Nebraska Football Preview, Best Players, Top Transfers, Season Prediction, Win Total
by Pete Fiutak, CollegeFootballNews.com
The world is a better place when Nebraska is good at college football.
It's one of THOSE programs.
For a whole generation of fans, Nebraska is some team on the schedule that gets an automatic penciled in W. Oh sure, it'll battle well and lose in a fight, but it will lose, it will be forgotten, and everyone will move on with their lives. For others .......
21-21-21-21
I've brought this up before, but I was in the old Metrodome -- and stayed long enough to see the late game scoreboard -- when 1983 Nebraska scored 21 points in each quarter to beat Minnesota 84-13.
Nebraska seemed like this magical place with great football players, blowout wins, and an option offense that steamrolled over everything in its path.
As a little kid sports fan, Lincoln, Nebraska might as well have been Ibiza on the cool factor -- my family wintered in Buffalo; I get a free pass.
For those reading this younger than near-death, there was a time when Nebraska was modern-day Alabama without the national championships -- at least for a long drought after the early 1970s.
Nine wins was considered a total disaster of a season for a program that didn't dip below the mark from 1969 until 2002 -- by comparison to that 23-season stretch, Bama's run is currently 16 years.
And then it all got screwed up after one outlier of a season, Nebraska became just another school with a football program, and now, in 124 years of playing college football, seven of the 29 losing seasons have come in the last seven years.
It was asking the world of Matt Rhule to come in and automatically make Nebraska football a thing again, but there were signs.
The team wasn't good, but it played hard, five of the seven losses were by a touchdown or less -- a superfun trend passed down from the Scott Frost era -- and now there's a sense that it might be the time when the momentum bounces back.
And it all unfairly starts with one young man .....
OFFENSE
Dylan Raiola, no pressure, but the entire world of Nebraska football is on you. He's so young, he's just getting started, he's going to screw up here and there, and the super-recruit who was going to be Lincoln Riley's next star at USC before becoming a Georgia Bulldog is now the best quarterback prospect in Nebraska history.
After a year of nothing from the offense -- actually, the O was a net-negative considering all the turnovers -- Raiola will be fine. He's a power-thrower with NFL skills, and the coaching staff got him some instant help.
Receivers Jahmal Banks (Wake Forest) and Isaiah Neyor (Texas) combined for 25 touchdowns over the last two years -- Neyor's 12 came at Wyoming two years ago; he was hurt last season. TE Thomas Fidone was second on the team with 25 catches and led the way with four scores.
It's Nebraska. It's supposed to be good on the offensive front. For all the problems on offense, the line wasn't totally horrible. It had a hard time in pass protection but was strong for the running game. There's decent size, but it needs a star -- C Ben Scott and OG Turner Corcoran are close.
The backs should do their part, but the offense will work around Raiola pushing the ball around. Backup QB Heinrich Haarberg led the team with 477 rushing yards, but it'll be Gabe Ervin -- back after missing most of last year hurt -- leading a deep group that could quickly be taken over by Oregon transfer Dante Dowdell.
DEFENSE
It got lost in the wash that the defense was fantastic. It got hit by Colorado and Michigan, and didn't allow more than 24 points against anyone else. The pass rush was good, there were plenty of plays behind the line, and the run D was among the best in the nation. Overall, the defense produced with little to no help from the other side of the ball.
Everyone is back on the front three. 330-pound Nash Hutmacher is a big anchor on the nose, and he can get into the backfield. 310-pound Ty Robinson is a run stopper, and Jimari Butler led the team with 5.5 sacks.
The linebackers were deep last season, and they will be again. Javin Wright and John Bullock combined for 101 tackles, and Syracuse transfer Stefon Thompson is a 172-career tackle veteran for the inside.
There weren't enough interceptions from the secondary, and the depth is a tad young, but the starting five will be solid. Tommi Hill led the team with four picks at one corner, St. Francis transfer Blye Hill will likely take over the other side, and leading tackler Isaac Gifford is back at one safety spot.
