Nebraska Cornhuskers Earn Props from ESPN Blogger Tim Griffin

Tim hooking up the Huskers:

"

I was a little surprised, but not shocked, that Nebraska didn’t crack either the AP media top 25 or the USA Today coaches’ poll. I don’t think most of the country realizes the turnaround that Bo Pelini was able to accomplish late in the season with the Cornhuskers. At the end of the season and the bowls, they were playing as well as any team in the Big 12 .

"

Another good observation:

"

A funny thing happened in the bowls. Nebraska and Missouri showed a lot of pluck in comeback bowl victories and Kansas might have played better in its bowl game than any other Big 12 team. The South was a different story. Texas earned a dramatic victory over Ohio State, but had enough struggles against the Buckeyes to be lucky to have won the Fiesta Bowl. Texas Tech looked ill-prepared and played like it in its loss to Mississippi. Oklahoma State collapsed when Dez Bryant was injured and Oklahoma lost in the national title game. The conference’s best teams are in the South, even if they didn’t play like it in the bowls.

"

And he expects the Huskers to win the Big 12 North:

"

North: 1. Nebraska; 2. Kansas; 3. Colorado; 4. Missouri; 5. Kansas State; 6. Iowa State
South: 1. Texas; 2. Oklahoma; 3. Oklahoma State; 4. Texas Tech; 5. Texas A&M; 6. Baylor.

Big 12 championship game: Texas over Nebraska.

Bowl teams: Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Texas Tech, Colorado, Missouri.

"