Cornhusker Memes 1st Round Draft Predictions

This draft is one of the stranger drafts I can remember.  Very heavy on game changing running backs, limited on can’t miss quarterbacks and woefully short on top notch defensive tackles and offensive tackles with first round grades.  As you go through the list of players that are available, it is quite evident that cornerback and linebacker/rush ends are the strength of this draft, but even those guys after a certain group could be swapped out with any player in the 2nd through 5th rounds and you could argue that a team made the right decision based on certain film.

Husker draftees could be short this year.  I still think someone will take a chance on Nathan Gerry and Cethan Carter is certainly undervalued from his time at Nebraska, although his injury history will certainly cause him to fall in the draft if he is drafted at all.  Jordan Westerkamp would be next bet on being drafted, I simply can’t see how he doesn’t make an NFL roster this fall if he is healthy.  I watch enough of the NFL to know that plenty of teams can use someone that rarely drops the ball…hint, hint, Chicago.  If Nebraska can keep the streak of multiple players drafted alive this year, they should start to see more players moving into the NFL as the Mike Riley era moves forward.

That’s it, that’s the list.  Remember, this is how I would draft…history says I’m about as accurate as most GMs, which isn’t saying much.

1. Cleveland Browns – Myles Garrett DE – Cleveland Browns….they have a lot of problems.  The good thing is, when you tear it down and you pull in a sizable chunk of draft picks like the Browns have, you hopefully bare the fruits of labor and build a foundation that will bring you out of the doldrums.  With the first pick in the draft, you would normally take a quarterback, but honestly, the home run isn’t in this draft, that is probably next season.  In this case, you fill as many holes as you can and go from there.  Garrett is an elite athlete at a position of need.  He may not be a guaranteed All Pro, but at least you give yourself a chance with a player than can get to the quarterback.  Take a chance on a QB down the road, don’t waste this pick on someone you can get at 12, or even move up.
2. New York Jets (trade with SF @ 6) – Mitchell Trubisky QB – I’ve never posted a trade in all my years of doing a first round mock draft, but I’m doing one this year.  I think the Jets, forever in need of a quarterback, need to jump up and take Trubisky.  I’m not sold that he is a sure thing, but what I do know is athletically he looks the part and physically he has what you want in the NFL.  You can’t win big without a great QB, if I’m the Jets, I let it all hang out and go grab this kid.  Worst case scenario, you still suck and you go get another one in two years.
3. Chicago Bears – Marshon Lattimore CB – Where to begin.  The Bears are my favorite team, so I’m always a little jaded when they miss obvious selections on the board.  Last year, I couldn’t believe they passed on Laremy Tunsil when they had the chance and they have a bad habit of picking players to play positions in the NFL that they didn’t play in college.  The Bears need a quarterback, but even if Trubisky is available, I feel like Deshaun Watson would fit the Bears better.  All that being said, they have holes everywhere, this is too early to take Watson and I’ve talked myself in and out of it multiple time.  They should take the best corner in the draft and either try to move back up in the first if Watson free falls, or take someone like Brad Kaaya or Chad Kelly in a later round.
4. Jacksonville Jaguars – Jonathan Allen DT – Now that Tom Coughlin is back in the organization, I expect the Jaguars to finally get back on track.  They have a number of needs, and this is a good spot to get an immediate starter.  One could argue that they need a RB like Dalvin Cook or Leonard Fournette, or they could go with O.J. Howard and lock down the TE spot for the foreseeable future.  I have a hunch though, that they will go with the best DT in the draft.  Allen was great at Alabama and Coughlin knows having an anchor in the middle can help solidify the defense.  Jacksonville can probably still get a good running back later in the draft and this is a super deep TE group, so both needs can be met later on.  Allen has no comparison to be had later.
5. Tennessee Titans –– Jamal Adams S – The Titans can afford to gamble a little bit here and have the option to go in a number of directions.  If I’m the Titans, I look to trade down to a QB needy squad like the 49ers or Browns and acquire a later pick if I can get one.  That being said, at this point and time, why not add the best safety in the draft to a shaky secondary.  The Titans can afford to take the best player available at this point, so O.J. Howard could get a look, but I’d stick with Adams.
6. San Francisco 49ers (trade with NYJ @ 2) – Solomon Thomas DE – The 49ers are in full rebuild mode and if they can trade down and acquire a few picks, they need to do it.  It would make sense if they felt like taking a safety like Malik Hooker to make plays, but they also need a pass rusher that can get to the QB.  I don’t think they would take a quarterback at this point, I don’t have another QB with a grade high enough to take here.  Thomas is a local kid and should provide them with much needed depth on the DL and can play multiple positions.
7. Los Angeles Chargers – Malik Hooker S – Having someone to help cover in the secondary is paramount for the Chargers, as their safety position seems to be an empty hole right now.  Joey Bosa was a big pickup of them last season and they could take Derrick Barnett to bookend him with and make life miserable for AFC west opponents.  I’m tempted to go with the pass rusher, but they need a lot of help with their secondary, so I’d take Hooker and hope that his college tape transfers into the NFL.
8. Carolina Panthers – Leonard Fournette RB – With no immediate help at defensive tackle worth taking this high, the first of a strong group of running backs will start to come off the list.  Whatever you think of Fournette and his career at LSU, he played on teams that could rarely pass the ball well.  This kid has the tape that most players dream about.  You could argue that this is way too high to take a running back, but with the success of Ezekiel Elliot from the year before and the need to take pressure off from Cam Newton, why not fill that spot for the better majority of Newton’s prime.  He can learn from Jonathan Stewart and doesn’t have to be the entire workhorse from day one.  My top receiver in the draft is Mike Williams, but I think they need to go with the RB.
9. Cincinnati Bengals – Derek Barnett DE – When the Bengals missed the playoffs for the first time in 6 seasons Andy Dalton was basically under ambush as his offensive unit resembled a M.A.S.H. unit last season.  Hopefully AJ Green can come back and be his normal self and Tyler Eifert can stay healthy.  They need a tackle on offense, or another linebacker, but with Reuben Foster’s recent drop due to background issues, Barnett is a safe pick at this point.  Barnett had the most productive college career of any of the DEs available and should continue to be a pain in the QB rear end in the NFL.
10. Buffalo Bills – Mike Williams WR – Tyrod Taylor is going to be a decent quarterback in this league or he isn’t, but one thing is for certain, if they get him some help, he may have a chance at the former.  Williams, as stated above, is my number one receiver on the board and he would give immediate help to the Bills offense.  This in turn should allow LeSean McCoy to continue to have success.  O.J. Howard would help at TE, and Reuben Foster should again be in the conversation about right here, but I think they will pass.  Take Williams and go get a CB and a TE later in a draft that has depth at those positions.  
11. New Orleans Saints – Carl Lawson DE – The Saints could go a number of directions on defense or they could just do the usual and take a skill position guy like O.J. Howard and surprise us all.  For me, it comes down to either a lockdown corner from up the road, Tre’Davious White from LSU or a true pass rusher like Carl Lawson.  It’s a tough call for me, but I’m leaning toward Lawson, simply because he can be an overpowering player, and I think you can grab a corner deeper in the draft that will still be a legitimate player in 2017 if they choose too.
12. Cleveland Browns – Deshaun Watson QB – You can only play musical chairs for so long at the quarterback position.  Cleveland needs someone with confidence to come in and lead this team.  I love Watson, he is my favorite QB in this draft, although I don’t like that he throws a lot of picks, he plays the best when the money is on the table.  I love that.  You took the best player in the draft at number one, follow it by drafting a franchise QB at 12.  If the Bears pass on Watson, which isn’t a sure thing, he should be available to take at 12.  That is, if someone doesn’t jump back up to get him before this point?
13. Arizona Cardinals – Reuben Foster ILB – The Cardinals went from a Super Bowl contender to an also ran overnight in 2016.  They have weaknesses at QB, CB and inside linebacker.  I have no other quarterbacks with a first round grade, other than Trubisky and Watson.  Should they trade up to get either, that would make a lot of sense, but if they choose to stay put, why not pick the best inside linebacker in the draft?  I don’t care about Foster’s “issues” the kid simply makes plays.  You could argue that he is a product of the system at Alabama, but his size and athleticism are very rare.  Take a project QB in the next couple of rounds, take a starter on your defense in the first round.
14. Philadelphia Eagles – Tre-Davious White CB – The Eagles added their cornerstone piece last year when they drafted Carson Wentz at QB.  They addressed his needs for help at WR by adding Alshon Jeffrey and Torrey Smith.  Now they must address the loss at cornerback and can do that by drafting the versatile White.  Christian McCaffrey is also a logical choice at this point, because the Eagles could use some new blood at running back and McCaffrey is a versatile piece that would fit nicely, but you have to be able to cover Odell Beckham and Dez Bryant in the NFC East, so I would stick with White.
