Nebraska vs Illinois bold predictions and 2023 schedule reactions

hey Husker fans welcome back to the Husker big red YouTube channel I'm Chris Peterson of huskerbigred.com and with me my co-host as always is Danny Gillette of thegreatcornholio.org and this morning we're going to be talking um about the 2023 football schedule that was recently recently released and then we're also going to offer some bold predictions for the big game tomorrow for Nebraska and Illinois before we get into it folks you know make sure if you like our Nebraska content like this video comment um subscribe um so you don't miss any of our videos but uh Danny we're one day away from the Nebraska game I know we got the schedule and a lot of big news but how you feeling about the Huskers right now I'm feeling excited I mean I think it's going to be a good game no matter what I think um you know I think Nebraska can keep it close and um you know I think it's just going to be about execution I did a great podcast or a space with my friends over at armchair Illinois the other day and um you know I talked a little bit about that so if you don't know about that you can definitely check it out and um I'm really excited I think it's going to be a good game I don't think it's going to be a blowout by either side um but and the fact that it's at home is always a bonus and hopefully the fans will be in for a treat on Saturday yeah I think we're gonna see a really uh fired up you know Lincoln Memorial Stadium A ranked team a chance to end that you know six-year losing streak to rank teams and you know I know Illinois has been really good this year but I do feel like this is a winnable game for Nebraska if things you know kind of go you know the way that we hope that they go and um you know and all that you know Mickey there's been a lot of talk about him and a lot of talk you know Priscilla Joseph and all this head coaching stuff and and we'll touch on that but you know the the 2023 schedule also came out this week from the Big Ten and you know they wanted to uh you know get one more schedule out before Everything Changes going into next season I don't think we're going to have you know the division format like we have anymore it's all going to be you know dramatically different with USC and UCLA coming in but you know one last schedule came out and again Nebraska is starting on the road for the third straight I mean uh starting with the conference game you know for a third straight year at Minnesota you know at Colorado just what are your kind of first impressions of this uh the schedule for next season I don't like the fact that we're starting with a conference opponent to start things off I mean Minnesota I mean I know they're probably they're probably going to lose obviously Tanner Morgan guys like that but it's still a very well coached program and a very well coached team so I'm not thrilled about starting on the road uh at Minnesota then we go at Colorado and that was the first game I remember being heartbroken as a Husker fan when I really started following the team back in 2019 Colorado was the game that uh we should have had in my opinion that year and then Northern Illinois the weekend after September 16th we've had success against them I believe we also played them in 2019 after Colorado and we were able to beat them uh Louisiana Tech I'm not sure too much about Louisiana Tech I don't know if you know a little bit more than me but I like the way September shapes up you know we obviously have Michigan at the end so that's going to be a challenge um I feel like the month of October will be a good test with Illinois Northwestern and Purdue and then we have Michigan State Maryland Wisconsin and Iowa in November so I feel like no real one month is a gauntlet and that it's evenly spread out and I do like the Northern Illinois and Louisiana Tech games in September because I feel like that gives the program a little bit of a break before the rest of the conference slate begins I don't think it's going to be you know Easy by any stretch of the imagination but it's certainly better than playing three conference opponents in a row for instance just to start off the year yeah um yeah it is you know I don't know why they keep putting Nebraska you know in this kind of conference game and you know we're not in week zero this year which I like but still kind of starting on a national stage you know that's going to be a Thursday night game probably on Fox would be my guess you know so it's gonna be you know that's gonna be talked about so I mean whoever is is the new head coach whether it's Mickey or somebody else I mean their first game is going to be right in the spotlight so I mean that's that's something with Minnesota you know but uh the Colorado game you know they're gonna have a new head coach too so I mean it's you know they're kind of in a similar situation to Nebraska except maybe you know they they've had a little bit more of a struggle although they've you know been to the Pac-12 championship game and stuff more recently than us um looking at Northern Illinois and Louisiana Tech both of them just have two wins so far this year I mean they've been programs that have traditionally gone to bowl games and stuff in you know group of five so I don't think they're going to be pushovers but I look at this as you know there's seven home games and I think every single one of them is winnable except probably you know that Michigan game is obviously going to be tough but you know hey Miss Nebraska really could have beat Michigan last year if they didn't fumble you know if Adrian Martinez didn't fumble on that drive so you guys but uh you know you look at uh the you know you got the two group of five teams Northern Illinois Louisiana Tech then Michigan's at home you got Northwestern at home which you know Nebraska's had a lot of success even against Pat Pat Fitzgerald I mean the last time they came was like 56-10 and then uh produced at home and you look at Purdue you know they're going to be graduating Aiden O'Connell you know so they're not going to be the same type of team I wouldn't think um