OT: DT Chase Rome leaves Nebraska
Sounds like all is not good in the land of the Huskers...
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8371735/nebraska-chase-rome-quits-disagreement-role
September 12th, 2012 at 10:36 PM ^
~ Not Herm
September 12th, 2012 at 10:41 PM ^
Nebraska will always have a hard time. They can't recruit like they used to, but they have a fan base with all kinds of literal emptiness and compensatory nostalgia. How about that phrase? "literal emptiness and compensatory nostalgia"? I win!
September 12th, 2012 at 11:47 PM ^
They lost access to one of their most important recruiting bases in Texas. I still think they have the upside of the good Wisc. teams like last year, downside probably Iowa (which isn't too bad for downside), but they won't ever reach the dominance they once had, and few teams outside of Bama/USC could.
September 13th, 2012 at 12:25 AM ^
"Won't EVER" is quite the prediction. Unless the apocalypse dooms us, I have a feeling football has quite the substantial future. So instead of 'ever," how about... "for the forseeable future." They might finally figure it out in a century or two.
September 13th, 2012 at 4:53 AM ^
Sure they will...Just need to hire the Air Force OC
September 13th, 2012 at 7:58 AM ^
The strictures of college football today make it nearly impossible to replicate. Over Osbourne's last five seasons he was 60-3! Over a 25 year period Osbourne never won fewer than 9 games a season. He won 13 conference championships and 3 national titles. To duplicate that would be beyond phenomenal. It's not a diss on Nebraska to say they'll never reach where they once were, because you could argue that Alabama and USC currently don't even have that type of dominance and they have much more substantial recruiting bases.
September 13th, 2012 at 8:19 AM ^
Well sure but no program's gonna do that. Those days are long gone. The rules have changed, the game has changed, and weaker programs are much more competitive than they used to be. That being said, Nebraska does seem like an ideal candidate to be a team that will have a much harder time getting back to anything like where they were.
September 13th, 2012 at 12:36 PM ^
Texas was still pretty bad, and before Stoops Oklahoma wan't much better. And they they started getting some un-Nebraska like players who would abuse their girlfriends and stay on the team. So having Tommy Frazier like teams that go down as one of the greatest of all time again? That's going to be tough.
September 12th, 2012 at 11:57 PM ^
They develop talent pretty well, and they recruit a lot better than Sparty does. They've sent a lot of talent into the NFL the last few seasons. I think they'll give State a run for it's money at second place in the division, especially after handling them like they did last year.
September 13th, 2012 at 9:57 AM ^
You give us a lot of credit in that statement. "I think they'll give State a run for it's money at second place in the division"
We got crushed by Bama and barely beat Air Force. Yeah we won 11 games last year but how lucky were we in many of them? How lucky were we being almost injury free? How lucky were we with the turnover margin? I don't think we are as good as many believe.
I will admit that most of you know a lot more about football than I but I'm not ready to gulp the coolaid yet.
September 13th, 2012 at 10:34 AM ^
Agreed. New rule: we don't get to talk down about MSU until we have a W on the field. I too miss the days when I was an undergrad and never saw a loss to Sparty, but at this point we are on the reverse side of the trend and have no footing for superiority until we win it back.
September 13th, 2012 at 10:30 AM ^
Contrary to popular belief around here, MSU actually recruits pretty well. Not great, but they are in the upper group of Big Ten teams. It's just the last two classes Michigan has recruiting extremely well. MSU has also shown ability to develop talent, otherwise they would have had pretty good success 3 out of the last 4 years.
State is going to continue to be a solid team. As much as Dantonio annoys me, he is a much better coach and has much better coaches around him than John L. or Bobby W. They aren't going back to those times, because even when Nardozzi (I know that's spelled wrong, but I'm not looking it up) leaves for a better gig, Dantonio still is a really good defensive mind (he proved that in his years at OSU) and they'll continue to field good defenses.
As for Nebraska, they seem to be a lull right now. I don't really sense much excitement from that fanbase anymore and they seem to have become a bit stagnant. I think they get as good of talent as MSU and Wisc, but something isn't clicking right now. We'll see what kind of turnover there is if this year doesn't go well, but they need to become stronger than they are right now if they want to get the approval of that fan base.
September 13th, 2012 at 10:46 AM ^
Their classes are usually ranked in the 30s or 40s. That might be in the top half of the Big Ten, but that's still not recruiting "pretty well." I guess it's a relative term, but being in the top 1/3 of the country isn't particularly awesome.
September 13th, 2012 at 10:48 AM ^
Magnus, how do you see us matching up against them this year now that you've seen both play 2 games? I was much more upbeat before the season started than I am now.
September 13th, 2012 at 12:01 PM ^
I didn't see much of the CMU game, but I did see a fair amount of the Boise State game. Based on Michigan's line play, I'm pretty concerned about MSU. I thought our offensive line would have handled Air Force better than it did.
September 13th, 2012 at 11:30 AM ^
After Michigan and OSU, the next best teams in the Big Ten have been typically Penn St, Wisc., Iowa, Nebr, and MSU. Again, I'm not saying they're great, and Nebr has typically been 20s or 30s, and MSU being consistently 30s - low 40s means they should continue to be a borderline top 25 team, which again, isn't great, but it's a long ways from where they were, not far behind Nebr., and right with the rest of the upper tier of Big Ten teams.
