7 record which doesn't create any buzz for football. Recruiting continues to be in the second half of the improving Big 10, and won't lift-off until the Lakeside facility construction begins.

 

[Turk]

This year has the potential to be a year when NU makes a huge splash in the world of college sports.

We all have our concerns about how good the Football team will be but much of what I read is how many teams are in transition and how our D is really looking pretty solid. All it would take is a slight improvement on offense and somebody to fair catch on special teams to get us into a winnable bowl. We continue to recruit well and should expect to return to a higher level of success.

BB really could make the NCAA this year. Collins is making a big splash in recruiting and we really could make the Tournament for the first time, a big story all by it self.

We really should see shovels in the ground for the athletic facility. The story line can be spun many different ways (and has) but having a showcase facility will be news and where most of the talk is about football, I'm already hearing speculation about how BB will get some new spaces as the shuffle and expansion develops.

If all this comes together, there should be some great energy for recruiting to continue the momentum.

Go Cats!!!!

Shovels? Do you think? It's only been 4 years of the yearly announcement of shovels [not surprisingly right at season ticket time], but don't mention it because the shills on here will call you a bunch of bad names and claim they have 'confirmation' that shovels are happening soon.

I'm hopeful, as yourself, about both programs. But I think both programs are a few years away yet, especially the NCAA's in BB, although I wouldn't be surprised if we make a run and nab an NIT bid this year.

As far as football, this year's football team will have less talent and experience than the last two football teams. That doesn't necessarily spell doom though, The 2012 team didn't have all the experience in the world but won 10 games.

I think Fitz and his staff are doing a helluva job recruiting. The staff needs to step up, as far as actual coaching though. Nevertheless, I'm always hopeful at this time of year and I wouldn't be surprised if we make it to a bowl, even with a difficult OOC schedule.

The big thing in football is playing in the Big Ten again. I think recruiting will continue to spike and that we have seen a shift from the SEC towards the BIG. Thank OSU because he has built a fortress over there that may rival the Alabama domination of the years before. Toss in MSU which has built a great program as well. It's going to make our conference great again, but this time, I think NU is coming along for the ride and won't be left behind its greatness.

 

[hdhntr1]

Shovels? Do you think? It's only been 4 years of the yearly announcement of shovels [not surprisingly right at season ticket time], but don't mention it because the shills on here will call you a bunch of bad names and claim they have 'confirmation' that shovels are happening soon.

I'm hopeful, as yourself, about both programs. But I think both programs are a few years away yet, especially the NCAA's in BB, although I wouldn't be surprised if we make a run and nab an NIT bid this year.

As far as football, this year's football team will have less talent and experience than the last two football teams. That doesn't necessarily spell doom though, The 2012 team didn't have all the experience in the world but won 10 games.

I think Fitz and his staff are doing a helluva job recruiting. The staff needs to step up, as far as actual coaching though. Nevertheless, I'm always hopeful at this time of year and I wouldn't be surprised if we make it to a bowl, even with a difficult OOC schedule.

The big thing in football is playing in the Big Ten again. I think recruiting will continue to spike and that we have seen a shift from the SEC towards the BIG. Thank OSU because he has built a fortress over there that may rival the Alabama domination of the years before. Toss in MSU which has built a great program as well. It's going to make our conference great again, but this time, I think NU is coming along for the ride and won't be left behind its greatness.

We probably have similar talent to the last couple years (maybe earlier in their development than in years past) but in the last two years we could not get or keep that talent on the field. It does not do you much good to have talent if you cannot get it on the field. If we can be less prone to injuries, we could do pretty well.

 

[Turk]

We probably have similar talent to the last couple years (maybe earlier in their development than in years past) but in the last two years we could not get or keep that talent on the field. It does not do you much good to have talent if you cannot get it on the field. If we can be less prone to injuries, we could do pretty well.

as awful as last year was, we still were competitive and won 5 games. Thus, I think 5 games is the ground zero point, which is a helluva lot better than previous 'ground zero' points where this program couldn't win 2 games a season. We ought to improve upon the 5 wins, imo, based on what I saw last year.

 

[MRCat95]

3) I have no optimism around NU football this season. Best case is probably a 7-5 record, and a minor bowl. Realistically all we can hope for is a 6-6 or 5-7 record which doesn't create any buzz for football. Recruiting continues to be in the second half of the improving Big 10, and won't lift-off until the Lakeside facility construction begins.

