CFB51 College Football Fan Community
The Power Five => Big Ten => Topic started by: MaximumSam on June 24, 2020, 09:12:43 AM
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I can already tell this is going to be a tough one. It's surprisingly difficult to rank linebackers given the huge versatility in what they do and the general difficult in playing linebacker these days. So don't get angry at me. For advanced stats the overall defense probably going to carry a lot of weight.
14. Purdue: Derrick Barnes, Jaylan Alexander, DaMarcus Mitchell, Kieran Douglas
Well, somebody has to be last. Purdue was not good at defense last year (82nd SP+), and they've lost some quality players. Markus Bailey had a sad final year where injury knocked him out, and they also lost tackling machine Ben Holt. Cornel Jones decided to transfer to Florida State, where he was promptly kicked off the team. On top of that, Bob Diaco is trying to transition to his preferred 3-4 defense, so he needs even more linebackers. Derrick Barnes started his career as a linebacker and had a pretty good 2018 season, but moved to the line last year. He's back at linebacker, pairing with Alexander as really the only guys with experience. I'm just guessing on starters after them. Mitchell is a JUCO transfer who can hopefully step in and play. Douglas and Khali Saunders are the only other guys on the roster who recorded a tackle last year. With no spring ball, it's going to be a real job to get this group up and running.
13. Nebraska: Will Honas, Colin Miller, JoJo Domann, Caleb Tannor
This might be too low for Nebraska - it's not like they were horrid on defense last year. But they weren't great and they lose their defensive leader in Mo Berry. Like seemingly everything with Nebraska, there's a lot of uncertainty, and the confidence in Scott Frost to cover over the uncertainty is waning. Honas and Miller will man the inside and will try to replace Berry. Outside, Domann and Tannor combined for 5 sacks last year, which isn't particularly impressive. Behind all of these guys Nebraska is pretty thin at the position, and if you looked at the defensive line preview, there are a lot of questions about the defensive line, too. You combine these things and it looks like the bottom will drop out of the Nebraska defense. Still, I'll have to see it to believe it.
12. Maryland: Ayinde Eley, Chance Campbell, Shaq Smith, Fa'Najae Gotay
Maryland was horrid at defense last year, and they did lose two of their top linebackers in Keandre Jones and Isaiah Davis. Still, there is an air of positivity around this group, which will be led by Eley, who received an honorable mention on the coach's B1G team last year. Former Clemson Tiger Shaq Smith finally hopes to make an impact if he can stay healthy. They actually have a large group of guys who get snaps this fall, and Locksley does have a four star recruit in Ruben Hyppolite II, whose name seems extremely fun to say so I hope he sees the field. The bottom did fall out of the Maryland defense last year. If they hope to turn it around, it will probably be led by this group.
11. Minnesota: Mariano Sori-Marin, Braelen Oliver, James Gordon, Donald Willis
Placing Minny here mostly because not sure what to do with them. For one, their base defense is a 4-2-5, so it's not like linebacker is their priority. For two, they were pretty good last year Thomas Barber and Kamal Martin manning the middle. For three, those guys left and we aren't particularly sure what the new guys will look like. It's not like we should expect them to be bad, but they are all various three star types so it's hard to expect them to be great, too. Minnesota's defense is retooling all over the field so this will be an adventure for the Gophers.
10. Rutgers: Tyshon Fogg, Olakunle Fatukasi, Tyreek Maddox-Williams, RaShawn Battle
Rutgers is in surprisingly good shape here. Linebacker was probably the strength of the defense last year, to the extent they had one, and everyone returns. Fogg especially may be in line for some hardware this season if Rutgers looks competent on defense. They even have some young guys who can contribute - fans are especially high on Deion Jennings. Should be interesting to see - Rutgers is going to be better up front this year, which should help the linebackers. But they are still learning a new defense without spring ball, and the defense was garbage last year. Add all that up and this is as high as I can put them right now.
9. Illinois: Jake Hansen, Milo Eifler, Khalan Tolson, Tarique Barnes
Illinois is mostly in good shape, albeit they lost Dele Harding, who was second in the country with 153 tackles. But they get a couple productive guys in Hansen and Eifler back. This being Illinois, we can go through the transfers. Eifler originally played at Washington. They picked up JUCO transfer Lavar Gardner, who looks to be an outside linebacker though he's listed as an athlete for now. Derrick Smith may play linebacker or safety - he's eligible this year after transferring from Miami. This is a solid group, weighed down by the fact that Illinois was just ok on defense last year and was bad stopping the run. Tick that up and Lovie will have something this year on defense.
