24 | AUGUST 2024
HUSKERS PREVIEW
Purdue Tourist attractions The ratings for each of Nebraska football’s opponents in 2024
User review Did you know the Big Ten’s lead- ing rusher last season came from Rutgers? No, not Michigan or Ohio State. Rutgers! That’s Kyle Monan- gai, who became the program’s first 1,000-yard rusher in 11 years. Expect another steady dose of Monangai from a unit that ran the ball over 60 percent of the time last season, as head coach Greg Schiano and of- fensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca really lean into physicality. The schedule A29 Howard S7 Akron S21 at Virginia Tech S27 Washington O5 at Nebraska O12 Wisconsin O19 UCLA O25 at USC N9 Minnesota N16 at Maryland N23 Illinois N20 at Michigan State
User review There’s a new head coach in Bloomington, and Curt Cignetti’s first order of business is finding stability at quarterback, where the Hoosiers will turn to for- mer MAC offensive player of the year Kurtis Rourke. Indiana has started seven different QBs in the past three seasons. Perhaps more important to Indiana’s suc- cess this season is the defense, where Cignetti brought in a bulk of players from James Madison. The schedule A31 Florida International S6 Western Illinois S14 at UCLA S21 Charlotte S28 Maryland O5 at Northwestern O19 Nebraska O26 Washington N2 at Michigan State N9 Michigan N23 at Ohio State N30 Purdue
O12 O19 O26 N16 N23 N30 N2
Michigan at Oregon Minnesota
NATE HEAD | Lincoln Journal Star No one actually checks out a tourist attraction with scouring the online reviews any- more, right? Consider each Nebraska opponent this season — from UTEP to Iowa — an attraction, and view our ratings for each category.
Michigan State
at Rutgers
Northwestern
PURDUE Sept. 28, West Lafayette, Ind., 2023: 4-8
tradition-rich Cedar Falls. North- ern Iowa has a new quarterback, and four new prominent assistants, including an o ensive coordinator who will reportedly implement the Air Raid o ense. The schedule A31 Valparaiso S7 at St. Thomas (Minn.) S14 at Nebraska S21 at Hawaii O5 South Dakota State O12 at South Dakota O19 at North Dakota O26 Missouri State N2 at North Dakota State N9 Illinois State N16 at Youngstown State N23 Indiana State
UTEP Aug. 31, Memorial Stadium, 2023: 3-9
User review Wherever Deion Sanders goes, cam- eras follow, but the hullabaloo sur- rounding Sanders should dip at least a bit in his second year as the leader of a Power Five program. You’ll hear the names Shedeur Sanders and Tra- vis Hunter a lot this season, and for good reason, but just as important to the Bu aloes’ success is Jordan Heaton, a five-star o ensive tackle who is expected to anchor a unit
O ense: 5 Defense: 4 Specialists: 4 Coaches: 4 Momentum: 2
O ense: 3 Defense: 4 Specialists: 4 Coaches: 5 Momentum: 2
Schedule: 8 Fan buzz: 4 Nation buzz: 2 User review
Schedule: 4 Fan buzz: 1 Nation buzz: 1 User review
that needs to improve. The schedule A29
No one is expecting a whole lot out of the Boilermakers this sea- son, and sometimes that can make a team dangerous. If Pur- due is going to surprise some folks this season, it’ll start with quarterback Hudson Card, who enjoyed moderate success af- ter transferring from Texas. Sec- ond-year coach Ryan Walters improved his roster over the sum- mer, but a brutal schedule awaits. The schedule A31 Indiana State N14 Notre Dame S21 at Oregon State S28 Nebraska O5 at Wisconsin O12 at Illinois O18 Oregon N2 Northwestern N9 at Ohio State N16 Penn State N22 at Michigan State N30 at Indiana
This writer set out on this list deter- mined not to use the term, “new- look roster” because, well, no team is the same from one season to the next, especially not in these times. But, what else do you call a UTEP roster that has a new coach (Scotty Walden from FCS Austin Peay) and 47 (!) new players? It’s notable that Walden is bringing 11 players with him from Austin Peay, which went 9-3 last year in FCS play. The schedule A31 at Nebraska N7 Southern Utah S14 at Liberty S21 at Colorado State O3 Sam Houston O10 at Western Kentucky O16 Florida International O22 at Louisiana Tech N2 Middle Tennessee N9 Kennesaw State N23 at Tennessee N30 at New Mexico State COLORADO Sept. 7, Memorial Stadium, 2023: 4-8
North Dakota at Nebraska at Colorado State
S7 S14 S21 S28 O12 O19 O26 N16 N23 N29 N9
Baylor at UCF
INDIANA Oct. 19, Bloomington, Ind., 2023: 3-9
Kansas State
OHIO STATE Oct. 26,
at Arizona Cincinnati
ILLINOIS Sept. 20, Memorial Stadium, 2023: 5-7
Columbus, Ohio, 2023: 11-2 O ense: 8 Defense: 8 Specialists: 7 Coaches: 9 Momentum: 8
O ense: 4 Defense: 4 Specialists: 6 Coaches: 5 Momentum: 2 Schedule: 6 Fan buzz: 6 Nation buzz: 2
at Texas Tech
Utah
O ense: 5 Defense: 4 Specialists: 6 Coaches: 6 Momentum: 5
at Kansas
Oklahoma State
NORTHERN IOWA
Schedule: 7 Fan buzz: 9 Nation buzz: 9 User review
Schedule: 7 Fan buzz: 6 Nation buzz: 4 User review
Sept. 14, Memorial Stadium, 2023: 6-5
O ense: 3 Defense: 4 Specialists: 5 Coaches: 9 Momentum: 5
It’s no secret Ohio State has one of the most elite offenses in college football. Consider this: in a transfer portal era, the Buckeyes have 10 return- ing starters on defense, and the lone newbie is a transfer from — wait for it — Alabama. That’s life in Columbus. The other side of that life is the intense pres- sure to beat Michigan, which has beat the Buckeyes three straight years.
Illinois has plenty to address on defense, but one wonders how the Illini plan to improve their offensive output. Illinois will hope quarterback Luke Altmyer is more steady after an up-and- down sophomore season a year ago. Losing running back Reggie Love III to Purdue certainly didn’t help the cause, either. The schedule A29 Eastern Illinois S7 Kansas S14 Central Michigan S20 at Nebraska S28 at Penn State
DENZEL BURKE
Schedule: 3 Fan buzz: 6 Nation buzz: 2 User review
RUTGERS Oct. 5, Memorial Stadium, 2023: 7-6
Northern Iowa is a disciplined, well- coached team under the tutelage of Mark Farley, the second-win- ningest active coach in FCS (180 wins). However, Farley is mixing it up this season in the wake of three consecutive six-win seasons, which doesn’t exactly move the needle in
O ense: 7 Defense: 5 Specialists: 6 Coaches: 6 Momentum: 4 Schedule: 9 Fan buzz: 9 Nation buzz: 9
O ense: 6 Defense: 6 Specialists: 7 Coaches: 7 Momentum: 6 Schedule: 6 Fan buzz: 6 Nation buzz: 5
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