15. Indianapolis Colts – Dalvin Cook RB – Andrew Luck has been beat up the last few years and the Colts defense hasn’t provided much in the way of help for the offense.  However, I think Cook could answer a lot of questions for the Colts.  He can take pressure off of Luck, allow the defense to stay off the field, balance out their offense and provide a home run hitter all with the same player.  I love Cook almost as much as Fournette and would draft him in a heartbeat.  Some people question his character, but I don’t worry about that.  Some guys can just flat get the job done and Cook is one of them.  Go get a pass rusher in the next round, there are just too many flags on the guys still available to take them over one of the best playmakers in the draft.
16. Baltimore Ravens – Tim Williams OLB – I start to question my sanity here.  Corey Davis is still on the board along with Christian McCaffrey.  The speedster John Ross is also out there, although I question if he is a first round talent.  The Ravens could use help at RB and WR, but this Williams kid is a lightning bolt and for some reason, I think he can provide a pass rush for the Ravens that they have been missing the last couple of years.  I don’t know if this is the right pick or not, but it seems like a great fit and sometimes that’s what you have to do.
17. Washington Redskins – Christian McCaffrey RB – When you get to this point in the draft, you start to see options that either come with some off the field issue or on the field performance limitations.  I’m big on going with the best player on the board if you can’t find an immediate fit somewhere on your team.  It’s clear that the game of chicken going on with Kirk Cousins and crazy front office mess with the Skins are big distractions for this team.  They could definitely use a WR like Corey Davis or even John Ross to replace DeSean Jackson, but McCaffrey is sitting here staring you in the face.  Take the best player available, give Cousins a security blanket and address the defensive needs later with limited players that are probably closer to having a second or third round grade, rather than reach at this point.
18. Tennessee Titans – Corey Davis WR – Having already selected a day one starter at safety, this time the Titans can lock down a day one starter at WR for Marcus Mariotta.  Davis may not be the speed demon that John Ross is, but he is by far the better receiver of the two.  The could go another direction and lock down one of the left over speed rushers like Jordan Willis or Haason Reddick, or possibly take O.J. Howard to play TE.
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Jordan Willis DE – Having all the top running backs off the board, Tampa instead will focus on increasing their pass rush with Willis.  Willis is a big motor guy that will help the Buccs get to the quarterback.  I’m hesitant to pass on Howard one more time, but they have already addressed their passing needs with DeSean Jackson and can focus on making their defense much better to make the team more complete.  You can take a back or a tight end in the later rounds.
20. Denver Broncos – Ryan Ramczyk OT – Denver needs someone to keep pressure off of the quarterback, no matter who it may be.  Ramczyk is the only tackle with a first round grade at tackle in this draft which is crazy after last season’s plethora of tackles that were drafted.  I’m big on building your team from the inside out and while Denver could use some help on defense, they must get the best blocker on the edge in this draft if he falls this far.
21. Detroit Lions – Jourdan Lewis CB – The Lions could go any number of directions on this pick.  They could use an upgrade at DE with a player like Reddick or Taco Charlton, or they could decide to reach for a LB at this spot like Jarrad Davis.  If I’m them I go with Lewis out of Michigan.  The tape doesn’t lie, Lewis was highly productive in college and he wouldn’t have to move very far.    
22. Miami Dolphins – T.J. Watt DE – Miami needs a guard and Cam Robinson would be a great value at that position moving in from tackle, but Miami was horrible on defense for much of last season.  Watt is a dynamic playmaker with a high motor and good bloodlines.  Some people prefer Taco Charlton, but I’m all in on Watt.  If that doesn’t work, a player like Marlon Humphrey or Sidney Jones might make sense, but I think the value as I said before is in the later rounds at cornerback.
23. New York Giants – O.J. Howard TE – Eli Manning has about three years left max and if the Giants want to try and get to the Super Bowl, Howard can help them get there.  The Giants don’t have a pressing need for a tight end, but this kid can be an All Pro and open up the middle of the field for a middling running game.  He also would relieve pressure for Odell Beckham and give the Giants an offensive potential like the Patriots have in the passing game.  I just don’t think you can pass that up to draft an offensive tackle or a linebacker that doesn’t have a first round grade.
24. Oakland Raiders – Jarrad Davis LB – The Raiders have just signed Marshawn Lynch, so clearly with a healthy Derek Carr, they know they should be in the playoff chase for the next few seasons.  The defense could use an injection of talent and Davis provides that from day one.  He is an athletic compliment to a player like Khalil Mack and gives the Raiders a run stopper up the middle.  They could add a cornerback too, but Davis is a good fit on this ball club from a need perspective.
25. Houston Texans – Obi Melifonwu S – This won’t happen because the Texans are going to either trade up to take Watson or if the is picked too early, will probably settle for their next hope at QB, either DeShone Kizer or Patrick Mahomes.  I just don’t have the same regard for those two quarterbacks in a draft that his heavy on 2nd and 3rd day selections at that position.  Melifonwu is a stud athlete that can come in and play safety from day one and help your already stingy defense.  Roll the dice with Tom Savage one more year, or take a flier on a QB like Davis Webb or Chad Kelly later on in the draft.
26. Seattle Seahawks – Cam Robinson OT – Russell Wilson was under constant duress last season and the Seahawks need to shore that up.  I love Robinson, although I’m not sure he is a starting right tackle, he should pencil in at guard if he doesn’t work out at tackle and start for ten years at guard.  Other options include drafting another CB like Humphrey or maybe a versatile defender like Adoree’ Jackson or even reaching on a player like Jabrill Peppers could work out in Seattle’s system defense.
27. Kansas City Chiefs – John Ross WR – I wrestled with picking a linebacker at this spot because the Chiefs have a need there and I like Zach Cunningham, but the Chiefs could use Ross to blow the lid off of defenses.  They need help at WR and at RB, but the value of running back can be picked up down the line. Ross falling to this point is probably about right and he provides an undeniable amount of speed.  
28. Dallas Cowboys – Haason Reddick OLB – Because of Randy Gregory’s propensity to ingest drugs and last year’s reach for Jaylon Smith who may or may not come back from injury, the Cowboys are in need of someone to get to the quarterback.  By hitting the jackpot last year with Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliot, the Cowboys can focus solely on defense early this go round.  They also need cornerbacks, but let’s be honest, Reddick is a great fit here.  If he falls this far into the Cowboys lap, consider it a lock.
29. Green Bay Packers – Quincy Wilson CB – The Packers need at corner coupled with the fact that the outside linebackers left at this spot don’t wow me, means that Wilson is the pick.  Adoree’ Jackson could also be selected, with his return skills included, but I like Wilson’s big play ability a little bit more and he beats out Charles Harris the pass rusher, with Wilson’s value out on the edge for the Packers.  The Packers would love to have one of the top running backs fall to them and could possibly trade up to get one if a free fall happened to any of the big three in this draft, but they should all be gone by now and the Packers need the help at corner.
30. Pittsburgh Steelers – Charles Harris OLB – As always, the Steelers can use a pass rusher and this kid can certainly get after it.  Very athletic and in the same vein of recent run of Mizzou ends coming into the NFL.  I struggled with this, because the Steelers also could use an inside linebacker and a player like Zach Cunningham is still on the board, but I feel like they can get an inside linebacker later in the draft and you won’t get a player like Harris the next time the Steelers pick.
31. Atlanta Falcons – Forrest Lamp G – After a Super Bowl win basically was left on the field due to poor play selection and a complete melt down on defense, you would think that defense would be the key to the draft for the Falcons.  I argue that if they could have kept Matt Ryan upright in the fourth quarter, they would be the defending Super Bowl champs.  In which case, Lamp comes in and should help solidify a shaky line.  I don’t even have an alternative for the Falcons on this one, Lamp is the right fit at the right time.
32. New Orleans Saints – Adoree’ Jackson CB – If the Saints address their need to get the quarterback early, like I have them slated to do with Carl Lawson, then they can address the secondary that seems to be like a sieve on a year to year basis.  Jackson is as good an athlete as you will find in this draft and if he focuses solely on playing cornerback, he should become a top notch defender down the road.  Chances are with someone like Taco Charlton is still here, you could argue that they could make a play for another pass rusher and address cornerback later, but I think they should address the need with the best player available.  They also could go with Drew Brees’ heir apparent at this point, but I think you either do that later in the draft or trade up to get either Watson or Trubisky and I don’t think that’s an option if you want to give Brees one more chance to win as a Saint.

