Huskers Overrated (...For Now)

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I have yet to write anything about my beloved Nebraska Cornhuskers' first couple games, and with my other team currently marred in seasonal depression disorder, this seems like the perfect time to do so.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers, currently ranked 10th in the poll that matters, are simply overrated.

For now.

Lets start out with the one big positive of the season for the Big Red - Taylor Martinez. He's fast again! And he's currently 3rd in the nation in rushing yards. The biggest question coming into this season was whether T-Mart's ineffectiveness over the second half of the 2010 season was actually due to his injured knee/ankle or because of the demons in his head. While you can't say that he's exercised 100% of those demons, it certainly seems like he's back to pre-injury form. The problem now, is that usually when your team's biggest question mark is answered favorably, they're due for a promising season. However, that's not the case with this Nebraska team. Here's why...

The Probs:

• The playmakers are there on offense, but they are all young. WR Jamal Turner made the biggest play of the game last week with a 43 yard reception. Ameer Abdullah took a kick return to the house in what should be his first of many. Super recruits Aaron Green and Braylon Heard have yet to make a big impact, but have serious potential. The good news? All are freshmen. The bad news? It's hard to say if they'll be able to provide enough for the team this season, and the team may not have enough game changers without them.
• The interior offensive line couldn't open holes against Fresno State, to the point where running between the tackles became pointless. That's not a good sign, and is an even worse sign when it comes against a team from the WAC.
• The defensive line has been largely disappointing. Jared Crick has looked alright, but certainly hasn't lived up to the hype of a potential Nagurski Award winner. After appearing to be almost unblockable in the first week, Cameron Meredith's name was hardly called against the Bulldogs. The most worrisome part of the line is their inability to stop the run right now, with even Tennessee Chattanooga ripping off chunks of yardage a couple of times. This must be fixed.
• Bradon Kinnie. Oy.
• The defensive backs look mostly lost out there with Alfonzo Dennard out to injury (although I'm a fan of CB Ciante Evans and S Damion Stafford - he did this). Word on the street is that he'll most likely miss the Washington game this week, but should return soon after. I think they'll be fine without him against the Huskies, but the Blackshirts will need him come Wisconsin.

These are the problems that lead me to believe that the Nebraska Cornhuskers are currently overrated. However, I've been teasing you with this "for now" throughout the entire article. And here's why: Bo Pelini. His defenses have consistently made huge leaps WITHIN in the season throughout his tenure at Nebraska. It's actually quite similar to how he approaches each individual game on the defensive side. He feels the other team out the first couple drives (feels his own team out the first couple games), makes the necessary adjustments, and then Ndominates (it's science).

Now while I expect the defense to improve over the course of the season, I think the offense will remain too one-dimensional with an overdependence on T-Mart running the ball. I'm not sold on offensive coordinator Tim Beck enough to feel confident going up against a good defense this season. Thus, I will stick with my previously unannounced prediction of a 10-2 regular season for this team, with a loss in the Big Ten Championship to the Wisconsin Badgers (we don't need no stinking badgers!). Oh, and the Huskers take out some frustrations on the Huskies this week. Big time.

Nebraska 38, Washington 13

Other games you should care about:

Florida St over Oklahoma - I think the smart bet is on the Sooners, but I gots a feeling! I've also got a theory, the Sooners don't have experience in huge road games because they always play their biggest opponent, Texas, at a neutral site. This leads to their annual disappointing loss on the road. I got Steele Jantz in my pants thinking about this one.

West Virginia over Maryland - Two underrated quarterbacks makes this the Steele Jantz Game of the Week. (Yea I went there twice, did you see that kid last week???)

Ohio St. over Miami - Big. Bounce back effort.

Georgia Tech over Kansas - Closer than the experts think. Turner Gill baby.

Upset Special: Illinois over Arizona St. - Beware of the team going on the road, coming off a huge win at home.

Upset Spectacular - Northern Illinois over Wisconsin - Not picking it, but don't say I didn't warn you.

His Dirkliness

2010 College Football Preview: Nebraska Cornhuskers

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Two years ago, Nebraska was considered almost irrelevant amongst the national College Football scene.

