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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.

By Salt Creek and Stadium
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?

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