OK, so we're still 7 months out, but I figured it's time we took a look at a taste of things to come.

 The Bo Pelini era begins. He will be calling our defense, and he will be able to use his defensive genius on making our offense even better. Truly great to have a defensive genius. He knows how to cause offenses problems and he knows how an offense best gives a good defense problems.

Pelini's defense has consistently ranked in the top 20. LSU's D ranked in the top 10 in 3 categories this last season: #3 total D, #3 pass efficiency defense, and #3 in overall pass defense. The previous season LSU lead the SEC in six defensive categories and was also in the top 5 in the nation in total defense, scoring defense, pass defense, and pass defense efficiency.

I blogged a few months ago about how our defense used to be: Violent. Fast. Unforgiving. Brutal. Turnovers galore. It was to the point where several times I feared for the safety of opposing offenses. To the point where I pitied those poor souls who had to line up against them. I couldn't imagine lining up against Jason Peter, Grant Wistrom, or Trev Alberts.

Our defense is about to return to glory. So, in the spirit of the Blackshirts, I present to you this video I found. I truly believe it is an accurate depiction of what is about to become reality. A taste of things to come. I'll apologize for the video quality in advance. Not the best, but it is still great. Short and sweet. So without further ado:
 

And here’s my WAY too early analysis of our 2008 season. It’s months away, there are still a lot of changes and a lot to happen. However, this season is now over so we need something to pass the time. Besides, it isn’t like the NFL is cutting it. I think we’re about tired of being spoon-fed Brady and the Patriots anyway.

So Pelini is our coach, the staff is decided, recruiting is about to get back underway. I didn’t really analyze position-by-position or depth chart or possibilities therein (way too much to go over). I’m sure the recruiting will bring in good talent. I’m sure we already have good talent on the team. We might have some departures due to players not taking well to Pelini’s system of working hard. And he will demand hard work. The only one I’ll cover is Lucky. He will be an absolute fool if he declares for the draft instead of sticking around with a team that is sure to return a decent offense and a return of the true Blackshirts. With our new defensive genius at the helm, we can expect to see defenders flying around and generating turnovers once again. Opposing QB’s will be harassed. There will be sacks. We’ll be tried and tested, and very likely handed a defeat or two. We’ll also have improvement and success. Naturally, I know that success last year doesn’t translate to success this year. I also know that just because team A beats B and B beats C doesn’t mean A can beat C. Regardless, this is my quick overview, so I’m going to tell it how I see it. So, without any further ado, let’s go over the schedule…

Sat, Aug 30 Western Michigan Memorial Stadium TBA

The Broncos are your typical MAC team. They get wins and losses. Their record matched ours last year at 5-7. They fell to Mizzou by 28 points and also lost a close call against Ball St. This is going to be a home game, it’ll be Pelini’s first home game as head coach and the unveiling of the new team. Emotions will be soaring and expectations will be high. This one should be a moderately easy win. Naturally, both teams will be a bit rusty and have some things to improve on.

Sat, Sep 06 San Jose State Memorial Stadium TBA

The Spartans come to Lincoln the next week. These yellow & blue Spartans might realize that the historical Spartans wore RED. This team also matched our record of 5-7 last year. Stanford blew them out of the water, and K-State handed them a 34-14 loss. The Sun Devils also gave them a very sound beating of 45-3. This team might prove to be a little dangerous, as they did show flashes of being able to move the ball, so it could make a test out of Pelini’s defense. Many of the problems and players out of position from the previous week will be corrected. Overall, the Scarlett & Cream won’t have a problem with this one. Starting out 2-0 isn’t bad, but there are some bumps coming up…

Sat, Sep 13 New Mexico State Memorial Stadium TBA

Part 3 of our 5 game opening homestand. Great to be in Lincoln, isn’t it? This is the 2nd WAC team in as many weeks. This is going to be a test of our secondary. The safeties, CBs, & LB’s will have their work cut out chasing receivers as they had receptions worth over 4300 yds last season. Their top couple QB’s had completion ratings of over 60%. Hopefully Pelini will keep at what he said after the LSU game in keeping a QB uncomfortable. With enough pressure up front, we should be able to stop their one-dimension attack a bit. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them come out rushing quite a bit to see if they can off-set a gameplan prepared to defend the pass. It won’t work though. The MAC Aggies finished 4-8 last year and should fare about the same here. They got destroyed by an overrated Hawaii team and scraped by on the Nevada Wolfpac that even we crushed last year. By now we’ll be complaining that we want to see a real challenge from these easier wins and mismatches. Well, wait no longer, the next three weeks are about to get interesting.

