Athlon Way-Too-Early Top 25 College Football Rankings for 2019

Saunders

Saunders

Heisman Trophy Winner
#19. Nebraska

Nebraska was trending up over the second half of 2018 and should take another step forward in ’19. Dynamic freshman quarterback Adrian Martinez helped coach Scott Frost’s offense average 30 points a game this fall, and this unit should be even better with another offseason to work under this staff. Maurice Washington is primed for a breakout year as Devine Ozigbo’s replacement at running back, while JD Spielman becomes the go-to receiver with Stanley Morgan Jr. out of eligibility. Frost has a few holes to fill up front with center Tanner Farmer and guard Jerald Foster departing Lincoln. Despite a few key losses on offense, this unit will be one of the most explosive groups in the Big Ten next fall. The Cornhuskers surrendered 6.34 yards a play in 2017 but cut that total to 5.8 in ’18. Contending for a Big Ten West title will require more improvement out of this group. The Cornhuskers aren’t losing a ton of seniors off the defense, but each level loses at least one starter. Oklahoma State graduate transfer Darrion Daniels will provide a lift on the interior of the line, while the cornerback spot should be set thanks to the return of Lamar Jackson and Dicaprio Bootle. Restocking the safety position with Aaron Williams, Antonio Reed and Tre Neal departing is crucial, and Frost will have to find two new linebackers with Luke Gifford and Dedrick Young out of eligibility. Nebraska might have the most favorable path to a Big Ten West Division title. The Cornhuskers host Wisconsin, Iowa, Northwestern and Ohio State next fall. Additionally, they won’t have to play Michigan, Penn State or Michigan State in crossover action.

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/way-too-early-top-25-college-football-rankings-2019
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Opponents on the list are:

#24 Northwestern

#18 Wisconsin

#17 Iowa

#5 Ohio State

 
I dont think this team deserves to start the year ranked but I do think they have a pretty good chance to make a big turnaround next year and will end up in the rankings. 

The schedule is favorable. Still worried about the OL and DL. I wonder if we have a few spots for Grad transfers to help in those areas.

I think we get payback against Colorado. 

Northern Illinois had a fairly decent year, that fell apart near the end with 3 losses. 

@ Illinois should be a win

Get Ohio State at home. I dont think they will miss a beat, so that should be tough.

Northwestern always gives us problems.

Minnesota finished the year very strong but I hope we can sink that row boat.

As the article mentioned, we are lucky to get Ohio State, Northwestern Wisconsin and Iowa all at home. I think we can go 2-2 there.

I think we go 3-1 in these games.  @ Maryland, @ Purdue, @ MN, vs Indiana

So, that tells me something like 9-3... Probably being a bit of a homer with that.

 
Minnesota_husker said:
I dont think this team deserves to start the year ranked but I do think they have a pretty good chance to make a big turnaround next year and will end up in the rankings. 

The schedule is favorable. Still worried about the OL and DL. I wonder if we have a few spots for Grad transfers to help in those areas.

I think we get payback against Colorado. 

Northern Illinois had a fairly decent year, that fell apart near the end with 3 losses. 

@ Illinois should be a win

Get Ohio State at home. I dont think they will miss a beat, so that should be tough.

Northwestern always gives us problems.

Minnesota finished the year very strong but I hope we can sink that row boat.

As the article mentioned, we are lucky to get Ohio State, Northwestern Wisconsin and Iowa all at home. I think we can go 2-2 there.

I think we go 3-1 in these games.  @ Maryland, @ Purdue, @ MN, vs Indiana

So, that tells me something like 9-3... Probably being a bit of a homer with that.
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If that makes you a homer what does 10-2 make me? 

 
I feel better about the OL than the DL at this point.   Big think I want to see is the point of attack.   

Can they show done resistance to the ground and pound teams in this league?

 
Hedley Lamarr said:
I guess that is about where I see us finishing too...I really think we can go 10-2 though...which might but us closer to the 12-15 range
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If Nebraska is 10-2 I'd think #12 would be the floor of where they'd be ranked (not that it matters, I guess).

Also, @StPaulHusker is right. Athlon is high AF. We're losing 2 of the top 4 players on the team from last year.

 
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StPaulHusker said:
The schedule sets up nicely to get there.  I have some questions about replacing Stan and Ozigbo.  And the defense needs to show some dominance in some games.
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Yep. The loss of Stan worries me quite a bit more, because no one (literally) stepped up and showed themselves capable behind JD. If Washington puts on 20 lbs, and shows the normal improvement you'd expect from an elite talent, I think he'll more than make up for what we lost in Ziggy.

 
StPaulHusker said:
I see us finishing around 19-25.  Not starting there.
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If you see us finishing 19-25, why is Athlon “high AF” to put us at 19? Polls are supposed to show how good a team is compared to the other teams. It means they think Nebraska will be the 19th best team this season.

If Nebraska ends up at 19-25, the people who had us unranked at the beginning were the wrong ones. 

 
The coaching staff helped Ziggy get to an elite level.

I think it very reasonable to believe this staff can develop and coach players just like they did Ozigbo in a very short amount of time.

 
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