Nebraska Football: 5 Biggest Questions for Cornhuskers as Season Begins

After a long offseason, Nebraska Cornhuskers fans can finally utter the three words they have been waiting months to say:

“It’s Wyoming Week.”

But as the new football season starts, many questions remain to be answered. Here are five of the biggest questions whose answers may determine Nebraska’s fate in 2013.

Can Nebraska Hold on to the Football?

Nebraska’s offense was an impressive unit in 2012, ranking No. 8 nationally in rushing offense and No. 28 in scoring offense. Nebraska was No. 2 in the Big Ten Conference in scoring offense, and No. 1 in rushing offense and total offense.

But Nebraska was simply terrible in turnovers last season. Nebraska was No. 108 nationally in turnover margin at minus-12, which is minus-0.86 per game. That’s not total turnovers, remember, that’s turnover margin in comparison to Nebraska’s opponents.

Turnovers not only short-circuit an offense that is proving more and more difficult for defenses to stop, but they also put Nebraska’s struggling defense in difficult circumstances. Perhaps the biggest question in 2013 is whether Nebraska has figured out how to be less terrible at turning the ball over.

Stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.

How Fast Can the Defense Learn?

Anyone following college football knows that Nebraska’s defense was the difference between a division-winning team and a conference-winning team. The Blackshirts in 2012 gave up 113 points. In two games. Blowout losses on national television to Ohio State and Wisconsin, coupled with losses to Georgia and UCLA where the defense was horribly gouged, shattered the mystique of the Blackshirts.

This year, Nebraska will be replacing seven starters on defense, including the entire linebacker corps. Thankfully for Nebraska, the schedule for NU is soft enough to give the new-look Blackshirts enough time to learn Pelini’s defense.

The talent and athleticism appears to be there for Nebraska. The question is whether it can learn fast enough to avoid the mistakes of 2012 that led to big plays and points for the opposition.

How Will Pelini Use His Freshman Weapons?

Two years ago, Nebraska had three blue-chip freshman running backs in Aaron Green, Braylon Heard and Ameer Abdullah. Today, only one of them is left on the roster. In 2011, Nebraska brought in a bumper crop of offensive line recruits that looked to secure the position for years to come. Today, only two of those linemen are left on the squad.

Nebraska has a number of true freshmen who look to make an impact right away. Nathan Gerry, Josh Banderas, Terrell Newby, Adam Taylor and Cethan Carter all may see the field during their freshman year. But a heavy dose of freshmen would be a change of pace for Pelini.

When things get tight and the stakes get higher for Nebraska, will Pelini still trust his true freshmen, or will he revert to type and favor experience over potential?

Will the Special Teams Be Special?

A particularly smart and handsome analyst has dubbed Nebraska as Kicker U given its history of producing amazing placekickers. And over the years, Nebraska has benefited from a strong special teams unit.

This year, Nebraska still has a position battle between Mauro Bondi and Pat Smith at placekicker. NU will likely be starting a punter who began the year as a wide receiver on the roster. Nebraska’s long snapper will likely be a freshman. Nebraska will be breaking in a new holder. And there is no clarity in terms of who will be returning kicks and punts for Nebraska.

But other than that, everything is set.

Special teams is a critical aspect of a football team, and Nebraska almost could not have more questions about it. How Nebraska’s new-look special teams unit performs will tell a lot about where NU will finish in 2013.

Has Pelini Reached His Ceiling?

Ultimately, this is the bottom-line question for Nebraska fans. In each of his past five seasons, Pelini has lost four games. Nebraska has gotten to a conference title game three times, losing each time and getting shut out of a BCS game. Nebraska has not won a bowl game since the 2009 Holiday Bowl.

Yes, Pelini has a very respectable overall record at 49-20. But is that good enough for Nebraska fans? Will Nebraska fans be satisfied if NU can’t get over the hump, win a conference title, and become relevant on a national stage?

This year is the first season where Pelini will have a roster full of his recruits and a coaching staff full of his hires. Perhaps not this season, but soon, if Pelini is not able to deliver a conference title, then Nebraska fans will have questions to answer about the direction of the team.

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