This draft is one of the stranger drafts I can remember.  Very heavy on game changing running backs, limited on can’t miss quarterbacks and woefully short on top notch defensive tackles and offensive tackles with first round grades.  As you go through the list of players that are available, it is quite evident that cornerback and linebacker/rush ends are the strength of this draft, but even those guys after a certain group could be swapped out with any player in the 2nd through 5th rounds and you could argue that a team made the right decision based on certain film.

Husker draftees could be short this year.  I still think someone will take a chance on Nathan Gerry and Cethan Carter is certainly undervalued from his time at Nebraska, although his injury history will certainly cause him to fall in the draft if he is drafted at all.  Jordan Westerkamp would be next bet on being drafted, I simply can’t see how he doesn’t make an NFL roster this fall if he is healthy.  I watch enough of the NFL to know that plenty of teams can use someone that rarely drops the ball…hint, hint, Chicago.  If Nebraska can keep the streak of multiple players drafted alive this year, they should start to see more players moving into the NFL as the Mike Riley era moves forward.

That’s it, that’s the list.  Remember, this is how I would draft…history says I’m about as accurate as most GMs, which isn’t saying much.

Spring Game Primer

It’s been quite a spring in Lincoln and it all comes to a head this weekend as the Husker Spring Game is finally upon us.  So far, we have heard stories of new players starting to move into starting roles and other starters continuing on their natural progressions.  Two big stories however have dominated the spring over all others.

For the first time in about 8 seasons, there has been an honest to goodness open quarterback battle.  Transfer Tanner Lee and redshirt freshman Patrick O’Brien, along with early enrollee Tristan Gebbia have been battling it out to lead Nebraska this fall.  All three quarterbacks were brought in to fit head coach Mike Riley’s offense.  This offense requires an accurate passing first QB.  Tommy Armstrong, while a great competitor, was not blessed with an accurate arm.  For the first time since Coach Riley arrived, he has quarterbacks that are equipped to run a pass first offense.  To the coaches credit, they worked to put together an offense that Armstrong could have success with, but they clearly should be more comfortable coaching a player up in an offense that they have taught for over two decades, moving forward.

