Nebraska...not feeling Frosty anymore

[iam416]

The old 48-14 run didn't do the Huskerz any favors. Sort of like that 56-14 run UFM hit the Huskerz with this fall.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Fuck off.

[Optimus Prime]

Before resuming the wacking of Talent like a Pi?ata, you should relax. Like when Han Solo was released from the carbonite he experienced a little hibernation sickness. About 5 minutes should do it.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Inspiring words from a man who knows how to post.

[Optimus Prime]

My pleasure, just here to help.

[entropy]

Getting screwed again..

***************



Tom Osborne chuckled as he thought back to a Big Ten meeting he attended after Nebraska first became part of the conference.

The topic of discussion was division alignment.

"They said their No. 1 principle ? they always had principle ? was competitive balance," the former Husker athletic director said Wednesday.

Big Ten officials analyzed team records over a period of several years and determined the big dogs were Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Nebraska.

"They wanted to make sure those four teams played a maximum number of times," Osborne said.

So much for principles.

In college football, principles tend to take a back seat to lucrative television deals.

Principles, in many ways, have become something of a whimsical notion.

So, hello Maryland and Rutgers. And goodbye to the "principle" of competitive balance in the Big Ten divisional structure.

According to ESPN.com, the conference will go with a geographic split for its divisions in 2014. In other words, time zones will divide the seven-team divisions.

One problem: Eight schools are in the Eastern time zone, six in the Central. So, the East-West shift appears to be down to Indiana or Purdue. Either would be OK.

Forget Michigan State joining Nebraska in the "West" division. Spartans athletic director Mark Hollis has said MSU definitely wants to continue playing Michigan every year. That's assured if the teams are in the "East."

Discussions are ongoing, but here is how the divisions likely will shake out (division names haven't been officially determined):

* East: Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers, Purdue or Indiana.

* West: Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Purdue or Indiana.

The balance of power clearly tips eastward. If you don't feel uneasy, Husker fans, perhaps you should ? unless your overriding desire is the easiest route to the Big Ten Championship Game, as opposed to the best teams coming to Memorial Stadium.

Nebraska athletic director Shawn Eichorst has to be continually mindful of the stadium expansion project that will bump attendance beyond 90,000 this season. The athletic department recently purchased radio and TV advertising to help sell available seats. Ever think you would see that happen?

The sacred sellout streak isn't a guarantee ? hence its significance. Ask Osborne. One of the primary reasons he fired Bill Callahan after the 2007 season was a concern over the glaring number of empty seats at Memorial Stadium. It was officially sold-out, but you saw what Tom saw for many games.

Even in "down" seasons, Nebraska officials perhaps would worry less about empty seats if Michigan and Penn State (NU's protected crossover rival in the current alignment) were regularly playing in Lincoln. According to ESPN, Purdue vs. Indiana would be the only protected crossover in an East-West configuration.

Marc Morehouse of the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette wondered: "Will it still feel like the Big Ten if Iowa plays Ohio State and Michigan four times each in 12 years?"

Nebraska fans might wonder the same.

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini may wonder how an East-West alignment would impact NU's strength of schedule, considering that component could become much more of a factor in the national playoff system that begins in 2014.

After all, Illinois appears to be a good five years from being a consistent .500 team. Iowa is coming off a 4-8 season and seems stagnant. Northwestern is rising but has a much lower ceiling than, say, Ohio State and Michigan. Same goes for Minnesota.

Lots of folks try to push Nebraska-Wisconsin becoming a hard-core rivalry, but the notion feels forced. It isn't as if either program is a cinch to steamroll even a relatively mediocre division. Please forgive my skepticism.

The regional divisions do make sense in some ways.

For instance, "When you look at travel costs, and everything involved, I just think something like (an East-West alignment) is going to have to happen, particularly when you think about the Olympic sports," Osborne said.

He declined comment on Rutgers and Maryland joining the league.

"I'm really not in position now to make any strong comments," he said.

Osborne is on the sidelines, and might soon be watching something he didn't necessarily sign up for.

[Hannibal]

If you're worried about SOS, just beef up your non-conference schedule a little bit.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Did the math and it looks like you'd play everybody in the other division 6 times over 14 years. Not sure if Indiana-Purdue being a permanent crossover makes other meetings slightly more common.

[WM Wolverine]

That is imo the major reason 10 games is on the table; opposing teams want Michigan, Ohio and Penn State on the schedule so they can sell their tickets (season tickets, premium seats, suites, etc.) for higher prices AND sell-out those games as well.

[Wild Hoss]

If they're having trouble selling season tickets its not because of the schedule, its because of value. The AD is raping the fans on seat donations...in exchange for a mediocre product.

[Wild Hoss]

If you're worried about SOS, just beef up your non-conference schedule a little bit.

