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2008 Nebraska Cornhuskers

Written July 1, 2008 by Jason Lowry

With summer in full swing its that time of year many fans start getting that need for football, and Jason Lowry continues to make his way through some of the best teams in the country and is ready to make his 2008 Nebraska Cornhuskers football predictions. The Cornhuskers started off the season 4-1, but were able to win just 1 game the rest of the year and wound up 5-7. It was the fist time in years that you couldn’t find a Nebraska team in a bowl game, and its up to new head coach Bo Pelini to get things turned around this season. With only 11 returning starters he will have his work cut out for him, but with the way this school recruits things can turn around in a hurry. Before we get to where we think this team will finish, lets take a look at what they got on both sides of the ball this season.

Offense:
Only 5 starters are back on this side of the ball, and it will be up to senior Joe Ganz to step up an be the man at the quarterback spot. Ganz took over the job during the end of the season last year and wound up throwing for 1,435 yards and 16 touchdowns, while only throwing 7 picks. The passing game should be helped by the great ground game that the Cornhuskers should have next season, as they return one of the best backs in the country in senior Marlon Lucky who rushed for over a 1,000 yards and 9 touchdowns last season. The team only returns one starter from last year at the receiver spots, and its a good one in senior Nate Swift. It looks like sophomore Niles Paul and junior Menelik Holt will get the early nod at the other two spots. The team also hopes that it can get some productivity from sophomore tight end Mike McNeil. Making things a little easier the team returns 3 of the 5 starters on the offensive line, and senior left tackle Lydon Murtha and senior left guard Matt Slauson are two of the best in the conference.

Defense:
The defense doesn’t return much more than the offense, as this side of the ball only returns 6 starters from a defense that was terrible last season giving up over 42 points a game in conference play. The defensive line remains in tack and with 3 seniors and a junior there is hope that this group can be a force this season. With all the talent returning on the line it leaves the linebacking group without a single returning starter, and it looks like sophomore Blake Lawrence, junior Phillip Dillard, and senior Cody Glenn are going to be the likely starters when the season rolls around. The secondary does return 2 starters from last year, and senior corner Armando Murillo is a solid talent, and so is junior strong safety Larry Asante. It looks like sophomore Prince Amukamara will join Murillo at the corner spot, and junior Rickey Thenarse will be the starting free safety.

Prediction: 3rd in the Big 12 North
Even though we got this team 3rd in the North, we are not very high on this team at all. The offense should be better, but is the defense going to be able to stop anyone? If this team was playing in the South division we don’t know if they would finish better than 5th. We like the signing of Pelini, but its going to take some time if this team is ever going to return to the dominant team it once was. We think this team at best will go 7-5, but its more likely it will be closer to a 6-6 season.

If you are looking to get a jump start on the upcoming football betting season, then head over to Bodoglife.com and get an account started today. Also be sure to check out more of our team preview and predictions as the season gets closer.