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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