ChicagoB1GRed

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Date	Title	Body
1 week 2 days ago	Illinois	considering the instate talent, resources at their disposal, and quality academics, how can they be so bad to mediocre so often?
3 weeks 8 hours ago	Great post, shows why I enjoy visiting this board as a rival fan	I get info I didn't know about my own team, or about college football, or something non- sport related that's worth knowing. Definitely, that was a different era. The game has changed so much. Everybody's on TV, more money, higher stakes, new style of play with different athletes, etc. But in a way it further proves my point: Nebraska figures out a way, and doesn't stay with what worked 40 years ago. We'll have our new challenges, but we've been excellent too long, and CFB is too highly regarded in Nebraska, to stop us from dealing with the issues as they come up.
3 weeks 10 hours ago	We always did well in TX all the way from Big Eight to XII days	But one state's never been the key. Don't know if I'd say we lost our footing in Texas. It's natural that we'd dip a bit there now and pick up in B1G territory. Last three years we've had 11 from Texas and 15 from the B1G. But in 2006, a year we played for the XII Title, we had 1 TX recruit. Like I said, certain states and regions ebb and flow, but that's part of the deal when you cast your net so wide. I do think, as others have posted, that the trend towards early signing is Nebraska's latest recruiting challenge. But we've always managed to deal with our disadvantages. Still lots of really good players that want to play here.
3 weeks 12 hours ago	Nebraska's a bit of an oddity when it comes to recruiting	We've historically overperformed on the field compared to our recruiting ranking, even in our monster decade of the 90's. Typically, we've been between 15th and 25th. Pelini is averaging 24th. See this link for details on the above: http://hailvarsity.com/2013/01/a-brief-history-of-husker-recruiting-rankings-1987-2012/ Nebraska has always recruited nationally, since we don't have a home base to draw from. The focus has varied, whether it be California, New Jersey, Texas, etc. Now we're drawing more heavily from the B1G states. Bottom line, despite recruiting handicaps vs Michigan and OSU, Nebraska always has competed quite well--look at the W/L since the sixties, or break it down by decade - and there's no reason to think that will change.
3 weeks 6 days ago	We've been pretty consistent since 1987, averaging 18th	Osborne: 18 (excluding 4 NC game bump) Solich: 20 Callahan: 18 Pelini: 24 During Osborne run of 60-3 when we played in 4 NC games, he recruited averaging 11th.  Maybe a difference of one 4 star or two 3 stars since then by his successors? Link to everything you ever wanted to know about Nebraska recruiting history: http://hailvarsity.com/2013/01/a-brief-history-of-husker-recruiting-rankings-1987-2012/
4 weeks 1 day ago	Good points	as has been commented on before, Nebraska recruiting is a bit of an anomaly as far as CFB kings. Nebraska always has filled their classes late, and typically is more of a top 20 class than a top 5 or 10 class yet we've won more games and have the best winning percentage of any program over the last 50 years. I think Pelini is doing fine as a recruiter, though. Pretty much par for the course at Nebraska, even if it doesn't live up to Michigan standards. Since divisions are key now, interesting to note that in the new East-West setup, and taking the last 10 years which has been Nebraska's worse decade of football, NU’s recruiting rankings dominate the rest of the Big Ten West; Average Rivals recruiting rankings for the last 11 classes, 2003-2013: Nebraska 25 Iowa 43 Illinois 44 Wisconsin 48 Purdue 52 Minnesota 53 Northwestern 66 I know Michigan fans place a lot of stock in recruiting rankings and expect it to ensure division, conference, and national titles. Based on that, expect to play us in a lot of B1G title games. BTW, personally I don't take recruiting ranking quite as seriously as some, on the other hand if I was a Michigan fan it would be hard not to be optimistic and I wouldn't mind Nebraska having those recruits.
4 weeks 5 days ago	How do you guys rate the top division team's schedules?	Here's mine, from hardest to easiest: Michigan: OSU, NWU, MSU on road, MN and NWU crossdivision Nebraska: WI, NWU, MSU on road, MSU and Rutgers crossdivision OSU: PSU, MSU on road, IL and MN crossdivision Wisconsin: NWU on road, MD and Rutgers crossdivision
4 weeks 5 days ago	Poor Minnesota	Minnesota draws  Michigan and Ohio State on top of divisional games @ Nebraska and @ Wisconsin.
