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We have the (hopefully final) 2020 football schedule in place. What does the CN staff think about the latest iteration?
Latest 2020 Eight Game Schedule:
Oct. 23-24: at Ohio State Buckeyes
Oct. 30-31: Wisconsin Badgers
Nov. 6-7: at Northwestern Wildcats
Nov. 13-14: Penn State Nittany Lions
Nov. 20-21: Illinois Fighting Illini
Nov. 27-28: at Iowa Hawkeyes
Dec. 4-5: at Purdue Boilermakers
Dec. 11-12: Minnesota Golden Gophers
Dec. 18-19: Championship Weekend
Original 2020 Football Schedule
Sept. 5: Purdue Boilermakers
Sept. 12: Central Michigan Chippewas
Sept. 19: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
Sept. 26: Cincinnati Bearcats
Oct. 3: at Northwestern Wildcats
Oct 10: Illinois Fighting Illini
Oct 24: at Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Oct 31: at Ohio State Buckeyes
Nov 7: Penn State Nittany Lions
Nov 14: at Iowa Hawkeyes
Nov 21: at Wisconsin Badgers
Nov 27: Minnesota Golden Gophers
“Jenga 41” 2020 Football Schedule announced August 5
Sept. 5: at Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Sept. 12: Illinois Fighting Illini
Sept. 19: Wisconsin Badgers
Sept. 26: at Iowa Hawkeyes
Oct. 3: Minnesota Golden Gophers
Oct. 10: at Ohio State Buckeyes
Bye Week
Oct. 24: at Northwestern Wildcats
Oct. 31: Penn State Nittany Lions
Bye Week
Nov. 14: at Purdue Boilermakers
Nov. 21: Michigan State Spartans
Assuming we get to play these games, what is your first impression of the new schedule?
Mike: We didn’t catch any breaks, but we’ve got football at least.
Patrick: We get football, now all that matters is the players staying healthy. This is the correct move, right?
Nate M: My first impression on Saturday echoed some. Now that I had an opportunity to take a step back and get up, dust off, reload, recalibrate, reengage and go out on the attack, I can’t help but think of this video.
Brian J: Was excited to be getting football, but a bit surprised that the schedule was so front loaded.
Andy K: At first, I thought we got bent over like unsuspecting livestock in Iowa, then I realized it was basically the same schedule they gave us originally, the only change being removing Rutgers. So, it wasn’t revenge for rattling cages, they ALREADY had the knives sharpened. (And to be fair, Riley’s 3 seasons were the easiest schedules we had since the Big 8, 70’s edition. )
Jon: Have I told all of you how much I love you lately? Have I? Well, I do. The idea that Nebraska is going to play Ohio State on the road in the first game of dystopia - it doesn’t get any better than that. A chance to prove ourselves in the toughest possible match up right out of the gates! WOOOOOOOOOOOO! I expect ALL OF YOU EVERYONE EVERYWHERE TO BE HERE FOR THE GAME THREADS!
The “Jenga 41” schedule included flipping Wisconsin to home and Purdue on the road. The Big Ten announced that would adjust future schedules moving forward and ensure a better balance of home games each season as a result. Are you happy/sad/apathetic this feature was kept in the latest schedule?
Mike: Love it, because it means that we’ll have one of those games on the home schedule each season.
Patrick: Highly indifferent as long as we have a competitive football team.
Nate M: I just want a competent football team at this point.
Brian J: Moving forward it would be nice to have a balance, but overall pretty apathetic
Andy K: I’ll rage at the schedule when we become relevant again. For now? Namaste, bitches.
Jon: I have no idea what Namaste means and I’m not going to look it up. I assume it means, “Kiss My Ass”. (AK: As far as you’re concerned, I’m ok going with that.)
What do you think of the original 2020 schedule’s last five game stretch versus the latest schedule opening with at Ohio State then hosting Wisconsin?
