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104 ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 24, ISSUE 6 f Third Time's A Charm N ebraska's won at least nine games in each of its six sea- sons under Bo Pelini, but never more than 10. At a program like this one, every loss is one too many. "They've also lost four games each of those seasons," said Sean Callahan, publisher of HuskersIl- lustrated.com, the Rivals.com site that covers the Cornhuskers. "At Nebraska, nine- and 10-win sea- sons are great because it's stability. But they've never been able to elim- inate those games they shouldn't lose." That'll be the goal this season, as Nebraska's considered one of the favorites to win the Big Ten West and make a return trip to Indianap- olis in December. The path is not an easy one. Should Nebraska crack dou- ble-digit wins this season, it will have truly earned it, as the non-con- ference season includes a trip to Fresno State and a visit from Miami (Fla.); the conference slate puts the 'Huskers on the road at Michigan State, Northwestern, Wisconsin and Iowa, its most difficult league games all to be played away from Lincoln. "Getting to Indianapolis and play- ing like they belong there would probably be considered a success," said Callahan, referring to Nebras- ka's 70-31 2012 Big Ten title game loss to Wisconsin. "Nebraska fans just want to feel like they're back in the championship conversation." The pieces would seem to be in place. Explosive quarterback Taylor Martinez is gone, but the Corn- huskers are more than used to playing without him anyway, since he'd been hurt so much the past two seasons. Tommy Armstrong is now likely to become Nebraska's guy at quar- terback on a full-time basis after sharing fill-in work last season with the departed Ron Kellogg. He'll have a record-setting re- ceiver to throw to in Kenny Bell and a running back lining up behind him, Ameer Abdullah, who ran for just under 1,700 yards last season. The offensive line is considered a question, but less so because of the introduction of Alex Lewis at left tackle. The Colorado transfer will be an immediate-impact player. Opposite the offense, Nebraska hopes its defense is finally fixed. A year ago, it played almost all fresh- men and sophomores in its front seven, part of what Callahan re- ferred to as, "the youngest defense in school history." Defensive end Avery Moss is sus- pended for the season, but fellow end Randy Gregory is one of the best in college football at his po- sition, a certainty for double-digit sacks provided the former Purdue commit remains healthy. Nebraska (9-4 overall, 5-3 Big Ten, 3rd Legends) Date Opponent . . . . . . . . . Results 8/31 WYOMING . . . . . . . . . W, 37-34 9/7 SOUTHERN MISS. . . . W, 56-13 9/14 UCLA . . . . . . . . . . . . . L, 21-41 9/21 SOUTH DAKOTA ST . . W, 59-20 10/5 ILLINOIS . . . . . . . . . . W, 39-19 10/12 at Purdue . . . . . . . . . . . W, 44-7 10/26 at Minnesota . . . . . . . L, 23-34 11/2 NORTHWESTERN. . . . W, 27-24 11/9 at Michigan . . . . . . . . W, 17-13 11/16 MICHIGAN STATE. . . . L, 28-41 11/23 at Penn State . . . W, 23-20 (OT) 11/29 IOWA . . . . . . . . . . . . . L, 17-38 1/1 vs. Georgia* . . . . . . . . W, 24-19 * Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl Who's in Charge? COACH BO PELINI Record at Nebraska: 58-24 (six seasons) Record vs. Purdue: 1-0 Nebraska Cornhuskers 2014 OPPONENT PREVIEW • NOV. 1 • MEMORIAL STADIUM, LINCOLN, NEB. • TIME: TBA • TV: TBD Date Opponent 8/30 FLORIDA ATLANTIC 9/6 MCNEESE STATE 9/13 at Fresno State 9/20 MIAMI (FL) 9/27 ILLINOIS 10/4 at Michigan State 10/18 at Northwestern 10/25 RUTGERS 11/1 PURDUE 11/15 at Wisconsin 11/22 MINNESOTA 11/28 at Iowa 2013 RESULTS 2014 SCHEDULE EARLY LINE: NEBRASKA -23 The Cornhuskers are 8-1-1 when playing Big Ten schools for the third time in series history. OF NOTE: Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah ran for 1,690 yards last season, more than any returning FBS player. "This can be Bo Pelini's best team since he got there in 2008, and there's some weight behind the words this year. Quarterback Tommy Armstrong's still a work in progress. He can be a liability, but this offense is going to begin and end turning around and giving the ball to Ameer Abdullah. A defense has to respect that, and that should allow Armstrong ample time to find one of the best sets of wide receivers in the Big Ten." — Tom Dienhart, Big Ten Network TOM'S TAKE