and then Maryland is also you know graduating the tank of you know I can't pronounce the Taco Bell yeah yep that's exactly it to his younger brother you know who's one of the most prolific Pastors in the Big Ten he's going to be graduating so you look at a lot of these teams and then Iowa at home you know who things really are kind of getting ugly for Kirk fair I mean he's like fighting out with the media right now I don't want to you know throw uh rocks at a glass house or whatever but you know it's things aren't going well over at Iowa either and not that that's going to carry into next season but I think if you look at all those games they're pretty winnable and I really you know the season's going to be defined by you know what you do in those Road games at Wisconsin you know at Illinois at Minnesota you know at Michigan State but especially those three big ten west games because to me this schedule sets up pretty well for you know six or seven wins now if you want to get beyond that and contend for the for the title then you got to win those Road games but you know overall could be a lot worse I guess it's I don't love the start but you know like you said there's not really any stretch that's unmanageable like I would consider this upcoming stretch in November a little bit unmanageable um but you know I think it's gonna it's going to you know be a little bit different than last year I can only hear the people in my mentions saying oh you guys said this about this year's schedule but I think um I think you know having a competent head coach having you know that stability and also not having to travel to Ireland for the opener I think is going to help a little bit too because that's some frequent flyer miles uh logged for that opener but you know I really do like the schedule I feel like it's a little bit more balanced than this year's schedule and depending on who comes in whether it be Mickey or somebody else I do see this team reaching a bowl game um you know I don't really see you know a situation where Nebraska loses to you know Louisiana Tech or Northern Illinois granted we said that about you know Georgia Southern and you know back in September but I still I still think the schedule is pretty favorable to Nebraska as long as they don't fall flat on their face um like they did at the beginning of this year yeah yeah I mean the Colorado game you know is very I think is winnable and it's going to be a you know I still like that they're playing another Power five team and that's uh Colorado is a tough place to play yeah as well so I mean yeah yeah and well it's been a classic rivalry too so I mean that's going to get the blood flowing kind of like the Oklahoma game this year you know where that used to be who Nebraska played you know on on Black Friday so I do like that it's that game um and it's gonna be you know we'll see who you know Colorado's got it as the head coach I mean they don't have a lot of great options I don't feel like you know Nebraska I feel like they do but there's been a lot of chatter about uh Mickey this week and you know there was people been talking about what I don't think Brazil Priscilla Joseph said anything controversial honestly just basically said that her husband wants the job which why wouldn't you I mean if you were like interim CEO of some huge Company CEO like wouldn't you want to be the permanency I like that's I don't understand like the controversy about what whatever she said no it's it's Nebraska and it's Twitter and you know things just blow up and it's ridiculous I mean I feel I I feel like if you don't have somebody in charge who has that type of attitude then you have the wrong guy I mean I really don't understand I really don't understand the controversy surrounding this and it's ridiculous and I understand that you know Priscilla Joseph is very active on Twitter and I have no problem with it I mean she's not really saying anything you know derogatory or inflammatory or anything like that so I mean it's just ridiculous I mean people just look for reasons to get clicks and stir stuff up so I mean I don't really see anything wrong with what she said and you know I mean you know if if if somebody has an attitude where they're where they're kind of indifferent about being head coach while they're in a head coach position at the moment that I wouldn't want that guy I wouldn't expect Mickey or Priscilla to say anything different because I think the Josephs are very detail-oriented and hard-working so I I really don't see the issue here was a mountain out of a mohill in my opinion yeah I mean uh you know Mickey like she said I thought she said some pretty you know when I read the whole I didn't listen to the whole interview but I read some of the transcripts of it you know and she was talking about how much he loved Nebraska how he's always talked about Nebraska Tom Osborne and you know there's all a lot of people have said we just need a competent head coach and so far he's looked like that we'll see what happens on Saturday I mean I think this really you know I said this before I said this earlier this week I've said it on huskerbigred.com but I do think that this is going to be a turning point game for Mickey Joseph if they win this game I think he's going to end up being the head coach I mean 100 you know I think it's happening I don't you know uh somebody put out a bold prediction if if Mickey beats Illinois he's going to be named head coach on Sunday I don't think that's going to happen but I do think this team is definitely going to get to a bowl game if they beat Illinois and I think Mickey is going to roll you know into next season as the head coach if like I said if not though if they lose this game I could see it going in the other direction and them ending up at five and seven and then if that happens you know know I do think that I do think trev's looking for a new head coach that's just that's just my opinion but I think there's no I don't think there's any possible way in hell that there's some type of you know handshake agreement done with lane kiffin or with Dave Aranda I just don't see how