• last year
Transcript
00:00 Welcome to the Carriker Chronicles, the people show, checking the pulse of Husker Nation,
00:13 ladies and gentlemen.
00:15 Today I get to do a prediction show.
00:17 We're going to talk about Nebraska, Minnesota, Matt Rule, PJ Fleck, Best Buds for Life, well
00:21 maybe not, but we'll see.
00:22 We'll see how their first initial meeting goes this Thursday night.
00:25 Alright, I took a whole lot of notes, ladies and gentlemen.
00:29 I did a whole lot of research, a whole lot of recon.
00:32 I got a lot of stuff to talk about.
00:34 Hopefully we can educate a few folks, starting with myself.
00:37 I'm going to give my three keys, my prediction.
00:39 Jacob's going to give his expert prediction at the end of the show.
00:42 I'm just going to give you a hint.
00:44 I think it's going to be close.
00:45 It may even be a little ugly.
00:46 My prediction may surprise you.
00:48 My three keys, my prediction.
00:50 We're going to go through these notes rather quickly.
00:53 I do think it's going to be a close game.
00:55 First, before we bring on my highly intelligent, incredibly good looking son, who obviously
01:01 looks like his mom.
01:03 Ok, I want your feedback real quick.
01:06 Matt Rule said in his press conference last Friday that he is confident Nebraska will
01:11 be physical vs. Minnesota on Thursday night.
01:15 If that excites you, smash that like button if you're looking forward to seeing a Nebraska,
01:21 a physical Nebraska football team.
01:24 Now my 14 year old son, Jacob, he's in the 8th grade, just started school, just turned
01:28 14 late July.
01:29 He's been coming on this show for 8 years since he was 6 years old.
01:34 How are you doing Jacob?
01:35 I'm doing very well.
01:36 You're like a seasoned pro at this point.
01:38 Yeah, pretty much.
01:39 Ready to have some fun?
01:40 I am ready.
01:41 Talk some football?
01:42 Yeah.
01:43 Now, go ahead.
01:44 I thought this was baseball.
01:45 Not quite.
01:46 We'll get there.
01:47 We'll get there.
01:48 Now, you made the comment to me, in order for you, like there used to be a huge height
01:53 difference.
01:54 He's 6'4" by the way.
01:55 As a 14 year old.
01:56 He used to have to sit on like 6 books so it wouldn't be such a disparaging height difference.
02:01 You pointed that out to me before the show.
02:02 You've grown just a smidge.
02:03 Alright, should we talk a little Husker football?
02:05 Let's do it.
02:06 Alright, so one thing I thought was interesting.
02:09 Nick Monroe, Minnesota's quarterback's coach and he's listed as a co-defensive coordinator,
02:13 was Tony White's defensive, on Tony White's defensive staff, had been on it since 2020
02:18 at Syracuse.
02:19 Now, he was also there when they played Minnesota, when Minnesota beat Syracuse 28-20 in the
02:26 bowl game last December.
02:27 Tony White has recent experience versus Minnesota's offense.
02:32 Also, Nick Monroe probably still has Tony White's game plan for that bowl game from
02:39 Syracuse where they played Minnesota and now he's on Minnesota's staff.
02:43 He may still have that game plan that Tony White had when they were playing Minnesota
02:47 last December.
02:48 Do you think that's really a big deal?
02:49 Do you think that's going to matter?
02:50 It'll matter a little bit, not too much because it was so long ago.
02:54 I just changed so much.
02:56 It'll matter a little bit because it's still going to be the same, but it's going to be
02:59 different I think.
03:00 I agree.
03:01 Especially Nebraska's going to have some different personnel.
03:02 Now, let's talk about Mr. P.J.
03:04 Fleck, Mr. Row the Boat, Mr. Popular.
03:06 What did you say to me the other day?
03:07 Sink the ship.
03:08 Sink the ship.
03:09 That's what it was.
03:10 Alright, P.J.
03:11 Fleck is in his 7th year as Minnesota's head coach.
03:13 He has a 62% win percentage.
03:15 He's 4-0 in bowl games.
03:17 In 2019, they won 11 football games, which was the most wins a Minnesota team had had
03:22 in over 100 years since 1904 when they went 13-0.