KEY TO THE SEASON
Start completing passes. That, and the 31 turnovers have to be trimmed down significantly. How do you lose so many close games? Turn it over three or more times in seven games.
But start with the basics. Nebraska needs to keep the chains moving, and that goes with hitting more than 52% of its passes -- and chilling on the 16 picks. 2017 was the last time the Huskers didn't get to 60%, and 2016 was the last time they were under 52% -- but there were fewer interceptions.
KEY PLAYER
Gabe Ervin (RB). It'll be tempting to put everything on Raiola and let him throw and throw some more, but the more the backs can do to help, obviously, the better.
Ervin is a good, quick back who hasn't had a lick of injury luck. From a knee injury to a hip problem, he hasn't had a chance to completely show what he can do. Between him, Rahmir Johnson, Dante Dowdell and Emmett Johnson, the rotation of backs have to carry the load.
TOP TRANSFER / BIGGEST TRANSFER LOSS
Top Transfier: Isaiah Neyor, Texas (WR). Dowdell could be close if he blows up right away in the backfield, and Jahmal Banks should be dangerous as an outside deep threat, but Neyor has the upside to be devastating.
He suffered a torn ACL early on last year for Texas, but the year before he averaged 20 yards per catch with 12 scores for Wyoming in an offense that wasn't exactly a high-flying attack.
Top Transfer Out: Tamon Lynum (CB). There really isn't a huge transfer portal loss for the Huskers.
QBs Jeff Sims (Arizona State) and Chubba Purdy (Nevada) were experienced, but they wouldn't have seen the light of day in the offense now.
Lynum was a decent backup with 12 tackles and two forced fumbles, and he would've provided a nice backup option. Again, the outbound portal wasn't a problem for the Huskers.
KEY GAME
Illinois (Sept. 21). The world will be paying attention when Coach Prime and Colorado come to town, but that has to be a win if Nebraska is any good this year.
Illinois is the Big Ten opener -- the Huskers won 20-7 last year -- and it's probably the one team in the seven games to legitimately worry about. Win this, and 7-0 is very, very possible before going to Ohio State in late October.
TEN BEST PLAYERS
1. QB - Dylan Raiola (FR)
2. WR - Isaiah Neyor (SR)
3. S - Isaac Gifford (SR)
4. WR - Jamal Banks (SR)
5. NT - Nash Hutmacher (SR)
6. LB - Javin Wright (SR)
7. CB - Tommi Hill (SR)
8. OG - Turner Corcoran (SR)
9. TE - Thomas Fidone (JR)
10. C - Ben Scott (SR)
2023 FUN STATS
- Fumbles: Nebraska 31 (lost 15) | Opponents 16 (lost 5)
- First Quarter Scoring: Nebraska 27 | Opponents 23
- Red Zone Scores: Opponents: 31-of-38 (82%) | Nebraska 20-of-29 (69%)
WIN TOTAL PREDICTION, WHAT WILL HAPPEN
Is it time for it to be okay for Nebraska to have nice things?
There might be building to do, and the overall talent still isn't there to make any real push for the Big Ten title, but there's no Michigan, no Penn State, no Oregon or Washington.
Missing Maryland, Minnesota, and this year, Michigan State, isn't bad either.
UTEP, Colorado, Northern Iowa, Illinois, at Purdue, Rutgers, at Indiana. Rutgers is the only one in that bunch to go to a bowl game last year, and it went 6-6 in the regular season. Nebraska, with those seven games, you need to have bowl eligibilty wrapped up in time for supper.
And then comes reality.
It's not that these Huskers can't beat UCLA or win at home against Wisconsin, nad we know it'll give Iowa a game no matter what. But throw in Ohio State and USC on the road, and the losses will start coming.
And Nebraska will enjoy its first winning season since 2016.
SET THE NEBRASKA WIN TOTAL AT....... 7
Likely Wins: Northern Iowa, UTEP
50/50 Games: Colorado, Illinois, at Indiana, at Iowa, at Purdue, Rutgers, UCLA, Wisconsin
Likely Losses: at Ohio State, at USC