I don't see how you could be giving Mickey a fair chance and I'm not saying that Trev has to by any means but it seems like he's considering him and I just you know all these all you know I hear all these things that oh there's like a done deal and Mickey knows about it [ __ ] that is [ __ ] that has not happened I don't believe I don't believe I really don't believe that Dave Aranda and Lane kiffin are negotiating contracts I I'm not saying they haven't thought about Nebraska and maybe the representatives have talked a little bit to Trev Alberts or something you know some type of back Channel but I really have to believe that those guys are focused on their jobs and frankly you know if they're going to you know sit there and interview for another job you know six or seven games is that really a coach that you want so I mean I I really feel like you know I mean Ole Miss could win the SEC I mean there's they've still only got one loss Dave Aranda's team is you know they're not doing quite as well as last year but they're still only for this only got two losses in the Big 12 so they still have stuff to play for and I still think Mickey has a puncher's chance in this one so I wouldn't believe any of that stuff saying that the this is a done deal I think I think that's a little far out yeah I mean I was just about to say you kind of took the words right out of my mouth Lane's been a little bit busy lately so uh you know I think and especially when um you had that whole Fiasco I forgot his name but when he when that person uh you know blabbed about rumors and things on message boards and in the athletic department I would keep things close to the best I mean trust nobody except your boosters and yourself if you're Trev Alberts I mean you know I think I honestly think we won't hear anything or have a decision until the very last day possible in November just to see how this all plays out and it will be just enough time to start you know early Signing Day and um as the transfer portal opens I believe it was December 6th if I'm not mistaken so yeah I think so I think yeah after championship week I think yeah so I think we won't hear anything until the last moment possible not because of incompetency but because there's still a lot of factors and when we do hear something you know I think I think things will move quickly I don't think there will be a delay yeah I definitely I mean look at you know like the last year you know Brian Kelly to LSU happened pretty quick uh Lincoln Riley to USC I mean um there was another big one Mario crystal ball to Miami yet Mario crystal ball to Miami and that was a little bit later than you know some people kind of expected it to be but that's just kind of how it were I don't know if Miami didn't really know they were going to get him and so they kind of waited to fire Manny Diaz until they were sure they were getting Mario it was kind of a weird deal but um so yeah I do think it's going to move quickly and you know I think Dave Aranda and Lane kiffin are right up on the list if Mickey's Not the guy I mean you look at Lane kiffin was talking about the other day how you know he had an assistant coach DJ Durkin got stolen away the DC um from uh Texas A M or to Texas A M and you know he made the comment of you know we tried to keep him but you know basically we got outbid and that's something that happens around here a lot and he also talked about you know earlier this season about the the stadium not being full and it seems like you know Nebraska is not going to have those problems the Stadium's always going to be full and from everything we've heard you know there's going to be plenty of money for assistant coaches you know not only just for the head coach but for assistant coaches too and that is a big drawing Factor because these guys know I mean Lane kiffin and these guys know you know the difference between sometimes winning you know some of these big games losing them are those assistant coaches not just because of their ability to recruit but game plan and you know all that type of stuff building a staff a really good staff is you know half the battles I mean that you know we saw what Scott Frost it didn't work out well so I mean you need to have money for that and I think that's another thing that Nebraska is going to be able to sell is you know this program is not short on resources in any way shape or form yeah and you know I think um I think you know the the boosters are ready for a winner fans are ready for a winner so I think you know there is money to be had there for a winning head coach and there are resources available um for you know a coach to succeed and you know I think especially after you know Scott Frost there will be I don't want to say more money to get things right but there will be a concerted effort to make sure things get right and that may include more money for you know better assistance and things like that but because you know you have to look at it from the perspective of Trev Alberts he's washed his hands of squad Frost and now he can hire not him personally I guess but he can have a head coach in his regime now you no longer you know have the bill moose Factor this is your head coach under your athletic regime and you know this will be a make or break higher for you if you get it wrong so I could see due diligence being made and I can also see a bunch of resources being used to make sure Nebraska gets a top-notch football coach whether it be giving Joseph the money to get assistance or getting new head coach with his own assistant coaching pool yeah it's I mean you're totally right in the sense that if Trev doesn't get this right then he's going to be fired I mean there's no question about like if this if this doesn't work out um if this coaching hire does not work out if Trav higher does Trev Alberts does not hire you know the right guy here Trev Albers will not be hiring the next head football coach that is a guarantee we all know that's true so I mean he's got to get this thing right as much as anybody and time is running out yeah and he knows that I mean he knows he knows the score he