03:26 He also won Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2019.
03:29 Last year, the Gophers, formerly known as the Golden Gophers, dropped gold.
03:32 Now they're just the Gophers.
03:33 They went 9-4 and all four of those losses were within a 12-point margin.
03:39 They have a new offensive staff with Greg Harbaugh and Matt Simon handling co-offensive
03:45 coordinator duties.
03:46 Now, gone is the quarterback position for Minnesota's 84-year starter, K. Tanner Morgan.
03:54 I practiced this.
03:55 I hope I do this name some justice.
03:56 Alright, Athon Kalakoumenis.
03:59 I hope I did that some justice.
04:00 I apologize if I didn't.
04:02 He's the projected starter, played in 11 games last year, started 5 games.
04:05 He passed for 946 yards, 3 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.
04:09 Now, he's a talented young man, but I've got a question for you, Jacob.
04:12 If your returning starting quarterback had more interceptions than touchdowns from the
04:16 year before, would that concern you at all?
04:17 If you're a Gopher fan?
04:18 Yes, Athon.
04:19 I'd like him to throw it to the right team.
04:22 I love that you just came up with that.
04:24 That's awesome.
04:25 Alright, running back Mo Ibrahim.
04:26 What was he called?
04:27 The rolling ball of butcher knives.
04:29 He's also gone.
04:30 Now, P.J. Fleck, they're going to do a running back by committee approach with anywhere from
04:34 two to five running backs in the conversation, including true freshman Darius Taylor, who's
04:40 quite talented, a Western Michigan transfer, Sean Tyler.
04:43 Both talented.
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05:30 Now, you get back to the Gophers.
05:33 Again, they're not golden anymore.
05:34 The offensive line lost three starters from a year ago.
05:37 Now, they're pass catchers.
05:38 Wide receivers, deep talent.
05:40 Maybe the most talented deep wide receiver cord P.J. Flick has had since he got there.
05:45 That includes 2019 when they had two NFL guys on that roster.
05:49 The tight ends, talented, returning experience, could have gone pro.
05:53 So their pass catchers are pretty good.
05:56 Returning experience, deep talent mixture.
05:58 Now, defensively, they stop the ball.
06:01 They stop the run.
06:02 I'm sorry, they stop the ball.
06:03 They stop the run really, really well, but they struggle to get after the quarterback.
06:07 If you had to prioritize one thing over the other.
06:09 Jacob plays on a nationally competitive tackle football team.
06:12 They're going to be going to Orlando, Florida.
06:15 Play the big boys, see what's out there in the big wide world.
06:17 But Jacob's a defensive end and a tight end.
06:20 If you had to choose one thing to be better at, stopping the run or getting after the
06:24 quarterback as a defensive end, defensive tackle, which one would you choose?
06:28 For, just to help the defense as a whole, I think you've got to stop the run.
06:32 Because if you can make them throw, that's really hard on the quarterback.
06:35 But if they can just run it down your throat, that's what makes the good teams, especially
06:38 in the past.
06:39 OK, that's a great point.
06:41 So Minnesota's defensive line stopped the run well last year.
06:45 Did not get after the quarterback.
06:46 Great, something they're looking to improve on.
06:48 OK, now the linebacker position.
06:50 They've lost nearly 3,000 snaps worth of experience in their back seven.
06:54 But let's start with the linebackers.
06:55 They lost nearly 1,200 snaps.
06:57 That's a part of the program with their top three linebackers either graduating or transferring.
07:02 When it comes to their DBs, a lot of their top four, they've got a lot of new, is what
07:08 I have written here, a lot of new people is what that means, in their back seven.
07:13 They lost four of their top DBs, cornerbacks, safeties, especially when you look at their
07:19 nickel packages they had a year ago.
07:21 Nearly 1,800 snaps not coming back through the NFL, retirement, or the transfer portal.
07:28 Now they did get an influx of transfers in their own right, and their best player on
07:31 defense, Tyler Newben, all Big Ten safety is coming back.
07:36 Now let's focus on what Nebraska needs to do.
07:38 Sound good to you?
07:39 Yes.
07:40 Alright, what's that say right there, Jacob?
07:41 The first thing I have written.
07:42 We need to be able to run the ball.
07:44 Yeah, we've got to be able to run the football.
