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South Alabama Week: Opponents' Review

We look at last weekend's debacle in the Big Ten, marvel at Northwestern, and ask if the Big Ten can look better with this weekend's cupcakes.

Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports

Week one is in the books, so let's take a look around and see how Nebraska's schedule fared.

Results from Week 1:

All rankings based on F/+ Rankings released today, September 7th 2015. (Prior week rankings.)

Week 1 Opponent Conference F/+ Matchup Conference F/+ Score (Opp) Score (Match) Outcome
1 Brigham Young Cougars Independent 40 Nebraska Cornhuskers Big Ten 30 33 28 W
2 South Alabama Jaguars Sun Belt 108 Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs FCS 33 23 W
3 Miami Hurricanes Atlantic Coast 36 Bethune-Cookman Wildcats FCS 45 0 W
4 Southern Mississippi Eagles Conference USA 112 Mississippi State Bulldogs Southeastern 24 16 34 L
5 Illinois Fighting Illini Big Ten 74 Kent State Golden Flashes Mid-American 91 52 3 W
6 Wisconsin Badgers Big Ten 25 Alabama Crimson Tide Southeastern 2 17 35 L
7 Minnesota Golden Gophers Big Ten 46 Texas Christian Horned Toads Big 12 10 17 23 L
8 Northwestern Wildcats Big Ten 58 Standford Cardinals Pac-12 17 16 6 W
9 Purdue Boilermakers Big Ten 78 Marshall Thundering Herd Mid-American 41 31 41 L
10 Michigan State Spartans Big Ten 8 Western Michigan Broncos Mid-American 65 37 24 W
11 Rutgers Scarlet Knights Big Ten 83 Norfolk State Spartans FCS 63 13 W
12 BYE
13 Iowa Hawkeyes Big Ten 57 Illinois State Redbirds FCS 31 14 W
* * * * * * * * * *
B1G Ohio State Buckeyes Big Ten 1 Virginia Polytechnic Hokies Atlantic Coast 26 42 24 W
B1G Michigan Wolverines Big Ten 34 Utah Utes Pac-12 33 17 24 L
B1G Indiana Hoosiers Big Ten 84 Southern Illinois Salukis FCS 48 47 W
B1G Maryland Terrapins Big Ten 69 Richmond Spiders FCS 50 21 W
B1G Penn State Nittany Lions Big Ten 35 Temple Owls Mid-American 52 10 27 L

Observations:

  • Overall, Nebraska's opponents scored 8 wins to 4 losses. Against FBS level programs, they went 4-4. Against Power 5 programs, Nebraska's opponents went 2-3.
  • In games versus Top 50 F/+ opponents, Nebraska's opponents went 2-4. In games versus Top 25 F/+ opponents, Nebraska's opponents went 1-3.
  • Nebraska's opponents outscored their competition 391 points to 244 points. In top 50 battles, Nebraska's opponents were outscored 130-167. In top 25 battles, the opponents were outscored 66-98.
  • 8 of Nebraska's opponents played at home, going 6-2 and outscoring their opponents 273-116. 3 opponents went on the road, going 2-1 and outscoring their opponents 101-93. Wisconsin, the sole neutral site participant, lost to the Alabama Crimson Tide 31-41.
  • The Big Ten Conference went 8-6 this weekend, outscoring their opponents 459-335. Against FBS programs, the conference dropped a stinker, going 4-6. Against Power 5 programs, the Big Ten went 2-3. (BYU is not recognized by all Power 5 programs as a P5 program.)
  • Losses came as follows: 2 to the MAC, 1 to an independent, 1 to the Big 12, 1 to Pac-12, and 1 to the SEC.
  • The Big Ten's best win of the weekend came from the Northwestern Wildcats, taking down #17 Stanford. LEGENDS.
  • The Big Ten's worst loss was probably #35 Penn State to #52 Temple. Shocking, I tell you, shocking.
  • The cowards out of Bloomington almost lost to a FCS program.

Looking ahead to Week 2:

Clearly Nebraska did not have the result it wanted last weekend. Can the Cornhuskers bounce back against a feisty yet still less talented South Alabama squad this Saturday? To avoid Ohio State's inevitable secession from a lackluster conference, let's hope the Big Ten as a whole bounces back as well. With a slate full of cupcakes, it's possible, but then again, Penn State is playing another MAC team so who knows.

All rankings based on F/+ Rankings released today, September 7th 2015. (This week's rankings.)

Week 2 Opponent Conference F/+ Record Matchup Conference Record F/+
1 Brigham Young Cougars Independent 34 1-0 Boise State Broncos Mountain West 1-0 17
2 South Alabama Jaguars Sun Belt 110 1-0 Nebraska Cornhuskers Big Ten 0-1 30
3 Miami Hurricanes Atlantic Coast 41 1-0 Florida Atlantic Owls Conference USA 0-1 100
4 Southern Mississippi Eagles Conference USA 114 0-1 Austin Peay Governors FCS
5 Illinois Fighting Illini Big Ten 77 1-0 Western Illinois Leathernecks FCS
6 Wisconsin Badgers Big Ten 24 0-1 Miami (Ohio) RedHawks Mid-American 1-0 121
7 Minnesota Golden Gophers Big Ten 46 0-1 Colorado State Rams Mountain West 1-0 64
8 Northwestern Wildcats Big Ten 54 1-0 Eastern Illinois FCS
9 Purdue Boilermakers Big Ten 83 0-1 Indiana State Sycamores FCS
10 Michigan State Spartans Big Ten 6 1-0 Oregon Ducks Pac-12 1-0 3
11 Rutgers Scarlet Knights Big Ten 88 1-0 Washington State Cougars Pac-12 0-1 70
12 BYE
13 Iowa Hawkeyes Big Ten 57 1-0 Iowa State Cyclones Big 12 1-0 87
* * * * * * * * *
B1G Ohio State Buckeyes Big Ten 1 1-0 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Mountain West 1-0 105
B1G Michigan Wolverines Big Ten 36 0-1 Oregon State Beavers Pac-12 1-0 81
B1G Indiana Hoosiers Big Ten 86 1-0 Florida International Golden Panthers Conference USA 1-0 99
B1G Maryland Terrapins Big Ten 75 1-0 Bowling Green Falcons Mid-American 0-1 82
B1G Penn State Nittany Lions Big Ten 37 0-1 Buffalo Bulls Mid-American 1-0 111

***

FBS Week 1 Opponents (Nebraska schedule): 8 (Power 5: 5)

FBS Week 2 Opponents (Nebraska schedule): 8 (Power 5: 4)

Nebraska's opponents average F/+ rank in week 1: 60.4

Matchup average F/+ rank in week 1: 35

Nebraska's opponents average F/+ rank in week 2: 61.2

Matchup average F/+ rank in week 2: 61.5

Nebraska's opponents, as a whole, face a challenge equal to their ability this week.

***

FBS Week 2 Opponents (Big Ten): 10 (Power 5: 5)

FBS Week 2 Opponents (Big Ten): 11 (Power 5: 4)

The Big Ten's average F/+ rank in week 1: 48.7

Matchup average F/+ rank in week 1: 37.7

The Big Ten's average F/+ rank in week 2: 50

Matchup average F/+ rank in week 2: 82.3

The average level of difficulty for the conference lowers considerably compared to last weekend.

***

What do you think? How will Nebraska's opponents fare this weekend? Will the Big Ten recover with a healthy helping of cupcakes? Whose seat will be hotter on Sunday, Kirk Ferentz' or Paul Rhoads?