September 13th, 2012 at 12:40 PM ^
In my lifetime after Saban (don't go back to their "Glory Years"). He's probably running neck and neck with Perles, and over time will pass it.
There are lots of really good coaches who are douchenozzles. MSU had some nice guys who weren't very good, and jerks who weren't very good. They finally got one like Saban's who is a jerk but pretty good at what he does.
September 12th, 2012 at 11:58 PM ^
September 12th, 2012 at 10:41 PM ^
They do have enough depth for now at DT. Maybe not a depth of talent, but they do develop players pretty well. Rome was a backup, but still. Looks like its time for Todd Peat to step up.
September 12th, 2012 at 11:00 PM ^
Minus Burkhead, not one player on that team really stands out to me.
September 13th, 2012 at 8:35 AM ^
September 12th, 2012 at 11:10 PM ^
When you give up 653 yds nobody has a leg to stand on, how can you expect to continue getting playing time? The film doesn't lie-- work harder, nothing is given to you. Bo and the coaches are seperating the men from the boys.
Sounds like the defense may incorporate a 3-4 scheme, does that bring back memories to any Wolverine fans?
So how much does this help the Huskers? The younger LB's have more speed, find ways for them to get on the field and use their athleticism. Some of the guys ahead of them may know the system better, but they are not getting results.
It may force a change not only in formation/depth chart, but also in mentality. Pelini was involved with the Packers when they ran a primarily 3-4 scheme.
September 12th, 2012 at 11:57 PM ^
Would that mean Ankrah, Steinkuhler and Meredith up front, out of curiousity? I would be interested as well to know who would line up at OLB and ILB. I suppose the incorporation of this look would make sense though, particularly if it is, at least in part, a response to the jump in rushing yards gained against Nebraska this year due to play at the line (159 yards per game average last year, I think, versus 264 yards season to date right now).
Also, didn't Rome play in several games last year as well, even though he didn't start often? I remember seeing him out there at various points on TV, as well as in Ann Arbor, if I am not mistaken.
September 13th, 2012 at 7:34 AM ^
This year's schedule has been more difficult than last years for Nebraska. Tennessee Chattanoga and Fresno State at home in 2011 vs Sothern Miss at home and UCLA away this year. Both games are more difficult not to mention one being away.
September 13th, 2012 at 8:10 AM ^
with maybe Zaire Anderson and David Santos getting a shot at OLB. And methinks the 3-4 would not be employed all the time, depending on the opponent.
September 12th, 2012 at 11:11 PM ^
I honestly think they under estimated how tough and physical the Big Ten is. I think this shows the major differnce between the Big 12 and the Big Ten. They look like they have a RR defense.
September 12th, 2012 at 11:25 PM ^
I know a few insiders in that program and that was a loss, esp. for Bo. His departure was not planned.
September 12th, 2012 at 11:32 PM ^
September 12th, 2012 at 11:44 PM ^
I thought they were gonna come to the Big Ten and show us all how to play football?
September 13th, 2012 at 12:46 PM ^
Penn State to finally do it first.
September 12th, 2012 at 11:54 PM ^
will be on the hotseat after this season. Out of Wisconsin, @ Ohio State, @ Michigan State and Michigan they probably need to win 2 of those at least.
They are stareing 8-4 in the face and thats not taking into account an upset like NW last year.
6-6 probably isn't out of the question either.
September 13th, 2012 at 8:11 AM ^
Well, based on the way UM and UW are playing right now, those two games (both in Lincoln) should be very winnable. I was already predicting a win over UM before the season and I see no reason to change that prediction but I thought UW was going to be good....yeah, not so much.
September 13th, 2012 at 9:12 AM ^
i think he already was on the hot seat which is quite a reversal. i read somewhere that lloyd carr's choices to replace himself were ferenz and pellini, which a few years ao during the RR years seemed genius compared to RR. now, not so much.
September 12th, 2012 at 11:57 PM ^
you don't usually see a coach say anything about why the kid left beyond "personal reasons". it's odd that pelini departed from custom here.
September 13th, 2012 at 8:24 AM ^
It definitely seemed like he opted for the proverbial low road here. That was disappointing. He must've been pretty butt-hurt to go share that.
September 13th, 2012 at 9:15 AM ^
i agree - i was wondering the same thing as i read the article and it reminded me of les miles scoffing that gunner kiel didn't have the chest to play as lsu. i think pellini will be gone at season's end and we'll see someone else there next year. if i were them i'd hire charlie strong but that's just me.
September 13th, 2012 at 12:25 AM ^
I guess he will have to chase his dreams elsewhere now.
September 13th, 2012 at 12:27 AM ^
"The D sucks. We're going to rotate some other guys in here and try them."
"Hell no! I'm the starter! I'm taking my ball and going home!"
September 20th, 2012 at 8:08 PM ^
"Pelini said Rome has returned with “the right attitude” after a personal issue prompted a week-long absence. Rome started the first two games at defensive tackle for Nebraska this season'.
Per Omaha World-Herald:
http://sports.omaha.com/2012/09/20/dt-rome-returns-to-nebraska/