Each week we will go over Nebraska's non-conference opponents and how they fared against their competition.
Tennessee-Chattanooga - Last week - fall camp. This week vs. Nebraska. They are currently a 34.5 point underdog to the Cornhuskers.
Mocs making good use of extra practice hours | timesfreepress.com
"We'll definitely notice [the extra time] in the meetings, preparing for each game each week," said fifth-year senior safety Chris Lewis-Harris. "And when we come out [to practice] we get more time to do individual [position drills] to work on our technique." During the past three seasons, because of penalties handed down by the NCAA for poor Academic Progress Rate performance, the Mocs have been shorthanded in practice time, as well as scholarships. In 2008, UTC was allowed 18.0 hours per week and the past two seasons it had to squeeze everything into 16.0.
Maybe "recommended-readings-gate" will prove to be the edge Nebraska needs to outsmart the Mocs on gameday.
Tennessee and UT-Chattanooga Preview
"I think we are headed in the right direction," comments Huesman, a former Mocs defensive back from 1978-1981. "If you look at our two 6-5 seasons, the first year we got six wins, but I’m not sure how. Last year, we had a better football team with five wins in the league and a tougher schedule. We can continue to improve this year and make significant strides."
Fresno State - Last week - fall camp. This week vs. California. They are currently a 10 point underdog to the Golden Bears.
NCAA Football Preview - Fresno State Bulldogs - KansasCity.com
The quarterback position is due for another significant change this season at Fresno State, with the loss of Ryan Colburn. Early indications have the squad turning to sophomore signal-caller Derek Carr to guide them, especially since the next logical choice is a freshman in Greg Watson.
Cal's neutral-site season opener against Fresno State at Candlestick Park is beginning to look like a Bulldogs home game. According to the latest figures, Fresno State's ticket office has sold 12,000 tickets whereas Cal has sold only 7,500. It's harder to keep tabs on tickets sold through other outlets such as StubHub, but Bulldogs fans seem to be scooping up tickets at a much brisker rate than Cal enthusiasts.
Those potheads from Boulder are gonna love their trips to Berkley. Cal fans are apparently too busy to bother with a football game in an NFL stadium.
Washington Huskies - Last week - fall camp. This week vs. Eastern Washington. They are currently an 18 point favorite against the defending FCS Champions from Cheney, Washington.
In fact, UW had long boasted of the stat that it was one of just a handful of schools to have never played a team from a lower division (or what is now the Football Championship Subdivision). But that will end when Eastern Washington — the defending FCS champion — comes to Husky Stadium for a 4 p.m. kickoff.
And this season, Keith Price's first as the Huskies' starting quarterback, could be the most challenging and thrilling of Sarkisian's play-calling career. In his third year at Washington, his first without Jake Locker, Sarkisian faces one of those defining moments. He has to make this offense Price's offense, and every 40 seconds, he has to call the play that best fits his redshirt sophomore.
Can Washington's offense be any less thrilling than what we saw at the Holiday Bowl last year?
Wyoming Cowboys - Last week - fall camp. This week vs. Weber State. They are currently an 11.5 point favorite to the Wildcats from Ogden Utah.
Wyoming Cowboys Suspend 3 Before The First Game Of The Season - K2 Radio
UW coach Dave Christensen announced today that the projected starting safety Kenny Browder has been suspended indefinitely for violating team rules. Also suspended are safety Eric Mitchell and tight end T.J. Smith although their suspension is apparently just for the opening day game against Weber State.
Young receivers making their mark at UW - Houston Chronicle
For a team that lists four different receiver groups on its depth chart, there's a pretty good chance a large chunk will be made up of redshirt and true freshmen when the two-deep is released next Monday. "If they're on the two-deep when I release it for the first game, you can pretty much count on them playing," Christensen said. "Not 100 percent, but for the most part they're probably going to play. And you're probably going to see some freshmen."
I kinda feel bad for the Cowboys. It sure seems like they will be starting about 11 freshmen on each side of the ball. Watch out in 2014 when they are making a run as a BCS buster!