8. Michigan State: Antjuan Simmons, Noah Harvey, Chase Kline, Jeslord Boateng
As always, Sparty is full of uncertainty and difficult to rank. Antjuan Simmons was great last year and led the team in tackles and had 15 TFLs. He can make plays sideline to sideline and rush the passer. He's in line for some hardware this year (and also used to be pledged to OSU, what the hell). Outside of him it's an adventure. Veterans Joe Bachie and Tyriq Thompson are gone, as is Dantonio. Harvey has experience in the middle after Bachie got popped for steroids last year, so he'll be the presumptive starter. Of course, it's not incredibly clear what kind of defense MSU will prefer this year, and how many linebackers will play. I can join ELA in hoping Boateng gets some snaps, but for me it's because I want to yell JESLORD at my television.
7. Indiana: Micah McFadden, Cam Jones, Thomas Allen, James Miller
Going through these I'm struck at how young Indiana was last year on defense. The linebacker group loses second leading tackler Raekwon Jones but otherwise returns everyone. Further, none of these guys are seniors, as WINdiana played a lot of freshmen and sophomores on a defense that ended up 43rd on SP+. Could they make the jump up into, say, a top 20 defense? It's not outside the realm of possibility. Considering their offense looks to be pretty strong, could WINdiana compete for a B1G crown? Well let's not get ahead of ourselves. The linebacker group is pretty good though waiting on playmakers to emerge. They gave up 3.92 yards a carry last year, which is not terrible, but they need to get that down a bit more to be a truly good defense.
6. Iowa: Djimon Colbert, Nick Niemann, Barrington Wade, Jack Campbell
Another difficult team to rank. Iowa was lights out on defense last year and while they will probably regress some from that, they still figure to be pretty good. But they are also moving away from three linebacker sets to two, a sign of the prevalence of spread offenses if there ever was one. It also shows the flexibility needed for defense - Iowa (and Ohio State) would like a base defense of 4-2-5 for all the spread teams, but will move to a 4-4-3 against teams like Wisconsin. Anyways, Iowa lost their top tackler in Kristian Welch, but they return veteran Colbert and have a pretty good pipeline of guys they can put on the field.
5. Michigan: Cam McGrone, Josh Ross, Michael Barrett, Anthony Solomon
Should be another solid group for the Wolverine, though they do have some attrition. They lose top tacklers Khaleke Hudson and Jordan Glasgow, as well as Josh Uche, who I got some flak for putting as a defensive end. Still, the cupboard is hardly bare. McGrone looked like the future for the Wolverines, showing enough athleticism to make plays sideline to sideline. He will likely be in the middle. Ross started over him for a bit until he got hurt - he will likely move outside. It gets a bit unknown after those two. Replacing Hudson at the Viper position will most likely be Michael Barrett. Michigan hopes for someone with a bit more playmaking ability - after a promising start Hudson never really impacted games as much as you would expect. He had 18 TFLs in 2017, then 3.5 in 2018 and 3 in 2019. If whomever replaces him can wreck opposing defenses a bit more, Michigan will be in good shape.
4. Wisconsin: Jack Sanborn, Leo Chanel, Noah Burks, Izayah Green-May
Another good looking group for Wiscy, even if they are a bit inexperienced. While they return leading tackler Sanborn, they lose a lot of experience in Chris Orr and Zack Baun. Still, Wisconsin linebackers are similar to their offensive line - they will have good ones. On the inside, either Leo Chanel or Mike Maskalunas will start opposite Sanborn. Noah Burks will start outside, and the biggest question will be who the fourth guy will be. It sounds like Green-May will get the first crack, but there are an array of talented if very inexperienced options. In summary, the group is good, the line in front of them is good, and they could rival or exceed last year's class. But they do have some inexperience to deal with, which is an extra wild card with COVID, so this is where I place them.
3. Northwestern: Paddy Fischer, Blake Gallagher, Chris Bergin, Erik Mueller
When evaluating linebackers, experience seems special. It may be like that for every position, but given the widely fluctuating responsibilities for these guys to fill gaps and drop back into coverage against all sorts of offenses, having guys who know where to be seems important. So Northwestern, who returns four seniors to their linebacking corps, and lose no one, get the jump here. Lost in the fact that Northwestern was terrible was the fact that their defense was still quite solid. While by SP+ they were ranked 91st, their defense was 27th. Their linebackers were a key reason, and so they will be again this year. Each starter averaged over seven tackles a game, and with the loss of GAZ they will likely be used more to rush the passer. Further, if the offense isn't trash and can score points, they might get more opportunities to rush the passer as other teams actually have to score points to win. A big turnaround for Northwestern can happen, and these guys will get the glory if it does.
