Shameless Self-Promotion Time: Nebraska

It wouldn't be a Big Ten road game without some late game drama. The Michigan Wolverines moved to 3-0 tonight in the conference, but not without some struggles. Nebraska drove around Wolverine defenders all game, from the pick and roll or 1-on-1, resulting in one of the most frustratingly poor defensive performances since Michigan's loss to Penn State last season.

But, in the end, Michigan had one more point than Nebraska when the game ended, and that's all that counts when you hit the road in this conference. In any case, my recap of tonight's excitement went up at Maize n Brew a little while ago, as usual.

Shameless Self-Promotion Time: Nebraska

As usual, my recap of Saturday's proceedings went up at Maize n Brew this morning. Once again, the story of the day was Michigan's inability to keep Devin Gardner upright, he took seven sacks on Saturday after taking nine in East Lansing.

With trips to Evanston and Iowa City coming up, if Michigan's previous ineptitude on the road continues, the Wolverines could very well be looking at a 6-6 regular season and a bowl game in Detroit.

Miscellaneous Minutiae, 11/7/13

This past Saturday was a rough one for the Wolverines to say the least, but the season can still be somewhat salvaged, record-wise; that begins on Saturday, when Michigan looks to remain undefeated at home in the Brady Hoke era. On to the links:

• Irrespective of the situation at quarterback for the Huskers, Michigan's defense will face a stiff test attempting to check the Big Ten's leading rusher, Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah. 

• Corn Nation previews Michigan, foresees the Husker offense being a good match for the Michigan defense but isn't sure about their chances in a "defensive battle."

• Philip Nelson regains the QB1 role at Minnesota. The Gophers take on Penn State this Saturday at home as they look to go 8-2 on the season. 

• Texas A&M supposedly has no plans of playing former conference rival Texas again in the regular season. It's always sad when the light goes out on a top notch college football rivalry (see: Michigan-Notre Dame), and Texas A&M-Texas was one of those. 

• Urban Meyer refuted reports that Luke Fickell had interviewed for the FAU job. 

• Bucky's 5th Quarter gets to know BYU. The Badgers face an interesting, oddly placed November non-conference tilt against the 6-2 Cougars, who rank 14th in rushing and 28th in points against. 

Miscellaneous Minutiae, 8/27/13

Fouad Egbaria

I'll probably write something longer before Saturday hits, but, for now, here are a few links from around the world of college football:

• Wisconsin's depth chart is out, and there appears to have been some shuffling in the secondary. The starter at QB hasn't been officially announced, but, as I've guessed most of the summer, Joel Stave will likely get the nod. Kyle French will hold onto placekicking duties for the Badgers despite what seemed like a legitimate challenge at one point from Jack Russell, who is now injured. Also of note: UW has a linebacker named Conor O'Neill. I miss Ann Arbor. 

• NC State head coach Dave Doeren covers "Wagon Wheel." Given the level of angst over Darius Rucker's cover of the same song, I'd imagine many might not like this, but...hey. I have nothing snarky to say. I kind of like it. 

• Oklahoma State loses its starting left tackle for the season. Nobody even look at Taylor Lewan, please. 

• Myerberg gets to Nebraska at No. 11 in his offseason countdown. The song remains the same in Lincoln: the Huskers will score more points than most teams, but can they stop anyone? More importantly, can they stop the run? Depending on what UCLA (minus Johnathan Franklin) and Southern Miss (62nd in rushing offense last season) bring to the table, that run defense might not get truly tested until November 2 against Northwestern. 

• A Northwestern football primer from Rodger Sherman at Sippin' on Purple. #LetsGoWarriorPoets

• Taylor Lewan clocks in at No. 2 in BTN's player ranking. Devin Gardner (No. 8) is the only other Wolverine on the list. You'd think Jeremy Gallon would make it on there, but, you knows, lists. 

• Speaking of Gardner...he's not a captain, but I think things will be all right. I realize mentioning "Chad Henne wasn't captain" is in the same family as "but Mike Hart was a 3-star," but there you go. 

Shameless Self-Promotion Time: Offseason B1G Preview

Hello there. It's been a little while. We are only 40 days from Michigan football, so it's probably a good time to at least attempt to revive this thing after a long, depressing spring/summer of White Sox baseball.

Anyway, I haven't been writing much but I do have a few previews to share from over at Maize n Brew:

• Today, I took a look at the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The verdict is fairly reductive: the schedule sets up nicely (no Wisconsin or Ohio State), but the front seven absolutely must get better. 