knows what's at stake here he's he's been in this business long enough as an athletic director and you know he played the NFL college football so he knows what's at stake and he wants this program you know to be turned around as as badly as anybody I mean I I do believe that I believe in Trev Albert's process and the way he's kind of gone about this everything he's done I I've agreed with I agreed with the giving Scott the extra year you know even though it was a weird situation but there was Improvement last year and so I understood it because there just was there was a lot of divide in the fan base and I think it got to the point where there was no divide are still a few you know Frost hanger honors but they're a bunch of crazies he's was the worst coach in Nebraska history and you know I totally agreed with firing him on George's you know after that Georgia Southern loss and you know the way he's handled things with Mickey so you know I do have confidence in him but it would be nice you know I think he he probably wouldn't mind it if Mickey just like made this decision easy for him if they just won out and then he's like well nothing I can do man Mickey Mickey earned it so I wonder if there's par if there's that part in his mind that you know just wants to see Mickey go take this thing and never give it up I'm sure because you know he wants a winner too I mean you saw how excited he was after was it the Indiana game when he was in the locker room for Mickey Joseph's first win as uh interim head coach and he was excited and players were excited so he definitely wants a winner as well but the clock is ticking I mean fans want a winner you know for recruiting purposes and to keep up with the modern day college football game and especially with uh some guy named Lincoln Riley coming into town conference town that is you need to win or else you're going to be in deep deep trouble yeah and you know I mean people a lot of people have said this you know Mickey could play better if he you know if he had better recruits or if he had a better staff like yeah I mean I don't disagree with that but just because you think he could do a better job than you know Scott did of building this program doesn't necessarily mean he should get this job I mean I just think we have to see still see how it goes and um you know kind of has a as a segue away from the coaching conversation here we'll get into some bull predictions for Nebraska and Illinois because this is going to be as I've said a huge turning point for Mickey Joseph I would love to see this team come out with a lot of emotion a lot of fire you know play great defense and uh pull an upset and just like make Lincoln Memorial Stadium feel like it used to on the Saturday and it just hasn't felt that way for a long time in October and November you like I dread these Saturdays more than I've enjoyed them over the last few years and I just would love for that to change and as much as Illinois has a lot of things going for it the past defense Chase Brown the run defense all these things I still will feel like this is just I feel like Nebraska's due yeah I just have a feeling that something good is going to happen this weekend now I could be totally wrong I probably will be we'll probably all be crying on Sunday about how the team you know broke our hearts or whatever but like damn it this program's due for a good win I agree and I'm just looking at the uh statistics and the matchup predictor uh ESPN has Illinois winning the game by 68.3 percent and so I'm not really big into odds I just read them because I think it's interesting to see what ESPN thinks but um yeah I think it's going to be an interesting game and I'm just happy it's an afternoon game so that I don't have to go to bed right after the game because that's what I've had to do on some of these night games and so uh the last home game was Indiana and that was almost a month ago so I mean it's gonna be nice for the team to get back into the swing of things yeah and it's those uh fun afternoon games you know where the uh it starts to kind of go from Sun to you know evening I love that you know part of college football or last Saturday in October but um you know yeah I feel you know I totally agree with the ESP you know 60. yeah I would say two out of every three times these teams play or six out of ten times Illinois should win this game I mean that makes sense to me but that doesn't mean that they are going to win this game this one time I mean how many times have we seen that in college football you know and that's what that's what you need is in a coach you know you need a coach who even if you don't have the best team can find a way to win the game and Scott Frost literally could never do that Scott Frost had the better team like 90 of the time and he still lost the game because he sucked I'm sorry but he sucked he was the worst coach ever and I mean I just can't I I have no idea how anybody can def can defend Scott Frost he's the worst coach in Nebraska history and I don't think there's even a debate it's not even close like for what he did to the program it is not even close that he's the worst coach we've ever had at but regardless of that rant the point I'm trying to get at is at some point you need to have a coach that can it's like that thing with like you know you see like in Youth Sports sometimes you know like you you know there's a coach that could win with either team you know he can take your players and win he can take his own players and win and that's what Nebraska needs and they have not had that for a long long time and I really hope that I'm hoping that Mickey Joseph can show some of that you know on Saturday he's got these guys inspired for sure but we need to see you know we need to see some of the game planning and some of the some of the great coach moves the little subtle things you know it's not always like um you know like you look at some of the great moves that Bill Belichick made it's not always like these crazy amazing movies just you know not lately so I'll I'll say that right now not lately geez but anyway you know I mean but