Saturday, January 20, 2007
Looking ahead to 2007
While most hard-core college football fans are totally immersed in recruiting right now, January also finds some especially brave prognosticators taking a whack at picking the preseason top 25 for 2007.
For Nebraska fans, the significant news is that members of the national media have largely pegged the Cornhuskers to check in somewhere between No. 10 and No. 15 when the preseason polls come out in August. Certainly, that’s not a bad position for coach Bill Callahan's crew as being outside of the top 10 helps temper expectations, while still leaving his team within striking distance of the top spot.
Of course, it's not easy banking on a Nebraska team that will lose its entire starting backfield and its entire defensive line, but it seems the potential for what Arizona State quarterback transfer Sam Keller can accomplish in Callahan's West Coast offense has generated some optimistic views of the Huskers for 2007.
A sampling:
Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com ranks Nebraska No. 12.
Rivals.com ranks Nebraska No. 13.
Tony Barnhart of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution ranks Nebraska No. 15.
College Football News ranks Nebraska No. 15.
Stewart Mandel of SI.com ranks Nebraska No. 18.
Matt Hayes of The Sporting News lists his preseason top 10.
Overall, the consensus seems to be that Southern California will start the season ranked No. 1. That means the Trojans, who open with a Sept. 1 home date against Idaho and are off the following weekend, could easily be the country's top-ranked team when they come to Memorial Stadium on Sept. 15.
The last time a top-ranked team came to Lincoln was Oklahoma in 1978 for a game won 17-14 by a No. 4-ranked Nebraska squad. Hard to fathom, that was nearly 30 years ago.
For Nebraska fans, the significant news is that members of the national media have largely pegged the Cornhuskers to check in somewhere between No. 10 and No. 15 when the preseason polls come out in August. Certainly, that’s not a bad position for coach Bill Callahan's crew as being outside of the top 10 helps temper expectations, while still leaving his team within striking distance of the top spot.
Of course, it's not easy banking on a Nebraska team that will lose its entire starting backfield and its entire defensive line, but it seems the potential for what Arizona State quarterback transfer Sam Keller can accomplish in Callahan's West Coast offense has generated some optimistic views of the Huskers for 2007.
A sampling:
Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com ranks Nebraska No. 12.
Rivals.com ranks Nebraska No. 13.
Tony Barnhart of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution ranks Nebraska No. 15.
College Football News ranks Nebraska No. 15.
Stewart Mandel of SI.com ranks Nebraska No. 18.
Matt Hayes of The Sporting News lists his preseason top 10.
Overall, the consensus seems to be that Southern California will start the season ranked No. 1. That means the Trojans, who open with a Sept. 1 home date against Idaho and are off the following weekend, could easily be the country's top-ranked team when they come to Memorial Stadium on Sept. 15.
The last time a top-ranked team came to Lincoln was Oklahoma in 1978 for a game won 17-14 by a No. 4-ranked Nebraska squad. Hard to fathom, that was nearly 30 years ago.
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