Ahh, July. A time of unbridled hope and unbearable heat. Of course the heat is much easier to handle when it's of the natural, global-warming garden variety rather than what's burning up Nebraska message boards right now.
Back in those hazy days after the All-Star break I asked if you thought Nebraska would be over or under nine wins (as set by the wiseguys in Sin City). Fifteen responses wasn't exactly the sample size I was hoping for but those that did respond took the over by a 3:2 ratio.
But that was then and this is, painfully, now. To quote The Dude, "New shit has come to light." Namely, 1067 yards and 89 points of blinding, brilliant light over the past two games.
So what's the temperature now Husker Nation? Before the season it looked like Nebraska would be favored in all but two games, now it looks like every game could be a coin-flip. It's still early, the 2007 pie remains two-thirds uneaten and maybe the slices to come will test better then what we've had so far. (Unless, of course, you like mincemeat.)
Which brings me to today's poll question: How many more wins are you predicting for Nebraska this year?
It's not really safe to assume any post-season play at this point so we'll just look at the remaining eight games on the schedule.
9.29 Iowa State - As Saturday's game was unfolding I was thinking to myself that Ball State could be better than a couple of teams in the Big 12. That didn't make me feel any better, but it looks like the betting public agrees for now. Nebraska opened as 22.5 point favorite over the Cyclones, smack dab in Ball State country. This is the one game left everyone seems to be counting on.
10/6 @Missouri - The turning point. If the clock strikes twelve in Columbia--and it might with an 8pm kickoff--and Nebraska comes out on top much of the past two weeks misery will be forgotten. Some people are still saying that the Tigers defense is worse than Nebraska's, which seems almost impossible, but the numbers don't lie. At least not very often and there will be plenty of numbers after this one. The home crowd could be the deciding factor.
10/13 Oklahoma State - The Cowboys actually have the worst defense in the conference through four games. (See, it's not that bad!) Should be another shoot-out unless something drastic happens to the Blackshirts, but OSU still has a lot of talent at the skill positions and the right system to give Nebraska fits.
10/20 Texas A&M - Another good quarterback but this one comes with a devastating running game to back him up. However, the Franchione effect is still in play making me feel better about this one than most.
10/27 @ Texas - Texas has literally been the horn in Nebraska's Big 12, beating the Cornhuskers six out of seven times since 1996. Before the season this looked like another chance at a statement game for Callahan. Now I'm just hoping there's still a statement to be made in late October.
11/3 @ Kansas - This is perhaps the toughest to predict as the Jayhawks have blown the doors off everyone they've played thus far but this is tempered by the fact that they haven't actually played anyone at all. I'll pencil this in, shakily, as a win.
11/10 Kansas State - Pride dictates that I take Nebraska, but of the four coaches who still have to come to Lincoln, I probably like Prince's chances the best. Should K-State forget their power towels, however, I'll bet the farm.
11/23 @ Colorado - I was high on CU going into the Florida State game. I figured they had to be better but they're still looking for an identity. As always, the inmates at Folsom will be fired up but, depending on how things play out, this might just be a must-win for Billy C. The more things change the more they stay the same.
As much as we feel like we've found out about Nebraska so far, there are still a lot of questions to be answered. Looking at it today, I'm going with five more wins for Nebraska: Iowa State, OSU or TAMU (but not both), Kansas, Kansas State, and Colorado. It wouldn't be pretty but give Pinkel enough games to work his magic and it might just be enough to take the North.
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