hey it goes back to the you know it's hard to win without a quarterback you know to the Patriots perspective and actually you know we're gonna find out soon you're gonna find out soon as a Packers fan I have already found out man I've already I know yeah it's horrible one thing I will say is that I understand the Michigan Michigan State rivalry but I wish Ohio State Penn State was a night game they get the afternoon game and I you know I get Ohio State and Penn State play uh at nine a lot but I wish I wish they were the night game granted Michigan and you know Michigan State should be a pretty good game I mean those two teams have always played each other tough uh when when they get together so but I just wish Ohio State Penn State was the night cap yeah and that's the but the reason is because fox wants all of its games at on noon so they so Fox is the one to blame for that one because they whichever game they want they put it there they put for their big noon so they get first priority so that is annoying that's why that's why that is where even 3 30 that would have been good Ohio State Penn State at 3 30 not noon because noon I'm just like eating my lunch doing my weekend chores I don't really watch the games until like 3 30 or at night unless it's a Nebraska game then I push everything aside but anyway yeah see I I watched the game day Aaron I watch big noon kickoff more than I'm not a big Pat McAfee fan so that that really just pushed me over the edge when they put you know I just I just think the show's crap honestly I think everything on I just think ESPN is a general station like if it if it wasn't for games being on there like live sports I would never watch it because it's it's just freaking terrible the guys don't know [ __ ] and they don't know any like there's nobody on there that knows a damn thing about Nebraska I can tell you that much and there's nobody on there that frankly knows a thing about college football outside of you know like just looking at a big spreadsheet and from a broad perspective so I mean I don't know ESPN's really gone downhill we're kind of off the rails here which is why you should turn to us for your bull for our for our Bowl predictions for Nebraska and Illinois and also while I'm thinking of it if you like and that like And subscribe we really appreciate the support and we love doing this and we love the interaction and we love uh talking to you guys about college football because clearly as you guys can probably tell we love talking college football I can do this for five more hours but yeah uh so yeah just please comment like And subscribe and uh I think we can get into predictions now and I'll let you go first yeah you know I've been trying to think about you know some bold predictions we had some you know the other day um one of my bold predictions though it doesn't sound that bold it kind of sounds like a crappy one but I think Nebraska is going to hold Chase Brown I'm going to say to 120 yards or less now I know that's not a huge number but I mean seeing that Devin moccabee ran for 173 yards I think it would be a fairly safe prediction to say that against one of the worst statistically run defenses in the country that chase Brown would go off for a huge game and I don't think he's going to I think Nebraska is going to hem him in a little bit I do think you know he is one of the best running backs in the country so he's going to get 120 yards or so but I do feel like if Nebraska keeps him kind of in that range and like I said limits you know doesn't give him like a 50 60 yard touchdown run I think Nebraska can win this game if he runs for you know 120 yards if he runs for like 170 no but you know barely over a hundred and he's not getting a bunch of explosive runs I think that that means that Illinois is going to be in some third downs and that gives Nebraska a chance so that's one of my I'll call it a semi-bold prediction I think it is a bold prediction though for this defense Chase Brown to 120 or less there is a bold prediction because they average 199 rushing yards per game on the season but I would love to see it I think for my first one one of my ball predictions will be that um Nebraska will score at least 20 points and I understand that may sound a little simplistic but Illinois has only allowed 8.9 points per game coming into the season uh granted their schedule and even when I talk with the Illinois guys about this they admitted that you know they haven't really been tested but I think this offense is going to have a good day and it's just going to be about the defense and uh defense stepping up so with that what's your second prediction yeah and that's uh you know to just piggyback on yours Illinois I believe is only allowed 20 points or more once I think that was to Indiana in that loss so you know hey if Indiana can score 20 I don't see why we can't score 20 you know I I do think that uh you know I I'm gonna say I believe the offensive line is gonna play slightly better that's not my prediction though my bold prediction is that Trey Palmer even though he's gonna have like every single Illinois Defender like focusing on him and they're gonna have a big game plan there's only so much you can do to stop him and I still think that Trey Palmer I'm gonna say it again Bowl prediction he's going to catch at least 150 yard pass and I think he's going to go for over 100 yards and catch a touchdown now I don't know if that's going to be enough to win the game but he's going to continue to prove that you know he's the best wide receiver in America right now at least in terms of college production that is a bold prediction because I was just singing the exact same thing every single every single Illinois defensive back is gonna have their eye on Trey Palmer um for this one I'm gonna say Marcus Washington will have at least five receptions I think you know the field will open up for Washington because of uh because of Illinois's attention to Palmer um he had three receptions for 30 yards against Purdue and he's only um he's only had more than five receptions once in a once in a game this season and that was