5 weeks 1 day ago	Pelini has not tolerated bad behavior off the field,	and the team has pretty much been incident free under him. So how this is handled could get interesting. Bo has cut a few players loose over this sort of thing. The arrest happened the day after the transfer was announced....talk about great timing.
5 weeks 5 days ago	Schedule and team strength favor Michigan and Nebraska	Nebraska has the easier schedule overall (we finally get to play Purdue and Illinois), but Michigan gets the Huskers at home. You guys will be favored to beat us head-to-head, Nebraska will have an easier time winning out the rest of our B1G games.
5 weeks 5 days ago	Good catch	our second recruit......we're building a powerhouse! Don't know what to tell you. Michigan has fantastic recruiting in-state, in-region, and certainly more than holds their own nationally. And your record, whether all-time or more modern times, speaks for itself. Nebraska has always been more top 25ish as far as recruiting and yet been one of the elite programs when it comes to winning and championships, especially in the modern era. Both programs are clean, at least as clean as a big time winning program can be. Winning a lot and winning clean....something to be proud of.
5 weeks 6 days ago	I don't know, WolvinLA2,	yes you have OSU but that's what your guys wanted. The rest of the East is no big deal. PSU will be severely weakened for a long time due to sanctions and MGoBlogers seem to think Michigan St is a flash in the pan.  I think the West has more good teams. Time will tell, in the meantime we're both still in the Legends and it should be a great competition to win the division this year. And you owe me a sixpack from last season.
5 weeks 6 days ago	Nebraska fan here	The article is pretty accurate. Nebraska has historically closed late in the recruiting cycle, not just during Pellini. And contrary to many comments on this thread, the Huskers have seldom had Top 10 recruiting classes. We have little in-state or nearby (drivable distance) talent to recruit, and its expensive for recruits to fly into Lincoln on their own dime. This has been the case ever since the Devaney era. So Nebraska's always had to recruit nationally even with factors that make it difficult. And yet we've managed to do fairly well the last 50 years. Even in our worst decade, compare us  to Michigan or Ohio St. And our first 2 years in the B!G---with by far the hardest schedule in the conference--we've competed until the last week for the division and won it the 2nd year. We'll be fine.
13 weeks 6 hours ago	Nebraska fan here with a few thoughts,	first one being how ironic that after only 2 years in the league, we'd end up in the most "old school" division of the B1G, with 6 of the conference's 7 oldest members, while the East will have 5 of the 6 newest members (if you consider OSU's 1912 entry as "new").  Second, I'll personally miss having Michigan as our main competitive rival within the division. Wisconsin has done quite well lately--better than NU or UM the last 10 years--but it's a lot more fun competing against a program that measures its success over a century. I think most Nebraska fans feel the same. But we're really not attached to any particular B1G team and good for Michigan getting The Game back the way you want it. Third, give me another red team to play against, this will be our first year we get to play Indiana, would hate to see that taken away after only 1 game. This year's schedule with them and Illinois will definitely help our chances of repeating in the Legends. As far as overall divisional strength, I side with those that say go with geography and let the power balance ebb and flow over time. Look forward to competing with you guys this year and I always enjoy the posting and content on mgoblog, there's always something worth reading including lots of non-sports topics.
23 weeks 6 days ago	Legends will be a 2 horse race between the Wolverines & Huskers	Quick take on Nebraska next year: PROs--schedule much easier dropping OSU-WI for Illinois-Purdue, Senior 4 year QB, most of Offense's playmakers returning, Defense with more potential (but inexperienced) playmakers CONS--losing many Defense starters (maybe a PRO as well :D), schedule has road game vs Michigan Oh and this is a good time to say how much I enjoyed watching Denard play. Think you guys will be fine with Gardner or backups, RB not so sure.
24 weeks 3 days ago	Are any B1G teams psyched about their bowl this year?	http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/67844/looking-at-big-ten-bowl-ticket-sales
25 weeks 4 days ago	I don't know about PSU	we (Nebraska) don't have any particular history with them, only played them 15 times, don't border them, and aren't even divisional rivals. Much more likely we'd form a rivalry within a team we play every year within in the division to win the Legends or whatever it ends up being. That's what formed the basis for the NU-OU rivalry.
26 weeks 4 days ago	Please God, east-west divisions	you guys get OSU, MSU, PSU, we get Wisconsin and whoever. After we go to 16, we even get to finally  play Indiana.
28 weeks 3 days ago	Does anybody know how/who came up with Legends & Leaders?	Was it some marketing firm, or did the B1G honchos get in a room together and brainstorm? Was a short list circulated for a vote, and if so who voted? Seems like it was something only a committee of disconnected consultants could come up with. Will be interesting to see if they use another process this time, if there is a next time.
