I don't know if anyone wants to read a recap of what happened at Purdue.
The Big Red Throwdown:
But the fact of the matter is, that what happened at Purdue, happened, and Nebraska fans need to live with that result. No matter how crappy the level of play was, that happened. As a result, hell is nearly breaking loose, but the good news is we can now say that we can't blame Armstrong for Nebraska's bad luck. It does boil down to the coaching staff and their attitudes. I almost want to pull up results from the Pelini era of times when we got blown out by a crappy opponent (Don't let the eventual 10 point loss fool you, you don't go down 42-16 against a Drew Brees less Purdue team, ever.) But I don't have time for that if you cannot tell. Articles are being published left and right about what the hell is going on Nebraska and clocks are already counting down and blah blah blah. Here's my bottom line: Eichorst needs to go, like now. But here we are, reports are bubbling that Eichorst is in the works of getting an extension. Uhh no. Fans, donors, boosters all want his ass gone, not sticking around more. Riley on the other hand, the leash is quickly getting shorter because you don't get blown out by Purdue, even if you're fielding a JV team (because Purdue themselves are a JV team). I'll give Riley another year if he can come out of this scrum alive (meaning he beats Rutgers and maybe one of Michigan State or Iowa) but if he loses to Rutgers next week, he needs to go. You can't have 8-9 win talent on a roster and lose to the two worst teams in the Big Ten, road game or not. Purdue and Rutgers can hardly fill stadiums, and half of the half filled stadiums are Nebraska fans anyway. I don't care if we beat State AND Iowa, if we lose to Rutgers that just can't happen in a season.
Which reminds me, we have a game this weekend. A tough game. A game against an undefeated team. Well, their record says undefeated but lets dig deeper because everyone is blowing this out of proportion with Michigan State:
-Solid win against Western Michigan on the road, a scrappy MAC team
-3 point win against a now struggling Oregon team at home
-Good win against Air Force
-20 points on Central Michigan
-3 point win against Purdue at home
-Late touchdown to beat Rutgers on the road
-The miracle at Michigan
-And they were tied with Indiana until the last 5 minutes, Indiana shit their pants (so the 52-26 score DOES NOT reflect the fact Michigan State was all over Indiana)
So I'm not convinced Michigan State is all that. Are they better than Nebraska? Sure. But people who keep saying "Oh we're going to get whipped" etc etc need to calm down and actually do some research. Will Nebraska lose? Yea...but it'll be close.
But here's an argument for why Nebraska could very well pull this win out of their ass: They have absolutely nothing to lose. When you get embarrassed by Purdue, your season is done. Nebraska NEEDS TO WIN its remaining three games just to be bowl eligible, so you know, YOLO. And here is another thing. Nebraska's season is very comparable to Georgia Tech's right now. Sure Tech had much higher expectations than Nebraska as they were supposed to be in the ACC Championship game, but some losses later and they have the same record as Nebraska. But...BUT! Their game against Florida State, at home, talent wise, Georgia Tech had the appropriate edge, and lord and behold they get the win. In this instance, that game was called an "upset" but realistically, no, from a talent standpoint, Tech had that game. So if we're looking at a talent standpoint instead of a "8-0 vs 3-6" standpoint, Nebraska very well could have this game.
Additionally, here is a reflection on what I think is currently the atmosphere in the Nebraska locker room right now: (This is ripped from an episode of American Dad, a wonderful cartoon, I'd share the video but I cannot find it so here is a quick summary with the characters names replaced with Nebraska people and their situation)
Mike Riley: "Well boys, we're not going to the championship game"
Team: "What omg why not?!?!"
Riley: "Wait why are you guys surprised? We've hardly won games this season"
Armstrong: "But you keep telling us we're doing a great job coach!"
Riley: "Yea I'm a terrible coach. But that's beside the point. We might not be winners, but you know what this team can be? Spoilers!"
Armstrong: "What do you mean?"
Riley: "You see that team on the other side (points to Michigan State and Iowa)? They're undefeated. They can win it all if they get through us. But that's where we come in. They think they'll get the easy win, but we can stick it to them and spoil their whole season! And they will be in shambles because they won't be able to win it all either! So what are we team?"
Team: "SPOILERS!"
So that is Nebraska's identity right now. To be spoilers. To ruin Michigan State's season. It is very well possible if the right teams show up Saturday night.
Nebraska O vs Michigan State D: Edge Nebraska. Normally this would be Michigan State's side of the ball, but they're now offensive minded which with a healthy Armstrong back, could be good news. But some bad news, Newby is questionable so the run game is shot unless a freshman steps up huge. Buuuuuuuuut, guess who is starting in the secondary for the Spartans. Drake freaking Martinez. Yes, the same Martinez you might be thinking of. So if he is a representation on the Martinez family, Armstrong should be testing his skills (or potential lack of)
Nebraska D vs Michigan State O: Edge Michigan State. I've never been sold on Connor Cook, he's not bad and I'd totally take him over Armstrong any day of the week, but he's not "best available" talent. The media over-hypes him (shocker). If the Nebraska front four can wake up, they can make Cook's night miserable as he is not a mobile quarterback for once. But let him get comfortable and have him rip apart our secondary, then it'll be a long night for that defense. (They're also a throwing team too as they have twice as many passing yards than rushing yards so they'll quickly look to the air)
Special Teams: RIP Demornay. Remember folks, don't celebrate too much.
Prediction: Michigan State 28, Nebraska 24
The Rest of the Week in College Football:
Oh we have predictions this week? Yay!
Florida State @ Clemson - Clemson 34, Florida State 24
This was supposed to be a big game entering the season, now...not so much. Clemson is rolling and Florida State needs to start looking forward to next season.
TCU @ Oklahoma State - OKState 45, TCU 38
I know I've been big on TCU coming into the "Year of Vengeance" But I was watching the OKState and Texas Tech game and holy crap they have some speedy folks for the Cowboys. Plus with the banged up TCU defense, I'll take the Pokes in a shootout
LSU @ Alabama - LSU 27, Alabama 21
Highlight of the night, but give me Fournette to run all over Alabama. This year is LSU's year now.
Meanwhile...in the NFL:
Sun Night: Eagles @ Cowboys - Eagles 31, Cowboys 20
The Eagles are slowly coming together while the Cowboys are scrambling in the absence of Romo (who would have thought there are worse than Romo?)
Mon Night: Bears @ Chargers - Bears 27, Chargers 24
Not having Forte will stink (both for the game and my fantasy team) But Langford is a suitable backup, coupled with the passing game aka "Give it to Jeffery", the Bears can be in business as they battle Rivers and the Keenan Allen-less Chargers in the Battle of the Gunslingers. Gould with the game winning FG because he is straight money.
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