CornNation Roundtable: Our Season Predictions

The motley crue of CornNation editors got together and threw out our predictions for the season on the important topics of the season. So no, we didn't pick the winners of the BCS title game. The really important topics, like who sucks worse: Missouri, Notre Dame, Texas, or Texas A&M.

Oh sure, we did do the obvious picks for the Huskers. You'd unsubscribe and turn us into the University, hoping that they'd delete any academic records worth keeping, if we didn't at least include THAT. (I think they haven't vacated Jon's diploma yet...)

So after the jump...enjoy our predictions, which are all over the board. If we're anywhere near right, look for us to brag about all of this in December. Otherwise, you may want to save a copy of it to throw into our faces, because we've long since either edited it or deleted the whole thing.

Nebraska's record this season.

dpm917 - 10-2 - Nebraska should come out of nonconference play undefeated. Wisconsin doesn't have Russell Wilson and Michigan played with house money and will have hit tilt by the time they hit Lincoln. Northwestern won't be as fortunate this year, the Huskers won't overlook them again and Minnesota's not good enough to be "that" game this year. Penn St. might be.

Billgrip- 0-12. I know I won't be disappointed!

AndyK - 14-0. Kool Aid, rum and over-the-counter medication? Meet crushing disappointment.

Salt Creek and Stadium - 15-0. We'll beat Iowa so hard we get two wins. Oh, and the National Championship, of course. (The quiet "real expectations" voice says 11-2, splitting Michigan and Sparta, missing out on B1G game due to tiebreaker against the Mitten school we don't beat, plus splitting Wisconsin/Ohio State. Win Fiesta Bowl against West Virginia).

Jon J - Hmmmm... I'll say 9-3, losses to Ohio State and Wisconsin and one other we shouldn't lose, like maybe Iowa. That'd be aggravating as hell, wouldn't it? I am not by intent trying to aggravate y'all, I just don't think that this is our year. I'd be happy to be wrong. Ohio State is just all URBAN MEYER and I can see Wisconsin as the team that's a thorn in our side the years we play them. Wait, did I just say we could lose to Iowa?

Aaron - 10-2. I think they drop one to either Wisconsin/Ohio State and then another one down the road to our new NUmesis, Northwestern.

Mike - 11-2 as well. I don't think there's anybody that Nebraska will definitely lose to, but there are enough teams that can beat Nebraska that I don't think the Huskers avoid the Pelini Hairball just yet. The losses are to probably Ohio State and somebody they shouldn't. But note the uneven number on this one...

Brian: 9-3 for this team. They will win a game that they shouldn't, followed by losing a game or 2 they shouldn't either. Anything below this and there will be some trying times this winter in Lincoln.

Kevin: 10-2 Lose a close one at Pelini's former stomping grounds and can't quite catch Shoelace, lose to the Maize and Blue by 10 at home.

Mister Mike: Haven't quite made up my mind yet for sure. I'd like to say 10-2 in the regular season with a Big Ten Championship and BCS bowl win to bring us to 12-2. But for that, I'd have to join Andy K. in the land of fairies, Peter Pan, and consistent QB and OL play...none of which we will see this year. My prediction is that we will be consistently inconsistent, shooting ourselves in the ass with the hot dog man's Der Weinerslinger at inopportune moments, especially along the offensive line, like we have every year under Pelini. Hopefully Pelini's head finally explodes when he can't take anymore at the end of the year and finally hands the ‘Stache his car keys, a $5 dollar bill, and tells him to go park his car.
Oh yeah...prediction. I could see anything from 6-6 or 9-3 and not be surprised. If we go 6-6 (or worse) Pelini might want to consider a career as a motivational speaker and author, writing a book called "The Media and You."

Who will beat whom in the B1G Championship game?

dpm917 - Michigan St. over Purdue. Ratings bonanza!

Billgrip- Nebraska over Wisconsin. Wisky isn't going to be as good this year, but with Ohio State facing sanctions and Penn State down for the count...that East division is weaksauce. Nebraska gets there because of my homerism.

Salt Creek - Illinois over Sparta. And they say Illinois can't have nice things!

AndyK - Nebraska over Wisconsin of course. How in the blue hell are we supposed to go 14-0 without winning this game? HOW???