against George Southern when he had six catches for 123 yards but I think because of the attention paid to Palmer that will give Washington more of an opportunity to really kind of take advantage of the holes in the Illinois defense and as far as the secondary goes there aren't many yeah it's you know they have been tough but again they haven't played a receiver like you know Trey Palmer I mean Indiana I think is the best offense they've faced they didn't even have to see you know Chris ottman Bell you know at Minnesota so there is you know Iowa literally has no I mean they have one tight end little Porta guy and that's basically it so I mean he is he is good but they haven't seen I don't think he's better than vocalek you know I mean I think they're compared so like they they really haven't seen an offense like Nebraska's yet I mean as as poor as this team's been it's scored like 30 points in what three big ten games three out of four big ten games we've got at least or 28 I guess we got 28 against Northwestern but still that's not that's not bad production um so my last bold prediction is it's gonna have to do with the Nebraska pass rush and I came up with an interesting stat the other day looking at Garrett Nelson so in Nebraska's three wins basically Nebraska hasn't won a game this year in which Garrett Nelson has not had a sack so in in the four losses Garrett Nelson hasn't had a sack he's only had one tackle for loss and in the wins he's got four and a half sacks and like five tackles for law so really he's a big factor in this matchup and I feel like you know he's played really well at home for the most part so I'm gonna say that Garrett Nelson gets at least one sack and I think that the defensive line gets about three total and it kind of goes back to the chase Brown thing I think they're gonna you know be able to limit him a little bit and it's just about tackling really I don't think it's anything fancy they just gotta tackle and uh you know I think they're gonna have a lot of emotion they're gonna have a lot of want too with Mickey you know they know like I said they know what's at stake in this game and you know I think ocean Mathis Ty Robinson and Garrett Nelson I think have some of their best games Caleb Tanner and we'll see that's what Nebraska is going to need but I'm going to say three sacks and I'm gonna say a sack by Garrett Nelson and that's meant a win in the other three games and we'll see if that means a victory on Saturday hmm that's an interesting one I guess for my last Bowl prediction um I'm trying to think because there's a couple of directions I want to go with this one but I think my last bold prediction is that the offensive line will only give up two secs that's pretty bold that is my bold prediction but I think I think honestly if Thompson can roll out of the pocket a little bit more not just like a running quarterback buy him some and then you know kind of involve the running game a little bit more with Anthony Grant I think you know this could be a game where the offensive line doesn't shine but does enough to kind of hold itself over I mean at some point as a coach you got to look at the film and say what can we do so that Casey Thompson doesn't get hurt from this offensive line it doesn't get murdered so I think we're laughing about it but he's taking some pretty no yeah well that's one shot last week where like he's like against Purdue like I swear to God he broke a rib like I don't know how he did he had won that one too where I thought he's gotta have like four brothers oh no like no way like but say what you want man that guy is tough as hell he is tough as hell he's a warrior you know I think I think honestly in Nebraska you know if I were them I'd try to control the clock and you can do that by running the football and so I think I've I think two Sexes or what I say two or three I think you said two yeah I said two yeah I said two and I think two is reasonable because I think they're gonna try to involve you know Anthony Grant a little bit more and try to get the ball out quick for Casey Thompson and you know I I understand that maybe that may be a bold prediction and it's probably quite honestly unrealistic but and because if I'm Mark Whipple I want to play ball control football on this one yeah I'm interested you know um Mickey in his press conference yesterday was asked about ramire Johnson and he said you know ramir needed to get healthy and that's why he wasn't playing he said that he's stacked practices together now so you know I don't know what anybody else thinks but I always thought that ramire was pretty good in pass protection and I've not watched every play or anything but I don't think that Anthony Grant is really I think he really needs to learn about it and it's hard I'm not saying it's easy it's not like you just sit there and block I mean you have to but I've seen him at times where he should be starting to block somebody and then he just starts running out for a pass and Casey gets killed it's like dude if you just blocked and he could sidestep so I'm interested to see if ramire Johnson plays in this game he had that 17-yard run against Purdue and mostly because I want to see him on those I think he's a better pass protector then than Anthony Grant and then I think he's just a little better you know I think he'll be better at like chipping and then kind of floating his way out to the you know to the flats where Casey can actually throw him the ball or you could run some of those options routes because I mean Anthony Grant's caught some passes but he just doesn't look as natural to me I mean ramire could play receiver he's got natural hands so he's kind of one of my ex factors and I want to see if you know if that pass protection is going to hold up and um I also wrote about this too because I just feel like Tommy Hill I feel like there's a chance that Tommy Hill gets a deep ball in this game a couple of them he's playing at The X receiver which is on the outside they've talked about his speed Casey's talked about how you know how he likes him on deep balls and stuff so I feel like at some