Two days ago, Lee Corso picked Nebraska to defeat Florida in the 2010 BCS National Championship.

The man that Big Red Nation can thank for this is Sir Bo Pelini (is anybody named Bo ever not great?). I stated last year that I would take Bo over any coach in the nation aside from Nick Saban, Pete Carroll, Urban Meyer, Jim Tressel, and Bob Stoops. After Meyer's health problems and uncertain future, Carroll's departure from college, and reconsidering Saban's nomadic ways, the list has been reduced to only Stoops and Tressel. And I wouldn't instantly make those trades either, believing that Pelini's upside could be higher. We really don't know how good he could eventually become. Just look how downhill LSU has gone since he left. And if you don't trust a biased Nebraska fan's opinion on the matter, then take a look at this stat:

Defense PPG Allowed:
2007 (Callahan's last year)- 37.9 PPG
2008 (Pelini's first year)- 28.5 PPG
2009- 10.4 PPG- #1 in the nation

While many expect the defense's dominance to continue, but are they underestimating the impact that Ndamukong the Great had? Not if you were to believe Pelini's history of developing Defensive Tackles. While you couldn't unanimously agree on the following matter at hand, few would take objection with the following statement: The three best Defensive Tackles in College Fooball of the last ten years were Ndamukong Suh, Glenn Dorsey (LSU), and Tommie Harris (Oklahoma). What did they all have in common? They were all coached by Pelini. Bo knows Defensive Tackles. Enter stage left, Jared Crick, who earns this quote from an opposing Big 12 assistant coach via Athlon Magazine:

Suh, that dude was a manchild (I love that band!). The scary thing is the guy who lined up next to him, Jared Crick, has a different skill set but definitely is as hard to block.

The rest of the defense is stacked at the Defensive Line and Cornerback positions, while questions exist at Linebacker and Safety. Injuries have become a bit of a problem, already losing LB Sean Fisher for the season, and the loss of other starting LB Will Compton for part of the season with a bum foot. Look for them to be replaced by Special Teams madman Eric Martin and Ft. Scott CC product, Lavonte David.

A majority of the Blackshirts' success on defense last year was their ability to shut down spread offenses, which had taken the Big 12 by storm. They did this with hybrid Cornerback/Safety players, Eric Hagg and Dejon 'Bones' Gomes, who excelled at stopping the run and the pass. Both players return. The secondary is captained by shutdown CB Prince Amukamara, who some 2011 NFL Draft rankings have rated as high as 3rd overall. Like 3rd overall pick. The highest drafted CB in the last ten years were Terrence Newman and Quentin Jammer, taken with the 5th overall pick. The secondary will be integral in continuing the Blackshirt Revivalist Party.

I have yet to touch on the most noteworthy aspect (biggest question) of the Cornhuskers, the QB position. All signs continue to point to a battle between incumbent Zac Lee, sophomore Cody Green, and redshirt frosh Taylor Martinez. I'm all for competition, but with hopes so high for this season, The Wildman (Lee) has got to get the call. There is too much to lose with an inexperienced QB. I would be shocked (and maybe somewhat disappointed) if he's not the signal caller at least until a game is lost. The argument on his side is that he had a hurt shoulder all last year, and thrived in the bowl game once he received time to rest it. I look for The Wildman to be much improved, and think this issue goes rather quietly into the night.

Lee's job should be made easier with the two-headed Roy-Rex monster in the backfield (Helu and Burkhead, respectively). Nebraska should field a run-first offense, with playaction passing mixed in at the right times. Defenses will be stretched by big play extraordinaire, Niles Paul (Holiday Bowl MVP). The offensive line returns 4 of 5 starters (but loses Mike Smith to season-ending injury). With little knowledge on the subject, my insider, John Clements, tells me to keep an eye on redshirt freshmen linemen Brent Qvale and Jeremiah Sirles, while undersized ass-kicker Mike Caputo will anchor the line at center. Now I must fulfill my Pat Summerall obligation with a big "Thanks Jaaaahn."

