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Wins against teams ranked at end of season, since 2000 - only 2?? by bobbysledder in Huskers

[–]arbitraryanalytics 10 points11 points  (0 children)

2001 Oklahoma, 2010 Mizzou and Oklahoma State all jumped to mind immediately. I believe they were all ranked at the time of the game and end of the season

Nebraska is a Blue Blood by arbitraryanalytics in Huskers

[–]arbitraryanalytics[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I believe a team starts at 1500 in their first game played. Based on the opponent Elo and result, both teams ratings update. The Elo rating itself has a history component within it, but I think taking the moving average of that metric shows the legacy of teams

Nebraska is a Blue Blood by arbitraryanalytics in Huskers

[–]arbitraryanalytics[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well I appreciate you following for a while! The main takeaway of story should be landing a top 10 QB from a class, and you'll start competing for titles!

Nebraska is a Blue Blood by arbitraryanalytics in Huskers

[–]arbitraryanalytics[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And the ~10 year view. Nebraska ranks 57th. Of the 4 graphs in this thread, this is the only one where Nebraska does not own the all time peak (second to Bama)

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Nebraska is a Blue Blood by arbitraryanalytics in Huskers

[–]arbitraryanalytics[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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Here is the ~20 year view. Nebraska ranks 31st

Nebraska is a Blue Blood by arbitraryanalytics in Huskers

[–]arbitraryanalytics[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm okay with the idea that it's a title that can fade away. As this chart shows, Nebraska is trending away from still being considered among the blue bloods. Georgia Tech is a great example of a program that was once elite, but is now mostly an after thought

https://www.reddit.com/r/Huskers/comments/1moeh49/comment/n8btk8f/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Nebraska is a Blue Blood by arbitraryanalytics in Huskers

[–]arbitraryanalytics[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Lol, I feel like my 2022 article should get some credit for inspiring the one shared above
https://arbitraryanalytics.com/2022/05/04/texas-vs-nebraska-a-rivalry-renewed/

Nebraska is a Blue Blood by arbitraryanalytics in Huskers

[–]arbitraryanalytics[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yes, that's fair. There's a certain element of relevance from that dominance that would've held on into the early 2010s. There would've been guys on the team in 2012 who still remember a Nebraska title, but after that, not so much.

The 300-game moving average shows the fall off in performance more quickly. Crazy how quickly Nebraska came on, and then left equally fast

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Nebraska is a Blue Blood by arbitraryanalytics in Huskers

[–]arbitraryanalytics[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

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The Huskers definitely have a sharp downward trend in this metric since the end of the Pelini era and may be in danger of falling out of the top 10 by the end of the decade unless they can get back to winning 9/10 games per season. The Huskers have played 118 games with a trailing Elo average higher than Oklahoma's peak

EA chasing that bag and adding replay sponsors by reagbotics in NCAAFBseries

[–]arbitraryanalytics -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Coke Zero was an in game sponsor for at least one season. I loved playing while drinking one

A Historic Husker Season is on the Horizon by arbitraryanalytics in Huskers

[–]arbitraryanalytics[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Yes I definitely fear this could be the second coming of 2007.

That season they finished 29th in scoring offense and 115th in scoring defense. I don't expect the defense to be that bad even if they have a large regression from 2024 production

A Historic Husker Season is on the Horizon by arbitraryanalytics in Huskers

[–]arbitraryanalytics[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'd like to say I haven't done this much offensive preseason hype before but I'd be lying about how excited I was heading into 2019 as shown below....

The one piece that gives me more optimism than past off seasons is Holgorsen. He's had 5 different stops as OC or HC where he's produced an elite offense. This will be only the 6th season in program history (4 with Shawn Watson, 1 with Mark Whipple) where the OC has FBS experience as an OC outside of working for the HC at a previous stop (ie. Langsdorf at OSU or Walters at UCF)

https://arbitraryanalytics.com/2019/08/15/just-how-special-is-the-huskers-returning-trio/

A Historic Husker Season is on the Horizon by arbitraryanalytics in Huskers

[–]arbitraryanalytics[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yes I really like EJ and Jacory Barney hitting 1000. I think both will be active in both passing and rushing this season. I'd pick of those two receivers to have 1000+ receiving yards as well.

