Existence is pain. I hate being right, but that was the very definition of "Nebraska is so close". At the same time, someone needs to get Lamar Jackson and Antonio Reed off the field, and that was hands down one of Aaron Williams' worst games ever. That entire secondary just looked more lost than usual and Northwestern made them pay for it big time. I also don't care of he's just a freshman, but I don't think I've seen a worse kicker at Nebraska. Frost changed the punting, so I think it's time for a change at kicker as well. Got nothing to lose at this point right?
The Big Red Breakdown:
The bright side (if there really is one) is that Nebraska is still bowl eligible. Yeah they would need to win out, including a miracle upset against Ohio State, but we still need to look at every positive outlook as we can here right? Is it feasible? No, but a man can dream. Unfortunately, even with the Ohio State loss, 5-7 will most likely not get Nebraska into a bowl as their Academic Progress Ranking is a bit down the list again this year. Of course again, we'd need to be at that 5-7 point for that conversation to be relevant, but again, positivity.
But first things first is Minnesota. A team that gave Ohio State a scare last week, which gives me hope that Nebraska can at the very least do the same. Minnesota comes in with a terrible offense but a great defense. And the last time I said that, Minnesota hung 54 on them. But again, if Nebraska can ride the feeling of almost winning last week and turn it into positives, then they can win this game.
The Matchup:
Nebraska O vs. Minnesota D: Edge Nebraska. Despite having a fairly stellar defense in Minnesota, Nebraska is finally clicking on offense. The last thing that needs to get resolved is the offensive line in terms of giving Martinez some better protection.
Nebraska D vs. Minnesota O: Edge Nebraska. Minnesota doesn't bring a lot to the table on offense, however this is the Nebraska defense we are still talking about here, mistakes will be made.
Special Teams: Punting team got their fix, lets give the field goal kickers a change up now. Seriously. If you miss an extra point and a field goal, and then in overtime the coach decides that they have a better chance of getting points going for it on 4th and 1 instead of having you attempt a 35 some yarder field goal? That has to light a fire under your ass to get better. To put the cherry on top of that, if you got benched in the next game because of that, that would absolutely put a fire under your ass to get better at kicking. Sheesh.
Prediction: The time is now. No more mistakes. No more penalties. Ok maybe less penalties at least. Nebraska needs to win this game. I hate to say it that I'm calling Minnesota a "must win game", but how staggering would that be if we have to wait till next week against an FCS foe for Nebraska's first win? And even then what if they fuck that one up? If there is some divine intervention and Minnesota finds an offense and this turns into a shootout, I still like Nebraska's odds here.
Nebraska 28, Minnesota 20
The Rest of the World in College Football:
Regression Rankings:
The model went 39-16 (70.91%) last week across all FBS games, bringing the season total to 120-49 (71.01%)
1) Alabama (-)
2) Appalachian State (-)
3) Central Florida (-)
4) Utah State (+3)
5) Ohio State (+1)
6) Clemson (+2)
7) Fresno State (+2)
8) Cincinnati (+2)
9) Penn State (-4)
10) Michigan (+5)
11) North Texas (-)
12) Georgia (-8)
13) Houston (+4)
14) Oklahoma (+4)
15) UAB (New)
16) Oregon (-2)
17) Miami (-5)
18) Washington State (+1)
19) Mississippi State (+3)
20) Syracuse (+3)
21) Memphis (-5)
22) Florida (-2)
23) West Virginia (-10)
24) North Carolina State (New)
25) Iowa (New, gross)
...
75) Minnesota
...
122) Nebraska (+1)
...
126) New Mexico State (New)
127) Bowling Green (+2)
128) Rice (New)
129) Rutgers (-3)
130) UConn (-)
If these rankings were reflective of what the championships would be, here's how they would look:
SEC: Alabama vs. Georgia (West vs. East)
B1G: Ohio State vs. Iowa (East vs. West)
ACC: Clemson vs. Miami (Atlantic vs. Coastal)
Big 12: Oklahoma vs. West Virginia (Top 2)
Pac-12: Oregon vs. Colorado (North vs. South) <-- First time in blog history that a division was not represented in the Top 25. Colorado dropped from 21st to 29th with their loss to USC. Utah is next closest at 36th.
Best G5 Team: Appalachian State
Over(rated)Watch:
#5 LSU - Being Watched Closely. Can't deny that beating Georgia is impressive. Can deny that the SEC is actually good this year. They play Mississippi State this week
#6 Michigan - Overrated. Michigan is only here because they're a one loss team and the AP voters see that and think they're all of a sudden good. They play Michigan State this week
#7 Texas - Overrated AF. Texas is only here because they're a one loss team and the AP voters see that and think they're all of a sudden good. Sadly they are on a bye this week.
#24 Michigan State - Being Watched. I'm sorry but there are better teams out there that deserve to be ranked ahead of Michigan State. Like, oh I don't know, how about the two G5 teams that almost beat the struggling Big Ten powerhouses this year? (Utah State and Appalachian State). They play Michigan this week
No teams proved their worth this week
Properly taken care of and being low-key watched: #15 Washington
Hot Take Central:
-Nebraska is the last P5 winless team standing. Who would've thought.
-West Virginia and Colorado took a hit for their conference chances, and Georgia re-opened the door for Kentucky
-RIP SEC
-Colorado's loss has the Big Ten West shook as according to my model, they have taken over as the worst division in football. Although I'm sure the Big Ten won't be outdone this week!
Prediction Center:
3-1 last week puts us at 16-8 for the season. We fall to 2-4 on the Upset Alert as we came oh so close on converting another one.
#6 Michigan @ #24 Michigan State - Not State 27, State 14
I'm convinced the AP ranked Michigan State just so they could call this a ranked v ranked matchup for Michigan's sake. Conspiracy I say! Michigan's defense will get it done
#16 NC State @ #3 Clemson - Clemson 34, NC State 30
I think NC State is legit this year and this will be a good game, however the home field advantage will tilt this in Clemson's favor as I think they're also getting it together with Lawrence under center.
#22 Mississippi State @ #5 LSU - LSU 34, MSST 20
The SEC is weird as always, but we'll be taking LSU at home thank you very much
#12 Oregon @ #25 Washington State - Oregon 41, Washington St 34
Classic Pac-12 shootout that may decide the fate of the Pac-12 North as both teams still have been tagged with a conference loss. I just don't think Wazzu is as good as they were last year
Upset Alert: Colorado @ #15 Washington - Not sure how much of a stretch you want to call this one an upset, but I think Colorado puts the dagger in Washington's overrated season. Can't deny that the Buffs have showed up this year. Also can't deny that if Nebraska won, their season would look drastically different.
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