1. The B1G Story

OK, everyone calm down.

There’s no Fearless Frankie jinx. It’s not another coach and another iteration and another lost cause.

It’s not the end before the damn thing has just begun.

After he slipped out of a distraught postgame locker room in last week’s season opener, new Nebraska coach Matt Rhule declared: “There are no such things as close losses.”

But there are years and years of big misses.

And that’s what Rhule is dealing with as Nebraska — for the umpteenth time in the last umpteen years — pulled defeat from the jaws of victory and found another way to lose in the beautiful game it once dominated.

This isn’t just a culture problem in the football building, it’s a cult of depression claiming the greatest fanbase in college football. In 2 short decades, they’ve gone from demanding championships to accepting the inevitable.

Frank Solich. Bill Callahan. Bo Pelini. Mike Riley. Scott Frost.

And now Matt Rhule, the latest in a long line of coaches who seemed like good fits — before fumbling away W after W with the same confounding formula. Turnovers, bad decisions, folding in the 4th quarter.

Season after season after season. So yeah, excuse the fan base after last week’s close loss at Minnesota kicked off another coaching tenure of let’s see how we can screw this up.

It’s easy to go down that rabbit hole, Huskers fans. But don’t do it.

This time it’s different. This time there’s a program-builder, not an NFL assistant looking for a head coaching job, nor a former Nebraska assistant, nor a good guy, nor a national championship player come home to save all things Big Red.

Just a builder. A guy who will tear it down to the studs, and painstakingly build it back the right way.

I know you don’t want to hear this, but Rhule did it at Temple and Baylor, and he can do it at Nebraska, too. But Nebraska isn’t Temple, or Baylor, you say.

It doesn’t matter. It’s about procuring and developing players — at every school — no matter how rare the Nebraska experience. Can you get a quarterback who can be a game-changer — and can you put the pieces around him to win games that matter?

That’s what this is all about. And it’s not going to change overnight.

2. The past is gone

Those halcyon days of Bill and Dr. Tom and Johnny and Tommie, of the Triplets and all of those All-American offensive linemen — and, of course, The Blackshirts — appear farther in the rearview with every passing season.

Maybe that’s the way it should be. Because you’re not consistently winning games the way those teams of the past did. It’s a different game and a different type of player, and coaching is more than Xs and Os.

The rebuild for Rhule goes beyond players and development. A coach in this brand new stage of the game must be a mentor, a brother, a friend, a confidant, a counselor, a therapist and an agent — among other things.

Then there’s coaching, and kicking them in the shorts when they need it and hugging them when they don’t. Then there’s motivation and emotion and passion and all of those things that make college football so unique.

A slip in any of those areas can change everything — especially when dealing with a recent history of losing in the most gut-wrenching ways.

So when Rhule walked out of that locker room and immediately stated there are no close losses, what he really meant was this is not what you’ve seen over the last 20 years — and more prominently, over the last 8. We are not the same program.

That statement was as much for a tattered fan base as it was for a team still learning how to win games.

3. It’s the quarterback, everyone

Frost didn’t win because he had a quarterback who was reckless with the football. Same with Riley (quarterbacks, plural).

The last 8 seasons have been an exercise in 1-possession losses drowning in a sea of unthinkable turnovers at the worst possible times.

So when Huskers transfer quarterback Jeff Sims began his 1st season with the program against Minnesota with 3 crushing interceptions, the idea of change was quickly whacked at the kneecaps.

When Nebraska ran on the field in Minneapolis Thursday, only 3 players on the starting 22 weren’t with the program last season. Sims was 1 of the 3, and his performance looked a whole lot like Adrian Martinez of years past.

Remarkable athletic ability, a dangerous run game threat and an occasional big throw in the pass game — and those unthinkable mistakes.

“I’m not even thinking about anything that happened before I got here,” Rhule said after the game. “I don’t want our players to think about that. I’m thinking about what’s next.”

What’s next is bitter rival Colorado, with new coach Deion Sanders, who, like Rhule, is in the first year of a complete rebuild. CU has more than 80 new players, and began last week with an upset at TCU.

CU also has an elite quarterback: Shedeur Sanders threw for 510 yards and 4 TDs against TCU, and didn’t throw an interception. All things being equal in college football — or even close to equal — best quarterback typically wins.

There will be long days ahead for Rhule and the Huskers, but it doesn’t mean change won’t happen. It just won’t happen as quickly as Nebraska fans want it.

That reality was the hardest part of last weekend. Not the latest 1-possession loss.

4. The emergence at Ohio State

Ryan Day called it a mixed bag. Don’t kid yourself, what we saw from Buckeyes quarterback Kyle McCord was much more than that. Don’t be fooled by the numbers: 239 passing yards and an interception with no TDs.