• On July 8, I talked about my grad school team of choice, the Northwestern Fightin' Warrior Poets. Yes, fan of a big name team, Northwestern is a contender for the division this season. This is always a team to watch, but it's usually more fun when they're not playing your team...that is, unless your team decides to engage in some late game heroics. 

• With a new coach coming into Madison, I took a look at the squad tucked between Lakes Mendota and Monona. The secondary, offensive line depth and the need to settle on a single quarterback are the primary points of concern for the 2013 iteration of the Wisconsin Badgers. 

• And finally, I talked a bit about the Michigan State Spartans on June 24, a squad with a fairly considerable range of potential outcomes. The defense will once again be strong, but will it be strong enough to carry an offense now without star back Le'Veon Bell for another season? The Spartans' average margin of defeat in 2012 was slight, so improvement upon last season's 6-6 regular season mark is likely. However, if the Spartans are to win the division, it goes without saying that Andrew Maxwell (or Connor Cook) must provide better play from under center. 

So, there you go. Ohio State is up next week to close out MnB's offseason preview series. After that, we'll all take the highway exit into It's-Almost-Football-Time-Land. 

Shameless Self-Promotion Time: Nebraska Preview

Hello. How are you? Hope your day has been nice. Anyway, it's the usual procedure: I wrote something about Michigan, but it is not here, so you will have to go somewhere else to read that thing.

Here is the link to said thing: a preview of tonight's Nebraska game!

Shameless Self-Promotion Time (Nebraska)

(HT: Mike DeSimone) 

Here it is:

• Three thousand completely painful words about whatever it is that happened on Saturday in Lincoln (over at Maize n Brew, as usual). Was a game played? Did we win? I don't even know, so no spoilers please. Should I say more in this blurb? Should I say things of substance instead of asking pointless questions in order to avoid saying things about the game? Should I stop doing this? Okay that's probably enough. 

Who Are You and Why Do We Care: Nebraska Cornhuskers

(Aww, a bicycle built for two)

When did we see them last?
Last year was the first time Nebraska played Michigan as a member of the Big Ten Conference. The Cornhuskers entered The Big House with an 8-2 record. Midway through the first quarter, Denard Robinson threw a 46 yard pass to Roy Roundtree, then made a six yard pass to Jeremy Gallon for a touchdown. On Michigan's next possession, Brendan Gibbons hit a 42 yard field goal. Just four plays later, Nebraska was able to respond. Taylor Martinez hit Brandon Kinnie for a 54 yard reception and a touchdown. At the beginning of the second quarter, a Robinson interception by Terrence Moore was converted into a Cornhusker field goal, tying the game at 10.

That would be the last time the game was close. On Michigan's next possession, the Wolverines had a 12 play 74 yard drive for a touchdown. 10 of the plays were runs, including Denard's 14 yard touchdown. Matt Wile kicked off to start the second half, and Kenny Bell returned it 33 yards before fumbling, and giving the ball back to Michigan. Unlike the Cornhuskers, who earlier in the game only got a field goal off a turnover, Denard Robinson ran for a one yard touchdown giving the Wolverines a 24-10 lead. On their next possession, Nebraska was forced to punt. Josh Furman blocked the kick, and Michigan took over with the ball on the 50 yard line. Eight plays later, Fitzgerald Toussaint was in the endzone, and Michigan had a 31-10 lead. At the end of the third quarter, Ameer Abdullah would score on a three yard touchdown run to pull Nebraska within two scores. Michigan would respond with a 10 play 86 yard drive capped with a 38 yard touchdown reception by Martavious Odoms. On the ensuing kick off, Nebraska went with a different return man - this time Tim Marlowe - but he also fumbled the ball back to Michigan. Brendan Gibbons missed a 42 yard field goal. When Nebraska got the ball back, Taylor Martinez was sacked by Jake Ryan, and he fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Ryan Van Bergen. On the next play, Toussaint ran 31 yards for a touchdown, giving us our final score: 45-17.

Okay, where did the name Cornhusker come from?
The University of Nebraska was chartered in 1869. They started playing football in 1890. They tried out many team names before settling on the Cornhuskers: Bugeaters, Tree Planters, Nebraskans, The Rattlesnake Boys, Antelopes, and Old Gold Knights. The University of Iowa was referred to as the Cornhuskers at the time, and Cy Sherman - a Lincoln sportswriter - liked the name and started calling Nebraska the same thing. Iowa chose Hawkeyes and Cornhuskers became the permanent name.