07:46 OK, now Jeff Simms, talented guy, dynamic with his legs, but he has not proven just
07:50 yet, got a couple years of eligibility left, that he can take care of the ball through
07:54 the air consistently just yet.
07:56 OK, and we've got Billy Kemp, but we need some other wide receivers who are talented
08:01 yet unproven to step up.
08:02 So we're going to have to start by running the ball first, and a little birdie told me
08:06 they're practicing some option.
08:10 So I'm excited to see what they do in the game when it comes to that.
08:13 Number two.
08:14 What's number two, Jacob?
08:16 We have to be able to tackle well.
08:17 Yeah, Tony White, when I interviewed him, said, "You ain't playing defense here if you
08:23 can't tackle."
08:24 Enough said.
08:26 Number three, what have we got?
08:28 Win the fourth quarter.
08:29 Alright, are we truly the better conditioned team?
08:31 Our strength and conditioning staff and the previous staff I was not crazy about.
08:34 I'm much more excited about our current staff, but are we the better conditioned team?
08:38 Truly.
08:39 Going forward, and if we want to start winning close games, we have to start by winning the
08:43 fourth quarter.
08:44 I know, revolutionary concept here.
08:46 Alright, I'm going to repeat it again.
08:47 We have to be able to run the ball, we have to tackle well, and we have to win the fourth
08:53 quarter.
08:54 Alright, Jacob.
08:55 Minnesota, alright, they're favored.
08:56 Boo.
08:57 What are they favored by?
08:58 Seven and a half.
08:59 What's the other team?
09:00 Seven and a half.
09:01 What's the over/under?
09:02 Forty-three point five.
09:04 Forty-three and a half points.
09:05 So they're thinking kind of close, low scoring game, although seven and a half, whatever.
09:09 Alright, I agree it will be a low scoring game.
09:12 It may even be a little bit ugly.
09:13 Our defense is ahead of our offense, okay.
09:16 They have some dynamic pass catchers, but they got a new quarterback, new running back,
09:21 new offensive line, new in the back seven.
09:24 We obviously have a lot of new this year as well.
09:25 I mean, there's no doubt about that.
09:29 But the way I look at it is this.
09:32 We know what to expect out of Minnesota schematically.
09:34 We're almost so new, we don't even know what to expect out of ourselves, so how can they
09:39 know what to expect out of us?
09:41 Okay, I initially predicted Minnesota to beat us when I did my seven to five preview prediction
09:46 show a couple of weeks ago.
09:47 After a deeper dive, alright, my unbiased prediction, I'm allowed to change my mind.
09:53 It's my show, I'll do what I want.
09:55 Minnesota 17, Nebraska 24.
09:57 What do you got, Jacob?
09:59 I got Minnesota 17, Nebraska 21.
10:02 Now I thought you were going to turn heel on the folks, because this is scratched out.
10:06 This is scratched out, because he initially had Minnesota winning, then he tried to copy
10:09 my score.
10:10 No, I'm just kidding.
10:11 He actually did beat me in a head-to-head prediction contest a couple of years ago.
10:14 He has not stopped bragging about that.
10:16 Alright, I got three questions for you fine folks at home, because the good guys here
10:19 predicted Nebraska to win, in our kind of unbiased opinion.
10:23 Mostly unbiased.
10:24 Number one, let me know in the comments below.
10:25 Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.
10:26 I want to know your thoughts.
10:27 Will our offensive line be better?
10:29 If we're going to be physical, if we're going to run the ball, our offensive line
10:31 has to be better.
10:32 Will we be a physical team?
10:34 Matt Wills said he's confident we'll be a physical team.
10:36 Will we be a physical team?
10:38 And number three, will we win the game?
10:39 Yes or no?
10:40 Or you can give me your score prediction below.
10:42 Keep it simple.
10:43 If you missed any of my eight-part interview series, Roy Hulu, Prince of Mukamara, Larry
10:46 the Cable Guy, Jim Pillen, the Governor, former Husker, we got Tony White, we got Rex Burkhead,
10:51 we got Amon Green, we got Larry the Cable Guy, check it out at Carriker Chronicles
10:55 dot com.
10:56 Go big red nose.
10:57 to throw the bonds.