West Coast Nebraska

[aliefallstar]

I'm not a Nebraska fan but I am a fan of the Big 12 so I was wondering: How do you guys think Nebraska will fare in their first season with the west-coast offense?? I think they well have a year similar to the last, record wise. Also, how long (if ever) will it take this new system to bring Nebraska back to a powerhouse??

[kodiak]

First off for this season, the D will be good but the offense will struggle at times. That group was brought in for the old Husker style. Granted all the Big 12 will have to adapt to their new style but having to go to K-State keeps them from winning the north. Also Mizzou will be tough but they do get them in Lincoln.

The big factor on getting NU back to national prominence is dependant on how long Bill stays and if he can prove himself on the recruiting trail. He has made some decent moves so far but that has to continue and they must build up their team speed. If he is only there a couple of years before bolting back to the NFL it could stifle any headway he makes in his time in Lincoln.

[Victory]

Its about recruiting the personnell to run that offense now. The switch has to be thought of as a long term investment for it will surely hurt in the short run.

[aliefallstar]

Are the Nebraska fans and alumni that have seen the power running game working for a million years going to give callahan a long enough chance if they don't do so well with this new paasing attack??

[kodiak]

I think so. I think they were pleased with what they saw in the spring game. Husker fans are also intelligent enough to know that these kinds of changes want restore them to national power status overnight. Now Husker nation did not fall as far as OU did but it still took Stoops a couple of years to get them to where they are now. NU has the talent on D to stay in contention for the North crown. Just depends on how they do in Manhattan when they play K-State. I am giving them the win against Mizzou since Mizzou has not won in Lincoln in forever if at all. The North is wide open since NU goes to K-state and K-Stae goes to Mizzou. So if one should happen to knock off OU or stumble to someone they should not lose to(ala CU for K-State since they always play them tough)then that team has the edge.

[aliefallstar]

well good luck to the huskers new system(except for when they come to lubbock) because I know it made us (TTU) happy to hear that NU is no longer a power running team because our rush defense was terrible last year...Navy ran all over us!!

[fadeddays]

You have to understand this. Osborne's offense (the one we love) was much different than Solich's offense. Osborne took a combination (and great understanding) of option football AND power football and combined them into an attack that I would refer to as a "multiple" rushing attack. In his offense, you always had to worry the QB, the I-Back, AND the fullback, as well as the possibility of the wingback taking the reverse. He used every part of his offense to attack the defense and he was able to do it because he had a great understanding of the game of football. Solich's offense, on the other hand, was almost the complete opposite. Whether it was a lack of talent, or whatever, Solich's offense slowly became so one dimensional that it was predicated upon one player, The QB. You stop the QB, you stop Nebraska. The power running game has been dead for a while. (Only 2 times in 6 years did a RB for Nebraska lead the team in rushing AND have over 1000 yards)

So, here's my take.

Defensively, we'll be just as good if not better than last year. Our Defensive backfield is very strong and we will be much improved on the defensive line. Linebackers will drop off slightly.

Offensively, we can't be any worse than we were last year. Even though we will struggle with the WCO, we will move the ball more consistently. I believe that we will still run the ball around 45-55 percent of the time (probably on the low side) but enough to sustain 1,000 yard rushers perinially. I believe that we have some good targets at WR and obviously at TE.

X-Factor: Nebraska's strength and conditioning program had fallen down a long ways. Last year under Brian Bailey, it was much improved. However, this year under Kennedy the players will be ready to go. I saw them at the spring game and I haven't seen our players look like this in a long long time. They are ready to ball.

As far as the schedule goes, I think it is favorable. I believe that 9-2 is well within reach with losses to Oklahoma and most likely K-State (although I hope not). I think that we will go to a bowl game and hopefully win it with a final record of 10-2. Otherwise, look for a 9-3 season with a bowl victory and an additional regular season loss.

[Ents690]

Quote:

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fadeddays said:
You have to understand this. Osborne's offense (the one we love) was much different than Solich's offense. Osborne took a combination (and great understanding) of option football AND power football and combined them into an attack that I would refer to as a "multiple" rushing attack. In his offense, you always had to worry the QB, the I-Back, AND the fullback, as well as the possibility of the wingback taking the reverse. He used every part of his offense to attack the defense and he was able to do it because he had a great understanding of the game of football. Solich's offense, on the other hand, was almost the complete opposite. Whether it was a lack of talent, or whatever, Solich's offense slowly became so one dimensional that it was predicated upon one player, The QB. You stop the QB, you stop Nebraska. The power running game has been dead for a while. (Only 2 times in 6 years did a RB for Nebraska lead the team in rushing AND have over 1000 yards)

So, here's my take.

Defensively, we'll be just as good if not better than last year. Our Defensive backfield is very strong and we will be much improved on the defensive line. Linebackers will drop off slightly.

Offensively, we can't be any worse than we were last year. Even though we will struggle with the WCO, we will move the ball more consistently. I believe that we will still run the ball around 45-55 percent of the time (probably on the low side) but enough to sustain 1,000 yard rushers perinially. I believe that we have some good targets at WR and obviously at TE.

X-Factor: Nebraska's strength and conditioning program had fallen down a long ways. Last year under Brian Bailey, it was much improved. However, this year under Kennedy the players will be ready to go. I saw them at the spring game and I haven't seen our players look like this in a long long time. They are ready to ball.

As far as the schedule goes, I think it is favorable. I believe that 9-2 is well within reach with losses to Oklahoma and most likely K-State (although I hope not). I think that we will go to a bowl game and hopefully win it with a final record of 10-2. Otherwise, look for a 9-3 season with a bowl victory and an additional regular season loss.

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As he said, the offense can't get any worse. Last year the offense was ranked in the 80's (83 I believe), so only a handful of teams were worse. An offense can't really get any less threatening than last year and the year before that's offenses. They will actually be a threat to have a homerun ball or run now, where as opposed to the past 2 years, there wasn't much of any threat of that happening.