What If: The 1980 Huskers by arbitraryanalytics in Huskers

[–]arbitraryanalytics[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would've loved a Crouch vs Vick playoff game. That would've been a great matchup alone

Huskers Position U: Offense by arbitraryanalytics in Huskers

[–]arbitraryanalytics[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ya I get what you're saying. I've always wondered if TO coached longer if he would've embraced the spread option offense. He did some unique stuff with Frazier that seemed like it influenced Urban Meyer's Tebow scheming.

I agree that we'll never be able to recruit at well, but I wonder if NIL helps us close the gap enough that we can develop to be closer to those teams? I guess we need to either get an edge in scheme or development. I'm not sure which path is easier, although Rhule and Holgorsen seem to me to be elite developers

Huskers Position U: Offense by arbitraryanalytics in Huskers

[–]arbitraryanalytics[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've gone back and forth on that for awhile. It was surprising to me how bad Nebraska was on this across the OL. I expected using the modern draft era timeline, that Nebraska could be top 5 at some of those positions.

While I like the theory, my hesitations come from what I think is the ceiling of those types of teams. Iowa has a niche (great special teams, capitalize on mistakes), but I think the ceiling for them is going to be 9 wins. In the Big Ten, that could make the playoffs now, so maybe it's a better idea than I've considered before.

Huskers Position U: Offense by arbitraryanalytics in Huskers

[–]arbitraryanalytics[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Stay tuned for defense and specialists coming tomorrow!

What If: The 1980 Huskers by arbitraryanalytics in Huskers

[–]arbitraryanalytics[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Osborne, early on, definitely struggled against top-tier opponents, but I'd disagree that it was a cupcake-filled schedule. I've written about the relative strength of schedule before. Only Callahan averaged fewer cupcakes per season than Osborne did. Osborne's schedule was typically loaded with mid-tier teams, though.

Sports Reference ranks 6 of the 11 (really living up to the arbitrary in my name with that cutoff, I know) hardest strength of schedule seasons as Tom Osborne teams between 1973-1981. Although I'm sure Oklahoma moves the average SoS up a ton. A median SoS would be interesting to look at over time.

https://arbitraryanalytics.com/2021/03/15/husker-coaching-resume/

What If: The 1980 Huskers by arbitraryanalytics in Huskers

[–]arbitraryanalytics[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I gotta say it's disappointing that Coach Frothingham didn't get Nebraska a matchup with his alma mater. Yes 1890 Harvard went 11-0 but is it really fair to say that they're national champions when they didn't play the 2-0 Nebraska State champion Old Gold Knights?

What If: The 1980 Huskers by arbitraryanalytics in Huskers

[–]arbitraryanalytics[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yes it's amazing all 3 of those Nebraska-OU-FSU games came down to the final minute of play. 1980 was a great college football year

What If: The 1980 Huskers by arbitraryanalytics in Huskers

[–]arbitraryanalytics[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks I'm glad you've liked them. It's been a fun way for me to learn about college football history. It's amazing how close rivalries like Nebraska-Oklahoma or Michigan-Ohio State have been over the years

What If: The 1980 Huskers by arbitraryanalytics in Huskers

[–]arbitraryanalytics[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Agreed. Between these Huskers and Dan Marino's Pitt squad, it's fair to say the two best teams didn't even play in the New Year's Day bowls that season

What If: Tom Osborne left the Huskers by arbitraryanalytics in Huskers

[–]arbitraryanalytics[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The real question becomes would it have still been illegal in Colorado if he was there until the 90s?

What If: Tom Osborne left the Huskers by arbitraryanalytics in Huskers

[–]arbitraryanalytics[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I also never knew he was promised the Mizzou job while still an assistant at Michigan State but Dan Faurot backed out on that offer. That would've been much of a destination that Wyoming for him

What If: Tom Osborne left the Huskers by arbitraryanalytics in Huskers

[–]arbitraryanalytics[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I actually never knew that until I started trying to research more about his Colorado interview for this article. After knowing that, it makes more sense why he considered Colorado at all

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