We were horrible offensively a year ago (and snake bitten with injuries) and still won 5 games (including 3 B1G games). I can hope for much better than 6-6 or 7-5 and still be in the realm of "realistic hope." If our offense improves from "horrible" to "barely average" and our defense is as strong as it was a year ago (and I expect improvement), we could win 8 or 9+. Experience is highly overrated when the experienced guys you have cannot make plays or don't fit into the system. I'd take youthful play-makers (who will make mistakes) over experience any day of the week in those circumstances.

There are not a lot of highly unlikely things that have to happen to be a vastly improved football team this fall.

 

[hdhntr1]

We were horrible offensively a year ago (and snake bitten with injuries) and still won 5 games (including 3 B1G games). I can hope for much better than 6-6 or 7-5 and still be in the realm of "realistic hope." If our offense improves from "horrible" to "barely average" and our defense is as strong as it was a year ago (and I expect improvement), we could win 8 or 9+. Experience is highly overrated when the experienced guys you have cannot make plays or don't fit into the system. I'd take youthful play-makers (who will make mistakes) over experience any day of the week in those circumstances.

There are not a lot of highly unlikely things that have to happen to be a vastly improved football team this fall.

I do not see it taking a lot either. OL improvement. While that unit is replacing a couple guys, it also underperformed so I hope for improvement with new guys. QB while on paper, our QB situation should have been better last year, TS was not healthy. Even though our QB will have limited experience, if he is healthy, it is likely an area of improvement,. WR, we lost our top guy before the season started and others along the way. Other guys underperformed and our our 3rd or 4th option became our first until he too went down. Would not take much to be an improvement. RB, we likely have more depth but performance would still depend on OL. We also do not have the distraction of losing VM right before the season started. Only have to improve a little to realy improve our O.

D will likely depend on the recovery of our DTs and again staying healthy.

On the other hand, we do have a harder schedule (at least OOC but we really did not do anything with it last year. It would not be hard to improve enough to surprise some people.

 

[MRCat95]

I do not see it taking a lot either. OL improvement. While that unit is replacing a couple guys, it also underperformed so I hope for improvement with new guys.

With a QB that is a legitimate threat in the zone-read game, the OL could look much improved even if it isn't. When a defense has to respect the QB as a running back, that will give Justin Jackson a few more milliseconds and that's all he needs to bust more big plays. This can turn a lot of 1-3 yard gainers into 10+ gainers, and the cumulative effect of that over a full game is huge. The QB doesn't even have to carry the ball that much to change the game. He just needs to be a credible threat. That being said, yes, OL improvement would be huge.

QB while on paper, our QB situation should have been better last year, TS was not healthy. Even though our QB will have limited experience, if he is healthy, it is likely an area of improvement,.

TS was good at many things, but his biggest weaknesses (even when healthy) was an inability to make a play with the ball in his hands and poor pocket presence. These are the two skill sets our poor OL and WR play a year ago made most indispensable. If our QBs are better in those two areas, they could fall short of TS in many other areas and still be a better fit for the offense and improve productivity.

WR, we lost our top guy before the season started and others along the way. Other guys underperformed and our our 3rd or 4th option became our first until he too went down. Would not take much to be an improvement.

This group was a complete mess last years with an insane number of injuries, (what I thought were) proven veterans playing like freshman, young guys totally blowing their opportunity when it came early due to injury. Last year was the worst season I've seen for an NU WR group for at least 20 years. The bar is incredibly low here, and I don't even see how it is possible for this group not to improve from last year. If we discover a guy or two that can occasionally turn a 3-5 yard dink pass into a 10-15 yard gainer, that would be great. Perhaps a Soloman Vault could be one of those type of guys.

RB, we likely have more depth but performance would still depend on OL. We also do not have the distraction of losing VM right before the season started. Only have to improve a little to realy improve our O.

It's amazing how much VM popping 2-3 big gainers per game in 2012 could make an otherwise unproductive offense appear efficient or even potent at times.. Many of the problems that plagued the offense in 2013 and 2014 were present in 2012. Having a play-maker change field position a few times per game really masks inconsistency. Hopefully Justin Jackson and a few of the other young guys can start making some big plays, so the offense doesn't have to convert 7-8 third downs on a series to score a TD.