Mike: If you’ve watched some of these early season games, you’ve seen some teams play sloppy thanks to little spring practice and off-and-on fall camp. So it might be better to play those teams early, before they get in gear. Especially if we’ve some new wrinkles on offense (like Omar Manning) that defenses can’t prepare for. (Think back to last year against Ohio State, where Frost rolled out Osborne’s Option-I offense with Dedrick Mills as a fullback, totally baffling the Bucknuts for a while.)
Patrick: Take our licks early. We are healthy right now and can give the top teams in the conference our best. I say better now than later.
Nate M: Besides being able to sleep in your own bed I’m not sure how much of a home field advantage some teams will have. With that said, I’ll take the first four games of this schedule over the last five game stretch of the original 2020 schedule. Get tested early and if things don’t go well then Nebraska still has an opportunity to regroup and finish out the season strong. It would have really been tough on the program if Nebraska failed and ENDED the season with that tough stretch.
Brian J: Either way it was going to be a tough stretch. I personally don’t mind having the tough games at the beginning. If there is a right time to have Ohio State is it at the beginning of the season with no fans in their stands, in my opinion. I get starting off 1-4 or 2-2 doesn’t look good. But there is a chance to catch some of those teams early on and then hit our stride later on in the season against lesser competition.
Andy K: I just reached up to adjust a cap I’m not wearing. By Week 5, I’ll know if that bastard’s on or off and be able to tell you which logo it’s sporting. Everyone has growing pains. Maybe we’ll catch them thinking they’ve got us and can tinker with sets and checkdowns and find themselves in double pick-6 hole to the tune of 0-14 and it’ll be on. If we can look competitive and grab an upset of Bucky or Rape U, attitudes will change.
Well, that’s if we get to A 5th game.
Jon: Nebraska vs Ohio State was supposed to be a BIG TEN MARQUEE MATCH UP because our beloved Huskers were supposed to hold up their end of the bargain and be a damned good team. I’m elated we’re first with them. Then Wisconsin. Tough it up, suck it up, and see what happens!
Bill Moos had a lot to say about the schedule. Do you have any thoughts you want to share about his comments/echo his sentiment/think he shouldn’t have said what he said?
Mike: Some things are better off said in private. Several national media types have taken the stance that Nebraska is a villain in this whole saga, (i.e. some former Yahoo who’s name sounds an awful lot like “40”) and this just gives them more ammunition. Why say it to the media after the schedule is released? What’s the point? Does Moos think that the Big Ten is going to release a fourth schedule?
Patrick: I’m glad he did what he could for the Huskers but I think he should have left it in the conference room. Then again, we seem to be a fanbase without a big rival. Maybe the conference is just that. Our newest rival.
Nate M: I actually get both sides. It isn’t a good look to complain when things are “unfair” or “difficult.” I kind of wish Nebraska would have stayed silent but they didn’t. The complaint about the schedule, at least from what I have seen, is the first four games. It isn’t the schedule as a whole.
I’m still of the mind that Nebraska is at least willing to stand up for itself publicly. Some complaints from some Big Ten fanbases are probably still linked to Nebraska being outspoken in the first place about the cancelling of the season.
Brian J: I really wish Moos would have just kept those comments to himself. I get being upset and not getting some of the breaks he wanted, but this is basically the schedule we had prior. Having him complain like this just adds more fuel to the fire of the national media that was very critical of the Huskers wanting to play badly.
Andy: Agree with all who said he should swallowed the bile and toed the party line. But on the other hand, I have no problem with a throwback to the days when an AD would toss back a couple belts of top shelf bourbon or scotch and go tell the scribes just exactly what the F*** was on his mind.
Of course, they print all that now instead of laughing their asses off and joining him for a couple. We are all doomed.
Jon: I guess maybe Bill was throwing them local media boys a bone. I wish he’d kept it to himself as well.
What are the latest chances in your mind that Nebraska actually plays college football this season?
Mike: I think Nebraska will play most of these games. I think it’s unlikely that this schedule will be the one that gets played, though. And I wouldn’t be shocked that if a COVID outbreak hits, that another east division team gets inserted into our schedule at some point to keep games moving.