Expectations are higher for the 2010 season than I could've imagined and it has me a little scared. Pelini's teams have stumbled out of the gates in his two seasons, and an early season matchup at Washington could prove tricky if they're not ready. If Nebraska continues to win, they should be favored in every game of the season prior to their bowl game (unless Texas overly impresses or Oklahoma is similarly undefeated going into the Big 12 Championship). I'm not sure how many teams can say that. Another interesting factor of the season will be the mindsets of other teams (and fans) when playing Nebraska. Gameday atmospheres will be raucous in opposing Big 12 stadiums, with Nebraska pinpointed as the villain from the near crumbling of the conference, and fans out for blood. Fans will get their chances in Manhattan, Stillwater, Ames, and College Station. The rest of the conference's fans will have to settle for pouring their support behind any and every Husker opponent. Can Nebraska handle it?

Here's to hoping that Nebraska takes the last Big 12 title and never gives it back (and beats Texas in the process). Upside down hook em horns.

And if you're not ready, enjoy this...



Go Big Red,
His dirkness

2009 Holiday Bowl Reaction: Nebraska-Arizona

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What Could Have Been

The biggest thought going through my head during the game, aside from the excitement of watching Nebraska put the BEATDOWN on Arizona, was a curiosity of what could have been. Nebraska was much much better than what their year end record showed. You have to look not only at the closeness of the losses this year, but the circumstances that surrounded them. O'Hanlon falls asleep and allows an 80 yard pass with under a minute left vs. Virginia Tech. They lose to Iowa St in the most Ndominant loss I've ever seen. Finally, they somehow lose to Texas after leading with no time left in the game. Texas Tech is the only game of the season that the Huskers had no business winning, and I'd still take Nebraska in that game 7 times out of 10. Obviously, this isn't how games get recorded though, so where does blame find itself?

Bo Pelini- I would say that when you lose games you should be winning, you blame coaching. Bo Pelini may have some short-term concerns, but looking at the big picture I am extremely impressed. Not only did he turn one of the worst defenses in the country(2007) into THE best(right now), but you can see dramatic improvements from them throughout the year. The Blackshirts went from a below mediocre defense to a pretty good defense in 2008. In 2009, they started out as a pretty good defense and ended as the most Ndominant in the country. The defense is so good right now that I want to line up the best offenses in the country and give them one drive to try and score a touchdown, similar to a Madden mini game. Aside from the Top 5 coaches in the country (Stoops-dropping, Saban-afraid of commitment, Meyer-afraid of life after Tebow, Carroll-overrated, Tressel-underrated), I cannot think of anyone that I'd replace Pelini with if given the opportunity.

2010- Everyone talks about how the defense next year could be even better than this year. I won't go that far, especially at the beginning of the year, but they will still be a top 20 defense in the country, even without the Man-boy named Suh. Suh even nominated the next version of himself in sophomore Jared Crick. Pair him with 5-star recruit Baker Steinkuhler and the middle of the defense is already set. Find some safeties to play and the defense looks stacked. The offense will return 10 starters and only loses center Jacob Hickman. You have to stick with the Wildman at quarterback and hope that he improves dramatically. Cody Green just hasn't shown enough to be handed the job right now. The offense should have earned back some of the trust in the bowl game that it had lost following the Iowa St game this year, and with playmakers Roy Helu, Rex Burkhead, Niles Paul, and Mike McNeill all returning, it will be much more dynamic and allowed more opportunities to score points. With a schedule where every game is very winnable, I hate to say it, but here it goes, keep an eye on Nebraska running the table next year and earning the honor of getting whooped by the best SEC team in the National Championship.

I just noticed I went the whole post without even really talking about the game that just occurred against Arizona. That was one of the most thorough beatdowns I've seen amongst two supposedly even-matched teams. Their quarterback was from Austin and received texts from his friends all week warning him about Ndamukong Suh, and I think it worked. I've never seen a quarterback so scared going into a game. Thanks Matt Jones' coked out friends. There's not much else to say except that I'd like a shot at a BCS team to see what we could do. I'll just have to take solace in the beating Colt McCoy is about to take in T-minus 5 days.