point they're going to have Trey Palmer on the field and Tommy Hill on the field and Tommy Hill's probably going to get one-on-one coverage because like we said everybody's going to be paying attention to Trey and I think they're going to play action and like bomb one down to Tommy Hill I'm not saying he's going to catch it but he could be an X Factor or he could come up with a big kickoff return like we saw against Purdue you know a big return something in something anything like that you know that's that's how Nebraska can pull an upset in this game is get you know one of those X Factor plays to go its way yeah and I think you mentioned you brought up a good appointment hell I'm curious to see what he can do because I think he's a very good athlete I'm just not sure that a College Corner was the best position to put him in so I'm curious to see you know because if he can carve out a solid couple of games here to finish the season heading into next year as a solid number three receiver in college football you know a number three receiver is no slouch he established himself is that you know good complimentary weapon then I can see him really doing big things especially if Mickey's still around yeah and I think too if you gave him like a year to learn and I think he could be you know if he learned the slot a little bit because he is really quick and he you play high school yeah he played receiver and so I mean like if Mickey Joseph says he's a receiver I try I think Mickey Joseph evaluates receiver as well as anybody so you know I believe in and so yeah I am interested Marcus Washington too like he he actually he's caught a lot of underneath stuff but like if you go look at his Texas highlights like with Casey like he averaged like 18 yards of reception so they had some big plays down the field we haven't quite seen it with Marcus he's been close but you know I'm interested to see that this week because I feel like Nebraska you know it is going to be tough to sustain drives against this Illinois defense like they've got to create some some chunk plays and they've they've been good at doing that but uh they're gonna they're gonna have to do it again they're gonna have to come up with you know five six you know explosive plays I think to win this game well it's also about getting do you have NY Casey and uh Trey work so well is because Casey can literally just throw it in Trace Direction Trey can outrun the secondary guy and you know go for a touchdown other receivers it takes a little bit more time and timing and that's perfectly fine but Casey just hasn't had that this year so I think you know I hate to play the what-if game and continue to complain about the offensive line but it just makes me think what if Casey had a little bit better or a lot of it better I'm trying to be nice here I've been offensive line you know what could the offense really really accomplish and you know that's not to say that the offense has been bad either the offense has been really good but I'm just saying in general like you know and we've you know scratched our heads sometimes at the play calling of Whipple but I think honestly some of these plays work if everybody just had a little bit more time to get the ball rolling yeah I think that brings up an interesting point in in everybody's you know talking about next season and with Mickey you know Casey he was talking you know he's listed as a as a junior you know and he was talking about next season and you know how he wants Mickey back and stuff so I mean he sounds like a guy who's coming back next year to me Casey does and you know along this offensive line talk you know it's been interesting all the Juco offers that Mickey's putting out there especially at offensive line like they know they need help and I think it's smart to look at the Juco ranks because it is going to be easier to get some of those guys because the second you get a talented offensive lineman in the portal like it's it's like a Mad Dash you know what I mean so I I do like the idea of you know kind of restocking the offense and defensive line with some Juco guys that are a little more ready to play and or probably a little more available than you know some of these top transfer portal guys are going to be yeah that's exactly the thing I mean the Juco guys have experience and you know they've played against some quality competition just because we don't hear about Juco competition doesn't mean it's not good I mean there is some quality competition but um yeah no I thought Casey is saying you know he wants Vicky back next year was interesting for those reasons and not that a player's decision ultimately goes into the selecting of a coach but having your starting quarterback say that he likes working with Mickey and that he you know would want Mickey back certainly so I'd love to see Casey back next year because it would give us continuity a quarterback and I think he's good and sure does he make some mistakes yeah but I think also if you had a little bit more time some of those mistakes would be gone yeah and a little better running it I mean that's the thing with Illinois you know Tommy DaVita is only thrown two interceptions but at the same time he's probably not been in a lot of situations where he's been behind where he has to force the ball you know where he it's a lot easier and as an offensive lineman it's a lot easier it's a hell of a lot easier to pass protect if you're always in third and five or third because the thing is they could just run with Chase Brown so I feel like you know if they can get some of those things going hopefully they can get Anthony Grant you know I don't think Anthony Grant needs to have a great game but he's got to get like 60 some like 65 yards or something you know like just three four yards of carry just don't be in second ten third and ten all game but just to stabilize the offense and give some balance to it because the minute you pass 75 times a game I'm exaggerating but like 40 or 50 times a game you become predictable you don't want to become predictable against a well coached team like Illinois and I think too