Patrick: Nebraska will play a handful of games, as will most teams. I imagine something will happen to where enough teams are without players and the conference will then gets nervous and pulls the plug on the season. Just a guess right now. I have no clue how this season will pan out.
Nate M: I have a gut feeling apart from a few hiccups that the entire schedule gets played. Though there are many many reasons why that definitely could not happen. For example, my daughter had a cough last night and her forehead felt warm. People overly concerned. Then I checked her temp and it was 98.4. Just wait until the actual flu season shows up. People are going to freak.
Brian J: I believe there is a great shot that Nebraska is able to play a majority if not all of their games. Having the daily testing could go a long way to helping prevent massive outbreaks throughout the team. As long as athletes and coaches are taking the proper steps, I think they have as close to a full season as they can.
Andy: Lmfao!! Boys, the biggest sport with free labor will be doing whatever they have to to scrape all the cabbage they can out of this monumental shit show. Scenes like this will play out to real time instead of laugh tracks:
(I still love the Purdue DB sauntering up and wagging his finger at the unconscious twerp like, “Gonna get got every time you try that 7-yard-cross BULL-shit, champ”)
Nah, Big Ed let us all know the plan last week when he basically said every damn near every LSU Tiger scholar-athlete & philanthropist in training on the roster had contracted that nasty old Covid, so can’t no sumbitch be testing them again for 90 days.
Geaux Tigahs!
Jon: We’re gonna play as long as nothing explodes. I don’t know what that means either.
Let’s have it, what is your projected record? You reserve the right to change this in other articles going forward.
Mike: This season is a huge guessing game, but I’m going to go with 5-3. Ohio State and Penn State are going to be really tough to pull out. Wisconsin early in the season could be interesting, because Madison is still shut down due to COVID. But I believe that Frost has been so outspoken in wanting to get his team to play this fall for a reason. (And I believe there is a reason that schools like Rutgers and Minnesota don’t really want to play.) Nebraska has a lot of returning experience, and if you believe the recruiting services, the most talent in the west. It’s about time that starts to show.
Patrick: Like Mike said, this is a guessing game. I have no idea how teams will be. COVID-19 has been doing a mind melt on this country so far. It will be curious how the players deal with it along with getting ready to play each week. I am going to go with 4-4 right now. Ask me again in a couple of weeks when we see some practices and have a better idea of how this team will operate this year. Also, it will be interesting to see who comes back to some of the opponents (i.e. Minnesota & Purdue). Those could be determining factors in how they will be come game day.
Nate M: If past performance is an indicator of future results then there really is no reason we should expect Nebraska to win more than one game. Indiana won 8 games last year. Minnesota won 17 games. And Pat Forde hates Nebraska. So we might go winless.
Brian J: I have a good feeling about this team and I think they end up going 5-3 before the Championship Weekend. With the added weapons to go with a veteran offensive line, the offense has a lot of the explosiveness we are use to seeing in a Frost offense. While they do lose some talent on defense, the overall unit has talent and could gel with experience. I see losses to Ohio State and Penn State while that third loss comes either to Wisconsin or Minnesota.
Andy K: I believe in the direction we’re going, but given the Riley-sized hole out of which we’re still digging, I don’t see it turning into a winning record for the first time given a schedule with literally zero games in which we’d be a prohibitive favorite.
I’ll chuck analysis aside, take one last drink look at the slate and go crazy optimistic with a prediction of 4-4 the wins coming against Wiscy, Northwestern, the Fightin’ Lovies and a no-Rondale Purdue. OK, maybe that line’s a little bigger with the B1G’s most exciting player opting out.
The realistic side says this could also easily turn into a 2-6 or 1-7 goatf**k that drops more elderly, psychotic Husker faithful than the pandemic. But watching our offensive line shove the Badgers and Hawkeyes around at times last year gives me hope. And Andy Dufresne told me hope is a good thing.
Jon: I have a feeling this Nebraska team is all moving in the same direction now.