D will likely depend on the recovery of our DTs and again staying healthy.

I think we'll be fine here even if we have to rely on some of the younger guys more than we like. I think this defense could be really good. The secondary looks very deep and talented beyond just the starters. The DE group is very deep and full of play-makers with complimentary skills. I really like Anthony Walker, and I like the way our young LBs looked in the spring. The D could be special.

On the other hand, we do have a harder schedule (at least OOC but we really did not do anything with it last year. It would not be hard to improve enough to surprise some people.

We'll be at least 2-2 in non-conference like last year. We essentially swap Cal and Notre Dame for Stanford and Duke. Ball State is no Northern Illinois. Our OOC schedule is arguably a push versus 2014. We play the exact same conference teams we played in 2014. We just switch the home and away for each. We get Stanford at home in the first game of the season at an 11:00 AM game. If that can't focus an NU team in the off season, I don't know what can. Duke loses a number of very good players to graduation, so they could easily regress a bit. They won 9 games a year ago, but they beat a lot of bad teams. Their only good win was against Georgia Tech.

All of our B1G home games are very winnable, and we've played pretty well @ Nebraska and Michigan in recent years. Wisconsin doesn't scare me, and we beat them last year (when they had Melvin Gordon). Both Nebraska and Wisconsin are breaking in new coaching staffs, so that could put them behind schedule. We don't play Ohio State or Michigan State in cross-over games. (Wisconsin and Iowa are the other two West teams that skip both Ohio State or Michigan State, which makes our games against each of them that much more important.)

In short, we have a comparable schedule to last year, but the two more traditional West division power teams (UNL and UW) are breaking in new coaches and PSU is still living with the consequences of scholarships reductions and recruiting challenges several years ago.

9/5 Stanford (11:00)
9/12 E Illinois (3:00)
9/19 @Duke (11:30)
9/26 Ball State (7:00)
10/3 Minnesota (TBD)
10/10 @Michigan (2:30)
10/17 Iowa (11:00)
10/24 @Nebraska (TBD)
10/31 Bye (TBD)
11/7 Penn State (TBD)
11/14 Purdue (TBD)
11/21 @Wisconsin (TBD)
11/28 @Illinois-Soldier Field (TBD)

 

[Turk]

With a QB that is a legitimate threat in the zone-read game, the OL could look much improved even if it isn't. When a defense has to respect the QB as a running back, that will give Justin Jackson a few more milliseconds and that's all he needs to bust more big plays. This can turn a lot of 1-3 yard gainers into 10+ gainers, and the cumulative effect of that over a full game is huge. The QB doesn't even have to carry the ball that much to change the game. He just needs to be a credible threat. That being said, yes, OL improvement would be huge.



TS was good at many things, but his biggest weaknesses (even when healthy) was an inability to make a play with the ball in his hands and poor pocket presence. These are the two skill sets our poor OL and WR play a year ago made most indispensable. If our QBs are better in those two areas, they could fall short of TS in many other areas and still be a better fit for the offense and improve productivity.



This group was a complete mess last years with an insane number of injuries, (what I thought were) proven veterans playing like freshman, young guys totally blowing their opportunity when it came early due to injury. Last year was the worst season I've seen for an NU WR group for at least 20 years. The bar is incredibly low here, and I don't even see how it is possible for this group not to improve from last year. If we discover a guy or two that can occasionally turn a 3-5 yard dink pass into a 10-15 yard gainer, that would be great. Perhaps a Soloman Vault could be one of those type of guys.



It's amazing how much VM popping 2-3 big gainers per game in 2012 could make an otherwise unproductive offense appear efficient or even potent at times.. Many of the problems that plagued the offense in 2013 and 2014 were present in 2012. Having a play-maker change field position a few times per game really masks inconsistency. Hopefully Justin Jackson and a few of the other young guys can start making some big plays, so the offense doesn't have to convert 7-8 third downs on a series to score a TD.



I think we'll be fine here even if we have to rely on some of the younger guys more than we like. I think this defense could be really good. The secondary looks very deep and talented beyond just the starters. The DE group is very deep and full of play-makers with complimentary skills. I really like Anthony Walker, and I like the way our young LBs looked in the spring. The D could be special.



