http://sportspolls.usatoday.com/ncaa/football/polls/coaches-poll/
Behind Iowa #15, Wisconsin #27 but ahead of NE #38 in the West.
Behind Iowa #15, Wisconsin #27 but ahead of NE #38 in the West.
NU number 34 in Coaches Preseason Poll
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Franklin couldn't even see fit to justify voting himself in! Though it looks like Kevin Wilson was not so intellectually honest with his 25 vote haha...
Said in his best wrassler voice........
We return a lot of play makers from a 10-3 squad. Do I expect the Cats to match that mark in 2016? I don't (the schedule is pretty brutal), but when you see the likes of Louisville and Washington in the poll, I think there was a bit of a snub on the part of the coaches. Ditto for Washington State. Also surprised not to see a single vote for our first opponent, Western Michigan.
On the flip side, the program tends to perform better when outside expectations are tempered. So...
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My concern is that NU lost 3 of its best playmakers in Vitale, Lowry and Gibson. These guys made crucial plays to save the NU bacon. Hopefully the DE's will step up as will the WRs to offset these losses.
You think THAT is a slap in the face. What about MAC behemoth W. Michigan getting zero votes. what a travesty! You think a bunch of people voted for Western Kentucky by accident?
/s <= Sarcasm font.
I get what you are saying but I don't remember a year when we had so many highly regarded guys coming back.
I concur. Additionally, the guys replacing Lowry and Gibson have a wealth of in-game experience (and physical talent). It's not like we're dealing with unknown quantities.
Losing Vitale (and his amazing versatility) certainly hurts, but Dickerson and Taylor have the potential to be at least serviceable.
When the day comes that NU is truly and definitely a National Title contender (and I hope it will come someday), I'll be upset about a #34 ranking, because it could cost the Cats a chance at the championship as it has too many teams to pass (though an undefeated Big 10 team - even NU - should be able to get in the Top 4 no matter where it starts).
Until then, I'll just say what I always say - win and the rankings take care of themselves. If NU starts out 4-0, they'll be ranked. If they start out 2-2, they won't deserve it anyway.
Until then, I'll just say what I always say - win and the rankings take care of themselves. If NU starts out 4-0, they'll be ranked. If they start out 2-2, they won't deserve it anyway.
This is true, but being ranked gets you more exposure which has several benefits.
Even though the 'Cats tanked in once conference play began in 2013, it's hard to imagine that the College GameDay/ABC appearance didn't help the staff's recruitment efforts. It would sure be nice if NU were ranked going into the night game vs Nebraska. Win that and you get a likely battle between two top 20 teams in vs Iowa City, etc.
With WMU, ISU, and Duke to lead off, it's hard to imagine a ranking prior to the BIG portion of the schedule, short of early chaos in the polls.
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I wasn't as well informed in the days before my Rivals membership. Honestly that was a while ago.
Huh? Odenigbo and Washington have primarily been pass-rush specialists while Gaziano and Goens haven't played a snap of collegiate football.
I wasn't talking about depth. We all know that's an unknown at DE.
I was referring to NJ's post about the fears of losing vetern playmakers in Lowry and Gibson. My counter was that we return several playmakers (Harris, Godwin, Walker) and are plugging in two veteran guys in Ifeadi and Xavier who have gotten snaps since they were freshman. Both have made an impact on the field before, even if the sample size isn't as big as one would like (and yes we know they both need to prove they can consistently set the edge/are strong enough to play 3 downs like Dean and Deonte could).
Considering every team deals with graduation/early departures, I think we in pretty good shape on the line, especially when you factor in the talent/depth at DT.
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Can't tell if you are being funny, serious or just trying to be obnoxious. Perhaps drunk? ; )
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I might add Nick VanHoose to that list. He had at least two picks that were major impacts (Nebraska & Penn State)
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Yes, but they are not coming back. The OP on the question of play makers suggested that we had playmakers coming back.
OTOH, you are right the response, "We had playmakers could be expanded to the whole team.
Playmakers coming back in my opinion:
Offense: Jackson and Long
Defense: Walker, Harris, Igwebike, Lancaster
Jackson, Walker and Igwebike have all gotten some press.
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