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Brian had an emergency this morning, so I'm throwing together a Corn Flakes for y'all. This will be quick and unorganized.
Hail Varsity Magazine – The Voice of Husker Nation: Tale of the Tape: SDSU
A sound two-gap defense (like the one Pelini runs at Nebraska) reads the offensive blocking scheme and reacts, choosing which gaps to "fill" but leaves responsibility for linebackers and defensive backs in others. You might say the goal of a two-gap defense is to allow linebackers to make the plays, which in the case of Nebraska, might be two true freshmen most of the time.
Two-gaps. Two-gaps. Two-gaps. This has become a mantra about Pelini's defensive problems, but, honestly, there is no one that's done a good job of explaining it. We've all just latched onto it as being the root cause of problem. (BTW, still the best explanation of Pelini's base defense is here.)
Thing is - if Nebraska changes their defensive front so they align everyone in the gaps, who will know?
No one, because the defense will still have problems and we'll go right back to blaming Pelini's two-gap defense.
I know this - there isn't some magic button they're going to push to fix this defense. It isn't changing the front, it isn't a matter of "THEY HAVE TO PLAY TOUGHER, GET ANGRY, GRRRRRR". It isn't firing John Papuchis (although I'm not convinced he knows what he's doing).
If they're going to fix the defense, it's going to require quite a few things to fall in place:
- Simplify so that young players don't have to make so many reads. Base defense.
- Find the right combination of starters who can run the defense the way you want.
- Figure out how you're going to instill confidence. This is the biggest key. There are a whole bunch of young guys out there. When things don't go well early, they'll tend to try harder to make plays, and that means discipline can break down, and as we saw against SDSU, one breakdown can lead to a long touchdown run up the middle.
- Get better players. HAHAHAHAHA THAT IS SO EASY. I SHOULD BE PAID A LOT MORE NOW.
I’ve devalued the Big Ten collectively in my voting because it hasn’t proven anything in the BCS era to warrant the respect it thinks it deserves. History makes that a valid criterion for assessing the present. I’ve also devalued Notre Dame because going 2-1 against the Big Ten means little in the national perspective.
Take "Big Ten" here and swap every other conference in except the SEC. We all need to start paying players.
Craig James threatens to sue Fox unless it gives him his job back - Yahoo Sports
Fired broadcaster Craig James is threatening a lawsuit unless Fox hires him back.
No, he just wants to use the threat of a lawsuit to extort money from Fox because he's an ass. Not a good ass, either. Nobody wants Craig James around. Craig James doesn't care. That's how much of an asshole he is.
I know this, because I can be the same way sometimes. Now... I just have to figure out how to make millions off it.
2013 bowl projections, Week 5: Alabama-Oregon still on, Baylor to the BCS - SBNation.com
The mothership predicts Nebraska vs TCU in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl in Phoenix. They're putting Northwestern, Wisconsin, and Michigan ahead of us, along with Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. So there's that.
Picture Pages: Maybe A Third Of Why We Suck At Running | mgoblog
Look, someone else besides Nebraska has issues!
It’s bye week, which means we’re going to try our best (and probably fail miserably) to assess where this Nebraska football team is. The DN football beat reporters sound off on what we learned from Nebraska’s non-conference games and what’s realistic for this team moving forward.
They talk themselves into great things by the end of it. Hey, it's better than stirring the pot and adding anger and dissent as the main ingredients.
What I Want in the Non-Con: Week 5 - Off Tackle Empire
Minnesota Football: Charts and Chalk! - San Jose State - The Daily Gopher
Advanced box scores and picture pages of Minnesota's 19 point victory over San Jose State from last Saturday.
Minnesota is running the ball pretty well (although, honestly, they didn't play much of a non-conference schedule) at this point in the season. We'll know more about them after they tangle with Iowa this weekend, but I wonder if they could give Nebraska fits.
Penn State to Spend $1.4 Million on Security Cameras - WeAreCentralPA.com
"There are certainly students who drink excessively and get sick, students who urinate, so there are all kinds of things that can happen and surveillance cameras are actually quite good at catching those sorts of things," Lorah said.
That's a damned good reason to install security cameras all over campus, isn't it?
Students who urinate? Do all campuses have those?