Lincoln Journal Star spring Big 12 preview

[garn91]

Thought you guys would like this.

No power rankings, no predictions, just a run down of who's gone, who's returning and a spring storyline or two for all 12 schools.

Spring football Big 12 breakdown

 

[NebrClone]

I love the way they put knu in the same breath as TU and OU on our schedule.

 

[Ficklone02]

Football? I thought it was still basketball season.

 

[dustinal]

I love the way they put knu in the same breath as TU and OU on our schedule.

With the players OU and UT are losing this year, NU could be on par with them in terms of how we match up against them.

 

[Wingback]

I love the way they put knu in the same breath as TU and OU on our schedule.

Based simply on returning starters, Bleacher Report (I know, I know, some on CF love to hate Bleacher Report) lists Nebraska #5, Missouri #9, Oklahoma #17, and Texas #20 in their "going into the season" rankings. I really don't think it is too far-fetched for the Lincoln Journal or any publication in the Big 12 to speak of Nebraska in the same breath with both Texas and Oklahoma. There are a lot of people who are picking Nebraska to not only win the North in 2010, but also to win the Big 12 championship. I would guess Nebraska will win the North again, but I'm not ready to say they are going to win the overall conference championship just yet.

 

[benjay]

I love the way they put knu in the same breath as TU and OU on our schedule.

Nebraska looks like they might be pretty good this year. At least we play them in Ames.

 

[Clonehomer]

I count more than 4 returning defensive starters.
P Neal - 9 starts in 2009
B Johnson - 8 starts
R Parker
L Johnson
D Sims

Benton had 4 starts and O'Connell got some playing time as well

The only spot on defense that we're lacking starts is at linebacker which those guys did see the field quite a bit last year. I'm personally not too concerned with the new defensive players. Coach Burnham had less talent and experience last year and we fielded a pretty solid group.

 

[djcubby]

Nebraska looks like they might be pretty good this year.

Based on what?? (honest question)

From what I know, which isn't much, they still don't have a proven QB and lost their biggest playmaker on both sides of the ball in Suh. I'm not saying the defense is going to struggle, but the d-line will feel the effects because guys like Crick won't have the 1-1 matchups like they did last year.

 

[deadeyededric]

I think Nebraska is a top ten team next year.

 

[CykoAGR]

I don't have a problem with them mentioning Nebby in the same breath as OU and TX. If I remember they beat OU and nearly TX in the championship game. I realize the lost a lot in Suh but Tx lost Shipley and their all everything QB. I think that OU rebounds next year but they also lost a lot to the NFL.

My dark horse to win the North is Mizzou. They had NU on their heels last year in the monsoon and I think that the weather hurt MU more than it did NU.

 

[tazclone]

I think Nebraska is a top ten team next year.

I understand some might think this but for me it is hard to make a team tope ten when they don't know who their starting QB and RB will be. It isn't like they have two guys that are great fighting it out. They have two guys that are average at best.

Throw in losing Suh, and you just don't know how that defense will react. Suh made everyone better on that defense. They return a lot of talent so I think they will be good but will they be as good or better than last season. If not then they are not a top twen team with their offensive woes

 

[synapticwave]

I like how kNu has 12 "headliners" when everyone else has 4-7. Although, I guess it's fair to say that if they are predicting which players will be headliners in the Lincoln Journal-Star then they probably will have double the number of kNu players headlined.

 

[tazclone]

I thought it was a good preview. A few errors (like our defensive starters) but all in all pretty fair piece. I think the rip on Texas' QB was a little tough, considering he played pretty good in the second half for a true frosh that just got thrown into the National Championship game

 

[deadeyededric]

Wait till Shatel comes out with his in the OWH.

 

[Al_4_State]

Nebraska was a very good team this last year, but I'm not seeing what is going to make them better. Suh made that whole team work. This isn't to say that their QB and RB play won't improve, because they could, but it seems to me that he whole idea is predicated on an offense that did next to nothing greatly improving, and the defense staying pretty good.

 

[CardinalAndGold]

Nebraska was a very good team this last year, but I'm not seeing what is going to make them better. Suh made that whole team work. This isn't to say that their QB and RB play won't improve, because they could, but it seems to me that he whole idea is predicated on an offense that did next to nothing greatly improving, and the defense staying pretty good.

I think their OL line play was horrible last year, which will cause any offense to fall apart. If that improves, their offense should be a lot better. Didn't Pelini say that the defense would be even better in 2010, though? Um, not gonna happen.

 

[deadeyededric]

I think their OL line play was horrible last year, which will cause any offense to fall apart. If that improves, their offense should be a lot better. Didn't Pelini say that the defense would be even better in 2010, though? Um, not gonna happen.

I think they could be. They have great defensive coaches and will no doubt blitz more without THE BEAST. They should be faster to.

 

[VeloClone]

I love the way they put knu in the same breath as TU and OU on our schedule.

Let's just say that this rag was commonly referred to as the Urinal Star when I was in Lincoln in the late '90s.

kNU may be better next year, heck, they may be real good, but don't look for objectivity from that source.

 

[isuforlife]

Lincoln has a newspaper?

 

[Wingback]

Nebraska was a very good team this last year, but I'm not seeing what is going to make them better. Suh made that whole team work. This isn't to say that their QB and RB play won't improve, because they could, but it seems to me that he whole idea is predicated on an offense that did next to nothing greatly improving, and the defense staying pretty good.

The defense will stay more than pretty good, Al. Bo Pelini says it could be better than this past season's defense and I certainly wouldn't question Pelini's ability to judge defensive talent. With Crick and Steinkuhler anchoring the defensive line, I'm not concerned over the loss of Suh. The linebacking corps will be young, but there is a ton of talent in that group. Nebraska has enough corners to field two division one top-10 units, and Carl Pelini says he could use six safeties interchangeably with "no dropoff."

Obviously, the question is on the offensive side of the football. The offensive line got beat up pretty good on the message boards and in the media last season (some of it deserved), but that group was riddled with injuries. The group of wide recievers is very, very talented but certainly needs more consistency. They go four deep at tight end with very little drop off. I'm not the least bit worried about their running backs with Helu and Burkhead coming back and Dontrayevous Robinson seeing a lot of playing time this past season as a true freshman. Burkhead in the "wildcat" in the Holiday Bowl was devistating. The quarterback situation is obviously the biggest issue. I am not convinced that Zac Lee is Big 12 starting quarterback material (although at the end of the season we found out he had been nursing a shoulder injury since mid-September). His surgery will allow the coaches to look long-and-hard at Cody Green, Cody Spano and Taylor Martinez (who is the real "dark horse" in the group).

In my opinion, it's pretty easy for the pundits to look at this team and see top-10 potential. There is no question the defense will be good enough to get them there. If the offensive line can remain healthy and a solid performer emerges at quarterback there is no reason to believe this team can't win the Big 12 championship and play in a BCS bowl. I'm certainly not saying they will win the Big 12 championship, but if those two things happen, it certainly is a very real possibility.