Sat, Sep 27 Virginia Tech Memorial Stadium TBA

I’m sure we all still feel for the Hokies after their Spring 07 tragedy. Same with our Fall ’07 tragedy. This should be a meeting between unbeatens and will certainly be a good indicator of where we’re at. This one will likely be moved to prime time and will be nationally televised. We can only hope we aren’t embarrassed again. V-Tech played a decent game against Kansas in the Orange Bowl. They were on the wrong end of a 14-10 decision against Boston College and got thumped early last year by LSU. They’ve been completing around 55-60% of their passes, and are extremely balanced. They can burn a defense with the run and the pass. Our defense will need to be clicking on all cylinders at this point. It’ll be a hyped game, Pelini & staff will have the players ready, and Memorial Stadium will be electric. It’ll be a well fought battle, especially since their defense is very capable. I expect a close game and this one could go either way. Like much of Husker Nation, I won’t be upset with a close game in which we lose. But we have a lot to prove, so I think we’ll have plenty to play and fight for and could likely come out on top. Also, keep in mind that we have a week off. Pelini will definitely have time to fix a bunch of problems, scout, and gameplan the Hokies. We’ll have time to work out some bumps and bruises before this one.

Sat, Oct 04 Missouri Memorial Stadium TBA

We’ll very likely be 4-0 or 3-1 at this point. I expect that we can pull off a win with Mizzou or the Hokies, but both seems unlikely. Keep in mind unlikely is much different than unwelcome. Chase Daniels won’t be around this time, but several starters are returning. Mizzou could be unbeaten at this point if they can manage Illinois in week 1. They shouldn’t have a problem with Southeast Missouri, Nevada, or Buffalo. Either way, this team will feature two teams that are 4-0, 3-1, or a combination of that. So a prime time national audience isn’t out of the question. I’m sure there will be talk from both sides prior to the game. Memories from last year will definitely be in the minds of the fans in Lincoln, and maybe in the player’s minds as well. We have a score to settle with them running up the score from last year (I’m not bitter about it and even thank them as it helped fuel the firing of Pederson & Callahan). Should be another close one, but I expect a win here. Mizzou couldn’t do much against OU either time, and seems to be a bit stifled when going up against even a moderately good defense. Sure, there is the chance of a blowout either way, or another loss, but this should be another well fought game.

Sat, Oct 11 Texas Tech at Lubbock, Texas TBA

Our first road challenge has come. The past 5 weeks at home were nice, but time to see the road warrior in Pelini. The red raiders did well last year, and only lost a couple games. Even managed to edge Virgina in the gator bowl. They boast an impressive completion percentage. However, this is a team that has virtually no running game. Non-existent. Especially with the past couple weeks against Mizzou & V-Tech, our secondary should be more than ready for this. They’ll be tuned up and ready to go. This is another good test, but as long as we click, we’ll do fine. By now we’re going to be demanding some attention and respect, but could still be underdogs. Don’t tell that to the D as they look like the legendary blackshirts. Their defense has also been good, so this game could easily turn into a defensive battle.

