Here’s a quick glance at the Husker news and general news you’ll want for Aug. 31:

Husker football: Nice, humorous feature on Howard Schnellenberger. The man isn’t to be trifled with as a football coach. He knows more about offense than many defensive coaches have forgotten. Carl Pelini thinks the defense will be better, too.

Basketball: NU recruit Christian Standhardinger is on campus, and ready to play hoops. Now...will the NCAA let him?

Volleyball: Welcome to college, Husker freshmen class. In front of a smaller-than-hoped-for crowd at the Qwest Center, NU was summarily thumped by Michigan 25-21, 25-23, 25-17 on Friday night. The Huskers rebounded Saturday, beating Minnesota in five despite an erratic night from outside hitters Tara Mueller, Hannath Werth and Gina Mancuso.

Middle blockers Brooke Delano and Jordan Wilburger filled the void with the best performances, arguably, of their careers. Cook fiddled around with lineups throughout both matches, but seemed to prefer true freshman Mancuso, a sharp, clever hitter out of the back row, to the stronger, wilder true freshman Werth. At least for the Minny match.

Soccer: Husker women generally came up empty at the Villanova Classic, losing to Lehigh 3-1 and tying host Nova 2-2 in what must have felt like a loss, as the Wildcats tied the match in regulation with nine seconds left.

NFL: Big day for Husker rooks in the League, as Tuesday marks the first of two cutdown days. On Sept. 1, the roster goes from 80 to 75. Then, on Saturday, it goes from 75 to the drastic 53. Marlon Lucky’s already been cut. Joe Ganz never really got a chance. Names like Ty Steinkuhler, Zach Potter, Todd Peterson, Nate Swift are out there, trying to make teams.

College football: Michigan will investigate itself for NCAA violations after several current and former players told the Detroit Free Press that the Wolverines badly exceed the 20 hours of practice a week allowed by the NCAA. Just getting better for Rich Rodriguez, who may have a near-mutiny on his hands, and will certainly have one if UM loses to Western Michigan in the opener, which is highly possible.

A ton of talk about Matt Barkley getting the start at USC, which some see as a publicity stunt by head coach Pete Carroll. As high of a standard as Carroll has, we still wouldn’t put it past him to do that.

Finally...Bill Snyder has returned to college football, and his influence over the years is pervasive. And not always in a good way.

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You’re patched through, and you hear that low, brusque drawl that’s unmistakable.

The man of the 60-day warning. Howard Schnellenberger. The architect of one of the more significant wins in recent college football history – Miami’s 31-30 win over Nebraska in the 1984 Orange Bowl. The man who spent the last game of his worst season in Memorial Stadium, appreciating those warm-hearted Husker fans who applauded his bedraggled Oklahoma team as it left the field after a 37-0 loss in 1995.

“I remember them being very nice about it,” Schnellenberger said a few weeks ago over the phone. “They didn’t really want to see us get killed.”

Fourteen years later, in yet another decade, Schnellenberger faces Nebraska again. And, for the third straight time, the odds of his team winning are long and slim. Florida Atlantic, the team he built from the ground, upset Minnesota two years ago, and put a scare into a few more major conference opponents, but nobody really expects his Owls to engage NU in anything more than a short-lived track meet up and down the field, followed by a torrent of Husker touchdowns.
Nine times out of ten, it probably would come to that. But Schnellenberger’s been pretty good about throwing a rope around that single opportunity and making the most of it. He did that, of course, at Miami. More on that in a minute.

Right now, he said, he watches Nebraska film and tries to figure out a way to win. He doesn’t know NU head coach Bo Pelini, but on the tape he likes the effort, and the defensive line.

“They got better as the year went on,” Schnellenberger said. “You can see that. They will be one of the best defenses we face all year.”

But Schnellenberger likes his offense, too. He’s particularly fond of quarterback Rusty Smith, the 6-foot-5 senior who threw for 3,224 yards in Schnellenberger’s pro-style offense, which he makes clear is based on Don Shula’s old NFL attack – more versatile and complex, he said, than just about any offense. It often uses a fullback, but can morph into five wide receivers, too. Plus, FAU gets back from injury tight end Jason Harmon, one of the nation’s best in 2007.