with the way Illinois wants is they want to kind of make it like a ground and pound NFL kind of game you know like the Rutgers game where both teams barely ran 70 plays and not for Nebraska that works just fine for me just make make Chase Brown and these guys put together 10 play drives because they're gonna milk a bunch of clock and if you're in Nebraska if you just get to the fourth quarter and you're within a score then one one play by Trey Palmer could tie or Winnie the gate that's really all you need to do just get the football to the offense within a score late in the game and go win it I mean if Nebraska can just find a way to get this to the fourth quarter then you know you just you just never know what can happen yeah and then I like the chances of pulling an upset I like the thing you said about you know 70 plays not 103 plays 100 these plays is not a wrestling for Success no offensively and you know I think um you know you know minimizing the time the defense is on the field is going to be important for both teams honestly because I think you know this is going to be an offensive game I really they do and I'm just excited to watch it I'm excited to see you know especially after and I hate to bring this up but last year's game against Illinois I mean it would be nice to get a win yeah that was a heartbreaking one and you know I think it's uh one of my posts I wrote this week was five Huskers that need to stand out against Illinois well two you know I kind of mentioned six names that kind of cheated but two of two of the names were Bill Bush and Mark Whipple because these guys they really you know they really need to shine on Saturday I mean uh Bush needs to come up with a really good game plan and they need to find a way to slow down this running game and I think Mark Whipple you know I mean he needs to call one of the best games of his career and I think that I mean these guys know that they have to win to keep their own jobs or you know I'm not I'm not saying that Mark Whipple's not going to find a job but I mean you know do you think he wants to move out of Nebraska already he's only been there for like six months so I know he's he's he's been around the block he doesn't need to go job hopping I mean I wouldn't honestly be surprised and this is just me saying this I don't know anything but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he retired next year yeah yeah maybe I don't know man if somebody if somebody offered me like 700k to run their offense I don't know I might do it but we'll see what he does but yeah I mean he is having some health issues so if you consider that I mean he's been a head coach at the college level he's been in a NFL coordinator I mean he he had he's done I mean maybe not everything he's wanted to do but he certainly done his time for the game and you know just you know football aside I'll be curious to see you know how his health issues progress and I hope everything goes well and nothing gets too um too into poor health but you know you can tell that he loves the game I think you can tell that he loves the game and um All Things Considered you know I think he's done a pretty good job this year um so I'll be interested to see what he does on Saturday like you said he's gonna have to call one of the best games of his career and you know I think he'll be up for the challenge I do I I think this team will be up for the challenge I think the coaching staff is going to be up for the challenge on Saturday and you know I'm excited I really am excited I'm looking forward to it too so we'll we'll wrap it up here folks remember to like this video comment subscribe to the channel here huskerbigred.com uh you can always find our stuff oscarbigred.com um is you know my website thegreatcornholio.org is where Danny has all of his content you know and sign up and subscribe here to the YouTube channel uh before we go you know we talked about um our predictions the other day I had Nebraska losing this one 24-17 Danny you said 27-17 any reason to change that are you still you still feeling okay about that prediction I'm still feeling okay about that I hope that's not the case but I don't think it's going to be a blowout like I said earlier but I think Illinois is just gonna have that many more Playmakers to get the job done and you know come next year or you know a few years down the road I think Nebraska will be able to have those Playmakers on their roster but right now I don't know if they have enough yeah I'm gonna say too I think there are a lot of reasons why Nebraska can win this game um I think they're going to have an opportunity you know if they play well to win but you know we just haven't seen him you know beat an opponent like this and so you know if uh if I was betting my money on it you know I definitely would take uh well I would take Nebraska still with the spread though that's what I say you know it's a plus seven and a half I think they can cover the spread but I don't know that they can win this game I mean I I mean I believe that they can but will they that's the question and we're not going to have that answer until uh you know Saturday at about six o'clock Nebraska time yeah and um I'm gonna be on Twitter all day tweeting and interacting with you guys and I know Chris I know I I think you might uh have something for your newspaper but uh to see the to see highlights and talk with you guys so feel free to uh follow us and talk with us we got our Twitter handles I believe down below and so you know it's always never a boring Saturday for a Nebraska football win or lose it's always that's that's what I love about doing videos and stuff with this program you never run out of news or things to talk about good or bad just wait till we get to basketball season we may be doing a uh Fred Hoiberg fire video or something hopefully not hopefully not but hopefully not hopefully not so all right guys well thanks again for uh sticking around with us um you know we'll hope to see you around again here on the Husker big red YouTube channel and uh hopefully the Huskers win on Saturday and as always go Big Red go Big Red