The Moment We've All Been Waiting For...

It's football season folks!  I spent the evening watching the Gamecocks of South Carolina dismantle the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles.  I'm not a fan of either team, but it was good to see some college football again.  After a shaky first series, South Carolina looked like a force to be wreckoned with.  Stephen Garcia looked confident and assertive both running and passing (something Nebraska needs at QB right now...), true freshman Marcus Lattimore was quick, fast and strong (one of the commentators exclaimed, "he looks like a senior!"), and Alshon Jeffery dominated with his size and power.  Steve Spurrier finally looks to have something here.  USC, on the other hand, did not impress me. Scoring 49 against Hawaii's defense isn't all that impressive, and USC's defense looked vulnerable at times.  Hawaii scored 36 points.  Maybe I'm biased, but I don't think USC will be particularly special this year.

Nebraska opens the season against Western Kentucky tomorrow evening, and will be fielding a defense that will be without probable starters Will Compton and Sean Fisher at linebacker.  It shouldn't matter against a severely overmatched Hilltopper team, but come week three against a dangerous Washington team, they will sorely miss these guys (especially Compton) if the backups can't stop the run efficiently.  The silver lining here is it will give talented and athletic guys like LaVonte David, Alonzo Whaley, and Eric Martin a chance to test their skills in live action.  If any of these guys can prove to be effective, the defense will be that much better because of the natural athletic advantages they have over Compton and Fisher.  Martin, in particular, will be a run stopping monster if he can learn the defense and limit his mistakes.  He is a monstrous hitter who I predict will be a fantastic linebacker in a year or two.  In 2011, with guys like David, Whaley, Martin, Compton, and Fisher, the linebackers might just be the strength of the defense.

As for the 2010 defense, the strength is undoubtedly the secondary.  Loaded with hyped talent (Prince Amukamara, Dejon Gomes) and underrated talent (Eric Hagg, Alfonzo Dennard, Anthony West, PJ Smith), this secondary will give any passing quarterback fits this year.  I see Amukamara's statistics dropping off a tad as most teams will shy away from his side. Consequently, Dennard will enjoy a huge statistical year, as he will be tested often--and will often pass the test. I also see Hagg having a big year, and he and Amukamara will both be high draft picks.

The defensive line looks solid again.  Unfortunately enough, the run stopping aspect of this line will likely regress a bit without Suh (that's where the Huskers need those young linebackers to come in), but the pass rushing aspect may be as good or better.  I expect senior Pierre Allen, who is finally healthy after playing much of last season with turf toe, to surprise many and have a big year.  I think Crick will be as good as advertised.

On the offensive side of the ball, I think the Huskers will surprise a lot of people this year.  They already lost versatile lineman Mike Smith to a broken leg, but the offensive line still looks deep and strong.  The coaches are pegging it as the best line they've had since they've been here.  That bodes well for three talented running backs, senior Roy Helu Jr. and sophomores Rex Burkhead and Dontrayevous Robinson, who will form a trio better than the 2008 trio (Marlon Lucky, Quentin Castille and Helu).  I think the Huskers will finish in the top 25 in rushing yards.  As for the passing game, I don't expect them to be higher than 50th.  But with a playmaker in Niles Paul and two big, solid possession receivers in Mike McNeill and Brandon Kinnie, and Zac Lee throwing to them (he will start, and he will do better than you think), the passing game will be good enough to keep defenses honest.

Special teams will be an underrated force for the Huskers this season.  Senior Alex Henery will impress so much that he gets drafted in the 2011 NFL draft.  Niles Paul will again be a strong option in the  return game, and the coverage units, highlighted by Eric Martin (as I said before, he is a fierce hitter, and he also has good instincts and can block kicks), will be solid.

I expect tomorrow's game (which, being a UNL student, I have tickets to) to be one sided.  Huskers win 41-6, putting their backups in after a 31-0 first half.  I'll have comments after the game.