Wisconsin's 2018 season is still a few months away, but it's never too early to get the inside scoop on the teams the Badgers will square off against this fall.
The Badgers will host Nebraska and new head coach Scott Frost on Oct. 6, so we asked Sean Callahan of HuskerOnline.com a few questions about what the Badgers should expect to see when the Cornhuskers come back to Madison.
Our questions and Sean's answers are included below.
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The Cornhuskers did what they needed to do and hired former Nebraska quarterback Scott Frost away from UCF to be their new head coach. I can't blame people for getting a little carried away after a home-run hire like that - but how do you keep people from expecting too much in year one? What does Frost need to chance in Nebraska's program before they can contend for division titles again - let alone national championships?
Sean Callahan: It really starts with culture, and getting back to the Nebraska way of doing things. What’s ironic is Barry Alvarez has used that blue print at Wisconsin and it’s worked for over 25 years now. It’s based on development, hard work and building the right accountability where the players police one another.
As for the expectations for this season, most are realistic. I think the early feel is this can be a 6 to 7 win type team, with 8 wins probably being the ceiling based on the schedule. In the long run, I think you probably have to look at year two and three when they can make a strong run at the West. Wisconsin has a pretty sizeable lead on the division, and that’s not going away anytime soon.
It’s been a home run hire thus far as you said. People should be excited about it right now, as Frost has proven he knows how to get it done, and he understands Nebraska.
What kind of offensive system are the Cornhuskers going to run with Frost as the head coach? Are we going to see anything similar to the offenses that Frost coordinated at Oregon? And how does this roster fit what he and his staff want to do in the long run?
Sean Callahan: It will be what he’s run at UCF and Oregon. It has a heavy Chip Kelly influence, but is has some of his own twists from playing under guys like Tom Osborne and Bill Walsh as well.
It’s a balanced spread offense attack, but it has to have a strong running game to really be effective. I think people don’t realize at Oregon a lot of Kelly’s offense were 250+ rushing yard per game units. For this system to work, you need the run game to set up the passing lanes.
They have some good players coming back as well, but obviously the quarterback remains a question, along with the offensive line. They have one of the best groups of wide-out in the Big Ten, and they brought in a pretty good JUCO transfer running back Greg Bell who was No. 1 in the country.
In the same vein, is Nebraska implementing any big changes on the defensive side of the ball in 2018? What needs to improve in that unit for the Cornhuskers to take a step forward?
Sean Callahan: Chew on these stats. Nebraska’s defense had just 14 sacks in 2017, and their corners had zero interceptions…yes zero interceptions. They had zero aggression with Bob Diaco’s defense. It was a bend but don’t break scheme, that dropped seven and eight into coverage, and rarely blitzed.
That won’t be the case under new DC Erik Chinander. He’s a big believer in playing with aggression and creating pressure. They also have preached turnovers and worked on turnover forcing drills in practice more than I’ve seen in a while at Nebraska.
What are the big position battles that are still up in the air now that spring camp is over? Are there any that you think will play a big role in the team's success in 2018?
Sean Callahan: The decision at quarterback will be big between Tristan Gebbia and Adrian Martinez. Most thought Gebbia had an edge, but Martinez looked a lot better in the spring game.
Center remains a question on the line, as their top guy Michael Decker was out all spring, and he could end up medically retiring as well, which means right guard Tanner Farmer would probably be the center in 2018.
Outside linebacker should be interesting to watch as well. The NCAA cleared Ole Miss transfer Breon Dixon to play right away, and he appears to be better than any of the edge players NU had in 2017. Incoming freshman Caleb Tannor also could end up making a run at a starting outside linebacker job in the 3-4.
Finally, do you have a gut feeling on how this season will play out for Nebraska? Or is it too early to think about wins and losses right now?
Sean Callahan: Today right now I will say 7-5. I think they can go 6-1 at home, with a loss to Michigan State. They should be favorites to beat Akron, Troy, Colorado, Purdue, Minnesota and Illinois. It’s a very weak home schedule. If not for the Frost hiring, my guess is the sellout streak would’ve ended with that slate.
The road is where the issues are. At Michigan, Ohio State and Wisconsin you have to say are losses today. I think Nebraska can get one though between Iowa and Northwestern on the road to get 7 wins.
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John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.