Ask Schnellenberger to compare Smith to any of his former protégés, and, of course, the big ones come up.

“Oh, he’s right there with Bernie Kosar, Jim Kelly, any of the best guys I’ve had,” Schnellenberger said. Smith, he said, has a better arm than both.

“What’s really good about him,” Schnellenberger said, “is when he audibles, he gets us into the right plays. He knows our offense as well as anyone.”

FAU audibles a lot, too. At this point, Smith is like a coach on the field, and if his offensive line protects him – it only gave up 16 sacks last season – he’ll have the time to make throws.
What Schnellenberger worries more about is stopping Nebraska. His defense has only three returning starters, and, while it’s been fairly good against the pass, FAU has given an average of 184 rushing yards per game over the last four seasons.

“We’ve got to find a way to slow them down, get some turnovers,” Schnellenberger said. He reiterates this several times in the conversation. In 2007, for example, he had a defense that gave up a ton of yards – 416 yards per game - but picked off a lot of passes, too, leading to a +18 turnover margin.

It was two ill-timed Nebraska turnovers – and two oft-forgotten missed field goals - that helped Miami to that miracle win in 1984. Of course Schnellenberger remembers it; he gets asked
about it as much as anything.

Aside from all the superlatives that anyone provides about the game, Schnellenberger points out this: After leading the entire game, and controlling the pace of the action and forcing NU to play catch-up, Miami was on the verge of an extraordinary fourth-quarter debacle, having given up two touchdowns and missed a field goal that could have iced the game. Pundits would have pointed to the fact Miami began to collapse right around the time it knew a win would earn the Hurricanes a national title.

Nebraska fans remember their own disbelief after Ken Calhoun knocked away a pass from Turner Gill to Jeff Smith on that fateful two-point conversation.

“But we would have been just devastated,” Schnellenberger said.

My presumption was that Miami wouldn’t have blinked, rolled down the field in less than a minute, and at least had a shot at a field goal. Schnellenberger paints it differently. That two-point conversion was the game.

Well, almost.

“We all ran out on the field and got a 15-yard penalty for celebration,” Schnellenberger said. “Had Nebraska recovered that onside kick, they’re right there to score.”

Husker fans know too well that Miami recovered the onside kick.

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Wright Waters hasn’t heard any of the jokes about Nebraska’s football team being an honorary member of the Sun Belt Conference in 2009. Hasn’t read critiques of NU’s decision to host three of the league’s programs – Florida Atlantic, Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette – in September.

“But I hope their players are reading those articles,” chuckled Waters, the Sun Belt’s commissioner since 1998. “I hope their coaches are reading them. I hope they’re overlooking all three of them. We’ll slip in there and play them as hard as we can.

“For our kids, going to somewhere like Nebraska is our World Series, Super Bowl, BCS Championship game. If (NU) is overlooking them, that’s all the better for us…if we go up there and win a couple games, those people criticizing it are going to look foolish.”

Waters isn’t issuing any kind of guarantee, other than he’ll be in attendance for one of those games in Lincoln. And he’s quick to mention he’s “appreciative” of the three shots NU is giving the Sun Belt. But he is also suggesting the Huskers be mindful of a league that’s developed a minor reputation over the last five years for scaring and slaying major conference opponents.

“Let’s play the games,” Waters said, “and then talk about quality.”

Entering its ninth year as a football league and its 34th year overall, the Sun Belt is comprised of nine teams that previously played in a variety of conferences and divisions. Some wandered the Independent wilderness.

Only one – Louisiana-Lafayette, former Southwestern Louisiana – has consistently been a Division I FBS program. Others, like North Texas, Middle Tennessee and Arkansas State – spent time in the former Division I-AA. Florida Atlantic and Florida International just started teams in the last decade. Western Kentucky is now “post-transition” as a league and Division I FBS member, having gone through the painful conversion to top-flight college football.