The second big story, is the arrival of new defensive coordinator Bob Diaco.  Diaco comes from being the head coach at the University of Connecticut.  If you haven’t heard about Coach Diaco, he was defensive coordinator at Notre Dame when the played in the National Championship game a few seasons ago and he brings a fire to the position that players have seemingly fallen in line for.  Diaco’s pedigree and his energetic personality has dominated the headlines.  Let’s hope that it translates to a return of Blackshirt dominance on the field.  I don’t expect we will see much in the spring game, but reports so far is that Nebraska has a good one.

So as we get set for the game Saturday, let’s look at the position groups and the players to watch for that maybe we don’t know anything about yet.

Quarterback: This is as good a place to start as any and should be a fun day for some fans.  Tanner Lee, Patrick O'Brien and Tristan Gebbia are the players to pay attention too.  I look for Lee to take the lead after this spring and I hope to see that O’Brien and even newly arrived Gebbia aren’t that far off from being ready for action.  Look for some deep throws and some quick releases.  Should be a lot of fun!

Running Backs: Players to know are Tre Bryant, Mikale Wilbon and Devine Ozigbo.  All three have played in some respect in the last two seasons.  Wilbon is probably the shiftiest and the best athlete, but Bryant is probably the best of the three when it comes to all parts of the game.  Player that you should look out for, but don’t know, is Wyatt Mazour #37.  Coach Riley compared him to Danny Woodhead this spring.  Lets just hope Wyatt gets some touches this weekend so we can find out!

Tight End: Players to know are Tyler Hoppes, Matt Snyder, and Jack Stoll.  Hoppes has had a big spring, and the transfer from Wayne State has certainly been a surprise.  Snyder and Stoll are young and coming off injury plagued seasons so far, but they have been solid and steady this spring.  Offensive Coordinator Danny Langsdorf has said that this position has been a pleasant surprise this spring.  It will be interesting to see if that pans out.  Player to keep an eye on is David Engelhaupt #83.  A late add to last season’s class from Norfolk is a great athlete.  David should be a great player down the road, so watch for him a little bit.

Wide Receiver: Players to know are Stanley Morgan, De’Mornay Pierson-El, Bryan Reimers, and JD Spielman.  Morgan has had an awesome spring, until a recent injury cost him the last couple of practices.  From most accounts, Morgan has been the best player this spring on the team.  While there isn’t a lot of catches coming back from the last few seasons, Morgan and Pierson-El (finally healthy) and Reimers do have some experience.  Spielman has been electric this spring as well.  Player to keep and eye on is #9 Keyan Williams.  Williams is a transfer from Fresno State and happens to be the son of wide receiver coach Keith Williams.  So far Williams has been the leader to replace Jordan Westerkamp in the slot.  That is a key role in this offense, so watch out for Williams on Saturday.

Offensive Line:  Players to know are Nick Gates, Jerald Foster, Cole Conrad, Tanner Farmer and David Knevel.  This unit has a lot of starts behind it now.  It has had a bit of a rough spring, adjusting to a new defense in practice and trying to get everyone on the same page.  I happen to think their level of play, while not great, has been overplayed a little bit in the media this spring.  The one healthy game that these cats all played together, against Northwestern, they were at times dominate.  If they can manage to stay on the field together, this unit should come together well this fall.  Players to keep an eye on #56 Boe Wilson and #79 Michael Decker.  Wilson continues to get high praise, in fact he almost didn’t redshirt because he is so close to ready to go.  Decker has been running with the first team at center up until Conrad moved over from tackle.  I expect Decker to push Conrad next fall to start at center.  It should be a good battle.

Defensive Line: Players to know are Mick Stoltenberg, Carlos Davis and Freedom Akinmoladun.  Big Mick has had a great spring and the move to a 3-4 front with Mick at the nose so far seems to be a great fit.  Davis and Freedom both have a handful of starts under their belt and with Coach Parella in charge will hopefully return the defensive line to a position of strength for the Blackshirts. Player to watch #99 Peyton Newell.  Newell hasn’t been able to break into the lineup yet, but the move to the 3-4 should give him another life and hopefully he can take advantage of the opportunity.  He needs to because Coach Parella is bringing in three studs this fall to help out and if he doesn’t have a hold on his spot by then, they could pass him by.

Linebacker: Players to know are Dedrick Young, Chris Webber, Marcus Newby, Luke Gifford and Alex Davis.  This group has a combination of experience and youth.  The switch to the 3-4 should provide ample opportunity for this group to shine.  Different roles and different players will continue to emerge all the way into next fall from this group.  Webber and Gifford have had solid springs and I expect them both to play a lot.  Player to watch #15 Avery Roberts.  The highly touted freshman has not disappointed since he arrived on campus in January.  Roberts was the highest ranked  defensive recruit in 2017 and should be a playmaker this fall.  Watch out for him Saturday.

Safeties: Players to know are Josh Kalu, Aaron Williams, Antonio Reed and Kieron Williams.  Kalu has moved over from cornerback to get more talent on the field and this group seems to roll six deep without much trouble.  JoJo Domann would and should be on this list, but a torn ACL this spring will keep this young stud on the shelf, which is too bad.  Player to watch #19 Marquel Dismuke.  Dismuke may not play a lot this fall, but the talented safety from California should play on special teams and eventually be a big factor on defense.  Watch to see how many times he is on the field this weekend.

Cornerbacks: Chris Jones, Lamar Jackson, Eric Lee.  This group has great experience in Jones and Jackson has come far enough that Kalu has moved to safety.  While it may not have much depth that you know of this spring, Lee has blossomed and should play in the nickel and spell Jones and Jackson on regular downs.  This group has some young players on the way, that should provide plenty of depth this fall.  Player to watch is #23 DiCaprio Bootle.  Bootle already as the coolest name on the team on lockdown and now the super fast DB from Florida will start making his mark this spring.  When he is out on the field, he should stand out, hopefully in a good way!

There will be plenty of other new names on Saturday, so get your programs out.  It should be a fun game on Saturday, now let’s just hope for good weather!

GBR!

Watch the Carriker Chronicles!!!

Everything New this Spring in Lincoln!

Come On Bobby!!!

When we last blogged about our beloved Huskers, they were headed to Nashville to play Tennessee. Nebraska went with a backup quarterback, a banged up offensive line, a defense that was sputtering on fumes and little did we know at the time, a different defensive coordinator, defensive backs coach and a special teams coach.

