Big Red Roundtable: Midway through 2008 Edition

This weeks Big Red Roundtable questions come to us from Husker Guy. In this session we discuss expectations for the rest of the season, surprises and disappointments, and the long road ahead to regain it's former status in the Big 12.

How do you see the Huskers finishing the 2008 season? Final win loss/record?

Steve (BRN): I'll say 7-5. A loss to OU seems inevitable and then the Huskers will probably stumble at least one other time.

What is the most disappointing aspect of NU's performance in the first half of the season? Lack of a running game? Offensive inconsistency? Penalties?

Steve (BRN): The penalties because they are so unnecessary. You don't need a lick of talent to avoid penalties. It's especially discouraging when your head coach gets called for one at a critical moment in a close game.

Through 6 games, what do you think of the defense coming off of last year's debacle? Have they improved more or less than you thought they would?

Steve (BRN): Truthfully, I thought they'd be better than they have been. In particular, the poor tackling is something I thought would be turned around sooner.

With the reality that the Big 12 may now be as tough as the SEC, how does that bode for Nebraska's attempt to regain it's former status? How long of an uphill climb do we have to re-join the leaders of the conference?

Steve (BRN): It all depends on what we mean by former status. I don't expect to see a 60-3 run over a five year period. Not for Nebraska and maybe not for any team in college football. But if we're talking about .800 football over a long period of time (four wins for every loss), I think that can be attained. The key will be to pull away from the other North teams, to where every loss in the North is an upset and only Oklahoma and Texas are truly competitive. Nebraska is a looooong way from that now, but we saw something like that in Osborne's first 20 years and especially in the 70's he was still losing games to teams like Missouri and Iowa State. But it will take time to build back to that point. If the Huskers find a good quarterback this offseason (either on the roster or with Cody Green) then maybe it's as early as next year. But I think it's more like two to three years.

Most disappointing/surprising players for NU thus far?

Steve (BRN): I'd really hoped that the new coaches would be getting more out of Larry Asante. Instead, he's looking like the same guy a year ago who seemed out of position and got beat too often. He's got another year to develop so maybe he'll turn that around, but he's the guy that's probably been the most disappointing. The combination of Nate Swift. Todd Peterson, Menelik Holt, and Mike McNeil have probably the most pleasant surprises this year. With the departure of Maurice Purify, Terrence Nunn, Frantz Hardy, and Sean Hill the fear was that the receiver position might become a weakness for this team. If anything, the position now seems stronger. Cody Glenn has also looked better than I thought he would at linebacker.

Related: Read other responses from Husker Faithful, Husker Mike, Husker Guy or share your thoughts in the comments.