29 weeks 1 day ago	All three are great,	we were lucky as fans to get to watch them in the same season. I know I loved watching Denard play and there was no bigger individual difference maker in the conference.
29 weeks 1 day ago	Thanks	for the props WolvinLA, and congratulations to the Wolverine players honored. BTW, you owe me a beer. Guiness will do.
29 weeks 2 days ago	Wonder how the game would have gone	with both Denard and Burkhead playing. Rex missed the entire game and the guy was 1st team all B1G. We'll never know, but it would have been a better game with both squads playing their best. That's football.
29 weeks 6 days ago	So far, so good	we seem to be holding our own in the conference. We even got a 4 star RB committment this week from TX. But NU's always recruited nationally. You make a good point about coaching, but even Texas sucked with all their in-state talent for a long time with average coaching.
29 weeks 6 days ago	If the B1G had magic rejuvenation medicine to rub on MD-Rutgers,	wouldn't they have already given some to Indiana, Illinois, Purdue, or Minnesota?
29 weeks 6 days ago	I don't think you'll ever see UM-OSU in the same division	The B1G is now  TV-Cable driven and "no longer a Midwestern conference" (per Jim Delany). You'll always play OSU, but now its all about maximizing the different combinations of UM-OSU-NEB-PSU games for the media markets. For now, they'll just move Illinois or another Leaders team over, because pretty soon it'll be a 16 team conference. They're not going to stop at 14 and likely we'll end with say, Virginia and North Carolina. Then we'll have the four power schools each heading up a division and playing 9 conference games: 3 in-division games 3 locked cross division games - 1 from each division 3 outside-division games I'm not advocating this, but it best fits the TV-driven, Midwest/NE reality and future. [Note posted something similar on another thread but more on-topic here]
29 weeks 6 days ago	Since the B1G is now a TV-Cable conference	and "no longer a Midwestern conference" (per Jim Delany), I don't think you'll ever see UM-OSU in the same division. Now its all about maximizing the different combinations of UM-OSU-NEB-PSU games. For now, they'll just move Illinois or another Leaders team over, because pretty soon it'll be a 16 team conference with those 4 each heading up a division and playing 9 conference games: 3 in-division games 3 locked cross division games - 1 from each division 3 outside-division games I'm not advocating this, but it best fits the TV-driven, Midwest/NE reality and future.
29 weeks 6 days ago	UM fans seem very conflicted to me on divisional scheduling,	One the one hand, you quite naturally and rightly insist on playing Ohio State every year, with most even wanting to share the same division. It's the only game you want even though OSU is a perennial power. On the other hand, you worry that your other conference rivals don't have to play OSU every year and get an easier path to the B1G title. And yet there've been many posts along the lines of "UM-OSU will dominate the B1G in the future, with maybe Nebraska-Wisconsin-Illinois-Iowa getting lucky and having an occasional good year", so why would you even care about their strength of schedule? My point is, since it's a given in the Michigan world to play OSU every year and everyone else can't, don't sweat the rest. There's been divisions of 6, soon there'll be divisions of 7. Likely there'll be a 16 team conference before too long. There's geography, scheduling logistics, and ebb and flow of school's program strength. Not to mention the occasional PSU sanction cases. No way it can all be factored in around the one thing you guys all want, preserving your game with OSU.
29 weeks 6 days ago	Good points, but slight correction,	Nebraska had already lost its yearly game with Oklahoma when the XII was formed, so there was no issue with giving up their traditions to join the B1G. But certainly Nebraska was attracted to the B1G for financial reasons and a better future. At least in Nebraska's case many of the B1G teams were not complete strangers, we'd played over 150 games against B1G schools before joining.
30 weeks 11 hours ago	Media driven conferences: the XII as a cautionary tale	The XII was always a shotgun wedding, purely a media-$$$ driven marriage of convenience. The wholly financial aspect of the arrangement permanently poisoned whatever relationships were there to begin with. The result: 4 of the 12 teams bolted, the 6 non-TX/OK survivors remained only because they had no options. That conference was was doomed from the start and won't last.  Yes, money matters and pays the bills. But I hope the B1G doesn't devolve into the same thing.
30 weeks 22 hours ago	Dilbert's boss	is the only character that doesn't have a name. Even the petty occasional characters have a handle. He's just the pointy-haired nameless boss.

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