Nebraska Football: Way-Too-Early Look at Cornhuskers' 2012 Schedule

Well, that wasn’t fun.

Nebraska ended the 2011 season going 2-3, including an ugly 30-13 loss to South Carolina in the Capital One Bowl. By the end of the game, many Nebraska fans were ready to be done with the 2011 season.

So let’s turn the page and move on, shall we? What better way to wash the taste of another sloppy loss away than with a far-too-early look at Nebraska’s 2012 schedule?

As always, each game will be broken down into four possible results: better win (NU can be expected to win them all), should win (NU expected to win more than half), might win (NU expected to win fewer than half) and won’t win (NU expected to lose). A fearless forecast will be added to the end of each game, more as guesswork than actual analysis.

Of course, this far out, it’s pretty much all guesswork anyway. So turn your sights forward, and let’s start thinking about next year.

Southern Mississippi

The Golden Eagles are certainly a step up from the opening games Nebraska has faced in the last few years. Nebraska fans might remember the last time Southern Miss came to Lincoln, where they shocked NU in Bill Callahan’s first season. But Southern Miss will also be breaking in a new head coach, and having the first game of your regime be in Lincoln is never a simple task.

Should Win

Fearless Forecast: Nebraska 27, Southern Mississippi 13

At UCLA

Nebraska hopes this will be the first of two road trips to Pasadena for NU in the 2012 season, although when the schedule was set, Nebraska was still a member of the Big 12 conference. UCLA, like Southern Miss, will be breaking in a new head coach, although the talent level will be higher than the Golden Eagles.

Should Win

Fearless Forecast: Nebraska 24, UCLA 20

Arkansas State

The Red Wolves were bowl eligible in 2011, increasing the non-conference schedule’s degree of difficulty over previous years. Once again, Nebraska will be facing a rookie head coach, this time, hot assistant du jour Gus Malzahn. Still, Nebraska should have a talent advantage over a Sun Belt squad that should all but guarantee a home win.

Better Win

Fearless Forecast: Nebraska 41, Arkansas State 13

Schedule Filler

Nebraska still has an open date in its schedule for 2012, but that will most likely be filled by a lower-level FBS or an FCS foe. There has been some talk about South Dakota State returning to Lincoln, although Nebraska fans remember well how much the Jackrabbits gave NU fits in 2009. Still, regardless of the opponent, this should be a paycheck game for the opponent and a victory for NU.

Better Win

Wisconsin

Nebraska finishes a three-game home stand with the rematch against Wisconsin. While the Badgers are the defending conference champions and return potential Heisman candidate Montee Ball, the loss of Russell Wilson makes Wisconsin a much less dynamic foe than the one NU faced in Madison. Combine that with the revenge factor, and the advantage tilts in Nebraska’s favor.

Should Win

Fearless Forecast: Nebraska 20, Wisconsin 17

At Ohio State

The Buckeyes are banned from postseason play in 2012, and cannot play in the Big Ten title game. Still, new head Buckeye Urban Meyer (at least the fourth new head coach NU will be facing in its first six games) will have an entire offseason to work with dual-threat quarterback Braxton Miller, a player with a skill set perfectly tailored for the type of offense Meyer loves to run. Remember that in Lincoln, Miller had Nebraska on the ropes as a freshman. Looks like a bad matchup for NU.

Might Win

Fearless Forecast: Ohio State 35, Nebraska 16

At Northwestern

Nebraska’s trip to Northwestern should be quite a culture shock compared to their trip to the Horseshoe the week before. And Northwestern will likely be starting Kain Colter, who gave Nebraska fits when he subbed for injured Dan Persa and led the Purples to an upset win over Nebraska. Northwestern will always be an upset candidate, but Nebraska should have enough talent advantage for a win. Of course, that was true in 2011 as well.

Should Win

Fearless Forecast: Nebraska 27, Northwestern 17

Michigan

The Wolverines are coming off a BCS win in Brady Hoke’s first season and return Denard Robinson for his senior season. Michigan will likely be the prohibitive favorite for the Legends Division title and should be most pundits’ pick to win the conference outright. The Nebraska-Michigan game will likely be the de facto Legends Division title game, but the Wolverines remain a poor matchup for Nebraska, even in Lincoln.

Might Win

Fearless Forecast: Michigan 31, Nebraska 24

At Michigan State

The Spartans that take the field in 2012 will have a very different look than the 2011 squad that pushed Wisconsin to the brink in the inaugural B1G title game. Quarterback Kirk Cousins will have graduated, and defensive tackle Jerel Worthy and running back Edwin Baker have declared they will be heading to the NFL.

As a result, even though the game is in East Lansing, Nebraska’s returning talent should give NU an edge.

Should Win

Fearless Forecast: Nebraska 24, Michigan State 14

Penn State

The Nittany Lions, under new head coach Bill O’Brien, will begin the long process of rebuilding a storied program. The biggest challenge for O’Brien will be to heal the schism between those fans (and players) loyal to Joe Paterno and feeling wronged by his ouster and those ready to move on. While there is still talent in Happy Valley, mounting a consistently successful team in 2012 would be a monumental task for O’Brien.

Should Win

Fearless Forecast: Nebraska 31, Penn State 14

Minnesota

Last season, the Golden Gophers were the laughingstock of the conference. But that was also a season where new head coach Jerry Kill missed time due to an illness, stunting the potential for the team’s growth. With a full, healthy season and with a year for Marquis Gray to improve, Minnesota poses exactly the kind of upset threat that Nebraska has struggled with in Pelini’s era.

Should Win

Fearless Forecast: Minnesota 28, Nebraska 24

At Iowa

The return leg of the Heroes Game in Iowa City puts Nebraska in a dangerous situation. From a talent standpoint, Nebraska should have the same advantages that allowed it to grind out a dour win in Lincoln. But if the season goes as predicted here, with the division title gone and coming off an ugly home loss, this game becomes a very dangerous one for NU.

Should Win

Fearless Forecast: Iowa 17, Nebraska 16

Conclusion

Now that we’ve walked through the 2012 schedule, let’s see what we come up with:

Better Win (Two) = Two wins

Should Win (Eight) = Five wins

Might Win (One) = One win

That analysis puts Nebraska at 8-4, which is also the result of the Fearless Forecasts. At the start of this, the idea was to make Nebraska fans feel better by looking forward to 2012. Unfortunately, after walking through the predictions, I’m not sure this has been much help.

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