Sat, Oct 18 Iowa State at Ames, Iowa TBA

Maybe it was just me, but I thought the Cyclones finished strong. Sure, they lost a few, but they hung in with OU and fought Mizzou. I’m sure they’ll be some fight in them in Iowa. They’re seemingly on the rise, and have been moderately balanced. Iowa will be just coming off an easy win against Baylor, but might still be ####ed up from the Kansas game two weeks prior. Maybe the new uniforms will trick Huskers into thinking this is USC. I doubt it. Up until here the ‘clones will have faced South Dakota State (don’t laugh, I think we play them in ’09), Kent St, Iowa, & UNLV before Kansas. That might be enough in confidence games to get some wins and get some improvements made, and could turn this into a battle. We could also struggle with being on the road for two consecutive weeks. Maybe it’s just me, but I wouldn’t consider this a gimme. We’re going to have to earn this one. We might even take a hit in the polls for having a tight game, but it wouldn’t speak to our detriment as much as to Iowa State’s progress.

Sat, Oct 25 Baylor Memorial Stadium TBA

Ahhh, Baylor. I’m not going to go over this one in great detail. Maybe the fans will be leaving like they were in Lincoln last year, but just to beat the rush. The score might be so bad that a trip home for halftime might be made instead of a bathroom & hotdog break.

Sat, Nov 01 Oklahoma at Norman, Okla. TBA

Well. Here we are. This is my first predicted loss of the season. Sure, we might have a loss or two before we get here, but this is the first one where I’d be surprised if we win. The media will play up the rivalry and history. They’ll examine how Pelini was on OU’s staff a couple years ago. They’ll get ready for a good game, and they will probably get one. Being as that it’s in Norman, I wouldn’t get too hopeful, especially since OU definitely peaks toward the end of the season. I’m not saying we’ll definitely lose or don’t have a chance, just that this one could get rough. Hell, the Buffs beat OU last year, so maybe we can slide one by. But by now, we’ll have made it known that we aren’t the Huskers of last year, so I don’t see anyone taking us lightly enough to win in such fashion.

If this girl is at the game, I might be distracted enough to not pay attention. Let’s hope our OU brothers don’t use that weapon.

Sat, Nov 08 Kansas Memorial Stadium TBA

We’ll have a much improved team from last year, but I’m not sure we’ll have one ready enough to take on the winners of last year’s Orange Bowl. Maybe Kansas was only having a Cinderella year, but I doubt it. They’ve been on the rise. They’ve got a good defense, a balanced offense, and a decent special teams. However, they’re losing some players and coaches. Our new RB coach might be able to help us through this one. Since it’s in Lincoln, and both teams will probably be doing well, this could be yet another spotlight game. Could do wonders for recruiting. Another hard fought battle, but if I were to predict now, I’d say it’s close, but we make just enough mistakes to shoot ourselves in the foot. Playing OU the week prior probably won’t help much either.

Sat, Nov 15 Kansas State at Manhattan, Kan. TBA

This one is going to be interesting. No doubt K-State could be a little ####ed and bruised from playing OU, Kansas, & Mizzou the weeks prior to this game. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s enough to get us to pull one out. However, they could be hungry for a much-needed win at our expense, possibly even to stay bowl-eligible. I would also guess that it isn’t likely they forgot us running up the score this last year in Lincoln, and could have a score to settle. Unless they have a great season, are uber-hyped, or we make a lot of dumb mistakes, we should have a great shot at winning this one.

Fri, Nov 28 OR
Sat, Nov 29 Colorado Memorial Stadium TBA

And our last game of the regular season. This time it very likely won’t be the decision on whether we go to a bowl or not. With what happened last year, I think the fans in Memorial Stadium will want to feast on some Buffalo. The extra time off will certainly work in our favor. We can get healed up and game plan, and work on fundamentals. Pelini will have them scouted and we should roll to an easy win. By now the Buffs will have played a tight one against Colorado St, a good one against Florida State, Texas, Mizzou, & A&M. They play Oklahoma State the week before us, so this could easily be a bowl-eligible decision for them. Not in our house though.

Well, I won’t go into who I think will win the division or bowl games. You might’ve noticed how my predictions and comments got shorter as the season progressed. Well, of course they did, and for good reason. A football season is incredibly difficult to predict, as we all learned this past year. So I won’t make any bold predictions, but I think we can win 8 or 9 pretty soundly. Even if we only win 7, we’ll still be ok because we’ll be back to tradition. No matter how you put it, it’ll be an improvement over last year.

GO BIG RED!