The Nebraska Cornhuskers received a big break when they were slotted into the new Big Ten West Division with only Wisconsin as a major challenger. Nebraska landed in a division free of Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan, and Penn State. The Huskers have to feel that they have a great opportunity to do something special this season. Now, they have to go on the field and do something about it.
Strengths
The Huskers have a few stars on their roster who can carry them at times. Ameer Abdullah is a Heisman Trophy candidate at running back, a special player who comes back for one more season and gives Nebraska a major-grade weapon on offense. Kenny Bell is a strong wide receiver who will enable question-laden quarterback Tommy Armstrong to find a dependable target on the field. Bell is the player who gives Armstrong the greatest chance of being able to work through this season with a minimal amount of turnovers. If Bell gets open all the time, Armstrong won’t have to sweat out the process of making reads against defenses. Speaking of defense, Nebraska brings back defensive end Randy Gregory, a player so good that he’s being projected as a first-round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. If these players on offense and defense all live up to their potential, the Huskers should feel good about where their season is headed.
Weaknesses
The Huskers lost two starters from their secondary, cornerbacks Stanley Jean-Baptiste and Ciante Evans. They also lost two starters from their offensive line, guard Spencer Long and tackle Jeremiah Sirles. When you lose half of your starting secondary and 40 percent of your starting offensive line, that’s a lot of veteran dependability to replace. The Huskers will have to find players next up on the depth chart who can adequately fill in these gaps. If this transition process isn’t smooth, Nebraska could easily stumble at Fresno State in September and get off to the kind of start that will not inspire a great deal of confidence as the season wears on.
Schedule
The Huskers play a couple of easy games to start before playing Fresno State on the road and Miami at home. Nebraska should be 5-0 when it goes to Michigan State on Oct. 4. That’s when the schedule gets tougher. At Wisconsin and at Iowa in November will be hard games to win. Yet, the schedule is extremely favorable otherwise. Rutgers, Purdue, Illinois, Minnesota – those are all games the Huskers should win.
Outlook
The Huskers might be headed for eight wins, but if you want to lean toward the under or over, the softness of the schedule is hard to look past. Michigan State and Wisconsin should beat Nebraska, but where will two other losses come from? Fresno State could be one, Iowa possibly the other. However, this team probably won’t lose five games. There’s a much better chance Nebraska will win more than eight as opposed to fewer than eight games. Take the over, then.
Pick: Over 8 at -115
