Nebraska Football Preview

Over 4 years ago I was sitting in a New York City Hotel Room when word came that Bill Callahan was hired as head coach. My buddy was in the same room and within 15 seconds we were battling over if it was the right hire. I applauded the hire, he hated it. Well 4 years later, he was right, I was wrong. The Callahan experiment is over and the Bo Pelini experiment begins.

Pelini enters Nebraska with some good talent left behind by Callahan. While at Nebraska, Callahan loaded up on recruits that were highly ranked by recruiting services; however, he failed to coach those recruits into superstars. Oddly enough, one little known recruit will open the season as Nebraska's most dangerous weapon.

Joe Ganz opens the season as Nebraska's starting quarterback. For four years, Ganz studied, practiced, and waited, and waited, and waited. Then last year, when starting quarterback Sam Keller went down, Ganz was thrown into the fold and all he did was pass for 15 touchdowns and 1,400 yards in three games including a school record seven touchdown passes against Kansas State. Ganz will need to cut down on the interceptions (7) and will not have as many experienced receivers to throw to. Ganz is also mobile and we saw that mobility shine in last year's game with Colorado when Ganz took off for a 29 yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

Marlon Lucky, a once heralded recruit out of Southern California, returns for his senior year to Nebraska to lead a trio of running backs which also features sophomores Roy Helu, Jr. and Quentin Castille. Pelini did not name a starter after fall camp; however, Lucky has the most experience and has also shown he can catch the ball coming out of the backfield. Look for Lucky to get the most carries and action early on.

Like Ganz, Senior Wide Receivers Nate Swift and Todd Peterson enter their fifth year in the Nebraska program. Only Swift returns as a bona-fide starter although Peterson has shown signs of excellence. A plethera of talent wait in the wings including Juniors Menelink Holt and local Omaha product Niles Paul. At this point, there is no wide receiver like big, strong, wideout like Maurice Purify on this team, so Ganz will have to make do with this group this year. Hunter Teafatiller was counted on to lead the Huskers tight end corps this year but two DUI arrests have led to the dismissal of Hunter. Sophomore Mike McNeil will likely start the year, but expect others to get a look.

Going into the start of the year, Nebraska is moving on without Senior Guard Andy Christensen, who is on trial in Lincoln for sexual assault charges. Although Christensen has not been convicted of the sexual assault at a bar, he did plead guilty to two misdemeanors and will likely not play this season, convicted or not. The good news for Nebraska is that four starters return on the offensive line, led by Senior Left Tackle Lydon Murtha. Sophomore Mike Smith, a converted defensive end, came out of nowhere in fall camp to grab the other starting spot at tackle.

There was no denying that Nebraska could score points last year. In fact, in their last three games of the season, Nebraska averaged 51 points per game, even though they lost 2 of the 3 games. The points may not come in those number this year, as Nebraska is expected to control the game more on the ground, hoping to keep its own defense off the field. When needed though, this offense can turn it on in an instant.

As for the defense....well....that's the main reason that Beau Bridges stunt double is out and Bo Pelini is in. Last year, for the first time in about ever, Nebraska was ranked near the bottom of the country in total defense. Even Kansas racked up 76 points on Nebraska, which is more points than in one game than Kansas scored on Nebraska during the entire decade of the 70s and the entire decade of the 80s. Pelini will have a challenge on his hand as inexperience reigns all across the defense. As of posting time, Pelini had yet to award any blackshirts to players.

The defensive line is the one area of the defense that actually carried experience. Nebraska returns all 4 starters on the defensive line that had major trouble getting to the quarterback last year. Barry Turner returns for his senior season at defensive end. Turner had a fabulous freshman year but has been non-existent the last two years. The most talent player, Ndamukong Suh, returns to anchor the defensive tackle position. At 6-4, 300, Suh has the size to block up the middle of the field and the speed to get to the quarterback at the same time. Among other plsyers returning that have seen significant action the last two years include Clayton Siever, Pierre Allen, and Ty Steinkuhler. Look for Baker Steinkuhler, the gem of Nebraska's recruiting class (and who also ran down Terrell Pryor in the US Army All American Game) to redshirt this year.

This year's Linebacking corp is as Carl Lewis would say..."uh oh" Out of three starters, one is a former walk-on, and one is a former runningback. Only Phillip Dillard returns with any experience and its limited at that. Dillard, another former heralded recruit, has potential to be a great Nebraska linebacker. Cody Glenn moves from the runningback position and earned himself a starting spot in spring ball, and then held onto it in the fall. Look for Tyler Wortman to start at the other linebacker spot, with true freshman Sean Fisher and Will Compton seeing significant playing time.

THe last four years you have probably noticed Nebraska corners and safeties face guarding wide receivers. Throw that philosophy out the window. This year the players will be taught to turn to look for the ball, in an effort to force more turnovers. Expect a lot of more interceptions and a lot more consistency among Husker defensive back this year. Out of the top 8 listed on the depth chart, only two starters return in Armando Murillo at corner and Larry Asante at strong safety. Rickey Thenarse is a star waiting to be born and he will anchor the free safety position this year. Anthony West won the other starting cornerback job in fall camp but expect to see Eric Hagg and Prince Amukamara see extensive playing time.

So, how will Nebraska do this year? I'll say 7-5. Here is my breakdown of the schedule

Western Michigan-win
San Jose State-win
New Mexico State-win
Va Tech-loss
Missouri-loss
at Texas Tech-loss
at Iowa State-loss
Baylor-win
Oklahoma-loss
Kansas-win
at Kansas State-win
Colorado-loss