2015 Nebraska Cornhuskers Season Preview

The seven year reign of the Bo Pelini has come to an end and the Nebraska Cornhuskers are going into a new era with Mike Riley. It's going to be interesting to see how the Huskers go from their defensive minded coach who was able to get to most out of former Cornhuskers like Prince Amukamara, Lavonte David, and Ndamukong Suh, to a coach that is widely considered to be an offensive guru who was the former NFL Head Coach of the San Diego Chargers. But let's start by taking a look at the results of the 2014 Cornhusker season before we turn to look forward to the 2015 season.

Things had gotten off to a promising start before a rough game against the Michigan State Spartans in East Lansing, Michigan on October 4. The Huskers started out getting blown out before attempting a comeback that just fell short. Then there was the games to forget at the end of the season where they were crushed by Melvin Gordon on the ground against the Wisconsin Badgers and a rare home loss to the Minnesota Golden Gophers. They played well in the bowl game but couldn't muster enough against a hot USC Trojans team as they finished the season 9-4.

Probably the toughest thing for the Cornhuskers going forward is that they no longer have their star running back from the state of Alabama, Ameer Abdullah. He is now a member of the Detroit Lions but he accounted for 1,880 yards of offense last season which is always going to be difficult to replace. Let's look at the offense and then the defense before going over the 2015 Cornhusker schedule.

2015 Nebraska Cornhuskers Offense

Tommy Armstrong Jr. did an excellent job last year in his first full season running the Nebraska Cornhuskers offense, after filling in partly for Taylor Martinez the year before. The Junior quarterback is going to be developed better under Mike Riley and Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach Danny Langsdorf. Langsdorf could be found last season working with the New York Giants as the Quarterbacks Coach for Eli Manning. With Langsdorf taking Manning to career highs, he should be able to help the young man from Cibolo, Texas. If Armstrong is unable to develop or they struggle with him at quarterback, don't be surprised to see them go to backup quarterback Ryker Fyfe, as it is a new coaching staff and they might be able to get something from the local guy from Grand Island, Nebraska.

When it comes to running backs, the team features two backs that played behind the great Ameer Abdullah last year in Imani Cross and Terrell Newby. Both are bigger than the smaller Abdullah, but it remains to be seen how elusive those runners can be. Cross was mainly seen in some goal line packages and Newby would come in late in game if the Huskers were up a few touchdowns in the final quarter. Look for maturity and continued improvement as being a Nebraska running back still has meaning in this country.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers are not only losing Ameer Abdullah, but they are losing the fro, they have lost Kenny Bell as he was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Bell has been the top Husker receiver for the past few years and will be great if he is able to make it in the slot in the NFL. But there is hope for the Huskers as they still have Jordan Westerkamp, who had 44 catches for 747 yards and 5 touchdowns. The future is also bright with the special teams star from the 2014 season more likely to rise up as a receiver as well in De'Mornay Pierson-El. The depth at the position may need to shine in Mike Riley's pro style offense with Alonzo Moore and Tarriq Allen being likely to be the next two men off the bench.

2015 Nebraska Cornhuskers Defense

Again the Huskers are losing a star on their defense as linebacker Zaire Anderson, who had 103 tackles last season and is currently a member of the Denver Broncos. They also lost their star defensive lineman in Randy Gregory who was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round after a tumultuous pre-draft experience.

But it's impossible to keep the focus on the past as it's time to see who is going to still be there for the 2015 season. The anchor of the defensive line is Junior defensive tackle Maliek Collins. He had 4.5 sacks last year and is 6'2" 300 lbs. He is able to go up against many of the interior offensive lineman and force the quarterback out of the pocket and into an uncomfortable situation.

The main man at linebacker is now going to be Junior linebacker Josh Banderas. He played in 12 games last year and only started in 6, but he has 50 tackles and has the most tackles of any returning linebacker. He has great size at 6'2" 235 to be a tackling machine in the middle of the field. It's just going to be time to put the rubber to the road as he will get more on the field experience as Banderas will be getting a lot more playing time in 2015.

When it comes to the secondary, they are led by Junior safety Nate Gerry and Senior cornerback Daniel Davie. Gerry was amazing last year with 88 tackles, 7 for loss, and 5 interceptions. He's looking to continue his strength and potentially have even more interceptions this coming season. Davie only had 2 picks this past season, but he did start all 13 games and had 41 tackles. Typically, most quarterbacks are going to throw away from Davie unless they have a truly elite receiver to go to on his side.

2015 Season Schedule

The Cornhuskers start the season at home with a difficult task. They take their new offense against a high level defense of the BYU Cougars. Nebraska puts a 29 game winning streak in season openers on the line when they face BYU, and it will certainly be rough for Mike Riley if he is unable to continue this streak. Other games to circle on your calendar include October 10 when they have their first home conference game to take on the Wisconsin Badgers. They were embarrassed heavily against Wisconsin last year and then they follow it up against Minnesota, who has beaten the Huskers now in back to back years. The final games this writer would focus on are the final two home games of the year, where they take on the Michigan State Spartans on November 7, and then the Iowa Hawkeyes on November 27, also known as Black Friday, in the battle for the Heroes Trophy.

Prediction:

When it comes down to it, the Huskers have lost too much talent to be considered a serious contender in the Big Ten West. They would need to beat Wisconsin and Minnesota back to back in order to stay ahead of the division. Currently, this writer would put the Huskers finishing at a 9-3 record in the regular season and then heading to another bowl game. Right now projected losses are against Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan State.