Callahan’s squad has a chance to be perfect early on

By Josh Lashley  |   Thursday, April 27, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Nebraska Cornhuskers
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Those members of the Husker faithful that were strongly set on the task of handing head coach Bill Callahan and Athletic Director Steve Pederson a one way ticket out of town after the '04 season may now be reconsidering their stance.

The dark cloud that swept through Lincoln in the fall of 2004 brought with it an embarrassing 60-point loss to Texas Tech, an end to a magnificent streak of consecutive bowl game appearances and when all was said and done, a 5-6 overall record. Fortunately for Callahan and company, some of that damage may have been forgotten when the Nebraska Cornhuskers bounced back to go 8-4 in a 2005 season that saw them hammer Colorado, 30-3, in Boulder and capture a memorable 32-28 victory over top 25 rated Michigan in Alamo Bowl. Throw in a narrow win over Kansas State prior to the victories over the Buffaloes and the Wolverines and you can see the reason for optimism as the Cornhuskers finished last season with three straight triumphs.

Obviously, Big Red fans are hoping that the stage is now set for a return to national prominence. Zach Taylor, who completed 14 passes, including three touchdown passes to three different receivers, in the spring game to lead the Red team to a 35-7 victory over the White squad, appears to be the real deal. Taylor, who will be a senior, may have the ability and guts to stand up to the top defenses in the Big 12 and beyond.

At this point, the 2006 schedule does not look all that daunting. Let's take a closer look at the first six games of Nebraska's 12-game 2006 fall campaign:

The Huskers get to work out some kinks in their first two games as they host Louisiana Tech and Nicholls State on the first two Saturday's of September, so they should be full of bravado after a pair of decisive triumphs heading into a feature game at USC on September 16th. The Trojans lost a great deal of talent and Nebraska may be meeting them at just the right time. A at Southern Cal would go a long way toward propelling them back towards that highly sought-after national prominence.

Whether or not they can get by the Trojans remains to be seen, but they can't be caught sleeping when they return to Lincoln for a game against Troy the following week. After what should be a win against Troy, the Huskers must be in the mood for vengeance as they face Kansas at home in their Big 12 opener on September 30th. The Jayhawks thumped Nebraska (40-15) in Lawrence last fall, but look for a different outcome this time around. That brings us to a somewhat scary matchup against the Cyclones. Nebraska needed overtime to hold off Iowa State last fall at home and Ames will be a very unfriendly place to be for Big Red supporters on October 7th. Still, look for Nebraska to escape Ames with a win by 3 to 5 points.

With a little luck, the Nebraska Cornhuskers could be 6-0, but more likely 5-1 (a very close defeat to USC) when they travel to Manhattan for what could be a key Big 12 North contest against Kansas State on October 14th.

Not perfect, but it'll do.
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