Yeesh, they've been in a lot of conferences haven't they?
From 1892 to 1897, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and Missouri were in the Western Interstate University Football Association (gee I wonder why that name didn't stick). Then those schools joined with Washington St. Louis to create the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1907. In 1908, Drake and Iowa State joined, followed by Kansas State, Grinnell (WHO?!) Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Colorado. The name changed to the Big Eight. In 1996, the state of Texas merged with the Big Eight to create the Big 12. Finally this past year, Nebraska decided they didn't want to be controlled by Texas, and became the twelfth member of the Big 10.

What do they look like?
Well, Wisconsin. They look a lot like Wisconsin. If there is something you can give the Cornhuskers credit for, it is sticking to tradition. They have looked the same forever. Oh yeah, their official colors are Scarlet and Cream. This season the Cornhuskers wore these jerseys against Wisconsin. 

Have they won any Conference or National Championships?
Nebraska has five National Championship seasons. The first two were back to back in 1970 and 1971 under coach Tom Devaney. The next three were in 1994, 1995, and 1997 under Tom Osborne. If that 1997 number either confuses you or makes you angry, there is a reason. Michigan and Nebraska both went undefeated. Since there was no BCS at the time, and the Big Ten was tied to the Rose Bowl, Michigan did not get an opportunity to play Nebraska to see who the real champion would be. The only thing we can look at is similar opponents. Both teams played Colorado and Baylor. While Nebraska beat Colorado 27-24 and Baylor 49-21, Michigan won 27-3 and 38-3.

Do they have a good coach?
Their current coach is Bo Pelini, and I could not find a picture of him where he was a combination ofaware of the camera and happy (Maayybe this one). Although he is a ridiculous picture taker, he is actually a pretty good coach. He played Free Safety at Ohio State (So we should hate him) from 1987-1990. He was a starter for his last two seasons, and was a Captain for his senior year. Pelini went on to coach pretty much everywhere, with short stints at Iowa and Cardinal Mooney High School before jumping to the NFL to coach Defensive Backs and Linebackers for the 49ers, Patriots, and Packers. In 2003, he became the Nebraska Defensive Coordinator, and the next year jumped to Oklahoma, where he was Co-DC. Then he was hired by Les Miles to be the Defensive Coordinator at LSU, where they beat Ohio State in the National Championship (So we should hate him less?). After that game, Tom Osborne (who had just been named Interim Athletic Coordinator) hired Bo Pelini as Nebraska's new Head Coach. Since becoming the coach, Nebraska has gone 38-14 and won the North Division all three years he was in the Big 12.

Where do they play?
Nebraska plays at Memorial Stadium, not to be confused with Memorial Stadium or Memorial Stadium.Miscellaneous pictures of the stadium from a ton of angles. The stadium holds the current, ongoing, record for consecutive sell outs at 317. The 81,067 person capacity would make Memorial Stadium the third most populated city in the state of Nebraska.

What are some of their football traditions?

• After the first touchdown is scored by the Cornhuskers, fans release red balloons into the sky. 
• The Sea of Red: As Michigan fans, we know how difficult it is for everyone to wear Maize at home games, Nebraska does not have this problem with people wearing Red. They also hold up their shoes before Kick Off. 
• Tunnel Walk: The Cornhuskers come out to the song Sirius by The Alan Parson's Project. The team exits the locker room, follows the coach to "The Big Red Carpet," touches a lucky horseshoe, then goes through the gates and onto the field. 
• Blackshirts: In 1964, the first team Nebraska Defense started wearing Black Jerseys during practice. They had to return their black jerseys every day, since they may not be on the first team the next day, and they had to earn them back. This started a tradition that the black jerseys needed to be earned. 

Do they have a goofy mascot?
They have TWO goofy mascots!! Herbie Husker and Lil' Red. AND they have had more: Corn Cob and Mr. Cornhead (Super clever names). Herbie Husker first appeared on the cover of the 1974 Nebraska Media Guide, and he has had many different looks over the years. Lil' Red (the original Lil, I suppose Wayne,Kim, and Jon are posers) was created in 1993 after a state wide contest to create a new mascot. The body of the mascot is super light and the wearer needs to be strapped to a "powerbelt," which brings in outside air. I assume the powerbelt looks more like this than like this (Although 71% more calories?! AWESOME!!).  So since they have two mascots, they probably get to do awesome things like dance-offs right? Video? Yep...

Prediction based on everything but football: Nebraska 21 - Michigan 17. 