We'll be at least 2-2 in non-conference like last year. We essentially swap Cal and Notre Dame for Stanford and Duke. Ball State is no Northern Illinois. Our OOC schedule is arguably a push versus 2014. We play the exact same conference teams we played in 2014. We just switch the home and away for each. We get Stanford at home in the first game of the season at an 11:00 AM game. If that can't focus an NU team in the off season, I don't know what can. Duke loses a number of very good players to graduation, so they could easily regress a bit. They won 9 games a year ago, but they beat a lot of bad teams. Their only good win was against Georgia Tech.

All of our B1G home games are very winnable, and we've played pretty well @ Nebraska and Michigan in recent years. Wisconsin doesn't scare me, and we beat them last year (when they had Melvin Gordon). Both Nebraska and Wisconsin are breaking in new coaching staffs, so that could put them behind schedule. We don't play Ohio State or Michigan State in cross-over games. (Wisconsin and Iowa are the other two West teams that skip both Ohio State or Michigan State, which makes our games against each of them that much more important.)

In short, we have a comparable schedule to last year, but the two more traditional West division power teams (UNL and UW) are breaking in new coaches and PSU is still living with the consequences of scholarships reductions and recruiting challenges several years ago.

9/5 Stanford (11:00)
9/12 E Illinois (3:00)
9/19 @Duke (11:30)
9/26 Ball State (7:00)
10/3 Minnesota (TBD)
10/10 @Michigan (2:30)
10/17 Iowa (11:00)
10/24 @Nebraska (TBD)
10/31 Bye (TBD)
11/7 Penn State (TBD)
11/14 Purdue (TBD)
11/21 @Wisconsin (TBD)
11/28 @Illinois-Soldier Field (TBD)

Although PSU is dealing with consequences, it was apparent to me that Franklin is a helluva coach and has turned that program around in short order. I would be shocked if they didn't slide up another notch this year with a better bowl game.

That said, our players tasted beating PSU, and the truth is we should have beaten them by a lot more than the beating we administered last year. And I know this is just a feeling but it seems to me that Fitz has Franklin's number. In fact, if there are two sure wins on a Fitz team, it's a win against Notre Dame, and a win against Franklin. Sure, there isn't much to measure against but then again I couldn't explain a superior OSU team by Earl Bruce get beat up by lesser Michigan team yearly.

I mean, by all means, Franklin's Vandy team was much more talented than our team when we beat them. Vandy goes on to win 7 games in a row in the SEC and a bowl game. Then we simply crushed PSU last year. I say we keep it going.

 

[Deeringfish]

With a QB that is a legitimate threat in the zone-read game, the OL could look much improved even if it isn't. When a defense has to respect the QB as a running back, that will give Justin Jackson a few more milliseconds and that's all he needs to bust more big plays. This can turn a lot of 1-3 yard gainers into 10+ gainers, and the cumulative effect of that over a full game is huge. The QB doesn't even have to carry the ball that much to change the game. He just needs to be a credible threat. That being said, yes, OL improvement would be huge.



TS was good at many things, but his biggest weaknesses (even when healthy) was an inability to make a play with the ball in his hands and poor pocket presence. These are the two skill sets our poor OL and WR play a year ago made most indispensable. If our QBs are better in those two areas, they could fall short of TS in many other areas and still be a better fit for the offense and improve productivity.



This group was a complete mess last years with an insane number of injuries, (what I thought were) proven veterans playing like freshman, young guys totally blowing their opportunity when it came early due to injury. Last year was the worst season I've seen for an NU WR group for at least 20 years. The bar is incredibly low here, and I don't even see how it is possible for this group not to improve from last year. If we discover a guy or two that can occasionally turn a 3-5 yard dink pass into a 10-15 yard gainer, that would be great. Perhaps a Soloman Vault could be one of those type of guys.



It's amazing how much VM popping 2-3 big gainers per game in 2012 could make an otherwise unproductive offense appear efficient or even potent at times.. Many of the problems that plagued the offense in 2013 and 2014 were present in 2012. Having a play-maker change field position a few times per game really masks inconsistency. Hopefully Justin Jackson and a few of the other young guys can start making some big plays, so the offense doesn't have to convert 7-8 third downs on a series to score a TD.



I think we'll be fine here even if we have to rely on some of the younger guys more than we like. I think this defense could be really good. The secondary looks very deep and talented beyond just the starters. The DE group is very deep and full of play-makers with complimentary skills. I really like Anthony Walker, and I like the way our young LBs looked in the spring. The D could be special.



