Could the Nebraska Huskers Start off 8-0 in 2009?

Yes, we don’t even know who the quarterback will be in '09, let alone know how many points the Huskers will beat the Clemson Tigers by on Jan. 1.

But let’s take a quick look into 2009. And please, be quiet...we want the Huskers to arrive on the national scene without any hype.

Hype helped crush the state’s spirit in 2007.

The Huskers start off very similar to 2008 with three of their first four games coming against the likes of Florida Atlantic (the Return of Howard Schnellenberger!), who are playing in the GMAC Bowl, Louisiana-Monroe (who beat Alabama last year), and Arkansas State.

In that stretch they’ll also be visiting the defending ACC Champions, Virginia Tech.

As Sipple said to us last week, this is the game where the Huskers can make their mark and get that quality win that we’ve been waiting for since Oklahoma in 2001.

This is the Huskers’ game for the taking. The Huskers will be 'dogs going into that game, but the Huskers have a real chance of pulling out a quality "W" at VT.

After that stretch, the Huskers will visit Missouri, which will be a shell of itself without Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin. The Huskers again might be small 'dogs going into Missouri, but a win in Columbus against a Tigers team that dominated the Huskers in 2008 is very possible.

Then another team that figures to be much weaker in 2009, Texas Tech, will visit Lincoln, followed by Iowa State and a tough trip to Baylor.

Will the Huskers be 8-0 after that stretch? Most likely not. There is a good chance the Huskers will drop a game or two in the first eight. While the Huskers look to be in a much favorable position to avenge this year’s losses to Missouri, Texas Tech, and to some degree Virginia Tech, the Huskers are probably not that close to doing it, especially with a new passer at the helm.

Virginia Tech might be their toughest test while Texas Tech and Missouri look to be more winnable (and important) games.

One thing will be sure: The Huskers will be going into these games in 2009 psychologically unafraid of their opponent. We lost Missouri and Oklahoma psychologically. Those games were lost before the first snap.

Next year will be different.

And then comes the killer part of the schedule: Oklahoma visits Lincoln, followed by a tough road trip to Kansas.

The Huskers may very well drop both those games, regardless of Sam Bradford’s status.

Colorado will be a dogfight next year, as will Baylor. But the Big 12 North will be wide-open and the Huskers will be in a great position to steal it from Kansas.

HG Early 2009 Prediction: 9-3