Shameless Self-Promotion Time

This week in self-promotion:

• I wrote something about Nebraska football and how, after one year, I still don't really know what they are but how we'll probably find out a little more this year when Michigan makes the trip to Lincoln (a trip that I really, really hope to make). 
• I did another player preview, this time on Taylor Lewan, the twosie aficionado himself. Is he Jake Long? Probably not. Is he really, really good nonetheless? Oh yeah. More questions? No. 

---

Other things of note (but not written by me): 

• The performances of the EPL's representatives at this Euro Cup was kind of a mixed bag. 

• Zack Novak, the reigning king of GRITsterton, IN, on the process of trying his hand at the pro game (whether domestically or abroad). Via UMHoops: 

“I was talking to the guys from Cleveland and they said, ‘We’re not taking you,’ and I laughed and said, ‘Yeah, obviously.’

• Stu Douglass, on the other hand, will begin his professional basketball career in Spain (via the MGoBoard). Luckily for Stu, airplanes exist, otherwise that whole "burn the boats" thing would look kind of silly right about now. 

• We hardly knew ye...Michigan Hockey Net confirms that recently drafted Michigan commit Connor Carrick will in fact not be taking his talents to Ann Arbor, instead opting for the Plymouth Whalers of the OHL. So it goes. I figured after the fact that it was probably more than naive of me to say that none of the guys drafted last week would make the jump before coming to Ann Arbor. In any case, good luck to Mr. Carrick. 

• SBN's Detroit Bad Boys takes a look at 9th overall pick Andre Drummond through a statistical lens. UConn in 2011-12 wasn't exactly the perfect environment for a developing young player, but yeah...this is the epitome of a boom-or-bust pick. The numbers aren't too kind to Drummond, but he undeniably looks the part of an NBA big man. We'll see what happens (as a Bulls fan, I'll get the chance to see quite a bit of him in the coming years). 

A Rude Welcoming

I'm a little bit late with the recap this week due to being in Ann Arbor/traveling for Thanksgiving (I know you've all been waiting with bated breath). So, here it is. Due to the nature of this week, I'm going to just go with bullets for this one. The threshold has been crossed; no longer should surprise or amazement be our most abundant response to anything that happens. We are good, and at minimum much better than we'd thought we'd be. What a concept.

• In MGoPodcast style, I'll start with the complaints, of which there are very few. First...student section. Why are you all so terrible? I spent my four years complaining to everyone that our student section was pretty lackluster in a number of ways, but I feel like this year they've* taken it to a whole new level. Saturday was the first time I've ever thought "Hey, maybe sitting with a down-in-fronter wouldn't be so bad." Yeah...that's how bad it was. It's almost as if Under The Lights happened and all the students assumed they had fulfilled their giving a crap quota for the season. The student section  had way too many empty seats around kickoff once again, for a big conference game that would net us our 9th win and assure our best regular season record since 2006. If I never see another brah waltz into the student section halfway through the second quarter only to complain that YOU'RE IN HIS SEATS BRAH COME AT ME AND MY BACKWARDS FITTED HAT THAT IS ASSUREDLY LIMITING THE BLOOD FLOW TO MY BRAIN...I'll be pretty happy. It's going to be strange not sitting in the student section starting next year, but I just can't deal with key-jingling morons anymore. I get that there's a pretty huge number of out-of-staters, international students, and other assorted folks that might not be hardcore fans, but man...you guys are terrible, and I thought you were bad before (2007-2011...ah, memories). 

          In short, you're not a student section, YOU JUST SUCK.

•   Other complaints, are, well...not existent? Well, the halftime show was weird, I guess. There's something to be said for trying new things but that was not really something that I would've wanted
  to see, but you know whatever. 

• Denard Robinson not throwing off of his back foot? Check? Putting the 2-QB set on ice for the game, thus allowing him to get in a rhythm? Check. Denard realizing that scrambling is a thing that he is allowed to do? Check. He has obviously had more prolific performances in the past but this game was one of my favorite performances of his just because of the fact that it represents a step toward the type of quarterback we know he can be. A day of 11/18 passing for 180 yards, 83 yards rushing, 4 touchdowns, and only 1 turnover...I can get behind that and so should everyone else. 

• Bo Jackson said that he felt like Cam Newton dropped down on Auburn from outer space...while the same can't exactly be said for Fitz Toussaint, his emergence on the field has been equally critical,especially vis a vis Denard's progression as a quarterback. He has now put up three superb games out of the last four, and with only Molk and Huyge departing after this season, the prospects for the running game are bright for 2012.