We'll be at least 2-2 in non-conference like last year. We essentially swap Cal and Notre Dame for Stanford and Duke. Ball State is no Northern Illinois. Our OOC schedule is arguably a push versus 2014. We play the exact same conference teams we played in 2014. We just switch the home and away for each. We get Stanford at home in the first game of the season at an 11:00 AM game. If that can't focus an NU team in the off season, I don't know what can. Duke loses a number of very good players to graduation, so they could easily regress a bit. They won 9 games a year ago, but they beat a lot of bad teams. Their only good win was against Georgia Tech.

All of our B1G home games are very winnable, and we've played pretty well @ Nebraska and Michigan in recent years. Wisconsin doesn't scare me, and we beat them last year (when they had Melvin Gordon). Both Nebraska and Wisconsin are breaking in new coaching staffs, so that could put them behind schedule. We don't play Ohio State or Michigan State in cross-over games. (Wisconsin and Iowa are the other two West teams that skip both Ohio State or Michigan State, which makes our games against each of them that much more important.)

In short, we have a comparable schedule to last year, but the two more traditional West division power teams (UNL and UW) are breaking in new coaches and PSU is still living with the consequences of scholarships reductions and recruiting challenges several years ago.

9/5 Stanford (11:00)
9/12 E Illinois (3:00)
9/19 @Duke (11:30)
9/26 Ball State (7:00)
10/3 Minnesota (TBD)
10/10 @Michigan (2:30)
10/17 Iowa (11:00)
10/24 @Nebraska (TBD)
10/31 Bye (TBD)
11/7 Penn State (TBD)
11/14 Purdue (TBD)
11/21 @Wisconsin (TBD)
11/28 @Illinois-Soldier Field (TBD)

The only team that has a bye before us this year is Wisconsin so at least that curse has lifted.

We could be a trap game for Michigan. The are on the road late (8:00 Eastern) at Maryland the week before and play MSU the week after. I could see them losing focus on us between those two games

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Although PSU is dealing with consequences, it was apparent to me that Franklin is a helluva coach and has turned that program around in short order. I would be shocked if they didn't slide up another notch this year with a better bowl game.

That said, our players tasted beating PSU, and the truth is we should have beaten them by a lot more than the beating we administered last year. And I know this is just a feeling but it seems to me that Fitz has Franklin's number. In fact, if there are two sure wins on a Fitz team, it's a win against Notre Dame, and a win against Franklin. Sure, there isn't much to measure against but then again I couldn't explain a superior OSU team by Earl Bruce get beat up by lesser Michigan team yearly.

I mean, by all means, Franklin's Vandy team was much more talented than our team when we beat them. Vandy goes on to win 7 games in a row in the SEC and a bowl game. Then we simply crushed PSU last year. I say we keep it going.

I personally think that Franklin is much more flash and substance than he is a good solid ballcoach. To me, he has built a house of cards that took advantage of some fortuitious scheduling in the SEC to vault himself to a premier B1G job. I suspect that his success will begin to wane pretty significantly if he doesn't have the sheer talent of Hackenberg to cover up for some poor coaching and play elsewhere on the field. The PSU OL was absolutely atrocious last year.

For instance, in 2012 (when we beat Vanderbilt 23-13), the Commodores went on a four game SEC win streak (beating an Auburn team that went winless in the SEC, an Ole Miss team that went 3-5, a Kentucky team that went 0-8, and a Tennessee team that went ) that also included wins over a UMASS team that went 1-7 in the MAC and a Wake Forest team that went 3-5 in the ACC. He parlayed a sub-.500 SEC record into one of the higher-profile jobs in the B1G. It's incredible, really.

But then again, we know you won't let facts get in the way of a good argument.

 

[GlideCat]

The staff needs to step up, as far as actual coaching though.

Our coaching staff had some downs, definitely. But also some ups. Three other coaching staffs had the chance to look at Penn State game film without recognizing that PSU did not have an offensive line. Franklin did a very good job up to that point of masking his weakness. Our coaches saw the weakness and exploited it beautifully. Every coaching staff after us used the NU template for game-planning PSU.

That was good coaching.

 

[shakes3858]

The PSU OL was absolutely atrocious last year.