2. Ohio State: Peter Werner, Tuf Borland, Baron Browning, Teradja Mitchell
It was just a couple years ago that OSU fans were screaming about their shitty linebackers. It's still mostly the same group, just a lot less shitty. While the line is the most talented part of the defense, the linebackers are the most experienced. They do lose thumper and leading tackler Malik Harrison, and replacing him will likely be former five star recruit Baron Browning, who has a chance to finally make a lot of plays after splitting time last year. Pete Werner will continue to gain a lot of snaps. Tuf Borland has been around since the 80's. There are options for depth, too. Former five star recruit Justin Hilliard returns for a sixth year after suffering a lot of injuries - it will be his last chance to live up to his potential. Former top 50 recruit Teradja Mitchell is constantly talked about but wasn't healthy enough to see much action last year. Expect for from him. The Buckeye defense has some youth on the front and back end, these guys will don't. What keeps them from the #1 spot is their lack of star power. While all of these guys are solid, it's not clear any of them are true playmakers. If Browning or Mitchell makes that leap, then you might have the best group.
1. Penn State: Micah Parsons, Brandon Smith, Ellis Brooks, Jesse Luketa
It's good to have a star. Every conversation of Penn State's linebackers (and defense) will start with Micah Parsons, who is the best returning defensive player in the B1G and arguably the country. He'll get his opportunity at a Chase Young type of season this year. After him is where the conversation begins. The Lions lose long time middle linebacker Jan Johnson and outside man Cam Johnson. The hope in Happy Valley is that PSU's recruiting, which has been gangbusters at linebacker, makes for a fearsome group. Five star guys include Smith, redshirt frosh Lance Dixon, and incoming freshman Curtis Jacobs. Johnson will be replaced by either Brooks or Luketa, former top 300 guys who played as reserves last year. While they aren't as experienced as a couple other teams, they do have a superstar. As these other guys come along this could be a fearsome group.
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Cam McGrone has big time potential, was a bit up and down as a true frosh but flashed serious closing speed and big hitting ability. I think he’s a future star.
Josh Ross was very good in 2018 and was the starter at MIKE before he got hurt and McGrone took the job over and never let it go. Ross is moving to the WLB and McGrone is staying at MLB. That might be the best 1-2 punch at the true LB positions that Michigan has had since Don Brown has been there.
After that Michigan has to replace two hybrid LB positions. Josh Uche was their SAM which in Don Brown’s system is a hybrid OLB/DE. And then they also have to replace their VIPER position manned by Khaleke Hudson- which is a hybrid OLB/S.
They’re going to have a bunch of young guys vying for roles at SAM and VIPER. Leader in the clubhouse by far for VIPER is Mike Barrett. Coaches were really high on him when they recruited him out of Georgia. He was the Gatorade player of the year in that state and played QB and DB in HS. He’s about same size as Hudson- 6’ish, 220-225 lbs. He’s got the big leg up there over Anthony Solomon.
SAM battle is a big toss up. Could be a ton of different guys. Going to have to wait to see what happens in fall camp.
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Linebacker - not promising
What we know: Three seniors — Will Honas and Collin Miller inside and JoJo Domann outside — will be counted on for major roles and the rest is a bunch of question marks.
Questions remaining: First, the inside linebackers. There is an exciting corps of young players — sophomore Luke Reimer, redshirt freshman Nick Henrich and incoming freshman Keyshawn Greene for starters — behind the senior duo, but who breaks through into the rotation? How fast can juco transfer Eteva Mauga-Clements pick up the system and what will his role be? We know Barrett Ruud wants to rotate players — more than three, if possible — to keep his guys fresh. What that rotation looks like at this point seems like a wide-open conversation.
Outside, NU has lacked pass-rush punch since switching to the 3-4 in 2017. This is a pivotal year for junior Caleb Tannor. Will he grow into a full-time player? What progress does Garrett Nelson make in Year 2? It’s a lot to ask a true freshman to make an impact on the front seven, but opportunity will be there for Blaise Gunnerson (if healthy) and Jimari Butler. Same for juco transfer Niko Cooper. And do either of the other guys — Jamin Graham and David Alston — have a run toward playing time in them? The Huskers don’t need a 10-sack guy off the edge, but they need better play than last year. New OLBs coach Mike Dawson knows it and the players know it. The path to that production? Less clear.
