Missouri: The Tigers have a lot of confidence coming into this season, and with QB Chase Daniel at the helm, why not. Daniel can run the spread to perfection, he threw for over 4,000 yards a year ago. He's also a legit Heisman contender; the better the Tigers record, the more attention for Daniel. The other name on offense to watch is WR/RB/KR/PR Jeremy Maclin. This guy can move like no one else in the North. Road games at Nebraska and Texas, as well as the opener against Illinois and the Border War with Kansas should be great games.
Nebraska: Call me a homer, I don't care. BO IS BACK!!! You'd be hard pressed to find a Husker fan that is not excited about Bo Pelini being back in Lincoln. He's got a mountain to climb to bring the defense back to respectability (114th in 2007), but the players confidence is high. Offensive Coordinator Shawn Watson was retained, and the offense will rely heavily on senior RB Marlon Lucky. Lucky rushed for 1,019 yards and caught a school record 75 passes a year ago. Joe Ganz stepped in for the injured Sam Keller, and in the final 3 games, threw for 1,300 yards and 15 TD's. But the Huskers (as most teams will do) will only go as far as the "D" can take them.
Kansas: No love for the 'hawks, right? Check out the schedule: at #23 South Florida, at #3 Oklahoma, vs Texas Tech, vs Kansas State, at Nebraska, #17 Texas, bye, #7 Missouri in KC. It's a lot harder to stay on top with a schedule like that. Could they prove me wrong? Sure. Todd Reesing with direct the offense which was so good last year, and the defense returns a lot as well. We find out this year if Mangino is as good a coach as he is big...
Colorado: Dan Hawkins went 2-10 at CU two years ago. But now his son Cody is at QB, Darrell Scott is a name everyone in the country will know by the first of October, and the Buffs are a young and eager bunch. Plus Boulder is so pretty...
Kansas State: As of August 8, Ron Prince has a contract to keep him in Manhattan through 2013. Not bad for a guy who sports a career 12-13 record as a head coach. I honestly thought KSU administration would wait until after this year, with an influx of 19 junior college players, to see if things were going in the right direction. I was wrong, apparently. Jr QB Josh Freeman will have to shoulder a huge load once again this year, and do it without All American WR Jordy Nelson or a RB who has more than 10 Div 1 carries.
Iowa State: Gene Chizik leads the Cyclones for the 2nd year. A new logo and uniforms may help the team look good, but they still have to play. Austin Aurnad and Phillip Bates are battling for the QB spot, which can be good and bad. Good because competition breeds success. Bad because Chizik has said he could use both, and no coach that i know of has successfully run the same offense with 2 QB's. (Note: in 2006, Florida rode Sr QB Chris Leak and Fr QB Tim Tebow to a national championship. But look closer: Tebow had a limited package of plays that only he ran. That team was unquestionably Chris Leak's to lead.)
I'll wrap up the preview by saying the 2-5 spots on this list are completely interchangeable. A few good breaks could vault KSU to challenge MU. Likewise, if NU's defense can't show some signs of life, the Huskers are in for another wild ride. All in all, I think we'll see Oklahoma take on Missouri in Kansas City December 6. As of right now, I'll take the Sooners.
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