Jon: Nebraska over Wisconsin. Good lord we're just full of the homerism here aren't we? Do I think we can win the west? Hell, we have as good a chance as Michigan or Michigan State, so why not?

Aaron: Michigan State beats Illinois in the title game this year.

Mike: Nebraska over Wisconsin. Yep, we're homers...and proud of it.

Brian: Michigan over Wisconsin.

Kevin: Corn trumps Cheese, first Conference title since 1999.

Mister Mike: Big Blue over the big, smelly people from the land of beer and cheese. Mmmmm...donuts.

Who is the team outside the preseason Top Five that will be in the conversation by Thanksgiving?

dpm917 - Virginia Tech

Billgrip- I'm going to go with Virginia Tech as well. Their toughest game is at Clemson, and I think they'll get it done this year. As a side note- Clemson was last year's most overrated/lucky team.

Salt Creek - West Virginia.

AndyK - Boise State. They're going to insert another QB into Chris Peterson's offense, upset Mich St., then scream about lack of respect and trumpet that victory repeatedly as they plow through yet another schedule full of nobodies while Sparty slides to a disappointing 8-4.
JK, Sparty gives ‘em a pimp slapping.
Nebraska is the real answer. We're going 14-0 dammit and 11 of those are on the books by Thanksgiving.

Aaron: I'll go with Georgia. Is that cheating? They are No.6, but have a fairly easy schedule so they should be up there.

Jon: Yes, that's cheating. You gotta pick someone freaky here! I'll go with the Ohio Bobcats, as long as they get past that initial game with Penn State.... that's not gonna work, though. People will complain they're not playing anyone and not rank them high. Let's go with Texas, because that would be aggravating and for some reason I'm sticking with an alternating curmudgeony theme.

Mike: If Michigan State can somehow find an offense, they could be that team. But I don't think they will, so I'm going with Stanford.

Brian: Gonna go with West Virginia too. Geno Smith is the best QB in the Big 12 this year, and will show it.

Kevin: Georgia, think they avoid Bama, LSU, and Arkansas.

Mister Mike: TCU. I like frogs. Especially horned ones. That squirt blood.

How many games will Missouri and Texas A&M win in the SEC this season?

dpm917 - 4 apiece.

Billgrip- Hard to say...I think Mizzou will do better than A&M, but I don't think either will be in Texas A&M. The Aggies will beat Ole Miss... and there you go. Five all together. contention for a league title this season.

Salt Creek - 5 for Mizzou (Vandy, Kentucky, Florida, Tenn, A&M), 4 for A&M (Ole Miss, Arky, Awburn, Mississippi State)

AndyK - Who gives a sh- Wait, that's just rude. 7 and 6 respectively. And did anyone else see that they play each other at the end of the year? Ah, the pomp and history that is the Mizzou/aTm rivalry...

Aaron - That history which has leads Missouri to College Station for the THIRD year in a row. Win in the SEC? Well then, I think they can both pull off at least 2 conference wins. Mizzouri might get 3, but then they might lose to Vanderbilt, too. I really don't care about A&M. Missouri? Would love to see them get beat every week.

Jon: Win in the SEC, not overall... hmm...... Missouri will beat Kentucky, Florida, Tennessee and (scene missing). That makes five.

Mike: 3 for Mizery..and one for A&M...

Brian: I think 4-4 for Mizzou, and after seeing what happened to TAMU's schedule, MAYBE 3-5 for the Aggies.

Kevin: Missouri 4-4 (ho-hum), A&M 3-5 (yawn)

Mister Mike: The Psuedo Military Ghey (that's gay, with a ‘gh' and ‘e') Cheer Squad from College Station goes 4-4 and the Tigers from the land of methamphetamine and inter-family marriages go 4-4 as well, losing their game to Florida. Welcome to the SEC.

Who will win more games this year? Texas or Notre Dame?

dpm917 - Texas

Billgrip- Neither.

Salt Creek - Both get 7 wins.

AndyK - Tejas. And their total wins still outnumber carriers of The Longhorn Network.

Aaron: Texas. Their schedule is more manageable.

Jon: Texas. They should have a great defense, and it's pretty clear that we all hate Notre Dame. I'm rather surprised by this consensus.

Mike: Hook ‘em. Texas. But neither will get to 9.

Brian: Notre Dame, because I live down here and every day the Horns lose is a good day.