My how things have changed in a couple months.  

One of the biggest letdowns in 2016 after a great 7-0 start was how quickly the team unraveled after losing in overtime to Wisconsin.  Nebraska had a chance to lock down a spot in the Big Ten title game, and when they didn’t hold serve, the wheels came off.  The defense that had played well enough to get to seven wins was destroyed against Ohio State and embarrassed against Iowa.  Not that it mattered a lot, but they were hammered against Tennessee as well, pretty much letting them run and pass wherever and whenever they wanted.

After that game, some major changes happened from a coaching staff standpoint.  Long time Mike Riley assistants that had been with him as far back as his NFL gig over 16 years ago, were released.  Special teams coordinator Bruce Read was first to get the axe, followed by defensive coordinator Mark Banker.  After that, secondary coach Brian Stewart took a defensive coordinator position at another school.  It was a rather shocking short burst of development.  So let’s look at why these changes had to be made.  

Nebraska’s special teams, outside of Drew Brown were anything but special.  Nebraska’s kickoff units ranked 94th (out of 128 teams) in returns, the punt unit 59th in returns, and 44th in overall efficiency according to ESPN.com statistics.  Add to that, Nebraska was dead last…let me repeat that…dead last in total net punting in 2016.  When you have a specific coach for special teams like Bruce Read was, you expect to at least finish in the top half of Division one football in most categories.  Nebraska was scraping the bottom of the barrel.  Read also didn’t recruit, or at least didn’t appear to recruit, and he needed to go.  Whatever ancillary help he supplied to Coach Riley in scouting or game prep wasn’t enough to overcome the disaster that was Nebraska’s special teams in 2016.

Defensively, Nebraska wasn’t much better at the end of the year.  However, when you look at defensive statistics and yards allowed, Nebraska wasn’t the worst in the country.  Nebraska did finish 19th overall in the country in yards given up, which was pretty good on the surface, and they finished 31st overall in points given up.  The Huskers finished 37th in the country in total passing yards give up and 32nd in rushing yards given up.  Not bad right?  Nebraska ended up 55th overall in total defensive efficiency. They finished tied for 65th in country in sack.  At Nebraska, finishing that low should never happen.  Unfortunately, you know there wasn’t a lot of fear struck into the hearts of quarterbacks on the schedule.

But when Ohio State hangs 62 on you and Iowa, who is pedestrian at best, hangs 40 on you, statistics don’t mean as much in the overall scheme of things.  You simply can’t get run over in the biggest games of the year at Nebraska. By the end of the season, teams had pretty much handled the Huskers D.

So in a surprising move, Coach Riley let go of Mark Banker.  Banker had worked with Riley for over 20 years. As a long time Husker fan it was a bit surprising, but Mike Riley doesn’t want to be average at Nebraska and this pretty much showed how serious he is about it.  

Mike Riley’s first replacement was defensive backs coach Donte Williams.  Williams came from the University of Arizona.  What separates Williams from the normal rank and file is that Williams is considered a top ten recruiter out West.  Nebraska finished second place for too many players in California the last couple of years and Williams should help keep that from happening.  He is a young up and coming coach that hopefully will provide some stability.  He will be coaching the cornerbacks.

The bigger surprise though, came when Riley hired new defensive coordinator Bob Diaco, the former head coach of Connecticut.  Diaco is considered one of the brightest young defensive minds in the country.  In his prior stints at Notre Dame Diaco was voted by some publications as the assistant coach of the year when he helped lead the Irish into a National Championship game appearance.  When you talk about hiring assistant coaches, Diaco being hired is considered a grand slam hire.  It’s the kind of hire we haven’t seen at Nebraska in a long time.

And to put the cherry on top of the replacement coaches, Bob Elliot was hired from the Notre Dame staff as well to coach the secondary with Williams and help Diaco with implementation of his defense. (Side note: Elliot has worked with Diaco and coached him when Diaco was a linebacker with Iowa in the 90s.  Yes, you read that correctly, Coach Riley hired two coaches with direct ties to Iowa.  Be still my beating heart…)

Why does all of this matter?  A big part of what separates good teams from great teams is recruiting.  All coaches that were let go weren’t what one would consider to be great recruiters.  All of the replacements were upgrades over their previous inhabitants and in a case of Williams was an upgrade of gigantic proportions in the recruiting world.

The other big part about great teams is that they all seem to have great assistant coaches leading their programs.  Bob Diaco runs a 3-4 defense, but more importantly, he has had success in the recent past, defending teams that run today’s high octane offenses.  Coach Banker had no such recent success and it felt like the Huskers were really out manned at a lot of positions in Banker’s scheme.  Diaco was brought in to shore that up.  We will see if Riley’s gambles pay off.  Something tells me will.  

Carriker Chronicles

Quick Notes:

Position Battles. As we move closer to the spring game, we will focus in on position battles throughout the team.  The biggest battles as of right now are quarterback, center, tight end, running back and who is going to rush the quarterback on defense.  A lot of new faces need to step up in a lot of areas on this Husker team.  We will discuss that a little more in depth as the spring moves along.

Recruiting. Nebraska as a state has had some pretty decent talent the last couple of years, but this next class of seniors may be the most talented Nebraska has had in the last 10 years.  Cam Jurgens of Beatrice and Masry Mapieu of York have already committed to the Huskers.  At least 3 other players in the state will be worthy of offers in 2018.  Nebraska will have a nice base of players to choose from, in what should be a rather small class.

Spring Time is here!  You can already smell it, the green is starting to return, the days are getting longer and spring is almost upon us.  That means spring football and more spring football.  Enjoy it, once the annual Red White scrimmage is over in April, It’s a long 4 months of no football.  Stay thirsty!

On with the Rewind:

Our prediction for the year end bowl game was Tennessee 31 – Nebraska 20.  The final score ended up with Tennessee 38 Nebraska 24.  We knew it would be tough with a backup QB and backup players or injured players across the board.  Nebraska needed to survive the bowl game as much as anything.  They couldn’t provide enough protection or block well enough on offense to give the Huskers much of a chance and the defense looked disinterested at best sometime.  We all know what off season changes have happened since.  Hopefully next season we will be signing a different tune after the bowl game. GBR!!

Nebraska Football Looking Back and Forward

Cowboy Up Ryker, the Huskers head to Nashville!

