I don't post here much, I am more of a lurker....But me being from Nebraska I wanted to chime in on a few thoughts......
1) The husker fans have EXTREMELY high expectations this season. I know people who are already planning on partying down on 72'nd and dodge (which for you out-of-stater's is where all the husker fans would go and party after a national championship). If you want to read something funny, read this from a husker fan...
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...-how-many-top-25-teams-would-the-huskers-beat
Here's my beef, and this was noted in a previous post. They haven't beaten anyone in the top 20 (unless you consider OU last year top 20 material) since 2001. They have never won a big game since then, sure they have come close, but close ain't a "W". You don't get brownie points for not finishing out a game and losing...CU came close to beating Georgia and Alabama a few years ago, we tried to hang our hats on that and look where we went. I am not saying by any means NU is going to be bad, I think they are top 15-20 material(and a lot of that has to do with their amazing strength of schedule).
2) Ain't no way, no how, NU's defense is better than last year's. You don't replace a defensive lineman who should've and almost did win the heisman and be better. Suh demanded double and triple teams, not only freeing up Crick (which is why his number are so high), but also letting the linebackers roam free. Suh was the equivalent of having 1-2 extra players on the field because that's how much attention he commanded. Not only did NU lose Suh, they lost 5 out of their top 8 returning tacklers from last year, over half their sacks, and their interception leader....I'm sorry but you don't lose all of that an become better. Sorry Nebraska, you aren't USC and can just "re-load" every year with talent. Who knows, maybe my feelings also have to do with our S**** ass offense ringing up over 400 yards on NU's D. Maybe they have a lot of potential on the defensive side of the ball coming in, but potential absolutely doesn't equal experience.
3) NU's offense is not that good at all. Period. Their best offensive player? Kicker, Alex Henery. He's what Mason was to us a few years back. And let's all remember, Watson is still the offensive coordinator. Can we say "predictable"
4) I think there are quite a few games on NU's schedule that aren't gimme's.
Washington - Even though they are picked sixth in the pac 10, Sarkisian has them going in the right direction. Locker is a beast.
@KSU - Could be a revenge game from last year. Their run game with Thomas will be good.
Texas - NU's toughest and most hyped game. Could go either way, talent in Texas's favor though.
@Okie State - NU seems to have trouble with those high octane offenses (i.e Texas Tech).
Mizzou - Could easily challenge NU for the north. Gabbert is a very good player, seems to always be a close game. It's in lincoln though, so that's in NU's favor
@A&M - See Okie State above
CU - Always a close game. Either team could suck and it would still be close.
Should be an interesting year......