Idaho State is that mystery foe on Sept. 22

[HuskerFan2002]

http://sports.omaha.com/2012/02/23/football-nebraska-to-play-idaho-state-in-2012/

They are 10-57 since 2006. Yikes.

[skrzfan]

http://sports.omaha.com/2012/02/23/football-nebraska-to-play-idaho-state-in-2012/

They are 10-57 since 2006. Yikes.

Can't wait. Could be a good game.       /sarcasm

[Bummerbry]

You can only play those willing to come to Lincoln and play you on certain open dates. With a brutal schedule in the B1G, playing these teams is just the way it is. Everyone does it for the most part.

2015 we play Southern Miss, BYU and Miami. We lose a couple of those games and people won't be happy we didn't schedule the Idaho States of the world. Our conference schedule is going to be much harder in the B1G than it was in the Big 12 and we cannot afford to get beat up in the non-con.

And NU has to have X amount of home games each year to carry the other sports the university MUST provide. We have to do this every year so scheduling home and aways isn't always possible.

I sure remember us trying to get Boise State to play us and they wanted double what we offered. We try to get good games, just isn't always easy to do.

[Hort]

We needed more ORANGE teams on our schedule. Bring on the Bengals!  

[TVCC]

We now have former Nebraska coaches as the Head Coaches at Florida Atlantic, North Dakota, Appalachian State, Ohio, Liberty and Coastal Carolina. We can fill a ton of open home dates, and keep the old boys in some welcome cash.  

[no1huskafan]

I understand that this is all about economics and I have no problem playing these guys. But I do disagree that our Big Ten schedule is brutal. Maybe I'll see the light soon, but I was not overly impressed in my first Big Ten go around. Michigan looks to be on the right track and OSU will be good/great, but everyone else will be a tier below from here out.

[74Hunter]

I understand that this is all about economics and I have no problem playing these guys. But I do disagree that our Big Ten schedule is brutal. Maybe I'll see the light soon, but I was not overly impressed in my first Big Ten go around. Michigan looks to be on the right track and OSU will be good/great, but everyone else will be a tier below from here out.

This. Before we joined the B1G, most NU fans joked about how horrible of a conference that it was. Much like you, I was less than impressed with the B1G last year, it's not like we have to play OU, Okie St, and texa$$ every year. And that was one of the B1Gs finer years that I can remember.

Edit: Even though the B1G stacked the schedule to be as tough as it could (with the exception of all road games), it is far from a murderers row.

[husker-stv]

It's certainly great to be out of the Big XII, but in honestly assessing the two conferences next to each other, I'm not sure it's any tougher at all.  I don't believe our record would have magically been any better this last year if we were still in the Big XII - and I dont' think there's much of a gap (talent wise) between conferences in years to come.

This notion that we have to schedule a crappier non-con to offset the tougher conference schedule is over-played IMHO.

[NearBigRedOfTheDesert]

Can't be thrilled with the Idaho State matchup, but, hey, the other 3 non-conf teams were in bowl games last year.  And while the Top of the B1G may not be at the same level of the Big 12, the bottom of the B1G is much better than the bottom of the Big 12.

I am okay with one planned romp per season.  Beats years when we play 4 Sun Belt Conf teams.  We played Pacific during the 1995 season and nobody mocks that group of Huskers.  The 1997 Huskers opened against Akron. 

[husker-stv]

Can't be thrilled with the Idaho State matchup, but, hey, the other 3 non-conf teams were in bowl games last year.  And while the Top of the B1G may not be at the same level of the Big 12, the bottom of the B1G is much better than the bottom of the Big 12.

Really? 

Kansas = Indiana
Iowa St = Purdue
T Tech = Illinois
Mizzou = Iowa

Who am I missing from this list - Minnesota?

Stack all of them next to each other, and I think you'll find their fairly comparable.

[HuskerFan2002]

I hope we don't do the Kansas State way by scheduling pud non-conference teams every single year. Give me at least one marquee game, two middle tier teams, and one lower tier team. Scheduling four of the toughest non-conference games possible is not a great idea, either. We would probably be beat up by the time we play our first conference game.

[Bummerbry]

Were talking future right? What the B1G was last year or the year before doesn't really matter.

Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin are going to be forces to reckon with if they aren't already. Michigan State, Penn State (who would have been in the first group if not for 1)letting JoePa coach too long and 2)what took place last season) and Iowa will be dulling out their share of upsets. Then Northwestern who has proven dangerous and who knows where the others will be. That is tough competition. It is different competition than the Big 12 in that the games are competed more closely than they are week to week in the Big 12 and the style of play is a little different.

Obviously we need to compete with good teams in our nonconference schedules, as all teams should. But we don't live in a perfect world.

And why we have to constantly have this debate about this is amazing to me. We all know why the team has to do what they do. It does us no good being upset about it. And I doubt it will not change anytime soon. Our state simply cannot pony up the money to the university.

[NearBigRedOfTheDesert]

Can't be thrilled with the Idaho State matchup, but, hey, the other 3 non-conf teams were in bowl games last year.  And while the Top of the B1G may not be at the same level of the Big 12, the bottom of the B1G is much better than the bottom of the Big 12.

Really? 

Kansas = Indiana
Iowa St = Purdue
T Tech = Illinois
Mizzou = Iowa

Who am I missing from this list - Minnesota?

Stack all of them next to each other, and I think you'll find their fairly comparable.

Fair enough.  Minnesota = Colorado (at least while Hawkins was the coach).  But the Big 12 North was NU, Missouri, Kansas State, Colorado, Kansas, and Iowa State.  The Legends division is Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, NU, and Iowa.  I think it will be tougher, year-in and year-out, than the old Big 12 North.  I don't disagree with your opinion, I just don't share it.

But please also factor in weather.  Games in Texas offered an opportunity for milder weather than games in the B1G.  That takes its toll, too.

[SUHnami]

You can only play those willing to come to Lincoln and play you on certain open dates. With a brutal schedule in the B1G, playing these teams is just the way it is. Everyone does it for the most part.

2015 we play Southern Miss, BYU and Miami. We lose a couple of those games and people won't be happy we didn't schedule the Idaho States of the world. Our conference schedule is going to be much harder in the B1G than it was in the Big 12 and we cannot afford to get beat up in the non-con.

And NU has to have X amount of home games each year to carry the other sports the university MUST provide. We have to do this every year so scheduling home and aways isn't always possible.

I sure remember us trying to get Boise State to play us and they wanted double what we offered. We try to get good games, just isn't always easy to do.

Actually Bum, I'd be fine with that.  Playing better competition is ultimately better for your team as a whole.  Your starters get more PT.  They play through adversity and the y don't get lax at all,etc.  It's hard for me to  get up for 2 games like Arkansas State and Idaho St.

Also OU was available this weekend to.     To bad that game didn't work out.

[Bummerbry]

Suh, playing in the B1G is going to do for us what the Big 12 did not. The competition in conference is better from week to week than it was/is in the Big 12. Combine that with one or two tough non-conference games and that is more than any team should want in this day and age.

If we didn't learn anything from what Colorado and Notre Dame have tried by playing as tough a schedule as they could, well they need to re-examine the results. It cannot be done.