Quote:
Originally Posted by Flying Ace
...the biggest difference is that Riley will have better talent than he had at Oregon State. He only had 1 year where all the talent pooled together in 2006.
It was impressive that he turn in 4 9+ win seasons with the lack of talent he had there. wow.
I don't know, I just don't see him turning the corner for Nebraska. He'll get 9 wins at Nebraska on talent alone. But they just aren't recruiting on the same level as Ohio State and Michigan, and you gotta beat at least one of these two teams to get to 10+ wins consistently.
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When you look at what he did at Oregon State (there are more than 20 players in the NFL from his days at the program and probably a few more in the CFL) it was pretty remarkable. He took two star talents and made them big time, esp. at QB (Derek Anderson, Matt Moore, Sean Canfield, Sean Mannion). With the better recruiting base and profile of Nebraska, he will be able to put a better surrounding cast, esp. on the o-line. The only four star recruit he ever had at OSU was Quizz Rodgers, the rest of them (Cooks, Wheaton, Mannion, Levitre, Poyer, etc) were all two or three stars and look what he did with them. With the ability of Riley and his staff to spot diamonds in the rough and develop players, he doesn't need to out recruit Michigan or Ohio State to compete.
Also, he's in the other division. He needs to beat Wisconsin, Iowa, and a Minnesota team that might get very good, very fast under PJ Fleck, and maybe a rising Purdue under Jeff Brohm. That gets him to 10 wins. He needs to beat one those teams in a crossover to win the division and then obviously in a championship game to win the conference.
I think Nebraska did turn the corner this season in the sense that it's still mostly Pelini's players and it's just foundational. I think they will be very good next year, but so will Wisonsin and Iowa is always tough.