It was the final practice before heading to nationals, and Nebraska wrestling coach Mark Manning gathered his team to the middle of NU humid practice room for a final message. It didn't last long, but at the end of it the Cornhuskers reached their hands to a point near the low ceiling and said "Champs!"

This year, for maybe the first time in Nebraska's history, a team NCAA championship is a distinct possibility. Ranked third and fourth in the national rankings, the Huskers will only send seven wrestlers to St. Louis' ScottTrade Center. Favorites Iowa and Iowa State will send 9 and 10, respectively. That's two less competitors to score points.

"But it's not the quantity of wrestlers," Manning said Monday. "It's the quality of the seven."

NU was the only one of two teams to have two wrestlers receive No. 1 seeds in their weight class with 157-pounder Jordan Burroughs and 197-pounder Craig Brester. Three other Huskers - 174-pounder Brandon Browne, 165-pounder Stephen Dwyer and 184-pounder Vince Jones - also received seeds. Heavyweight Tucker Lane did not, but has beaten the nation's No. 1 and No. 3 wrestlers.

"He could be a real wild card for us," Manning said.

Senior Robert Sanders, at 149, is also capable of pulling an upset.

While Manning tabbed Iowa as "definitely the big favorite" for the title, he did the same in anointing Iowa State as the favorite for the Big 12 title. And Nebraska pulled off a magical comeback - filled with some of NU's best wrestling of the season - to forge a tie for that crown.

While the top-ranked Hawkeyes are strong - and 149-pounder Brent Metcalf seems ready to coast to his second straight national title - so-so results in the Big Ten Tournament left the usually certain Iowa faithful asking tough questions about some of the upper weight wrestlers. Iowa State, in both the Big 12 Championships and earlier tournaments, struggled to close out big matches, drawing ire from coach Cael Sanderson midway through the season and prompting one ISU assistant to say Nebraska could "keep the trophy" in Lincoln after Big 12s.

If one had to concoct a perfect recipe for a Nebraska national championship, far-flung as it might seem with seven qualifiers, it'd look something like this:

Brester and Burroughs Winning National Titles: Far within their capabilities, given their seeds.

Burroughs carries a 30-0 record into St. Louis, hoping to become the first undefeated national champion in Nebraska history.

"He's had a great year," Manning said. "He hasn't always wrestled his best, but he's found a way to win."

To do it, Burroughs will have to beat 2007 national champ Gregor Gillispie of Edinboro (Pa.)

"You have to respect that," Burroughs said. "He's a good wrestler."

But the pressure of going undefeated, he said, is gone now, replaced by the typical anxiety that goes along with nationals.

Brester, meanwhile, enters nationals coming off his biggest win to date over previously top-ranked Jake Varner of Iowa State. He said NU spent a grueling week in preparation "completely breaking down our bodies" before tapering down on Tuesday.

"I'm definitely excited," he said. "I just want to get that first match under my belt."

Score bonus points early and often: Those points are most likely to come from Burroughs, Brester, Browne and Jones, who can come up with pins at unlikely times. Manning said NU can ntoch enough major decisions, technical falls and pins to make up for an extra wrestler the Huskers don't have in St. Louis.

"Instead of seven guys, you end up with eight," he said.

Burroughs agreed.

"It's going to take toughness to wrestle hard every match to get those extra points," he said. "We have to help each other out with less."

Get Some Help: If Iowa pulls some upsets, or if Iowa State's talent finally gels at the right time, Nebraska can wrestle as well as it wants - it probably can't make up for two or three qualifiers.

But, aside from Iowa's Metcalf, the Hawkeyes and Cyclones haven't been dominant at any weight class in 2009. Clear, undefeated favorites at 125, 165, 174 and 184 mean that Iowa and ISU aren't running away with a handful of titles. And while the Cyclones have the nation's No. 1 heavyweight in David Zabriskie, he's vulnerable to a whole slew of wrestlers - including Lane.

"The more teams that are in the mix, the more it helps us," Manning said.

Recapture the magic of Saturday night at Big 12s: It was an electric evening for NU, one of the best in recent memory. Just recalling it, Manning had to smile a little.

Now, he said, Nebraska has to duplicate it.

"We need to wrestle perfect as a team to be in there," he said. "No upsets."

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