Kevin: Do we really have to choose between the Irish and Horns? I'll go Irish, tougher sched but better team. Plus I don't have quite as much disdain for the Irish as I do the Horns.

Mister Mike: I'm gonna call draw on this one. Tejas win 8 again this year as Mack Brown claps his way through every press conference. The Fighting Has-Beens also get 8 and people in South Bend begin to question Chip Kelly's spread offense and wonder if hiring a coach from the New England Patriots will cure their ills.

How many times will Bo Pelini be criticized for a sideline or press-conference blowup in 2012?

(Rehashing the Capital One Bowl excluded.)

dpm917 - Only 3 before conference play. Then, it will look like the dollar figure when I fill up my car with gas.

Billgrip- I'll go with 2. One after a controversial loss at Michigan State and another after Dirk Chatelain calls for Ryker Fyfe to start at QB because of his throwing mechanics.

Salt Creek - Less than Martinez' throwing motion will be made fun of on ESPN.

AndyK - I'm going with 1 this year after a meaningless delay of game call vs Idaho St. However, I will take the over on 37 pictures of him baring his teeth while pointing his index finger straight down.

Aaron: Depends on how the games are going. If the Huskers are struggling, then you can best be assured that the television producer will have one camera glued to Pelini. The media usually tries to cause a stink with him once or twice a year.

Jon: Hell, it won't take much. He's already get the rep, and it won't take much to get announcers started. If he feels the refs have missed a call, he's going to get that angry Pelini face going and after that it's all over with. Note that we will be following this closely here on CN.

Mike: I think every network has a camera assigned to track Pelini throughout the game, just in case. But I think we'll have at least two... and I think one will be instigated by someone from the World-Herald.

Brian: Oh there will be a few. And for all the ones done by the WH, there will be 3-4 LJS articles making the wounds go away.

Kevin: How many games do we play? This is the media's favorite game. I go with 11! (If Pelini gets irate vs. Idaho St., I think we're in B1G trouble.)

Mister Mike: Being this is a make or break year for Pelini (and especially Cotton) I don't think you'll see him as composed on the sidelines this year as he was last year, especially if we suffer a couple of blowout losses like we did last year. With due respect to Aaron, the "media" isn't going to have to do anything to get him to blow his stack except ask him questions. I'm still waiting for someone to ask him if he would "fire himself." Whichever reporter does that, wins a set of stainless steel Corn Nation steak knives. That'll be epic.

Weeks until the media's obsession with Urban Meyer reaches Ahmad Rashad/Michael Jordan obsession levels?

dpm917 - Halftime on Saturday.

Billgrip- Until Ohio State gets their butts handed to them at home by Nebraska.

Salt Creek - Tim Tebow is already jealous.

AndyK - I'll go with -9. I'm fairly certain as well that he's about to go 12-0 with a QB whose knack for avoiding crushing hits ranges between semi-retarded and downright suicidal is only exceeded by throwing ability that makes Taylor Martinez look like Johnny Utah. Also, Urban will come down with the first symptoms of polio and ink another ESPN deal if they go 7-5.

Aaron: The time it takes for the media to forget about tattoo-gate.

Jon: This could be one of the more interesting storylines in the Big Ten this season, by that I specifically mean - what will Urban Meyer do at Ohio State? You have to admit - Meyer has a helluva resume. The problem with the storyline is exactly what the question alludes to - how long will it take the media to become so star-struck that they lose all sense of objectivity about him?

I'd say that's already happened, at least for most. Meyer will be watched to see if he bothers with discipline, but even then you know damned well ESPN isn't going to bag on him anytime soon. He's already one of them.

You shouldn't be watching for it, though. It's already bad enough that everyone in the B1G has to deal with Ohio State, which is comparable to dealing with Texas. I can only imagine that if we feel this way about it, the other established B1G fan bases will be openly upchucking halfway through the season.

Mike: September 29th against Michigan State

Brian: Didn't it already with the Twitter fiasco? I mean, how many preseason shows can ESPN get with OSU where they show players napping already? If he has a record that would have given him the division title, I fully expect for the WWL to have a Columbus office by March Madness.

Kevin: Hmm, how about 9 months ago?

Mister Mike: Roughly about the same amount of time it takes Kirk Herbstreit and Brent Musberger to verbally fellate him on air. Make sure to cup the balls, boys.