Anyone have an extra starting quarterback, running back and wide receiver?  How about a starting free safety?  Just asking because the Nebraska team that started 2016 won’t be playing in this bowl game against Tennessee.  Tommy Armstrong, Nathan Gerry, and Jordan Westerkamp won’t be playing and Terrell Newby is banged up, along with Tre Bryant.  You would have hoped that having four weeks off from the last game would allow some guys to get healed up, but the season took a large toll on this team.  I would tell you that it may be this way for a couple of seasons.

Normally when a new staff takes over, there is an acclimation period that players and coaches alike have to account for.  That happened in 2015, as Nebraska struggled through one of the three worst seasons in fifty years and finished 6-7, but won their bowl game against the UCLA Bruins.  That started off a hot off-season that included a big finish to recruiting in February and snowballed into a 7-0 start in 2016.  Heading into Madison Wisconsin things looked like they were finally headed in Nebraska’s favor for a change.

Something was happening along the way though, that if you looked closely, you could probably see it, but to the standard look, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.  Nebraska was suffering injuries along the way, as most teams do.  However, as the injuries started to pile up, Nebraska’s depth was exposed along the way and by the time they played Iowa, the depth issue was a gash that was torn open and inoperable.  Under Bo Pelini, Nebraska always under recruited.  It was going to show in time, probably last season showed it, but we didn’t truly understand it until 2016.

Nebraska has had one scholarship quarterback work out in 5 years.  One.  That’s not only poor recruiting, it was poor development once the players stepped foot on campus.  AJ Bush, Zach Darlington, and Johnny Stanton littered the sidelines as appendages that just don’t fit on a normal roster.  Tommy Armstrong has played basically every game since his redshirt freshman year, with no development behind him.  Ryker Fife has been his back up for two years.  Prior to that, Ron Kellogg, another walk on was a backup.  You simply can’t have a major college football team that has success if your lifeline of backups are walk-ons.  And that is just part of the story.

When Coach Riley arrived at Nebraska, the offensive line looked stocked with some really big upper classmen, some of who you would think would have been able to step in and play and be successful.  They did alright in 2015, but when they left, there were hardly any seniors and juniors to replace them.  Players like Zach Hannon and Dwayne Johnson should be playing every game as upper class leaders.  Neither of them sees the field.  

And when was the last time we had a scholarship center on the roster.  Coach Pelini has played more walk-ons (Mike Caputo, Mark Pelini and now Dylan Utter, a Pelini recruit and Riley player) at center than I can remember playing for the 30 years prior to that.  I’m not saying the walk on tradition doesn’t help, but it can’t be the skeletal support of your entire offensive line. Thank goodness those guys could play or who knows where Nebraska would be.

Throw in a lack of upper class tackles and you have a recipe for disaster should injury strike.  Well injury did strike and it hit with authority.  Tanner Farmer, Gerald Foster, Nick Gates, David Knevel, Dylan Utter and Corey Whitaker all suffered injuries this season that cost them multiple games or even just bits of important games.  There were barely any live bodies to play some days.  You could argue that the four redshirting offensive lineman probably should have played this year, at least a couple of them, but when you are trying to build depth, you sacrifice a lot if you can’t redshirt an offensive lineman.

The point I’m trying to make is, whatever your thoughts on Bo Pelini are, he did a terrible job recruiting quarterback and offensive line during his time at Nebraska.  If you want to win in any conference, especially the Big Ten, you need offensive line depth and quarterback depth.  Hell, you need depth everywhere.  There were times under Pelini’s tenure that we were using less than 80 scholarships out of 85 available and wound up giving them to walk-on players, even if they were just special teams stalwarts.  Basically it’s like putting yourself on probation.  Only Pelini did it to himself and it snowballed on Coach Riley.  Imagine if Nebraska had used those ‘ships on a backup quarterback or a few lineman that panned out. The Iowa game probably has a completely different outcome.

This type of system is hard to overcome.   Redshirting Patrick O’Brien and the entire offensive line class should be a start.  Throw in Tulane transfer quarterback Tanner Lee and spring semester enrolling freshman Tristian Gebbia and the quarterback position should start to shape up in 2017.  Another line class of four to five lineman to redshirt next fall will finally get the numbers where they need to be for 2018.  Yeah, 2018.

So remember while watching this bowl game and seeing all these underclassmen playing vital roles for the Huskers, including key positions like quarterback and running back, it didn’t just happen overnight.  It’s been on the come for nearly five years, it’s just that this time, you are seeing it without a magnifying glass.

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Quick Notes:

Next year’s team will look a lot different. A new starting quarterback, new wide receivers and new tight ends will have to step up big time next year.  Tanner Lee probably has the inside job to lead the offense at QB, but it will be a lot of young guys playing wideout and tight end next year.  Names like JD Spielman, David Engelhaupt, Matt Snyder and Jaevon McQuitty that you have probably not even heard of will have prominent roles on offense.  That’s a heavy dose of change for next year.  Those players that are on campus have had a lot of extra practice during the bowl prep.  They are going to need it.

Finally a committment. Nebraska went over three months without a verbal commitment for their 2017 class.  During that time there were two de-commitments and it felt like the wheel had come to a stop.  A third linebacker added to the class finally broke the ice on Christmas Day.  I expect Husker fans to get a couple more jolts at high school all-star games in January, but the really big fish might not commit until signing day in February.  It’s a different strategy for recruiting than the prior staff had, but if you want to truly get the type of players needed to win big, sometimes you have to wait until the end.  Let’s hope Nebraska finishes as well as they started.  I would tell you the 2018 class is one to watch, Nebraska is already on some pretty big name kids.  It could be the best in a dozen years.  Things are pointing up for the Huskers in that respect.

Tennessee will probably play really well.  Tennessee has had a disappointing season.  The Volunteers were supposed to be in contention for the SEC east title this year.  They did manage to beat Florida for the first time in eons, but the rest of their season fell flat.  Tennessee has really underachieved this season, but for some reason I think they will come ready to play the Huskers.  A semi-home game in Nashville will probably have the natives fired up.  I expect this team to come out with a chip on their shoulder.

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Score Prediction:

Out of all of my picks this year, the only games I felt uneasy with were Ohio State and Iowa.  I thought and still feel like Nebraska should have beat Wisconsin.  I picked the Huskers in each game, even though I probably knew in my head they weren’t going to beat the Buckeyes and I didn’t think that the Huskers were healthy enough to steal a game in Iowa City.  I generally pick with my heart as well, which doesn’t always make you look very smart.  I’m not going to pick the Huskers on Friday.  There are just too many things that have happened since Madison, some of which I wrote above to make me think playing a road game against a team loaded with great athletes is going to get us a win.  I want the Huskers to close out well, but I just don’t see it, Tennessee 31 Nebraska 20.  I really hope I’m wrong.  As always, GBR!!

