Corn Flakes: Big Ten College Baseball Previews!

This weekend is the start of college baseball season. Nebraska starts this weekend with a three-game series at UNLV.

Other Big Ten teams are starting as follows:

Illinois vs New Mexico State - Cardinal Classic, Beaumont, TX
Indiana at Stanford
Iowa vs Kansas State - Snowbird Classic, Port Charlotte, FL
Maryland vs Western Kentucky - Caravelle Resort Tournament, Conway, SC
Michigan at Long Beach State
Michigan State vs New Mexico - Surprise Tournament, Surprise, AZ
Minnesota at Houston
Northwestern vs Oregon State - Surprise Tournament, Surprise, AZ
Ohio State vs George Mason - Snowbird Classic, Port Charlotte, FL
Penn State at Elon 
Rutgers at Miami, FL

If you don't want to get through all the previews: Nebraska and Maryland are the top teams to beat, but the Big Ten could possibly get up to four teams in the NCAA tournament. Four.

Bottom line: The conference is way more competitive than it's been in a long time.

Will you be following Nebraska baseball this season? Have you followed it in the past? Or do you just happen to run into it along with other coverage?

Ralph Friedgen not expected to return as Rutgers offensive coordinator, per sources - On the Banks
The Scarlet Knights will be looking for their sixth coordinator in as many seasons.

Illinois Football announces 3-year agreement for games at Soldier Field - The Champaign Room
The annual Illinois vs Northwestern game will be played at Chicago's Soldier Field in 2015, 2017, and 2019.

5 things college football recruits should know before they sign - SBNation.com
National Signing Day has a few issues that prospects should be aware of.

The 2015 Advanced College Football Stats Glossary - Football Study Hall
Here is a glossary for the terms used in the 2015 college football season previews at SB Nation.

USC's Reggie Bush scandal is now the NCAA's problem - SBNation.com

With the ruling, the NCAA is now primed to have egg on its face with the release of the documents, especially after a Los Angeles Superior Court judge said in 2012 that the emails "tend to show ill will or hatred" toward McNair and the investigation was "over the top" and "malicious."

Once again the NCAA is poised to look incredibly stupid. Once again I wonder... how long are they going to keep Mark Emmert as their head guy?

FCS star Vernon Adams officially in mix to replace Marcus Mariota at Oregon - SBNation.com
The Ducks have landed the talented graduate transfer and would-be successor to the Heisman Trophy winner.

Texas Tech AD to replace Oliver Luck on College Football Playoff committee - SBNation.com
There is now a Texas representative on the selection committee.

Is fourth grade too early for ultracompetitive sports? | Star Tribune
Edina has plunged into fielding fourth-grade traveling basketball teams — a trend fueled by parents, not kids.

After U.A.B. Program’s Death, Outcry Raises the Possibility of a Quick Resurrection - NYTimes.com

The University of Alabama at Birmingham announced in December it would no longer field a football team, but the resulting outcry has it rethinking its decision.

Dumb and dumber?

Basketball

Big Ten Power Rankings: D’Angelo Russell, Ohio State stay at No. 2 " Big Ten Network
10. Nebraska (13-10, 5-6). Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields combined for 2-of-13 from deep at Penn State. Lowest possession-per-game team in the Big Ten can’t overcome poor shooting nights with its style of play. Last week: 10

Big Ten power rankings take a road trip - The Crimson Quarry
11. Nebraska (13-10, 5-6) (Previous:11) Technically, Nebraska has a better conference win percentage than Minnesota, but the Huskers rank lower because of their absolutely atrocious play away from Lincoln. In their last three road games, Nebraska has scored 129 total points. In addition, Terran Petteway has the 12th-highest usage rate of anyone in the country - along with the highest rate in the B1G to begin with.

Badgers are ready for raucous Nebraska fans
Standing near the Nebraska bench during their game last season, UW’s Josh Gasser turned to the Cornhuskers coach and said: "This is frickin’ awesome." Indeed, the raucous atmosphere inside Pinnacle Bank Arena is like none other, and the Badgers will have to withstand it Tuesday night.

Baseball

The Top 301 Teams of 2015 " College Baseball Today

Nothing makes a coach smile like having a truckload of experience on the roster. And Darin Erstad has a senior-heavy team for 2015, including returning pitchers like All Big 10er Chance Sinclair (9-1, 2.15), LHP Kyle Kubat (5-2, 4.55) and saves expert Josh Roeder (12 saves).

Sorenson has us at #15!

2015 Conference Previews: Big Ten - D1Baseball.com
Maryland and Nebraska are the teams to beat in the Big Ten, but Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Michigan State lead a strong group of challengers.

2015 College Conference Preview: Big Ten - BaseballAmerica.com
Player of the Year: Ryan Boldt, of, Nebraska. The sophomore looks like he’s over the knee injury that sidelined him during his high school senior year and is coming off a boffo summer in the Northwoods League, showing power/speed tools. They showed up last spring with six triples, which tied for the conference lead.

CWS Champion Vanderbilt No. 1 In 2015 College Preseason Top 25 - BaseballAmerica.com
Maryland is the lone Big Ten baseball team as ranked by Baseball America.

Can The Big Ten Sustain Its Resurgence? - BaseballAmerica.com
Perhaps the Big Ten will never quite get back to the standard it set in the first 20 years of the College World Series, when league teams won six national championships. But can it sustain its recent surge?

Big Ten Goes All-In On Baseball - D1Baseball.com
The Big Ten finally has a chance to evolve into a power conference thanks to how it approached great challenges.