One more intriguing question: Does, perhaps, a hybrid guy like redshirt freshman Javin Wright get a look on the edge? It’s a lot to assume a move like that could pay off right away, but sometimes jolts come from surprising places.
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Penn State:
Penn State may have the most talented linebackers in the country. Penn State is so talented and so deep at this position it makes Ohio State jealous.
Micah Parsons, Junior: Consensus All American in 2019. Butkus-Fitzgerald Award winner. Future first round draft pick. Former 5 star recruit.
Brandon Smith, Sophomore: Former 5 star recruit. Played in all 13 games last season in a backup role. Will be part of the rotation at Linebacker for sure, may be a starter. The coaching staff chose not to redshirt him, which tells me he is likely NFL bound after 3 years.
Lance Dixon, Redshirt Freshman: Former 5 star recruit. Played in 4 games last season to preserve his redshirt. Will be part of the rotation, but I don't think he will be a starter.
Ellis Brooks, Redshirt Junior: Former 4 star recruit. Played in all 13 games last year, racking up 39 tackles, including 4 tackles for loss. Will likely split time at the Mike Linebacker position with
Jesse Luketa, Junior: Fromer 4 star recruit. Played in all 13 games last year, including 2 starts. Tallied 24 tackles last season.
Charlie Katshir, Reshirt Sophomore: Played in 12 games last season as Micah Parson's backup. Looked very good in limited snaps.
Incoming Freshman:
5 star Curtis Jacobs, 4 star Tyler Elsdon: Jacobs is a 5 star recruit and will likely play in a reserve role this year, especially on special teams. Interestingly enough, Elsdon was an early enrollee and REALLY impressed in winter workouts. Normally if a player makes those kind of waves in practice, they are too good to keep off the field. But the depth at this position is extreme.
Snap counts in 2019:
| No. | Linebacker | Class | Total (%) | Games Played | Season High |
| 11 | Micah Parsons | Sophomore | 720 (74.5%) | 13 (12 starts) | 78 (Memphis) |
| 6 | Cam Brown | Senior | 629 (65%) | 13 (12 starts) | 70 (Buffalo) |
| 36 | Jan Johnson | RS Senior | 463 (47.9%) | 13 (13 starts) | 51 (Minnesota) |
| 13 | Ellis Brooks | RS Sophomore | 289 (29.9%) | 13 | 32 (Rutgers) |
| 40 | Jesse Luketa | Sophomore | 205 (21.2%) | 13 (2 starts) | 35 (Maryland) |
| 12 | Brandon Smith | Freshman | 137 (14.2%) | 13 | 27 (Idaho) |
| 45 | Charlie Katshir | RS Freshman | 49 (5.1%) | 6 | 14 (Maryland) |
| 10 | Lance Dixon | Freshman | 21 (2.2%) | 2 | 15 (Idaho) |
| 50 | Max Chizmar | RS Sophomore | 18 (1.9%) | 4 | 9 (Idaho) |
The losses:
Jan Johnson and Cam Brown both graduate. Jan Johnson is a former walk-on, but will be sorely missed. Although not the most athletic, he was the "captain" of the defense. He earned his starting position due to his football IQ and leadership. If the Penn State defense is going to take a step back this year, it will be here. Athleticism will only take you so far. Fortunately, guys like Ellis Brooks and Jesse Luketa have very high football IQs and played a lot of football backing Johnson up last season.
Cam Brown was forced to burn his redshirt in 2016 when Penn State somehow had 5 linebackers injured during the Michigan game. It would have been nice to have him back, as he improved greatly every year. He was drafted in the 6th round by the giants. He was mostly known for his athleticism and length, but was also a team captain.
Normally you'd expect a team to take a step back after losing two players like this, but Penn State fans fully expect this group to be better than last year.
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Man what I would give to have Micah Parsons. I think he’d wreak havoc as a SAM LB in Don Brown’s system.
Penn State LB corps definitely the envy of the B1G if not the nation.
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Man what I would give to have Micah Parsons. I think he’d wreak havoc as a SAM LB in Don Brown’s system.
Penn State LB corps definitely the envy of the B1G if not the nation.
Penn State has probably at least 7 guys that would be starters elsewhere.
I am hopeful they will rival the 2005 group of Sean Lee (10+ years in the NFL), Paul Posluszny (11 years in the NFL), Dan Connor (6 years in the NFL) and Tim Shaw (7 years in the NFL).
