No doubt you have the big picture by now. Matt Rhule’s third team at Nebraska opens against Cincinnati Thursday night in Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium, kickoff slated for 8 p.m. CT.
It will be a “home game-lite,” Rhule said Tuesday. Husker fans will pack the stadium — 60,000 of the first 66,000 tickets sold were reportedly to Nebraska fans.
No surprise there. It’s an easy three-hour drive from Lincoln.
The Huskers with single-digit jersey numbers have been identified, six all-season captains have been selected and the Blackshirts have been awarded, 10 with an 11 to be identified — probably by now.
So let’s focus on a Cincinnati team that includes three players on The Athletics’ Bruce Feldman’s “Freaks List” of what he considers college football’s 100 “strongest, fastest and most physical” players, specifically the highest-ranked, senior defensive tackle Dontay Corleone, aka “The Godfather.”
Corleone, 14th on the list, wears a No. 2 jersey so you can spot him, though at 6-foot-1 and 335 pounds, a jersey number probably isn’t needed. This is the third time he’s made Feldman’s list and he’s earned All-Big 12 honors three times, even though he was slowed by injury last season. He’s included on the preseason watch lists for the Bronko Nagurski Award and Outland Trophy.
Husker offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen is familiar with Corleone. When Holgorsen was the head coach at Houston, Corleone “retired our center,” Holgorsen said.
Corleone knocked Houston’s center out of the game on the first play from scrimmage.
“He three-and-outed us on the first drive, by himself, by himself, put it that way,” said Holgorsen. “So I’m well aware of what he’s capable of, and I think our older guys, inside guys, are excited about that.”
The middle of Nebraska’s offensive line is set, with Justin Evans at center, and Henry Lutovsky and Notre Dame transfer Rocco Spindler at guard. They’ll be dealing with “The Godfather.”
“I know he was battling some things last year, but I certainly know what he’s capable of,” said Holgorsen. “I’ve seen it up close and personal a couple of times. He’s a load in there. We’ve been challenging, especially our inside guys, to understand what they’re about to face.”
That will be preparation for the conference season. In the Big Ten, “that’s (players like Corleone) going to be, pretty much, a weekly thing, so this will be a good test,” Holgorsen said.
Rhule echoed Holgorsen. “This will be as formidable a front seven as we’re going to see,” he said. “I mean, that Corleone kid is fantastic … The linebackers can run; they’re physical and the schemes are really difficult. It’s a scheme you don’t really go against all the time.”
Senior linebacker Jake Golday (6-foot-4, 240) is 48th on Feldman’s “Freaks List.” Senior wide receiver Jeff Caldwell, a transfer from Lindenwood, is 29th. He’s 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds and has great speed in an offense that includes two running backs on the Doak Walker Award watch list, seniors Evan Pryor and Tawee Walker, a first-year transfer from Wisconsin — he carried 14 times for 55 yards against Nebraska last season.
Pryor is a second-year transfer from Ohio State.
Sophomore quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who’s on the Maxwell Award watch list, is dual threat. With the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Sorsby’s running ability, the Bearcats can run the speed option and zone read. He rushed for eight touchdowns and passed for 18, and 2,813 yards, with seven interceptions last season.
The consensus among coaches and teammates is that Dylan Raiola has made a significant jump from his freshman season. If protected, he could be a problem for “The Godfather” and the Bearcat defense.
With the Cincinnati game just one day away, social media has been alive among Husker fans with noted sports writer/analyst Phil Steele ranking Nebraska seventh among his “surprise teams,” meaning the Huskers have an outside chance to make the college football playoffs.
That despite not having anyone on Feldman’s “Freaks List.”