Are you crazy? Look at this:

Number 72 is throwing a picture perfect block. Look at the spacing of his feet. The pad height is incredible. He really got under #59 and drove him upward taking him out of the play completely. Incredibly talent players and most have had great coaching to make that happen.



PS: Sarcasms alert... although I think I was laying it on pretty thick.

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

We were horrible offensively a year ago (and snake bitten with injuries) and still won 5 games (including 3 B1G games). I can hope for much better than 6-6 or 7-5 and still be in the realm of "realistic hope." If our offense improves from "horrible" to "barely average" and our defense is as strong as it was a year ago (and I expect improvement), we could win 8 or 9+. Experience is highly overrated when the experienced guys you have cannot make plays or don't fit into the system. I'd take youthful play-makers (who will make mistakes) over experience any day of the week in those circumstances.

There are not a lot of highly unlikely things that have to happen to be a vastly improved football team this fall.

Mrcat, we will be very, very good this year! Just watched out bowl win on tv today! Do you know why we won? Mobile qb's won us that game,besides the four picks! Alviti and Thorsen will both get us more time to throw cuz of their legs. We will win ten games! I'm certain of it,as long as those two stay healthy!

 

[mybrotha]

We were horrible offensively a year ago (and snake bitten with injuries) and still won 5 games (including 3 B1G games). I can hope for much better than 6-6 or 7-5 and still be in the realm of "realistic hope." If our offense improves from "horrible" to "barely average" and our defense is as strong as it was a year ago (and I expect improvement), we could win 8 or 9+. Experience is highly overrated when the experienced guys you have cannot make plays or don't fit into the system. I'd take youthful play-makers (who will make mistakes) over experience any day of the week in those circumstances.

There are not a lot of highly unlikely things that have to happen to be a vastly improved football team this fall.

+1 Mr Cat This will be the fastest offensive team that we have put on the field for a long time and maybe ever for that matter. Anderson, Vault and Shuler can flat out fly. I also expect Roberts and Nagel to play as true freshman, so there will be even more speed. I also believe that Nagel will contribute quite a bit as J.J. did last year. Nagel is a winner who knows how to get open and catch the ball. There are clearly question marks, but I see no reason why we can't win 6 games this season. That said we need improvement everywhere except the corners, that also means that Fitz needs to improve as well. I just am still not confident in him as in "In Game" coach.

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

Way to go my brother! Love the optimism! We just need to stay healthy! Fits burned the guys out last year! Got to go back to the way we practiced several years ago.,focus on staying healthy

 

[hdhntr1]

Although PSU is dealing with consequences, it was apparent to me that Franklin is a helluva coach and has turned that program around in short order. I would be shocked if they didn't slide up another notch this year with a better bowl game.

That said, our players tasted beating PSU, and the truth is we should have beaten them by a lot more than the beating we administered last year. And I know this is just a feeling but it seems to me that Fitz has Franklin's number. In fact, if there are two sure wins on a Fitz team, it's a win against Notre Dame, and a win against Franklin. Sure, there isn't much to measure against but then again I couldn't explain a superior OSU team by Earl Bruce get beat up by lesser Michigan team yearly.

I mean, by all means, Franklin's Vandy team was much more talented than our team when we beat them. Vandy goes on to win 7 games in a row in the SEC and a bowl game. Then we simply crushed PSU last year. I say we keep it going.

While Franklin has shown to be a very good recruiter, coach not so much.

 

[JoeWildcat]

With a QB that is a legitimate threat in the zone-read game, the OL could look much improved even if it isn't. When a defense has to respect the QB as a running back, that will give Justin Jackson a few more milliseconds and that's all he needs to bust more big plays. This can turn a lot of 1-3 yard gainers into 10+ gainers, and the cumulative effect of that over a full game is huge. The QB doesn't even have to carry the ball that much to change the game. He just needs to be a credible threat. That being said, yes, OL improvement would be huge.



TS was good at many things, but his biggest weaknesses (even when healthy) was an inability to make a play with the ball in his hands and poor pocket presence. These are the two skill sets our poor OL and WR play a year ago made most indispensable. If our QBs are better in those two areas, they could fall short of TS in many other areas and still be a better fit for the offense and improve productivity.