The infant years of Sun Belt football league were rough. North Texas coasted to four crowns, going 25-1 inside the conference, while losing, often quite badly, to teams non-league foes (65-0, 52-21 and 37-14 losses to Texas, Colorado and Baylor in 2004 come to mind). FIU was best known for a bench-clearing brawl at end of a loss to Miami. New Mexico State, Idaho and Utah State did little for the league’s profile other than become fodder for the Pac 10, and left after the 2005 season for the WAC, where they haven’t been any better.

“If I had it to do over again, I would go back to the first year of our league (2001) and say ‘All right, don’t play anyone you can’t beat,” Waters said. “If we had done that, people would have marveled at what a great league this was.”

It wasn’t until Troy beat No. 19 Missouri on ESPN in 2004, that “we were taken seriously,” Waters said.

And while Troy has had its share of clunkers, too – a 56-0 loss at Nebraska in 2006 – it’s helped the Sun Belt’s profile tremendously, beating Oklahoma State 41-23 on ESPN in 2007- that’s game behind the benching of OSU quarterback Bobby Reid, and Coach Mike Gundy’s “I’m a man! I’m 40!” rant – and taking Florida State, Georgia, LSU to the fourth quarters in other years. The Trojans staked a 31-3 lead on the Tigers in Baton Rouge – at night, no less – last year before collapsing in a 40-31 loss. Troy, along with Fla. Atlantic, are co-favorites for the Sun Belt this year.

Louisiana-Monroe joined the party by upsetting Alabama 21-14 in 2007. Florida Atlantic beat Minnesota, too. Last year, Middle Tennessee beat Maryland 24-14 and Arkansas State, one of NU’s opponents, sent Texas A&M into a spiral with a season-opening 18-14 win in College Station.

“Every year, there’s a sign that we’re getting better,” Waters said.

Waters said he’s finally seeing some of the acceptance that the Sun Belt’s had for years in college softball and baseball, where the league routinely sends two teams to the NCAA Tournament. Attendance at Sun Belt home games has doubled. The TV package is better. Players hailing from Sun Belt schools – most notably All-Pro linebacker DeMarcus Ware – are doing well in the NFL. And some major conferences are beginning to embrace the idea of home-and-home games with Sun Belt schools.

A debate within the league, Waters said, is whether the Sun Belt should continue to take major paydays from Big 12, Big Ten, SEC and ACC programs – the Pac 10 and Big East tend to pillage other leagues for lesser opponents – or try to set its sights on competing more directly with Conference USA, the WAC and the Mountain West.

The Sun Belt continues to court mid-level conference schools, while attempting to appeal to the recruiting interests of major conference schools.

To this end, Florida Atlantic and Florida International may prove, long-term, to be quite helpful.

“Minnesota went to (Florida Atlantic) two years ago,” Waters said. “For Minnesota, it was a recruiting trip to South Florida.”

It was also a loss for the Gophers.

“At the end of the day, this is college sports,” Waters said. “This is not selling widgets, we’re competing. You report the scores every day, so there’s nowhere to hide. The best way to improve the quality of your league is to win games.”

An upset by one of the Sun Belt Three would be another major boost to the league’s profile.

See also: A Great Husker Fan. An Even Better American.

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(Photo from FAU athletics)

As Nebraska’s 2009 spring football season winds down, Husker Locker takes a glance at what NU’s opponents – as well as the Big 12 and the nation as a whole - are doing this spring.

Reports from Florida Atlantic, Louisiana-Lafayette, Arkansas State and Iowa State will be free to all members of Husker Locker. Additional reports on the rest of Nebraska’s foes – and the rest of the Big 12 – will be available via Locker Pass. Enjoy!

