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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?