• Brady Hoke is secretly Les Miles without the absurdist flair. Don't fool yourself, the man is diabolical. That fake field goal was unbelievably perfect in its execution and timing. Let's hope this continues to be SOP.

• Odoms! I'm going to miss his play on the field. He's now scored in back to back weeks, and a touchdown against the Buckeyes would go a long way toward a fulfilling end to a great career. After that long touchdown I immediately thought back to the game-winning touchdown against Indiana in 2009 and smiled. 

• So apparently Mattison's slightly disturbing manboob jiggle is an exhortation to burninate whatever lays before the defense because that was amazing. Okay, Floyd got beat once deep. It was the first one all year and it happens. The second touchdown was on a very short field after Michigan went three and out starting from their own four yard line. Even Nebraska's field goal come on the heels of a Denard interception that led to the Huskers starting from the Michigan 34. After that they: 1) lost five on first down 2) incomplete pass on second 3) 6-yard pass on 3rd and 15. Otherwise, Michigan's defense throttled the Huskers when they weren't asked to defend a short field. This "happiness" feeling re: the defense is foreign but I like it. 

• Michigan's 2011 Takeaway Tour continues, with Jake Ryan, Terrence Robinson, and Cam Gordon all forcing fumbles. All were legitimate forced fumbles and not the cheap kind, only further underscoring the newfound commitment to special teams and tackling in general. A hat on the ball equals fumble a good amount of the time; Michigan's 2011 special teams is a testament to that fact. Michigan will need to continue that and kick/punt returners will have to keep holding onto the ball in order to prevent the Buckeyes from having a chance at some cheap short field points. 

• Another defensive note: Michigan held the Huskers to 3/13 on third down. The takeaways are great, but this is one of the more underrated points of improvement in this team. Try to think of all the times Michigan could not stop somebody on third down in the last several years; all those drives that once continued all the way to the end zone are now ending with a pathetic whimper.
• Gibbons? 

 Oh yeah. He was 1 for 2 on 42-yarders, which I will take any day of the week and twice on Sunday. I'm still conditioned to cross my fingers every time we attempt a field goal, but Gibbons has quietly had a very nice season. He's not Robbie Gould or anything, but as long as he can continue to hit most things inside 40 and do okay with the 40-45 range then we could consider him our most dependable kicker since Rivas...which, isn't saying much but dependable is dependable.

• Time of possession: Michigan 41:13, Nebraska 18:39. Okay, TOP doesn't mean anything in and of itself, and it's more a product of defensive and offensive efficiency than a directly causative relationship. In the five-course meal that is GOOD FOOTBAW, dominating TOP is a side like mac and cheese or mashed potatoes compared the entrees of takeaways, third down percentages, and rushing yards. Sides don't make a meal but they can certainly detract from it if they're not very good at all. Given Kovacs's comments on the subject after the game, it's obvious that the defense has in part improved because of the change in tempo, although how significant the effect has been is somewhat nebulous and unquantifiable.

Speaking of food...Maize and Blue victory sandwich

•   Nebraska fans seemed pretty cool. I didn't really actively interact with any of them but I didn't notice a single negative interaction between them and other Michigan fans all day. Their fans traveled well as expected, and while this will likely never become a bigger game than the triumvirate of evil that is aOSU, ND, and MSU, it will be a game to look forward to each and every year. Welcome to the Big Ten.

• Here are some more random stats if you need more random pieces of delightful information to make you feel happy. 

• I could say more, but frankly there's only one thing that matters right now...enough Nebraska talk. Beat Ohio.You may continue your regularly scheduled HATE WEEK programs.

Who Are You and Why Do We Care?: Nebraska Cornhuskers

(Aww, a bicycle built for two)

Okay, where did the name Cornhusker come from?
The University of Nebraska was chartered in 1869. They started playing football in 1890. They tried out many team names before settling on the Cornhuskers: Bugeaters, Tree Planters, Nebraskans, The Rattlesnake Boys, Antelopes, and Old Gold Knights. The University of Iowa was referred to as the Cornhuskers at the time, and Cy Sherman - a Lincoln sportswriter - liked the name and started calling Nebraska the same thing. Iowa chose Hawkeyes and Cornhuskers became the permanent name.