McCord has elite arm talent, and throws on time and with anticipation. He can make every throw, and by the end of the season will be what every other Ohio State quarterback under Day has been: efficient and prolific.

The “mixed bag” idea from Day was simply a motivational ploy: keep working, keep improving.

Because McCord can stand in the pocket and take a hit while firing a big completion. He’s athletic enough to escape and go off schedule, and throw accurately. He can even get those “lost in the box score” rush yards that mean so much on critical drives.

He’s only going to get better, everyone. And that makes Ohio State, the most talented team in the Big Ten — and maybe all of college football — suddenly much more dangerous.

5. The Weekly 5

Five picks against the spread.

1. Illinois at Kansas (-3)

2. Nebraska at Colorado (-2.5)

3. Purdue (+3) at Virginia Tech

4. Iowa (-3.5) at Iowa State

5. Wisconsin at Washington State (+6.5)

Last week: 4-1.

Season: 4-1.

6. Your tape is your resume

An NFL scout analyzes a draft eligible Big Ten player. This week: Penn State edge Adisa Isaac.

“I love his motor. He doesn’t stop. He’s got some explosion off the edge, and he’s long and can bend. He’s not going to run by guys at this level, or bend by them. He’s going to have to come up with some unique moves, but that’s not unlike any young guy. He’s just a terrific chaser. When you have a guy who will work every play, who will chase every play, that’s an investment in finding a way to develop the little things that make him better.”

7. Powered Up

This week’s Power Poll, and 1 big thing: Week 1 overreaction.

1. Michigan: The Wolverines looked bored. This can’t be how the best team under coach Jim Harbaugh responds to championship goals.

2. Ohio State: DC Jim Knowles is playing more zone coverage, and the Buckeyes are better off for it after holding Indiana to 92 passing yards.

3. Penn State: The Lions have already gotten too far away from the run with Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen (23 combined carries).

4. Iowa: Uh, that new offense? Already 1 point shy of the 25 points per game mandated on OC Brian Ferentz by former AD Gary Barta.

5. Wisconsin: So much for the Air Raid. QB Tanner Mordecai threw 2 interceptions, and the Badgers ran for 314 yards.

6. Minnesota: All those years of all those strong offensive lines may have finally reached the end. If Minnesota can’t run the ball, that puts pressure on QB Athan Kaliakmanis to be perfect.

7. Illinois: QB Luke Altmyer can’t be the leading rusher on the team. Reggie Love III and Josh McCray must carry some load.

8. Maryland: The defense was more aggressive, and got a push on the interior in the run game, and on the edge against the pass. Against Towson.

9. Michigan State: Spartans may have found another elite transfer running back in UConn transfer Nathan Carter. Same size, same game as Kenneth Walker III.

10. Nebraska: For all the PTSD of turnovers and 1-possession losses, the defense showed it could get pressure and stop the run. Two huge steps in development.

11. Purdue: All those offseason losses on defense (graduation and the transfer portal) have left the Boilermakers with multiple holes in the front 7.

12. Indiana: it doesn’t matter who plays quarterback — Tayven Jackson or Brendan Sorsby — the Hoosiers will struggle in the passing game.

13. Rutgers: This is the season Rutgers finally finds a quarterback with former blue-chip recruit Gavin Wimsatt, who played flawlessly against Northwestern.

14. Northwestern: It’s 1 game, it’s not a season. The Wildcats will win a game this season.

8. Ask and you shall receive

Matt: Why didn’t James Franklin play Drew Allar last season so he wouldn’t be overwhelmed by big games this season? He was the better quarterback last year. — Trent Donald, Charlotte.

Trent:

Allar may have been Penn State’s most talented quarterback, but he wasn’t its best option to win games. It’s hard to argue with 11 wins and a Rose Bowl victory.

You have to think bigger picture, too. Allar learned plenty from Clifford, and his talent can supersede any notion that a big road game, or a big moment, will overwhelm him. If you’re good, you’re good — no moment or crowd or opponent changes that.

Franklin did the right thing last season with a player who poured his career into Penn State and battled through adversity nearly every season. He played hard and won big games — and more than anything, Clifford was Penn State’s best chance to win games.

9. Numbers

28. Illinois led the Big Ten in scoring defense last season, giving up an average of 12.8 points per game. The 2-deep this season is full of transfers and players with limited experience — and it shows.

Illinois needed a last-second field goal last weekend to beat Toledo 30-28. Why are the 28 points significant? Only once last season did Illinois give up more than 23 points (31 to Purdue).

This week: Kansas, which scored 48 points against Missouri State — with backup QB Jason Bean. Star QB Jalon Daniels is expected to return for Friday’s game.

10. Quote to note

Michigan State coach Mel Tucker on QB Noah Kim: “We feel like he can go in there and play winning football for us. He throws really nice balls, got a strong arm, he can run, he’s smart. I thought it was a good start for him.”