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Spoiler alert it's OSU and PSU in the top two
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UW will be interesting. They keep pulling out linebackers, but lost two very good ones. Have 1-2 good ones returning.
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Spoiler alert it's OSU and PSU in the top two
Misguided.
UW has had the best for years now, under Aranda, Wilcox, and now, Jimmy.
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Misguided.
UW has had the best for years now, under Aranda, Wilcox, and now, Jimmy.
They were definitely the best last year, but have some attrition. I dunno I haven't thoroughly examined them yet maybe I'll change my mind.
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Spoiler alert it's OSU and PSU in the top two
Back to where it should be.
Pos>Hawk
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They were definitely the best last year, but have some attrition. I dunno I haven't thoroughly examined them yet maybe I'll change my mind.
They had attrition last year, having to replace Ryan Connolly, Andrew Van Ginkel and TJ Edwards. Those were some great players.
They won't skip a beat this year, assuming this year happens. Jack Sanborn returns at ILB and Noah Burks returns at OLB.
Leo Chenal will step in and be a terror at ILB and there are 5 very good players who will compete to step in for Zack Baun, who nobody really heard of before last year.
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I don't think the Huskers have good linebackers, but............ hopefully, 13 is way too low
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They had attrition last year, having to replace Ryan Connolly, Andrew Van Ginkel and TJ Edwards. Those were some great players.
They won't skip a beat this year, assuming this year happens. Jack Sanborn returns at ILB and Noah Burks returns at OLB.
Leo Chenal will step in and be a terror at ILB and there are 5 very good players who will compete to step in for Zack Baun, who nobody really heard of before last year.
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.
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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.
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I should also note that I think Wisconsin's offense, especially their QB, was underrated.
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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.
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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.
I agree and understand...
I'm more "hoping" for improvement.
Barry was the leader of the defense, but he wasn't a great LB.
I know the 2nd season of a new coaching staff sometimes has a jump in performance. I'm hoping for a decent jump in year 3, since year 2 didn't show great improvement.
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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).
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Back to where it should be.
Pos<Hawk
FIFY,Hawk had 5 more tackles as a senior than Poz had either as a jr or sr seasons.And more TFL also.But it's is OK to dream
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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.
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FIFY,Hawk had 5 more tackles as a senior than Poz had either as a jr or sr seasons.And more TFL also.But it's is OK to dream
If Hawk picked his nose on the sideline the OSU bean counters credited him with an assisted tackle.
Fake News. XiSPN
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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.
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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.
You don't need to elaborate with me boss. I know all these many things. I think total defense is mostly worthless.
But let me point to something simpler. Rather than say, look at TOP. Just point to the number of plays. PSU had 12 more run against them per game. If one looks at yards per play, it's basically even. (It actually might be my go-to example of YPP).
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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.
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Hawk could pick one nostril for his college national championship and the other for his Super Bowl.
Schwing-g-g-g
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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
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Well on our side of the state line inbreeding is illegal and abhorred,sorry you didn't have parameters for the Allegheny Hillbillies
Remember that time Hawk made the probowl?
Oh, wait, I misspelled Posluszny again.
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Hey fun fact I only need six tackles in playoff games before I tie Posluzny
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That's funny right there I don't care who you are
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Remember that time Hawk made the probowl?
Oh, wait, I misspelled Posluszny again.
Tell me how the pro bowl helped the Nittany Lions to their National Title.Oops misspelled Buckeyes again
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Hey fun fact I only need six tackles in playoff games before I tie Posluzny
Ohio State grads can’t usually count that high. Are you sure?
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Ohio State grads can’t usually count that high. Are you sure?
We've had to upgrade our math education lately to count up all our wins
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We've had to upgrade our math education lately to count up all our wins
Well, once you get to the third digit (hundreds) it will help you count how many more NFL tackles Pos had over Hawk.
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Tell me how the pro bowl helped the Nittany Lions to their National Title.Oops misspelled Buckeyes again
Serious question - did AJ Chickadee really play as a freshman? He can't have played that much.
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Serious question - did AJ Chickadee really play as a freshman? He can't have played that much.
https://youtu.be/fn07rKz22QI
Click to 1:20
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Well, once you get to the third digit (hundreds) it will help you count how many more NFL tackles Pos had over Hawk.
And that helped PSU how - for the 2nd time - that's tenths BTW.Hawk's SB Ring is much nicer than Puds
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I want to thank y'all for this fascinating contribution to ranking the 2020 Big Ten linebacker units.
Did I miss the news where Hawk and Pos both came back to their alma maters to be asst coaches in charge of thus LB position and became relevant?