Yeesh, they've been in a lot of conferences haven't they?
From 1892 to 1897, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and Missouri were in the Western Interstate University Football Association (gee I wonder why that name didn't stick). Then those schools joined with Washington St. Louis to create the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1907. In 1908, Drake and Iowa State joined, followed by Kansas State, Grinnell (WHO?!) Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Colorado. The name changed to the Big Eight. In 1996, the state of Texas merged with the Big Eight to create the Big 12. Finally this past year, Nebraska decided they didn't want to be controlled by Texas, and became the twelfth member of the Big 10.

Have we ever played them? Did we win?
Michigan and Nebraska have faced off 6 times. Michigan holds the slight edge with a 3-2-1 record. The most recent game was in the 2005 Alamo Bowl. In a game where Chad Henne came to play, much of the rest of the team did not. Henne threw for three touchdown, one to each of Tyler Ecker, Mike Massey, and Mario Manningham, and ran for one himself. The rushing touchdown would put Michigan up 28-17 with 11:40 left in the fourth quarter. Zac Taylor and Cody Ross put together an impressive fourth quarter, and Nebraska scored two TDs including a 2-point conversion to put the Cornhuskers up 32-28. Michigan had one more chance with no time left, and put together a rather impressive hook and lateral.

What do they look like?
Well, Wisconsin. They look a lot like Wisconsin. If there is something you can give the Cornhuskers credit for, it is sticking to tradition. They have looked the same forever (throwbacks modeled by "The Dirtiest Player in the NFL" Ndamukong Suh). Oh yeah, their official colors are Scarlet and Cream.

Well its impossible for them to have won a Big Ten Championship so far, but have they won other conference championships or National Championships?
Nebraska has five National Championship seasons. The first two were back to back in 1970 and 1971 under coach Tom Devaney. The next three were in 1994, 1995, and 1997 under Tom Osborne. If that 1997 number either confuses you or makes you angry, there is a reason. Michigan and Nebraska both went undefeated. Since there was no BCS at the time, and the Big Ten was tied to the Rose Bowl, Michigan did not get an opportunity to play Nebraska to see who the real champion would be. The only thing we can look at is similar opponents. Both teams played Colorado and Baylor. While Nebraska beat Colorado 27-24 and Baylor 49-21, Michigan won 27-3 and 38-3.

Do they have a good coach?
Their current coach is Bo Pelini, and I could not find a picture of him where he was a combination of aware of the camera and happy (Maayybe this one). Although he is a ridiculous picture taker, he is actually a pretty good coach. He played Free Safety at Ohio State (So we should hate him) from 1987-1990. He was a starter for his last two seasons, and was a Captain for his senior year. Pelini went on to coach pretty much everywhere, with short stints at Iowa and Cardinal Mooney High School before jumping to the NFL to coach Defensive Backs and Linebackers for the 49ers, Patriots, and Packers. In 2003, he became the Nebraska Defensive Coordinator, and the next year jumped to Oklahoma, where he was Co-DC. Then he was hired by Les Miles to be the Defensive Coordinator at LSU, where they beat Ohio State in the National Championship (So we should hate him less?). After that game, Tom Osborne (who had just been named Interim Athletic Coordinator) hired Bo Pelini as Nebraska's new Head Coach. Since becoming the coach, Nebraska has gone 38-14 and won the North Division all three years he was in the Big 12.

Where do they play?
Nebraska plays at Memorial Stadium, not to be confused with Memorial Stadium or Memorial Stadium. Miscellaneous pictures of the stadium from a ton of angles. The stadium holds the current, ongoing, record for consecutive sell outs at 317. The 81,067 person capacity would make Memorial Stadium the third most populated city in the state of Nebraska.

Do they have a goofy mascot?
They have TWO goofy mascots!! Herbie Husker and Lil' Red. AND they have had more: Corn Cob and Mr. Cornhead (Super clever names). Herbie Husker first appeared on the cover of the 1974 Nebraska Media Guide, and he has had many different looks over the years. Lil' Red (the original Lil, I suppose Wayne, Kim, and Jon are posers) was created in 1993 after a state wide contest to create a new mascot. The body of the mascot is super light and the wearer needs to be strapped to a "powerbelt," which brings in outside air. I assume the powerbelt looks more like this than like this (Although 71% more calories?! AWESOME!!).  So since they have two mascots, they probably get to do awesome things like dance-offs right? Video? Yep...