Editor’s note:  For any of you that have read this blog, I want to say thank you!  We wanted to add a feature to a great Facebook page and when I was asked to write the blog, I was excited, if not a little intimidated. Cornhusker Memes does great work making us all laugh with their clever quips and funny takes on Husker football and all things bashing Iowa. ☺  I told them I would probably chase away followers, but they told me to do it anyway and I’m glad they did. I hope all of you have a great Holiday season and thank you for a fun 2016 Husker Football Season!

Husker Volleyball, Football, and Basketball Oh My!

Nebraska Volleyball Makes another Final Four

I’m not going to sit here and pretend I’m some volleyball expert.  At least that’s what I tell myself when I watch Nebraska’s volleyball team make short work of the Washington Huskies in their run up to the NCAA Final Four.  What I will tell you is that when you watch this year’s squad, I’m left in amazement sometimes at their efficiency and their will to win.  

It’s no secret that Head Coach John Cook has a machine going right now in Lincoln.  I think most national and local pundits would tell you that of all the athletic programs at Nebraska right now, women’s volleyball is the most powerful gem in an otherwise average ring at the moment.  And while football drives the bus, and basketball has the shiniest seat, volleyball occupies all the important seats and draws more attention than anything else in the Star City right now.

How did we get so lucky?  Well there are a number of reasons that Nebraska has risen to this position, most of them too numerous to count.  Terry Pettit of course started this juggernaut and it could be argued that John Cook has been the best hire in the athletic department since Bob Devaney anointed Tom Osborne the head of all things football.

The thing that is amazing this season is how seamlessly Nebraska brought back a core from last year’s surprise National Championship run and integrated two transfers from other programs and may have made the team even better.  Coach Cook has hit his apex in my opinion, and we need to enjoy it.  Nebraska loses a lot of players from this team, including the best sister tandem in the land in Amber and Kadie Rolfzen.  I know Coach Cook generally just reloads, but something tells me this team and this type of team may never come around again.  Imagine, getting Texas in the Final Four….again.  And then imagine if they get past the Longhorns getting an opportunity to avenge their last loss against Minnesota in the final.  These scenarios could play out this week, all too fitting in my opinion.

I think Nebraska can and will win this tournament, I think they had their trying moment facing match point against Penn State and coming back to win the entire game down two sets.  I think this team is too focused and too good to let down in Columbus this weekend.  Of course, as I said before, I’m certainly no volleyball expert.  Either way, GBR!

Carriker Chronicles

Quick Notes:

Tommy Armstrong played with a torn hamstring. We all knew that Tommy Armstrong was less than 100% when Nebraska played Iowa a couple weeks ago.  Now we find out that Tommy has a torn hamstring and that the only reason he played was probably because Ryker Fife couldn’t take snaps with his broken wrist.  No matter what you think of Tommy, the fact that he played basically on one leg has to go down as one of the gutsier performances in recent memory.  Regardless, it shows how bare the cupboard is, when our only option is a quarterback that shouldn’t even be playing in a game.  If there is anything that needs to be rectified in Lincoln it is the quarterback situation.  You can’t be in that type of quandary at that position.  It just can’t happen at a place with as many resources as Nebraska.

Recruiting needs a jolt. If you follow recruiting at all, (and if you don’t, don’t start, it’s a thankless marriage with too many ups and downs) Nebraska has had a bit of bad luck missing out on a lot of targets the last couple of months.  A recent decommitment the day before the “dead period” was certainly not the momentum builder the coaches probably were looking for.  Never fear though, as with most classes, Nebraska will end up with a handful of great players in this class regardless of what has transpired this last couple of months.  I won’t get into the nuts and bolts of it, but Nebraska is sitting very well with a lot of highly rated recruits.  

I often feel like Nebraska is on its way to really breaking this recruiting thing open, but it hasn’t come without some bumps in the road.  I would tell you that the recent addition of Donte’ Williams to the staff replacing assistant coach Bruce Read was done all in the name of recruiting.  Head Coach Mike Riley understands the importance of it.  That’s why if you follow recruiting and are getting restless, I say be patient, there is a lot left on the table.  If you don’t follow recruiting, I say kudos to you!  I wish I had never started.

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Basketball Season has been up and Down.  I haven’t touched much on Husker basketball lately, but I’m going to touch a little on the men’s team.  Coach Tim Miles has a schedule that is rated number 1 in how difficult it is.  That can have a good and bad result.  The bad is, the record that Nebraska has is probably nowhere near where we all wanted it to be.  The good is, this team is really young and gained a great experience.  Outside of Tai Webster, there isn’t one player that couldn’t use a good dose of playing against some of the best teams in the country.  They have had that now.  Regardless, no matter who Nebraska plays in their own conference, they should have the confidence that they can play with anyone.

Nebraska’s chances at the NCAA tournament probably vanished when Andrew White left the team this last summer, but their chances of getting in the NIT still remain and Nebraska may be a difficult place to play this winter for any team in the conference.  You never know how a season will pan out, but I think this year could be a fun year for some growth, even if there are some growing pains.

As always, GBR!!

Nebraska gets a Bowl Game, but the Transition Starts Now!

Donte' Williams, New Husker DB Coach

The last time I wrote this blog, Nebraska was gunning for a tenth win in the regular season for the first time since 2001, with an outside shot at possibly playing for a Big Ten title and even still with an outside shot of playing in the Rose Bowl.  And then this giant thud happened in Iowa and the Huskers have went from having a very successful season to a transition that has been a long time coming.

Despite getting blown out by Iowa in a game that was probably less close than the 30 point score would lead you to believe, Nebraska is closing the door on the Bo Pelini era.  Mike Riley has done a good job getting this team to rebound from the previous year’s debacle, but they just weren’t quite ready for prime time this year, at least not without a healthy Tommy Armstrong.

In college football, much like the pro game, a team only goes as far as the quarterback can take them.  If you aren’t Alabama or Ohio State and recruit four star kids at every position, the only shot you have to win a national title is to have a dynamic quarterback.  Nebraska has been fortunate that Tommy Armstrong is the great athlete that he is, otherwise, another six to seven win season would have happened again in Lincoln.  That’s all fine and dandy, but for Mike Riley to win big, he probably is going to have to do it with his type of quarterback and his type of offense.  Unfortunately, Tommy Armstrong wasn’t that player.

