SN's team previews: No. 40 Nebraska
July 14, 2008
Blair Kerkhoff
For Sporting News
More: Nebraska two-minute drill | Full top 50
Sporting News is counting down its top 50 teams in college football, one by one, from early July until kickoff of the season in late August. Here's a preview of the No. 40 Nebraska Cornhuskers.
More than 80,000 fans paid to watch Nebraska's spring scrimmage. Did they get their money's worth?
On the first play, yes -- on both sides of the ball.
The offense ran an option play, harkening back to the old days. But the play was disrupted when linebacker Tyler Wortman smacked the pitch away and recovered the fumble. Wortman didn't know the pitch was supposed to be allowed under the game script.
Those wearing red (everybody) had to like the defensive aggressiveness, and that will be the first step on the road to recovery under coach Bo Pelini's new regime. Pelini brings a fiery demeanor and history of success, and no lesson was more important than the one he learned in 2003.
In his only year as the program's defensive coordinator, Nebraska finished first nationally in passing efficiency defense, second in scoring defense and 11th in total defense.
Compare that to last season, when the Huskers surrendered a school-record 455 points, including 76 to Kansas and 65 to Colorado, ultimately costing Bill Callahan his job.
A fly-to-the-ball and play-through-the-whistle attitude is what made the 2003 defense dominant. It's the approach Pelini took to Oklahoma in 2004 and then to LSU for the past three seasons, including last year's national championship team.
The defense remains a work in progress. Nebraska has moved Cody Glenn from running back to linebacker, and the unit has plenty of question marks beginning with its pass rush. Ends Barry Turner and Zach Potter need to step up, as does tackle Ndamukong Suh, who is recovering from knee surgery. The Huskers ranked last in the Big 12 with 13 sacks in 2007.
Their turnover margin was also bad (-17). Within the Big 12, Nebraska finished ahead of only Baylor in that category.
The offense figures to be ahead of the game. When quarterback Joe Ganz took over for Sam Keller, who went down with a season-ending injury late in the Oct. 27 Texas game, Nebraska knew it had an experienced hand. After all, Ganz was a fourth-year junior.
What might not have been expected were 16 touchdowns, including a school-record seven against Kansas State, and most of Ganz's 1,435 yards in those three-plus games.
Pelini retained offensive coordinator Shawn Watson from the Callahan staff -- hey, nothing wrong with a unit that averaged 33.4 points a game.
Nebraska has one of the Big 12's top running backs in Marlon Lucky, and maybe the best offensive line to play in Lincoln in years. Matt Slauson, who has played tackle and guard, has 22 career starts. Guard Mike Huff has 19 starts and tackle Lydon Murtha 14.
Finding a big-play wide receiver to complement sure-handed Nate Swift and Todd Peterson, along with a steady tight end, will be issues in the fall.
But the mood is improving in Nebraska. A successful former defensive coordinator walks the sideline. Legendary coach Tom Osborne will be the athletic director for at least two more years. And the spring game was a sellout.
