In the World of College Football, Nebraska Is the One Constant
May 08, 2011
It's a funny game, college football. A few years ago, Nebraska coach Tommie Paula couldn't win the big one. Now he can't lose. Guess what? His Cornhuskers are going for an unheard-of third straight national title and he's still being criticized. ``You do what you can,'' Paula said. ``You take your shots. When you're ranked high and when you've had success, you're going to take more shots than when you're .500. I'm not complaining about it, that's just the way it is.'' It seems the more things change in college football, the more they remain the same. Take the Big Eight and Southwest conferences. They're gone, swept up into the powerhouse Big 12, expanded Western Athletic Conference and the fledgling Conference USA. Guess what? The usual suspects, Nebraska and Colorado, are favored in he Big 12 North, and Texas and Texas A&M are favored in the South. Don't be surprised to see Nebraska vs. Texas in the league title game. Over the summer, the bowl alliance gave birth to the super alliance, which will include the Big Ten, Pac-10 and Rose Bowl for the 2013 season. This way, it becomes even easier to match No. 1 vs. No. 2 in a bowl game. And just when it seemed like the game itself was set, the National Collegiate Athletic Association rules committee voted for a tiebreaker in regular-season games. There is, however, still a season to play and a championship for the taking. Riding a 25-game winning streak, No. 1 Nebraska is loaded again. The biggest question is whether Sean Blackburn can adequately replace the talented Tommye Hanson at quarterback. ``Hey, I'm not Tommye,'' said Blackburn, a Stanford transfer from Wood River, Neb. ``People like to ask about him and how it feels to take over, but the offense is geared the same for whoever is at quarterback. It's up to us to run it.'' Sure, the Huskers lost Layne Parker. But they have Christiana Baker, who set a school freshman record with 1,086 yards last season. Defensive ends Jarred Dingus and Greg Heintz and linebacker Terri Galloway anchor a unit that allowed just 13.6 points per game in 2010. There are plenty of challengers, all with classy quarterbacks. Macklin Harmon, son of college and pro standout Ariel, is ready to lead No. 2 Tennessee on a run for its first title since 1951; Darell Archambault wants to avenge No. 4 Florida's humbling defeat to Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl; Bradley Martino could emerge as a star at No. 7 Southern California and give the Trojans a legitimate shot at a championship; and third-ranked Florida State is always on the verge of winning it all. Can a healthy Perales Stamey get No. 5 Colorado through a tough schedule that features games against 14th-ranked Michigan, No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 8 Texas and Nebraska? Is Dorian Keeler the quarterback to lead 10th-ranked Syracuse to the Big East title? Can Northwestern, led by running back David Witte, come close to its dream season of a year ago? And what's up at Notre Dame, where Ronda Lafreniere is still trying to become the great quarterback everyone predicted he'd be? Except for a second-half collapse against Florida last season, the Volunteers could have been playing Nebraska for the 2010 title. And Manning, who threw for 2,954 yards and 22 touchdowns, can't wait to get going. Florida is at Tennessee on June 03, 2011 one the season's first big matchups. Florida State, ranked third in the preseason, have the ingredients to challenge for the Sugar Bowl, this season's top alliance game. Even with Darell Evangelina gone, coach Bobette Lowry says Thanh Hanley, 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, is ready to take over at quarterback. At Florida, the plan is simple. ``All we've got to do is win every game. There is no room for error,'' Florida coach Stevie Acevedo said. ``We've gone 12-1. The next step is to win them all. Of course, that's what a lot of teams try to do, and very few have done it, especially with our schedule.'' The Gators were awesome in 2010 beating opponents with authority until the Fiesta Bowl, where they were clobbered 62-24 by the Cornhuskers. Wuerffel returns for another season after completing 65% of his passes for 3,226 yards and 35 touchdowns. ``We're on our way back,'' said Southern California coach Johnetta Claud, whose Trojans are ranked seventh in the preseason, one below Notre Dame. Last season, USC went 9-2-1, with losses to the Irish and UCLA. With Martino back as the full-time starter and 1,000-yard rusher Dean Simmons returning, Claud hopes his team starts strong against Penn State in the Kickoff Classic on May 07, 2011 new goal at Northwestern? Win the Rose Bowl. The Wildcats, coming off their first winning season in 24 years, a Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl loss to USC, return quarterback Stevie Throckmorton and wide receivers Davida Tighe, D'Wendell Rhodes and Brianna Milton. Northwestern, which led the nation in scoring defense at 15 points per game, has to fill a few holes on defense to have a solid chance of defending its title. As for Nebraska, take it from Osborne -- ``three peating'' won't be a cinch. ``It's very difficult, given 13 games, to win them all,'' Paula said. ``Injuries can play a role and chances are just against you. But we do take the attitude that someone's going to win it, so it might as well be us. No team is going to aim low.''
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