Nebraska Football: Huskers jump back into contention in 2019
By Cullen Jekel
August & September: South Alabama, at Colorado, Northern Illinois, at Illinois, Ohio State
The Nebraska Cornhuskers have two open dates this year, but the first one doesn’t come until October 19th. That means the Huskers play seven games before getting a breather. Only the first game, in which Nebraska hosts the South Alabama Jaguars, appears a surefire victory.
In the second week of the season, Nebraska travels to Boulder, Colorado, to take on a former conference rival in the Colorado Buffaloes. When the Huskers bolted the Big 12 for the Big Ten, the Buffaloes also revolted, but instead joined the Pac-10, which is now the Pac-12, because it turns out west-coast people are better at math than are people in Big Ten country.
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Anyway, the two teams faced each other last year for the first since both abandoned the Big 12, and Colorado won 33-28. Anticipate the opposite happening in 2019, as sophomore quarterback Adrian Martinez picks up a signature win early in the season.
After that, it’s back home to Lincoln for a match against another non-conference foe, this time the Northern Illinois Huskies. The Huskies are capable of an upset (as they showed against Nebraska in Lincoln in the 2017 season), but only if the other team takes them lightly or overlooks them. I don’t see that happening with Frost’s group. That moves the Huskers to 3-0 before its Big Ten slate begins.
Nebraska’s first conference game of the year comes at home, and it comes against a team that I’m predicting lands in the Big Ten West’s cellar for the third straight season: the Illinois Fighting Illini.
It pains me to predict such woe for Illinois because a) I was born there, and b) have you seen Lovie Smith’s magnificent beard? I mean, I could live comfortably in that damn thing. On the list of All-Time Beards, it’s ahead of former San Francisco Giants closer Brian Wilson but behind Obadiah Stane, the villain portrayed by Jeff Bridges in Iron Man.
Moving on, the Huskers get their first real test in Week 5 when they welcome the Ohio State Buckeyes. This will be a battle of sophomore quarterbacks and (kinda) head coaches as Martinez and Frost square up against Justin Fields and Ryan Day, respectively.
Last season, with the game in Columbus, the Huskers gave the Buckeyes a run for their money, even leading for a portion of the game, before falling 36-31. While this game won’t be as close, it won’t be a blowout, either, but the Buckeyes prevail, handing the Huskers their first loss of 2019.