Team: Florida Atlantic (7-6 overall, beat Central Michigan 24-21 in the Motor City Bowl)
Coach: Howard Schnellenberger
Plays Nebraska: Sept. 5
Spring Game: April 18

Progress so far: Like any team with a returning starting quarterback, FAU enters this spring optimistic about its offense. Quarterback Rusty Smith is big (6-5, 230) and durable, throwing for 3,224 yards last year. He only completed 53 percent of his passes, but the Owls like to stretch the field and challenge defenses with the long ball, so the rewards outweigh the risks. FAU returns three top receivers – Cortez Gent, Jamari Grant and Chris Bonner – so the chemistry is firmly in place. Schnellenberger, always a bit of a quarterback guru, also hired former NFL QB Jeff Brohm away from Louisville to coach Smith.

So far, the offense has dominated the defense in two scrimmages this spring; using a modified scoring system, the “O” outscored the Owls’ “D” 42-12 on Saturday, racking up almost 700 total yards. Surprisingly, FAU’s offense did more of its damage on the ground with 373 yards rushing. This bodes well for a team like Nebraska, which would prefer to simply pound out a victory over a bunch like FAU.

Florida Atlantic’s secondary is the best and most experienced unit of the defense. The front seven, with the exception of defensive tackle Josh Savidge, isn’t much to write home about.

Breakout player: Tight end Jason Harmon missed last year with an injury, but he’ll be one of the nation’s best. At 6-3, 220, Harmon caught 63 passes for 825 yards in 2007. So far in two scrimmages, he’s caught eight passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns.

What You May Not Know: FAU often spreads the field, but it’s a pro-style attack, complete with a tight end, a good fullback in William Rose, and a concerted effort to establish the run. Schnellenberger still aims for balance, and Smith spreads around the wealth to an array of target. Keep in mind, too, that Brohm is now the quarterbacks coach. This team will run the ball.

Keep an eye on: The inside/outside running duo of Alfred Morris and Aveion Rolle. Morris was a late-bloomer at Pine Forest High School in Pensacola, Fla.; Florida and Miami both were looking at him as a recruited walk-on…at linebacker. At 5-11, 225 pounds, he was deemed just a little short, but he’s a player.

2009 Spring Reports: Oklahoma, Kansas

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Early odds from Bodog are out on next year's BCS national championship games. They favor Florida and Oklahoma (and USC, which has the same odds as OU).

Hoo-ray. Not.

Remember that some of these are sucker bets anyway. Notre Dame has pretty good odds, 30-1 which is meaningless. The Irish won't be within ten miles of a national title in 2009. Even if the schedule is pretty friendly.

Nebraska goes off at 55/1. Behind OU (5/1), UT (8/1) and Oklahoma State(50/1). Ahead of everybody else in the Big 12.

Want a good bet? Try that Virginia Tech at 20-1. If Tech gets past Alabama and Nebraska, the ACC is highly manageable.

And, yeah, we like Florida, too.

The whole odds. We credit The Wiz of Odds for finding it but repost them here because they're a little hard to read on that site:

Alabama 22/1
Arizona 100/1
Arizona State 150/1
Arkansas 150/1
Auburn 150/1
Boise State 100/1
Boston College 100/1
California 60/1
Cincinnati 90/1
Clemson 60/1
Colorado 100/1
Florida 7/4
Florida State 30/1
Georgia 50/1
Georgia Tech 50/1
Illinois 80/1
Iowa 75/1
Kansas 75/1
Kansas State 175/1
Kentucky 125/1
Louisville 150/1
LSU 20/1
Maryland 200/1
Miami Florida 35/1
Michigan 120/1
Michigan State 100/1
Missouri 90/1
Nebraska 55/1
North Carolina 45/1
North Carolina State 100/1
Notre Dame 30/1
Ohio State 17/2
Oklahoma 5/1
Oklahoma State 50/1
Oregon 20/1
Oregon State 100/1
Penn State 35/1
Pittsburgh 60/1
Rutgers 125/1
South Carolina 100/1
South Florida 80/1
Tennessee 100/1
Texas 8/1
Texas A&M 150/1
Texas Tech 60/1
UCLA 150/1
Utah 125/1
USC 5/1
Virginia 100/1
Virginia Tech 20/1
Wake Forest 80/1
Washington 200/1
West Virginia 75/1
Wisconsin 100/1
Field (Any Other Team) 20/1

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