Mike Riley has ran his offense with a pass first quarterback in mind, pretty much his entire coaching career.  It’s not that he didn’t want Tommy Armstrong to play well, but the offense that he has in mind isn’t conducive to Tommy playing to his strengths.  Riley wants a quarterback to look at three or four options in the passing game.  Tommy was often limited to making one or two reads and that was it.  Tommy also wasn’t exactly a master of the short passing attack that so often works as a running game in today’s college game.  This severely limited the types of plays that offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf wants to call.  Clearly a change is needed for these coaches to coach like they want to.

Imagine if Tom Osborne was dropped into Florida when Danny Wuerful was the quarterback.  Do you think that Dr. Tom would have turned Wuerful into an option running, play action passing quarterback?  I’m guessing he would have made it work with the Heisman trophy winner, but I would imagine that Coach Osborne would have followed up in recruiting to get someone that plays the position more in the mold of the offense that he was comfortable with.

I’m not comparing Coach Osborne to Coach Riley, simply because that’s a disservice to both men.  I’m simply saying Riley needs to do what he is comfortable with.  And so Tanner Lee, Patrick O’Brien and Tristian Gebbia are going to be the new normal in Lincoln.  If Nebraska is going to play for conference titles, they will need quarterbacks that can hit open running backs, wide receivers and tight ends at closer to a 70% clip than the last two years and the 55% clip that Nebraska has had.

It will be an interesting change on the plains here in Nebraska.  The good thing is, from all accounts and having been to practice, the new guys coming in are pretty good.  In some cases I would say that the quarterbacks that sat out this year have a skill set that we have never seen in Lincoln.  For the first time since Sam Keller and Joe Ganz battled it out, we will have an actual quarterback battle in the spring and fall camp.  Riley will continue to bring in his players and for the first time next season, Nebraska fans will see the future of their offense.

That may not mean a conference championship next season, but I will promise you that when Nebraska gets behind, loading nine players in the box won’t be the obstacle that it was this season.

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ON WITH THE REWIND…

Our previous score prediction for Iowa game was Nebraska 21 – Iowa 17.  The actual score was 40-10 and Iowa pretty much kicked the crud right out of Nebraska.  The game itself was disheartening because Nebraska was so limited in their passing game that Iowa was able to load the box and once Nebraska got too far behind, they simply made Tommy try to beat them.  It was a disaster for Nebraska and the score could have been worse than it was.  When Tommy can’t run, it’s basically a surrender flag against a decent defense.  Iowa wanted the game from start to finish and it showed.

Quick Notes:

Nebraska needs more Player leadership.  Iowa came to play and beat the Huskers.  You can’t say that a lot of Huskers came to beat Iowa.  Outside of a few players that play hard every week, it was a snoozefest for a lot of the game.  When Nebraska finally turned up the heat on offense, the defense basically mailed it in.  Not a good look for a team that had a lot left to play for.  Nebraska needs players to step and be leaders.  Performances where Nebraska is that flat require player leadership every bit as much as coaching leadership.  Nebraska needs players to step up and light a fire under the team when they don’t have one.  I just didn’t see it this year out of this squad.

Offensive Line Needs a Boost.  When Nebraska played against Northwestern at the beginning of the season, the offensive line flat whipped the Wildcat defensive line up front.  I expected a lot more of that as the season progressed and yet we got less.  A lot of that had to do with injuries, but recruiting has really left Nebraska helpless.  That should be adjusted next season.  A talented class of redshirts join a group of will be redshirt sophomores that should finally give the Huskers the depth and competition that they need.  Nebraska is probably two more classes away from having the 15-20 players they need to truly rebuild the pipeline.  Next season is a big step forward.  Nebraska also needs more development of the younger guys.  To not have any redshirt freshman able to play this year was a big letdown.

Recruiting, Recruiting, Recruiting.  It can’t be stressed enough, Nebraska needs more athletes and they need to get better in the trenches.  Nebraska for 40 years rolled out athletes on offense and defense that were better than 90% of the teams that they played.  During the last 15 years, it’s felt like the only time that Nebraska has been close to that was the 2009 defense led by highly rated recruits like Ndamukong Suh, Phillip Dillard and Prince Amukamara.  The highest rated offensive lineman in 15 years was Baker Steinkuhler and he played defensive tackle.  

Nebraska needs more Jimmies and Joes to keep up with the best teams in the conference.  Ohio State simply put better athletes at nearly every position than Nebraska.  I’m not saying we have to have 5 star kids at every spot, that’s not going to happen at Nebraska.  What I’m saying is, if you can sprinkle 1 or 2 every year and collect a nucleus of highly recruited offensive and defensive lineman, you can and should start to consistently beat Wisconsin and Iowa, and sometimes upset the Ohio States and Michigans of the world.  Don’t be fooled by the run that Nebraska had under Osborne and Devaney, they recruited highly rated kids from all over the U.S.

Coach Riley has put his focus on recruiting.  He has done it by cutting the fat on the coaching staff replacing coaches with John Parella and Donte' Williams.  Williams is considered one the best recruiters in the entire country.  Nebraska can afford to pay handsomely, it’s imperative that they bring in the best assistant coaches in all of college football.  Coach Riley is doing that.  It should shape up into some of the best classes in recent memory.

Credit needs to be paid.  I think it’s important to keep in mind what this team was able to accomplish this season.  They started out 7-0 for the first time in 15 years.  They were ranked, albeit short lived, in the top ten in the country.  They were an overtime away from playing for the conference championship.  As we saw with Penn State, you never know what can happen when you get there.  This group of seniors had to endure a coaching change that was emotional and sometimes childish for the parties involved.  They came back from a disaster season to get the Huskers back in the nine win column with a chance to win a bowl game and have less than 4 losses for the first time since 2003.  These things need to be celebrated.  

Carriker Chronicles

Score Prediction: Nebraska versus Tennessee

I’m going to hang on to this prediction until closer to game time.  Nebraska will be going into the lion’s den to play the Volunteers, as I would expect the crowd in Nashville to be pretty pro-Tennessee. Never the less, I think Nebraska will come ready to play.  I don’t have a score prediction just yet, but I do know if Tommy Armstrong isn’t healed up by then, it could be a long night.  Let’s just hope that he gets better and the Huskers are ready to finish 2016 on a high note.  As always, GBR!!