It’s doubtful we’re going to see a fixed Nebraska defense this season.

Hoss and I talked about it on the podcast last week. We don’t have the personnel that are the makings of a good defense.

Take a look at the offense and note the playmakers; Adrian Martinez, Devine Ozigbo, Maurice Washington, Stanley Morgan Jr, and JD Spielman. Martinez is already setting records, opposing defenses have shown they have difficulty containing Spielman, and because of that Morgan is an increased threat. Washington has shown signs of future brilliance while Ozigbo has turned himself into a guy that moves the chains.

Now look at the defense.

Yeah.

You might see Mo Barry as somebody on the defense who’s stood out through this part of the season. Perhaps Tre Neal? Other than that, who?

This isn’t about Erik Chinander’s inability to coordinate a defense. It’s pretty plain to see that we don’t have playmakers on that side of the ball, or, at the least, that they aren’t playing at the same level of the offense.

I’ve mentioned it before, and I’ll mention it again - if this team is going to win games, the offense has to play at the level we saw against Minnesota. Every single game. They responded very well when the Gophers pulled within a touchdown. They could’ve done what they did the week before and melted down, but they finally did not.

We need to see more of the same this coming weekend.

It doesn’t matter that the Bethune Cookman is from a lower division. We need to see the same, crisp, clean play from the offense this coming week that we did against Minnesota. That would be a sign of improvement. There is an outside chance for this team to make a bowl game and that would give them three more weeks of practice – something they need.

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Your men’s basketball team was not ranked yesterday when the AP released their top 25. They placed 30th in the “Others receiving votes” category, which isn’t so bad considering our history.

Maybe that’s disappointing; maybe it isn’t. Nebraska isn’t a team anybody thinks of when they’re thinking about basketball, so it’s not like it’s a shock. I’m okay with Nebraska not being ranked to start this season. This year’s team could very well be the best Nebraska has had in its history, but they need to go out and show it on the court. There are expectations, but being a fan of Nebraska basketball is like being a Minnesota Vikings fan. There hasn’t been a single season in human history that hasn’t ended with disappointment.

It’s easier to go into the season without expectations.

I like Tim Miles, but I know that the first bad loss we have, people will start calling for his head. It’s going to happen because that’s bad losses happen in basketball. They happen to every team out there, every season.

Bottom line - I really really really hope this is the year we can get this damned NCAA loss monkey off our back, but I am fearful of getting my hopes up too high only to see them crushed again.

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News

Whitish Named Preseason First-Team All-Big Ten - Huskers.com - Nebraska Athletics Official Web Site
Nebraska’s Hannah Whitish was named to the 12-player All-Big Ten Team by the conference coaches when the annual preseason honors were announced on Monday, Oct. 22.

One of college football’s wildest game endings ever, explained - SBNation.com
Three untimed downs, a near kick six, and more.

Corbin set to lead Illini in return home - The Champaign Room
Illinois plans to make changes on the road in Maryland.

LET’S BUILD REAKWON JONES’ FAMILY A NEW HOUSE - The Crimson Quarry
Reakwon Jones is from Lynn Haven, Florida. His family lost their home in Hurricane Michael, and didn’t have enough money stay in a hotel room in Bloomington for the Penn State game. There is an NCAA-approved GoFundMe. Y’all know what to do.

Michael Penix suffers torn ACL, out for season - The Crimson Quarry
Indiana’s worst fears were realized from Saturday as freshman quarterback Michael Penix, Jr. is out for the year

Minnesota Football: P.J. Fleck fails as his critics continue to grow - The Daily Gopher
Not since the Tim Brewster era have Gopher fans seen such staggering incompetence on defense. 383 rushing yards (with an 8.9 yards per carry average), 276 passing yards (completing more than 80 percent of their pass attempts), and 53 points to a winless Nebraska team?

A List of Everything Purdue Won From Ohio State - Hammer and Rails

Furious college football reactions to Week 8: Ohio State fans lash out - SBNation.com

Ohio State owns this week’s tour of the angry college football internet.

They're even angry about a cancer patient.

Ohio State’s loss has way worse playoff implications than we thought - Land-Grant Holy Land
AKA Michigan...

Advanced stats: Ohio State, Purdue numbers as bad as you think they are - Land-Grant Holy Land
Highlighted by explosive plays allowed and an inability to score in the red zone.

Harbaugh responds to Mark Dantonio’s “B.S.” comment - Maize n Brew

Harbaugh talks about the pregame incident vs MSU

It’s like little kids got into a spat.

Michigan OL James Hudson leaving program - Maize n Brew

Second Wolverine in the last week to announce transfer plans.

Note that other programs have players transfer. It’s not just Nebraska. It’s never just Nebraska, regardless of sport.

Fall’s Tarts, Week Eight: The Silly, the Stupid, and the Soap Opera-esque in the Big Ten, Michigan and MSU Fight, OSU Loses to Purdue - Off Tackle Empire
After the game, Jim Harbaugh was not impressed, and he recounted a thrilling tail of woe, whereby Michigan players were clotheslined and headphones were “ripped off” in a “total bush league” move. But worst of all, was that “Coach Dantonio was five yards behind it all, smiling,” presumably like some deranged Cheshire cat.

Harbaugh did begin this story by mentioning that he didn’t see any of it, which is obvious because anyone with a passing knowledge of B1G football knows that Dantonio never smiles.

2018 College Football Playoff rankings predictions, 1 week early - SBNation.com
The committee’s first top 25 will release Oct. 30, but we have a pretty good idea how they’d look right now and who’d be maddest about them.

Jon Gruden is coaching the Raiders again, and it’s a hilarious disaster - SBNation.com
The Raiders brought back Gruden for a mere 10 years, $100 million, and things are not going well.