College Football
Previews - NCAA Football Handicapping - Preview 2006 Betting
Nebraska
Cornhuskers 2006 Preview
Online
Predictions By:
Matt Fargo Nebraska Cornhuskers Football
Preview Matt Fargo remains the NUMBER
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Spring practices are in the books and fall camps will be
here before you know it so that means getting
an early jump on the 2006 NCAA football season.
Knowing the teams now will save you time in August
and Matt Fargo is here to help you get a grasp
of what to expect this upcoming year. We go from
worst to first in this 2006 College Football Preview.
Fargo’s Take
- After going undefeated in 2004, Utah
was expected to falloff last season and that it
did but it was still a respectable year. After
defeating rival BYU in overtime to secure a bowl
invitation, the Utes dismantled Georgia Tech in
the Emerald Bowl, bringing some momentum into
2006. Utah will challenge TCU, last year’s
MWC Champion, for the title and it should very
well be up for the task. The Utes have a problem
at quarterback but it’s a problem most teams
would like to have as they have two players who
could start for a lot of teams around the country.
Defensively, Utah regressed last season but with
eight starters coming back, it should get back
into the top 25 in scoring defense, similar to
where it was in 2004. The schedule is very much
in the favor of another late season run but if
some upsets occur early, a possible repeat BCS
trip is not as far fetched as it sounds.
Returning Starters
on Offense – 6 Brian Johnson took
control of the offense and had a spectacular season.
He threw for 2,892 yards, tossed 18 touchdowns
and just seven interceptions while completing
over 63 percent of his passes. He suffered a season
ending knee injury in the 10th game of the season
so the Utes turned to junior Brett Ratliff and
he didn’t disappoint. He led Utah to two
victories while passing for 621 yards and eight
touchdowns. The decision still has not been made
who will be starting as a lot of has to do with
Johnson’s knee. Replacing running back Quinton
Ganther and his 1,120 yards will not be easy.
Also gone are the top two receivers but Brian
Hernandez should be up for the task after a solid
2005 season despite a bum ankle. The offensive
line is ranked second best in the conference behind
BYU.
Returning Starters
on Defense – 8 The defense had a
very down year for Utah standards although finishing
59th in total defense and 50th in scoring defense
was nothing to be ashamed of. The Utes allowed
the most points since 1996 but they had only four
starters back from that undefeated 2004 season.
Things should turn around this year as there is
some excellent experience coming back. The secondary
is the strength with All-MWC safety Eric Weddle
returning and switching to cornerback. In total,
three starters are back as are three starters
along the defensive line. Replacing defensive
tackle Steve Fifita is the biggest concern but
Kelly Talavou will move over from nose guard and
will dominate. The linebackers are the other big
concern with the loss of Spencer Tooner but four
juniors will be in the mix for the starting spots.
Schedule
- The schedule doesn’t start out very kind
with three of the first four games being on the
road. The good news is that all three can be won
with the opener at UCLA being the toughest of
the bunch. The lone home game in that stretch
is a laugher against Northern Arizona. Two extremely
difficult home games follow as the Utes host Boise
St. and TCU back-to-back. The game against the
Horned Frogs will decide who has the inside track
to the conference title. After that, it’s
pretty much a cakewalk for the next five games
with the home game against Colorado St. being
the most difficult challenge. The season finale
is at home against a much improved BYU team and
that game should have implications in deciding
the championship.
You can bet on…
Utah will have a lot of new faces heading into
this season but expectations are high following
the great ending to the 2005 campaign. The biggest
question is at quarterback and how Johnson’s
knee is responding to rehab as he has already
missed some practice time because of it. If the
knee isn’t 100 percent, the Utes have said
they will redshirt him and go with Ratliff. Utah
is an amazing 14-3 ATS as an underdog since 1999
and it will likely be in that role right out the
gate against UCLA, a game that is still off the
board as of this writing. The Utes were just 1-7
against the number as a favorite last year because
of overreaction to their undefeated season from
the prior year. Don’t expect them to be
overvalued this season, as it should be the exact
opposite of that.
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