Nebraska is an interesting team. They have beaten a bunch of mediocre teams (yes Penn State is still mediocre no matter what their record says) and Michigan State. They are 101st in Passing Yards and 13th in Rushing Yards. Taylor Martinez is soo much like Denard (with less dilithium) its eerie. He's a very middle of the road thrower and a very good runner. He often gets early Heisman Hype just like Denard too. The bottom line though is that our Running Quarterback is better. These teams in general are incredibly similar. They both lost a game they should have lost, and they both lost a game they shouldn't have. Its a battle of two top-25 ranked teams separated only by a few spots. These two offenses will both try to lose the game, and sadly Michigan's may do a better job. Prediction on everything other than football: Nebraska 24 - Michigan 21. 

Casus Belli

*       *        *

Hello Goodbye, 8/23

I had the great fortune of being able to spend this past weekend in Ann Arbor; it's truly amazing how much you hate living there in the dead of winter, and then when you move away for even the shortest period of time you'd rather be back in that unpredictably cantankerous climate than the sunny, sensible place in which you now live. It was my first trip to Ann Arbor since graduation in April; while being back in town was a little sad in that it is a reminder that my undergraduate days are over, driving down Main and seeing the new scoreboard bursting from the horizon like a maize and blue wonder of the world was, to say the least, tremendous. 

In more important, less nostalgic news, I think I cast my vote in the Sandwich Wars for Maize and Blue Deli...for now. This of course will change whenever I get the chance to go to Zingerman's again (hopefully Notre Dame weekend). Also, for anyone who cares...the new Mediterranean place on State (one that took the place of Cosi) is actually fairly good. I recommend it. ANYWAY.

Camp Rumors: So we've been hearing a lot the last several days about who is performing and who is not. Some of the news has been encouraging, some has been extremely discomfiting. The latter is, of course, referring to Will Campbell, who is building up his case for being one of, if not the biggest, bust in recent history for Michigan. I had held out hope that maybe the light would go on like it sort of did for Gabe Watson, and he'd at the very least be a player that you could hope would not be a significant liability by virtue of his size (and, admittedly, his recruiting pedigree), and thus, at worst, a non-difference maker capable of holding down the starting spot. As tough as that is to say, it's true, as it appears Campbell may have reached his Waterloo this time. Getting beat out by a walk-on represents a conscious decision by the coaches to go with someone less talented in every respect because the more talented player does not have the drive, the technique, the willingness to improve, etc. to get the job done and done well. BWC has had his chances, and there's always the potential for a Hoke motivational ploy to be found in Nathan Brink's ascension up the depth chart...then again, the path that Campbell's career has taken suggests it is not.

In other news, offseason favorite Fitzgerald "Mike Hart with speed" Toussaint has generated some significant buzz, to the point that many are saying he could be the starter. I will be completely honest, this was a surprise to me. A good surprise, mind you, but a surprise nonetheless (kind of like walking into the Big House for the UCONN game last September to watch the Wolverines only give up 10). Guys like Shaw, Smith, Cox, and even Hopkins, are known entities at this point; we know that Shaw is a burner who sometimes has trouble finding the hole and then flashes the knowledge he attained at the Carlos Brown School of Tackle Breaking when running between the tackles. Smith is a tiny, tiny man who can catch and block but don't ever, EVER ask him to convert on 3rd and short. It seems like he's gotten some of his burst back, so we'll see how he figures in to the offense this season. We know that Cox is talented and will look amazing against Derp State but never see the field otherwise, and we know that Hopkins is of the Wisconsin mold of tailbacks.

This is why Toussaint taking the reins would be pretty exciting. We saw a brief flash of what he could do against Bowling Green, but he's spent much of his time at Michigan either injured or not playing. Now, as a redshirt sophomore, is a perfect time for him to come in and show people why they were so excited about him in the first place.

Other notes available at MGoBlog as usual...it looks like my prediction that Avery will take over the spot opposite Woolfolk is coming to fruition, which I think is good for the defense overall. No offense to JT Floyd, who'd make a more than okay nickel, but Avery is just less athletically limited and has better upside. Some names are added to the logjam that is the WLB position race: Hawthorne and Morgan. It's interesting to see Morgan being moved from the MIKE position; I was definitely a fan of his the more I read of him, but, as Brian notes, this obviously indicates that the WLB position is probably going to be mediocre this year. I'm interested to know how interchangeable the coaches feel some players are vis a vis the SAM and WILL positions; that is, does putting the 3 best backers on the field entail Jake Ryan sliding to the other side (i.e., the WILL)? While it's hard to say, I don't think it would hurt to try it down the road if some of these more experienced guys--age-wise, at least--fail to do anything substantial. A unit of Ryan-Demens-Gordon could be, dare I say it, downright good.


