Chattanooga - Massacre.
Fresno State - Big win. Everyone is talking about how Fresno State is a giant-killer, but these are not those FSU Bulldogs. Fresno hasn't had a big win since, maybe, their 2006 bowl game where they beat a 7-6 Georgia Tech. The Bulldogs have gone 4-8 (68), 9-4 (95), 7-6 (90), 8-5 (84) and 8-5 (83) over the past five years. The number in parentheses is their SOS. This is not a good team and this will not be a close game.
Washington - This should be the signature game of the non-con schedule. This is a big one for the team after all the talking Washington's players and coaches did during the bowl game. This won't be a Texas-like meltdown. This will be a methodical beat-down, minus the overblown emotion of the Longhorns game of last year. If we don't win by two TDs or more, I'll be shocked.
Wyoming - Big win.
Wisconsin - Camp Randle will be rocking. This will be the first great test of our D Line, ranked 63rd in the nation against the run last year, against Wisconsin's high-powered rushing attack (12th in the nation with 3,200 yards and 48 TDs in 2010). The addition of Russel Wilson to this mix could be the deciding factor. I see this as a close loss, but it could easily snowball.
Ohio State - This game should look a lot like the 2009 Oklahoma game. Two tough defenses slugging it out, low-scoring, tough in the trenches. If the Buckeyes stick with Braxton Miller at QB we could rattle the Freshman and force him into turnovers. If they go with the older Bauserman, he doesn't bring the running game dynamic to the table that Miller has. I see us focusing a lot of heat on the Buckeye QB no matter who plays. If we get to him, we win. If the OSU O Line holds up, this could be a nail-biter. We probably win on a last-second FG by Bondi.
Minnesota - Win, by two TDs or more. The Golden Gophers are breaking in a new coach, new offensive scheme, and they went 3-9 last year. There will be no Pelini-like turnaround for a defense ruined by Cosgrove, and we should score on these guys early and often.
Michigan State - Another team fixing to get a dose of the Peso. Sparty returns Seniors at QB (Cousins), WR (Nichol, Cunningham & Martin) and TE (Linthicum). Like Nebraska the Spartans lose three starting O Linemen, so we should have an advantage along the line. Unfortunately for Sparty, their strength plays into our strength (Pass vs. Pass), and I'll put Bo's pass D up against any passing attack in the country. Win by ten.
Northwestern - I like Carlfense's analogy to Missouri. Persa may be a good QB, but he doesn't have the O Line that Missouri had and he doesn't have the WRs that Missouri had. We will go full-on Peso on this team and should win by two TDs.
Penn State - This is a tough one to call. Penn State returns a LOT of players from last year on both sides of the ball. Happy Valley will be a very tough venue. It's later in the season and we'll be full-on into the grind of the Big Ten. If Marty is healthy and the offense is in gear we could trade blows with this team in a lower-scoring game. Last possession wins? I'll take PSU in that scenario, but I don't like it.
Michigan - Another scary game, this time in The Big House. Coaching change turmoil could give us the win here. I see this as a repeat of the Oklahoma State game last year, with both teams scoring big. Only thing is, Michigan's defense is terrible. They were dead last in every major category in the Big Ten last year but one - Rush Defense, where they were second-to-last. Again, no Pelini-esque turnaround by the Wolverine defense in one year. Nebraska wins by a TD.
Iowa - Iowa is a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. They're decent-to-good at just about everything, but they give up yards on the ground and through the air, and they don't score a lot. The one thing they do reasonably well is keep teams out of the end zone. They've lost the bulk of their offense including Stanzi, their dynamic quarterback, and pretty much all of their skill players, but they return four of five starters on the O Line. They were shelled on defense, with Prater being most well-known returning starter from last season (at least in Nebraska). I anticipate a reasonably low-scoring game, with a healthy Husker team pulling out a 24-13 win.
I think (if I can count) that makes this a 10-2 regular season.