This group was a complete mess last years with an insane number of injuries, (what I thought were) proven veterans playing like freshman, young guys totally blowing their opportunity when it came early due to injury. Last year was the worst season I've seen for an NU WR group for at least 20 years. The bar is incredibly low here, and I don't even see how it is possible for this group not to improve from last year. If we discover a guy or two that can occasionally turn a 3-5 yard dink pass into a 10-15 yard gainer, that would be great. Perhaps a Soloman Vault could be one of those type of guys.



It's amazing how much VM popping 2-3 big gainers per game in 2012 could make an otherwise unproductive offense appear efficient or even potent at times.. Many of the problems that plagued the offense in 2013 and 2014 were present in 2012. Having a play-maker change field position a few times per game really masks inconsistency. Hopefully Justin Jackson and a few of the other young guys can start making some big plays, so the offense doesn't have to convert 7-8 third downs on a series to score a TD.



I think we'll be fine here even if we have to rely on some of the younger guys more than we like. I think this defense could be really good. The secondary looks very deep and talented beyond just the starters. The DE group is very deep and full of play-makers with complimentary skills. I really like Anthony Walker, and I like the way our young LBs looked in the spring. The D could be special.



We'll be at least 2-2 in non-conference like last year. We essentially swap Cal and Notre Dame for Stanford and Duke. Ball State is no Northern Illinois. Our OOC schedule is arguably a push versus 2014. We play the exact same conference teams we played in 2014. We just switch the home and away for each. We get Stanford at home in the first game of the season at an 11:00 AM game. If that can't focus an NU team in the off season, I don't know what can. Duke loses a number of very good players to graduation, so they could easily regress a bit. They won 9 games a year ago, but they beat a lot of bad teams. Their only good win was against Georgia Tech.

All of our B1G home games are very winnable, and we've played pretty well @ Nebraska and Michigan in recent years. Wisconsin doesn't scare me, and we beat them last year (when they had Melvin Gordon). Both Nebraska and Wisconsin are breaking in new coaching staffs, so that could put them behind schedule. We don't play Ohio State or Michigan State in cross-over games. (Wisconsin and Iowa are the other two West teams that skip both Ohio State or Michigan State, which makes our games against each of them that much more important.)

In short, we have a comparable schedule to last year, but the two more traditional West division power teams (UNL and UW) are breaking in new coaches and PSU is still living with the consequences of scholarships reductions and recruiting challenges several years ago.

9/5 Stanford (11:00)
9/12 E Illinois (3:00)
9/19 @Duke (11:30)
9/26 Ball State (7:00)
10/3 Minnesota (TBD)
10/10 @Michigan (2:30)
10/17 Iowa (11:00)
10/24 @Nebraska (TBD)
10/31 Bye (TBD)
11/7 Penn State (TBD)
11/14 Purdue (TBD)
11/21 @Wisconsin (TBD)
11/28 @Illinois-Soldier Field (TBD)

 

[JoeWildcat]

Thanks, MRCat95; your comments have brightened up my day. I thought 8-9 wins this year would not be unrealistic, but after seeing some other folks' comments, I was starting to think I was delusional. When we had a reasonably healthy QB last year we looked pretty good. As long as we can stay healthier than last year, I think this team will go bowling ...easily.

 

[lou v]

Way to go my brother! Love the optimism! We just need to stay healthy! Fits burned the guys out last year! Got to go back to the way we practiced several years ago.,focus on staying healthy

This may be a message board first: Wrassler misspelled Fitz. I don't know if Turk ever did that. I mean, it's only four letters long.

 

[shakes3858]

This may be a message board first: Wrassler misspelled Fitz. I don't know if Turk ever did that. I mean, it's only four letters long.

While I hate to defend the guy, autocorrect will do that type of thing.

 

[NJCat83588]

This may be a message board first: Wrassler misspelled Fitz. I don't know if Turk ever did that. I mean, it's only four letters long.

Look at the bright side: he got 75% of the letters correct!

 

[DaCat]

If the ball bounces right for us, starting with injuries, then I can see an 8 win season. A QB who can minimize the mistakes and allows our playmakers -- JJ, AA, Shuler, CJ, etc. -- to do their thing on offense will go a long ways to making a successful season. Defense is solid, as long as the interior line can recover from injuries and get back to form -- Kuhar, McEvilly, Robbins, Chapman -- these guys when healthy are pretty damn good.