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https://youtu.be/fn07rKz22QI
Click to 1:20
I'll take your word for it. That 2002 game is responsible for instant replay in the B1G. haha
I knew he was AJ Kiwi freshman then, I wasn't sure if he played much.
Now, if you you want to watch some of the 2016 game, I wouldn't mind that at all.
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.Sam help me out here who was that LB no 47 freshman who just had an 8 yrd sack?
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I want to thank y'all for this fascinating contribution to ranking the 2020 Big Ten linebacker units.
Did I miss the news where Hawk and Pos both came back to their alma maters to be asst coaches in charge of thus LB position and became relevant?
It's light hearted banter that has been going strong for 15 years. If there's a linebacker thread...well...
It started when Pos dominated Hawk in the 2005 game, in which PSU beat OSU by a score of 17-10.
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Now, if you you want to watch some of the 2016 game, I wouldn't mind that at all.
Even a blind pig finds an apple
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.Sam help me out here who was that LB no 47 freshman who just had an 8 yrd sack?
AJ Quail or something like that, I think.
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I want to thank y'all for this fascinating contribution to ranking the 2020 Big Ten linebacker units.
Did I miss the news where Hawk and Pos both came back to their alma maters to be asst coaches in charge of thus LB position and became relevant?
You sound like a POS fan
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It's light hearted banter that has been going strong for 15 years. If there's a linebacker thread...well...
It started when Pos dominated Hawk in the 2005 game, in which PSU beat OSU by a score of 17-10.
Make your mind up whack you were just babbling about the 2016.Hawk was sandbagging already got his NC.Then he was saving up for his Lombardi Trophy.Say tell me what year did POz win his NC or SB - asking for a friend
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You sound like a POS fan
Maybe I'm just salty that all these new posts keep bringing me back to the 14th in the B1G ranking that you gave to my Boilermakers :03:
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You'll feel better when they whizz in tOSU's cheerios again,provided they ever play again.
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Maybe I'm just salty that all these new posts keep bringing me back to the 14th in the B1G ranking that you gave to my Boilermakers :03:
Heh well if it makes you feel better I like Diaco a lot and think Purdue will get it turned around, maybe even by this season. If they could catch some injury luck it would go a long way.
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Heh well if it makes you feel better I like Diaco a lot and think Purdue will get it turned around, maybe even by this season. If they could catch some injury luck it would go a long way.
Hoping it gets turned around... Recruiting has been on an uptick but we're consistently "young" because the newest players are also the most talented, so they keep displacing--as under-experienced freshmen--less talented but more experienced upperclassmen.
One interesting player missing is Jalen Graham. BTW it's understandable that he's missing because he's listed as a Safety, but I expect he'll be one of those hybrid S/LB type of players all over the field. He notched 8 starts last year as a true frosh and played in 11 games. One of those "he may not be perfectly ready but you can't keep him off the field" guys.
Ourlads.com has him listed as the starting OLB on the 2-deeps, even though Purdue lists him as a Safety.
We're expecting a big leap as he becomes a sophomore.
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Make your mind up whack you were just babbling about the 2016.Hawk was sandbagging already got his NC.Then he was saving up for his Lombardi Trophy.Say tell me what year did POz win his NC or SB - asking for a friend
Much Like AJ Dodo's NFL career, this is very low effort.
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Much Like my other posts, this is very low effort.
FIFY
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Hoping it gets turned around... Recruiting has been on an uptick but we're consistently "young" because the newest players are also the most talented, so they keep displacing--as under-experienced freshmen--less talented but more experienced upperclassmen.
One interesting player missing is Jalen Graham. BTW it's understandable that he's missing because he's listed as a Safety, but I expect he'll be one of those hybrid S/LB type of players all over the field. He notched 8 starts last year as a true frosh and played in 11 games. One of those "he may not be perfectly ready but you can't keep him off the field" guys.
Ourlads.com has him listed as the starting OLB on the 2-deeps, even though Purdue lists him as a Safety.
We're expecting a big leap as he becomes a sophomore.
It's a process. But they are well coached and getting the talent in, the results will come. The B1G has improved, so it's a rough time to try and break through, but as we saw with Minnesota, it can be done. I'd like to see Purdue become more effective running the ball - that should ease up pressure on the passing game and defense. 126th in the country ain't gonna cut it.
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Half done
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A few more in the meat grinder
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A few more in the meat grinder
These and ELA's posts are my favorites. Keep em coming MS.
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Another one in the books