Sorta Nevada Preview

This is not an in depth preview for tomorrow’s game, just to make you aware. Those will start next week, hopefully.

So, are you read for some football? I know I am. Tomorrow is the kickoff of the 2007 college football season for the Nebraska Cornhuskers against the Nevada Wolfpack. The opener, if won by the Huskers, will be their 23^rd straight. The team is taking the game very seriously, as they know that the Wolfpack is not your father’s opening game in Lincoln. Gone are the days of playing a I-AA team or even a I-A team that is on the bottom rung of the spectrum.

Nevada is a legitimate threat out of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) playing in two consecutive bowl games and taking the University of Miami Hurricanes to the wire in the MPC Computers bowl eventually losing 21-20.

The Wolfpack finished the season very respectably compared to their 0-2 record early last season. Their defense looked impressive at times limiting several teams to fewer than 10 points and earning shutouts against Utah State and Louisiana Tech. However, their D was a little more than lost against top tier WAC schools Hawaii and Boise State. Nevada will also be playing without suspended star linebacker Ezra Butler. They’ll also be working without their star center Dominic Green and former standout quarterback Jeff Rowe who was a firth-round draft pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in April of this year.

Tomorrow will be the first start for another quarterback on the field, at least for his respective team. After reading a truckload of stories on senior Sam Keller this month, he’s probably about as tired as I am of hearing the “coming full circle” type questions and is ready to get on with the business of the season at hand. If Keller has done his homework and is as good as advertised, expect the Huskers to put up a lot of points tomorrow. I’m not talking about any scores in the sixties or seventies, that’s a little unrealistic for this team. I’m calling the game at 38-14 for a final score. Look for it to be around there, give or take a touchdown.

Earlier in the week, former Husker and Kansas City Chief great Will Shields visited the team on Thursday after practice. Shields enjoyed a successful 14 year career at the NFL level playing in 12 straight Pro-Bowls and was the recipient of the 1992 Outland Trophy while at Nebraska. Hopefully this made an impact on the team. He’s not a fiery type of speaker which fits well into Callahan’s method of coaching and what the players are used to. His speech is exactly what you would expect. His message was to prepare, study, do what’s right and be a great guy. A consummate professional, Shields was also the 2003 winner of the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, given to an NFL player that has gone above and beyond in the realm of charity and community work. Prior to 1999 it was simply called “NFL Man of the Year.”

The starting roster and depth chart for tomorrow's game were made up earlier in the week. I’m sure Callahan will be looking to answer a few question marks before taking the show on the road to Winston-Salem, North Carolina next weekend. The game tomorrow, while important, is more or less a way to measure if the team is in order. Saying that, I’m hoping that Callahan and his staff have the team prepared for the Wolf Pack and are not looking past them to their next two games against Wake Forest and Southern Cal.

All the questions that have been asked about the quarterback position, replacing Brandon Jackson, replacing the defensive line and questions regarding the secondary will not be answered tomorrow afternoon in Lincoln. However, it will show how far this team has come after spring and fall camps. Beyond all of that, there is nothing like watching your team take the field for the first time during a brand new season.