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I don't think the Huskers have good linebackers, but............ hopefully, 13 is way too low

The problem is the B1G had pretty good defenses last year. I think Nebraska was 11th by SP+ despite not being bad. But that leaves a small margin when evaluating them against other teams. 

Antjuan Simmons is the best player on the defense, and Noah Harvey played really well after Bachie got suspended last year.  Very concerned about the third starter, and obviously depth.  I kind of hope Jeslord Boateng wins the job, I think he's got the highest ceiling of the potential other outside guys.  Luke Fulton is just a rs frosh, and seems to be a pure MLB, like Harvey, so it sort of depends on his thoughts about just getting the best guys on the field, versus fit.

The more I think of it, the more I like 3 man fronts with this group, then you can get both Harvey and Fulton in the middle.  Simmons, who is great in coverage on one outside, and you can fit Boateng and Chase Kline (who IMO becomes much more useful as a 3-4 rush LB) where needed.

A lot of that depends on Naquan Jones' ability to play the nose.  But I actually think a number of MSU's linemen (Panasiuk, Hunt, Beesley) work better as 3-4 DEs that 4-3 DE or DT.

Wisconsin had a good defense last year (#10 scoring, #4 total), but I think they were a touch overrated.

They only played two teams with a top 20 scoring offense, Oregon and OSU. 

#3 scoring offense, OSU:  72 points scored on them in 2 games.

They did ok against the other teams in the top 50, Oregon, Minnesota, and Michigan (28, 17, and 14 points, respectively), but after that they played some of the worst scoring offenses in college football. 

If we move to total offense rankings:

#3 total offense, OSU
#37 Central Michigan
#40 Oregon
#42 Minnesota
#55 Nebraska
#66 Kent State
#68 Michigan
#75 Purdue
#95 Michigan State
#99 Iowa
#112 South Florida
#124 Northwestern

Finally:  Time of possession.  Wisconsin led the country in time of possession.  This means that opposing offenses got less opportunities (possessions) to score or to get yards.

14th in SP+, 9th by FEI, which adjust for opposition.

FEI has their opposing offensive rating at 14th, mostly boosted by OSU twice and Minnesota, which FEI likes. 

TBH, total offense is a kinda worthless stat. There's just such a wide range when when adjusting for plays. Points per game is more useful, but there are better numbers out there. 

(I'm somewhat confident in the next generation of linebackers, but I don't need that extra hype. If it happens, it happens). 

14th in SP+, 9th by FEI, which adjust for opposition.

FEI has their opposing offensive rating at 14th, mostly boosted by OSU twice and Minnesota, which FEI likes.

TBH, total offense is a kinda worthless stat. There's just such a wide range when when adjusting for plays. Points per game is more useful, but there are better numbers out there.

(I'm somewhat confident in the next generation of linebackers, but I don't need that extra hype. If it happens, it happens).

I do think Wisconsin's defense was good.  Don't get me wrong.  Both the FEI and SP+ are fairly accurate, IMO.  The problem is with those that don't use advance metrics.

For example, Wisconsin's defensive numbers get a boost because they were #1 in time of possession.   Let me elaborate.  

In 2019, Wisconsin was 4th in the nation, only giving up 287 yards per game.  Penn State was ranked around 110th in time of possession, but gave up 346 yards per game.  This additional yardage is almost completely due to the fact that offenses ran more plays against PSU.  Both teams had nearly identical yards per play allowed.  PSU gave up fewer points to common opponents, and fewer points per game overall. 

At first glance, it appears Wisconsin had the better defense, but once you dive into the numbers it becomes much more cloudy.

Frankly, I think both PSU's and Wisconsin's defenses were slightly overrated.  I'd put both in the top 15, but probably not in the top 10.

If Hawk picked his nose on the sideline the OSU bean counters credited him with an assisted tackle.

Fake News.  XiSPN

Hawk could pick one nostril for his college national championship and the other for his Super Bowl.

Hawk could pick one nostril for his college national championship and the other for his Super Bowl.

POZ has 3 nostrils, because he’s 150% more of a man than hawk.  Also he can scratch them with his two Bednarik Trophies and his Butkus trophy. 

 

POZ has 3 nostrils, because he’s 150% more of a man than hawk.  Also he can scratch them with his two Bednarik Trophies and his Butkus trophy.

Well on our side of the state line inbreeding is illegal and abhorred,sorry you didn't have parameters for the Allegheny Hillbillies