The Nebraska Cornhuskers are ranked #17 in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 poll that was just released. The Cornhuskers were just behind the Texas Longhorns and Virginia Tech Hokies, who are ranked #15 and #16, respectively, and just ahead of fellow Big 10 member Ohio State Buckeyes.
Nebraska and Ohio State join the Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans and Wisconsin Badgers as the Big 10 teams that made the preseason poll. No other Big 10 teams even received any votes as the Big 10 appears to be a little top heavy in Nebraska's second season in Big 10 play.
Nebraska plays all the teams in the Big 10 that are ranked, so they really do control their own destiny as they will look to climb in the rankings. In just over a month that spans Sept. 29 to Nov. 3, the Huskers face #12 Wisconsin Badgers, #18 Ohio State Buckeyes, Northwestern Wildcats, #8 Michigan Wolverines and the #13 Michigan State Spartans. The only non-ranked opponent in that stretch, Northwestern, is a team that the Huskers lost to in Lincoln last season. This is obviously the key stretch of the schedule.
If Nebraska wants any chance to win the Big 10, they will need to be at no worse then 3-2 over the 5 games. Four wins in 5 games would likely put them in the Big 10 championship game, barring any other upsets. Is it possible that the Cornhuskers can sweep this 5 game stretch? They have the talent, but even the most biased Husker fan wouldn't gamble on it. A realistic Nebraska fan would love to see a 4-1 stretch and a stranglehold on the Big 10 Legends division. The season is not even 2 weeks away. It won't be long until some of the preseason speculation can be put to rest and the teams can do their talking on the field.
It sure has been a long 7 months for college football die-hard fan.
Born in Lincoln, NE, Kevin has been a life long fan of the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Sources
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/ncaa/polls/ap/
http://www.huskers.com