Agree, but its kinda difficult to do when your conference schedule gets re-arranged after four years, and you don't know even know how many OOC games you'll have available to schedule. Especially when you know its going to change again when UVA and their counterparts joins.

[Mike]

If they're having trouble selling season tickets its not because of the schedule, its because of value. The AD is raping the fans on seat donations...in exchange for a mediocre product.

Lot of that going around.

[entropy]

By Randy York

It?s Thursday afternoon, and a former Nebraska All-Big Eight linebacker is trying to multitask at his athletic director?s desk in Madison, home of one-half of an emerging college football rivalry that?s brewing with Nebraska, his alma mater. Barry Alvarez is laughing because it?s the day after he announced that Wisconsin would play Alabama in a 2015 Labor Day weekend marquee match-up at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Alvarez is laughing because he?s already moved on from the blockbuster announcement that Wisconsin will play Alabama for the first time since the Badgers beat the Crimson Tide 15-0 in 1928. He?s laughing because he?s trying to watch his No. 14 hockey team upset No. 8 Minnesota State, 7-2, and getting ready to pick up Tom Osborne at the airport while finalizing plans to drive to Milwaukee early the next morning, so he can catch a flight to Kansas City and watch his No. 5 seed men?s basketball team get upset by No. 12 seed Mississippi in the NCAA Tournament at the Sprint Center.

At 67, Alvarez can still move fast and tackle anything in front of him. He?s a Big Ten icon who can climb on a stage with Osborne to kick off the 2013 Wisconsin Coaches Association?s annual clinic two weeks after flying to Omaha to be part of a Tribute to Tom major fundraiser. He can pinch-hit as head coach for the Badgers in their 2013 Rose Bowl game against Stanford and be an ally for and a confidant of the most powerful commissioner in college athletics. He can influence a chancellor?s decision on who might succeed a legend like Osborne, and he can raise the flag for Nebraska recruiting at the same time he honors the Wisconsin city that made him famous. Alvarez whirls so fast, we had to catch up with him again Friday just to find out how everything went Thursday. Please join our conversation with one of the top two candidates (Osborne is the other) to represent the Big Ten and serve on the BCS selection committee for a college football playoff that will begin in 2014:

Q: How did Thursday?s session go for two legends?

A: Everything went like clockwork. We sent a plane to Lincoln. I picked up Tom at 3 o?clock at the airport. We had a little lunch, and at 5 o?clock we kicked off the clinic with a Q&A that lasted an hour and 15 minutes. It was awesome. We sat up there and answered every question. I talked about getting into coaching through the high school ranks, and Tom talked about going straight to Bob Devaney?s staff at Nebraska. The coaches loved the format and were very excited to learn from a guy like Tom. He has great wisdom. He really does. He?s won a lot of games and sustained that program for a long time. He has strong beliefs and our coaches thought he shared good information about everything, including Nebraska?s transition to the Big Ten. Tom and Joe Paterno did a similar Q&A about four years ago at the national coaches? convention in Dallas, and I did the same thing with (former Air Force coach) Fisher DeBerry the next year. Tom and I both like the format, and we were very candid. We covered the gamut, even got into a few philosophical things. We both agreed that when it?s all over, everything comes back to the relationship you have with your players and the way you treat them. We finished the program at 6:30, and I drove him straight to the airport. He probably landed back in Lincoln about 8 o?clock (Central Time). It was a quick, but a fun day.

Q: Speaking of ?when it?s all over?, you hired yourself to coach Wisconsin?s Big Ten championship team in the Rose Bowl. Did you give any thought to keeping that job beyond the bowl game, especially since you?re tied with Woody Hayes with the most Rose Bowl wins for a Big Ten coach and the only league coach to win back-to-back Rose Bowls in Pasadena?

A: I did, and I was very serious about it for a while until my wife made me answer a few questions. The experience of going back became very emotional for me. I had some assistant coaches who would be looking for a job. They wanted me to stay. So did all the juniors on the team. They all came in and asked me if I would stay another year. I was getting emotional for the coaches and the players, and I went home and told my wife and Cindy said: ?You can?t go back and just coach for one more year because you?d have the same problem the next year. If you?re going to do it, you?d have to do it for three years.? I didn?t want to do that. I was looking at everything emotionally. She thought it through much better than I did.

Q: Let?s talk about the new divisional alignments that everyone seems to embrace, particularly the proposed Western-most division that would include Nebraska, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern, Wisconsin and whoever wins the Purdue-Indiana coin flip to join what some call the farm states. How do you view being in the same division with your alma mater?