Attrition Time: Tony Posada is done at Michigan, making him the second freshman to leave the program this offseason (the first, of course, being TX LB Kellen Jones). This doesn't necessarily hurt as much as Jones from the talent perspective, whose existence in Norman only further underscores his potential. Posada had a solid offer list but nothing to write home about. If he wasn't from Florida, I doubt people would have been as excited about him as they were (which was sort of muted to begin with). He would have had to drop some bad weight regardless the offensive system, but, in my honest opinion, he seemed like a guy who would be a good fit for the Michigan lines of old as a big bruising right tackle/guard whose production probably would top out with a year (maybe two of starting), with maybe a season of all-conference honorable mention. Being compared to the small town that was Alex Mitchell was never a good thing for Posada. In any case, we'll never know, and it's time for Hoke and Co. to keep on the remaining OL targets (Garnett, Banner, etc.).

CtK Day 12: 

J.B. Fitzgerald, "competing for a spot" at the MIKE position. Obviously, Demens is pretty much a lock there, but in the case of injury (no thanks, please) Fitzgerald is a seasoned vet who has seen some action despite not quite living up to his recruiting hype. Most backers figure to at least practice at multiple positions, and I'm sure the same is true for Fitzgerald. He is definitely a MIKE, but as mentioned earlier re: Jake Ryan, I get the feeling that the linebackers might have some flexibility as to what positions they will play. If Greg Robinson was still around I'd be displeased at the notion of linebackers switching positions, but I think we all have faith that Mattison will coach 'em up. Ideally, you want guys that can play multiple positions anyway. Physically, your WILL is going to be smaller and faster than the other two backers, but it's still possible to know all three positions and be able to play them if necessary due to injury, lackluster performance, etc.

Staying Put: 


In a statement put out on Friday, the conference announced its intention to stand pat with respect to conference expansion:

In response to a number of recent media inquiries received by several Big Ten Presidents and Chancellors regarding the likelihood of further expansion by the Big Ten, the COP/C would like to reiterate that it will not be actively engaged in conference expansion at this time, or at any time in the foreseeable future, barring a significant shift in the current intercollegiate athletic landscape.   

1) This is good news. 2) In this day and age, I've gotten so jaded that I don't believe anything that anyone says in the world of college football...I believe that they think they intend to stay at 12, but once the dominoes start to fall will Delaney be able to watch other conferences pick off the best schools? I don't think so. In any case, the whole "barring a significant shift" thing...yeah. That's gonna happen.

GET OFF MY LAWN: Okay, not quite, but Rittenberg talks about the Big Ten and how it's not like your father's Big Ten:

When Wisconsin's Bret Bielema attended his first Big Ten coaches meeting in 2006, he recalled Delany polling the coaches about whether they would favor a league championship game in the future.

"The only two guys who raised their hands were me and Ron Zook," Bielema said.

Zook being "ahead of the curve" on this (as ahead as you can be on something that has already existed elsewhere for quite a while) makes me second guess the validity of the Big Ten's current model. However, in all seriousness, it's hard to argue that the Big Ten hasn't done well for itself overall. Instant replay, the BTN, adding Nebraska, the establishment of Big Ten hockey, etc. Now, the only thing left to do is win a national championship for the first time in nine years. This isn't Bo and Woody, but then again in those days the Big Ten was Michigan, Ohio State and everybody else; I think the new status quo is better for everybody (as well as national perception). Brady Hoke comes in with a quote in response to Delany's lamentation of the NCAA issues at Michigan and Ohio State:

"It was toward all of us," Michigan's Brady Hoke said, "about how important the Big Ten brand is and how we want to respect our brand and how we want to operate and do business. … It was something we needed to hear."

"Brand"...slowly becoming the new "tremendous?"

More? Dr. Saturday starts his BlogPoll countdown...Mississippi State comes in at 24. The SEC West is going to be scary this year. The Spartans come in at 23: "This team could be any Dantonio team: The veteran pro-style quarterback under center, the between-the-tackles workhorse in the backfield, the largely anonymously but solid defense, etc. Check, check and check." James Wood on secularism and religiosity...sometimes I imagine Michigan State fans waking up in the middle of the night, sweating, wondering what the point of it all is (it, of course, being a Spartan fan). 11W previews the Ohio State offense in the post-Tressel/Pryor era. Verdict? "Cautiously optimistic."

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"We showed them that Nebraska is back on the rise."-Nebraska QB Zach Taylor, December 2005