Recent content by TwistingMyMelon

Multiple errors in this article 1) However, the Huskers haven’t beaten Minnesota since 2020. The Gophers won the 2020 game. The last time the Huskers won was 2018 (beat the Gophers pretty badly as the team's defense couldn't seem to stop anyone until they fired the defensive coordinator). 2)...

Can we move on from "wingspan?" Thank you! Jokes actually have expiration dates and that one's expiration had to be at least a year ago.

Who was ranting? I was reporting what I read about Illinois' returning players. It's pretty logical why they are rated more highly than us in August. And, yes, I'm fully aware that the rankings in December won't match the rankings in August.

Yes, #10 in 2019. An argument could be made that we should have been ranked in the top 25 in 2021. Had we not had that excruciating loss to Bowling Green we could have finished 10-3 and probably would have been (although with a 9-3 regular season record we likely would have had a tougher bowl...

I think (according to ESPN) that Illinois leads the Big Ten in productive players returning (something like 75% overall). That coupled with the fact that they won 10 games last season is why expectations are high.

You would think that you would be used to this by now. I would rather be like Minnesota than like Nebraska or Maryland, teams who are ranked prematurely some years but fail miserably to reach that status. At least on those rare occasions where we are ranked, we earned it by our play to that...

They received some votes (11) in the Coaches Poll posted on ESPN.

I'm also pleased that Max's fine performance was coupled with Mertz's bad one on the other side. Max wasn't drafted but Mertz was. Go figure. My only disappointment is that I didn't get to see Daniel Jackson play for Houston.

Unless we start the season like last year where the running game wasn't very productive, I don't expect to see us throw as often as last season. Last season, the team averaged 31.7 passing attempts per game and 31.1 rushing attempts per game. The previous highs for passing attempts per game...

Agreed. Leidner had a pretty big arm but Max did not and he was less reliable when he tried to throw long. Clearly most of us who watched them both would prefer Max. Also, we haven't had much in the way of deep threats since the top 2 wideouts from 2019 left.

Coaches are hired to be later fired. Most of them also bounce around a lot earlier in their careers. Doctors can start practicing young and continue practicing after normal retirement age. The coaches who actually make the money are evaluated on their records and that isn't completely in their...

That may be true but in order to mock a speech, it has to be bad and/or dreary enough to be funny. This one is just sort of average. Context also matters. This isn't a pep talk given in a locker room before a game. This just looks like an opening talk given in a large classroom at the...

Yes, 7 of our 13 games and 6 of our 9 conference games were one-score games (8 or fewer points). In that respect, Minnesota might have been the best conference team to watch last season if one liked watching close games.

I disagree that the offense wasn't very "balanced" last season. They had almost identical averages for running and passing attempts per game (31.7 passing attempts and 31.1 rushing attempts per game). That's not the usual breakdown for a Fleck team but it's as balanced as one can get. I agree...

I seem to recall reading that Illinois returns a fair amount of top contributors (including the QB) from last season so that might be the reason for the optimism.