A: I like it because it keeps our natural rivalries together. Proximity makes it easier on our fans and you still preserve the competitive balance within and between the divisions. Purdue and Indiana would be the only crossover game needed because everything else makes so much sense. I wanted Wisconsin and Nebraska to be in the same division from the beginning because we were natural rivals, but we couldn?t do that. We?ve developed a rivalry based on the three games we?ve played against each other in the first two years together in the Big Ten. Our people love going to Lincoln, and I think Nebraska people love coming up here. It?s an easy trip both ways. Before expansion, we had to protect our rivalry with Minnesota because it?s the longest running rivalry in college football. We were also opposite Iowa, and our longstanding rivalry with them was very similar. It?s an easy trip for both teams? fans. We were kind of odd man out the first time. We wanted to be with Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska all along. Competitive equality was the No. 1 priority and six teams separated themselves, so we had to go 3-3. I knew we were going to be displaced that first time around. We didn?t want it, and we didn?t like it, but you have to move forward because sometimes you have to give a little bit. I?m very pleased with the way we?re going now. Our fans will embrace it.?

Q: Nice job getting ?Bama to open the 2015 season against your Badgers in Dallas. Did the ?Bama-Michigan opener there last year help the cause?

A: I did talk to (Michigan AD) Dave Brandon about their experience there. Michigan got beat, but the overall experience was good. Their fans loved it, and they thought they were treated right. I thought it was good for us to do something like that, too. If you want to be a player, you have to play games like that.

Q: Can you describe the process it takes to make such a big game?

A: We?ve been working with ESPN, Alabama and the Cowboys. There were lots of pieces to the puzzle, and it worked for everyone. We talked about something like this as a league. We have a commissioner going back to the marketplace for another TV contract, and we all agreed we need to improve our non-conference schedules. When you look at the whole league?s non-conference schedule over the past four years, it?s not very good, not very appealing. Nobody wants those kinds of games in the inventory. So we agreed in principle that after the 2014-?15 season, there would be no more lower-division opponents after that.

Q: What about the expanded divisions? Won?t that necessitate moving from eight to nine Big Ten Conference games a year?

A: If we go to nine conference games, and it appears that?s the way we?ll go because we?re splitting divisions, scheduling gets pretty tough. You schedule at least one BCS Conference game a year and the rest need to be Division I schools. That?s the only way we?re going to improve our league and the only way we?re going to improve the kind of inventory we need for TV contracts. I thought playing Alabama was healthy for everyone. Some years you?re going to have five conference games at home and some years only four. That?s why I started studying the impact of playing neutral site games ? because almost all BCS schools are going to want a home-and-home contract. Getting a game like Alabama just once helps you come close to the financial equivalent of what you make for a home game. The more I looked at it, the more I realized that it would be good for the fans and special for our athletes to play in a stadium like the Cowboys play in. Players and fans are the two groups that count the most. If it works out like we think it will work out, we might schedule more one-time games at a neutral site.

Q: I?ll be honest. Most people tell me they were underwhelmed when the Big Ten invited Maryland and Rutgers to join the nation?s oldest conference. How do you view adding them to the league?

A: I?ve thought about it a lot. We could sit here for the rest of our tenure, and it probably wouldn?t bother us. But as population continues to decrease in the Rust Belt and increase in the Eastern Corridor and the Southeast and in Texas and California, it can be a real factor for the league you?re in. When that population shifts, you better be prepared for the consequences. It can hurt you in recruiting and really set you back from the foundation you?ve already built. If we didn?t do something, the day might come when Penn State might step back and say: ?What are we doing out here all by ourselves?? This move was for TV sets and the league and BTN. It opens up a lot more for all of us and, in my opinion, protects us for the future. I?m 67, but I have to think long term instead of short term for all those who will be in the Big Ten and want it to remain the best conference in the country. Short term, adding those two schools doesn?t move the needle for some people. Long term, I think, those two make a big difference.

Q: Everyone wonders which major BCS conference will be the first with 16 teams. Might that league be the Big Ten?

A: I can?t talk to that. If you?re asking if we?re looking, I think every conference is always looking. If you?re asking about any specific school, there isn?t any I know of.

Q: Let?s end with a subject that I know you know ? Shawn Eichorst. He did a great job as your top aide at Wisconsin. You helped him land the athletic director job at Miami and communicated positive things about him before Harvey Perlman hired him at your alma mater. Any predictions about the new AD at a school you continue to love, honor and appreciate?

A: By now, most people probably know that Shawn tries to stay in the background, but he?ll have his fingerprints on everything. Everywhere he?s been, he puts the spotlight on his coaches and his athletes, and that will never change. He?s a good man and a good leader. I?m glad he?s in our league.




Post Extras:

[entropy]

Break time is over.

The Nebraska football team?s 10-day vacation from spring practices comes to an end Monday when the Huskers meet between the lines again.

As players ready themselves for the final six practices before the April 6 spring game, it seemed a fitting time for us to refresh ourselves on what been learned from practices so far.

We picked out six things. Why six? Just because.

1) We?ve learned Jake Cotton will gnaw your ankles off -- and that?s a good thing.

Coaches will tell you Cotton still has some rawness to his game, but the junior also has a high-running motor that draws comparisons to former Husker offensive lineman Ricky Henry.

That, in Husker line talk, is considered a high compliment. It?s also the kind of attitude this Nebraska O-line could use.

If the 6-foot-6, 305-pound Cotton can continue to progress and leave no doubt he?s the man at left guard, it?s probably a real good thing for Nebraska.

2) We?ve learned to write all defensive depth chart predictions in pencil.

We?ve also learned those young guys on the defensive line better leave an impression this spring, because coaches are going to take a real good look at each of the six D-line recruits arriving this summer.

Those six: Randy Gregory, Ernest Suttles, Maliek Collins, Kevin Maurice, Dimarya Mixon, A.J. Natter.

"Will all six play? It's highly unlikely," defensive line coach Rick Kaczenski said. "But all six are going to have an opportunity. I think all six will be physically ready to go."

But this spring is about those players already here, specifically some names from that 2012 recruiting class -- names such as Avery Moss, Vincent Valentine, Aaron Curry, Michael Rose, Jared Afalava and Thomas Brown.

?We're going to be young, but I like my class,? said Moss, a defensive end. ?We're very athletic and very intelligent, so I think we can do it."

3) We?ve learned to call sophomores ?veterans? on this defense.

Like David Santos. Don?t put it in pen yet, but the sophomore has been working as the No. 1 MIKE linebacker throughout the spring.

Can the seemingly soft-spoken Santos take command as the quarterback of the defense? Early on in the spring, senior defensive back Ciante Evans had to urge Santos to speak up and let his voice be heard.

Santos believes he can provide the necessary bark.

But the linebacker battle rages on. Does Zaire Anderson emerge as the No. 1 WILL linebacker? And what about the BUCK? Brown started the spring getting looks with the 1s there, but Afalava has been seeing snaps with the top unit lately, too.

Much remains unclear, but linebackers coach Ross Els seems to be enjoying the process of dealing with eager youth.

?They?re just sponges,? Els said. "They want to learn. They want reps. They're really focused."

4) We?ve learned that not all spring post-practice interviews are of the ho-hum variety. Most are. But not all.

Such as that Saturday practice when Bo Pelini called out his team for being ?mentally weak,? and especially chewed out his defense. ?You could have put a grade-school offense out there against our defense and they would have been fine," Pelini said.

Pelini?s public challenge to his team apparently resonated. The Husker head coach was much more pleased in the practices that followed.

It also produced maybe the best quip of the spring the following practice from defensive coordinator John Papuchis, who joked: ?We could beat an elementary school, I think, this time.?

5) We?ve learned some new names.

OK, we already knew the names of Sam Burtch and King Frazier, but this spring, we jotted them down in our notebooks for the first time.

Wide receiver Burtch and running back Frazier are examples of two walk-ons who are making the most of spring opportunities.

Many will talk about redshirt freshmen receivers Alonzo Moore and Jordan Westerkamp, and for good reason. Both could be important pieces this fall. But the 6-foot-3, 195-pound Burtch is not to be forgotten.

The Elmwood-Murdock grad has been getting looks with the top units and has a definite opportunity to work his way into some game snaps.

As for Frazier? It?ll be tougher for him when new recruits Terrell Newby and Adam Taylor show up.

But give the 6-foot, 220-pound redshirt freshman from Lee's Summit, Mo., credit for making the most of his chance, drawing positive reviews from Pelini and Ron Brown.

As was reiterated when Ameer Abdullah went down for the spring with a tweaked knee, you can never have enough running backs.

6) We've learned that coaches and players really dig this extended break between practices in the spring.

Coaches like it because it's basically like a halftime to review what's been accomplished and what must be honed in on the last several practices.

Players like it because, well, what college kid doesn't like a week away from the grind?

But there also is a danger to such a break. And junior wide receiver Jamal Turner knows he and his teammates must be ready to not let it bring them down.

"The hardest thing is once you get out of vacation like that is guys coming back and they're still in that vacation mode," Turner said. "You got to be ready to go because we're going to have some hard practices when we get back. It ain't going to be, 'Hey, we're going to work back into it.' No, we're going shoulder pads, hitting, and you have to be prepared. Because for those guys that don't, it shows on film."





Post Extras:

[entropy]

UNL baseball is still struggling... walks and hitch batters are killing the team. Constantly behind the count and giving up runners on base.

against KSU, UNL walked 7 batters.. 7..