The 2014-15 NCAA football season saw the first-ever College Football Playoffs crown the Ohio State Buckeyes as the undisputed champions. They took down the favorited Alabama Crimson Tide to advance to the finals, where they dominated the Oregon Ducks and Heisman Trophy Winner, Marcus Mariota.
The Iowa Hawkeyes are always one of the toughest teams to predict before the start of the season. It seems that when Iowa is highly touted before the year begins, it falls flat and disappoints. When everyone is overlooking the Hawkeyes, they often rise up and become a contender in the Big Ten.
Rutgers had a really nice season in 2014. The Scarlet Knights weren’t expected to win more than 4 or 5 games, but they finished with an impressive 8-5 record. Kyle Flood is in his fourth year with the program, and I think it’s time he starts getting some credit for doing a great job maximizing the talent of his team.
Bo Pelini could get this Nebraska Cornhuskers team to nine wins on a regular basis, but they just couldn’t get over the hump under his tutelage. Combine that problem with some of his antics that turned off the fan base, and Nebraska has a new coach.
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Big 10 Lines
Big Ten 2015-2016 College Football Preview – Nebraska Cornhuskers
Head Coach: Mike Riley
2014 Record: 9-4
Odds to Win College Football Championship (from BetOnline): +10,000
Odds to win Big Ten (from BetOnline): +1,600
Season Win Total (from 5Dimes): 8
Mike Riley did a nice job at Oregon State, but expectations were never all that high there. It’s a whole different story at Nebraska.
Nebraska fans aren’t about to settle for anything less than titles, and they haven’t had any of those lately. Riley will install a new pro-style offense, which is going to be interesting since Nebraska has been a run-heavy team for so long.
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How long will it take the team to get accustomed to the new style of play? Can Nebraska fans be patient as Riley puts his mark on the team?
Nebraska has a really strong defensive line. Even with Randy Gregory gone, I think there’s a good chance this group will be even better than they were a year ago. Maliek Collins has the skillset to be a star for this team in 2015. The Cornhuskers return seven of their top eight on the defensive front. Look for Nebraska to get a lot out of this group.
Nebraska has some good receivers that should fit well into Mike Riley’s game plan on offense. De’Mornay Pierson-El has speed to burn, and he’ll definitely be getting the ball to run the fly sweep in this offense. Jordan Westerkamp averaged 17 yards per reception last year, and I believe he is underrated by most people.
The Nebraska secondary has a ton of experience, and that will be key going up against some of the best quarterbacks in the country inside Big Ten play.
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This group should be one of the best secondaries in the conference.
Tommy Armstrong isn’t an accurate passer, and I don’t think he’ll be a good fit for Riley’s system. Armstrong completed 53 percent of his passes last year. Armstrong is a good scrambler, but his legs will likely be used less in the new system. There isn’t much depth behind Armstrong either. I think Nebraska will have disappointing production from the quarterback spot this season.
Anytime you lose a running back the caliber of Ameer Abdullah you are going to drop off in a big way in production. Terrell Newby and Adam Taylor will likely share time at the running back spot this year. While those guys aren’t bad players, I don’t see them thriving in a pro-style offense.
Nebraska lost a lot of talent from the linebacker spot. Leading tackler Zaire Anderson (103 tackles last season) is gone as well as Trevor Roach (63 tackles last year). The Cornhuskers are relying on a lot of inexperienced guys at this position.
I expect Nebraska to stay under its season win total this year. Learning a brand new system can be hard, and all of these offensive guys have no prior work with the pro style offense of Mike Riley.
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Riley needs to get guys who better fit his system to be successful. Nebraska won’t be a bad team, but I do think it’ll fall short of expectations.
| Regular Season | |||
| Date | Time | vs | |
| 9/5/15 | TBD | BYU | |
| 9/12/15 | 8:00 PM ET | USA | |
| 9/19/15 | 3:30 PM ET | @MIA | |
| 9/26/15 | TBD | SOMIS | |
| 10/3/15 | TBD | @ILL | |
| 10/10/15 | TBD | WIS | |
| 10/17/15 | TBD | @MINN | |
| 10/24/15 | TBD | NW | |
| 10/31/15 | TBD | @PUR | |
| 11/7/15 | TBD | MSU | |
| 11/14/15 | TBD | @RUTG | |
| 11/27/15 | TBD | IOWA | |
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Check out our Updated College Football Odds.
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The AAC still has to be considered a mishmash league full of teams that wanted to go bigger (defectors from Conference USA) or didn’t get invited to the prom (Power 5). The UCF Knights probably fall into both camps, but there is no disputing that George O’Leary knows how to win and has in Orlando.
The Wisconsin Badgers unexpectedly saw Head Coach Gary Andersen leave at the end of last season. Paul Chryst, who has been a coordinator at Wisconsin in the past, returns to be the top man this season.
I feel like Darrell Hazell has had the deck stacked against him at Purdue. Purdue has gone 1-11 and 3-9 in his first two years at the school. They have won only one Big Ten Conference game during those two seasons (last year at Illinois).
I simply can’t say enough about the job Jerry Kill has done with this Minnesota team over the last few seasons.
Northwestern battled through a bunch of injuries and finished a disappointing 5-7 last year. The Wildcats have finished with a sub .500 record in three of the past four seasons.
Between 2003 and 2010, the Huskies were one of the more underrated programs in America. Under coach Randy Edsall they won eight or nine games in six of eight seasons, and were considered a threat in the then Big East. Edsall’s greatest skill was the ability to develop players that could compete in that league and ultimately in the NFL.
Penn State was definitely hit hard by the probation and penalties put on them by the NCAA from the Sandusky scandal, but I think the Nittany Lions have stayed on their feet better than most believed they would.
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Big 10 Lines
Big Ten 2015-2016 College Football Preview – Penn State Nittany Lions
Head Coach: James Franklin
2014 Record: 7-6
Odds to Win College Football Championship (from BetOnline): +10,000
Odds to win Big Ten (from BetOnline): +2,500
Season Win Total (from 5Dimes): 8
James Franklin did a really nice job in his first year with the team last season. Franklin proved in his time at Vanderbilt that he could maximize his talent, and I think over time he’ll prove to be a great hire for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State now has 83 scholarship players, so the depth problems they have had in the past few years shouldn’t be there this season. Penn State returns 15 starters (8 offense and 7 defense) and the Nittany Lions expectations are definitely moving higher.
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Do they have the team to be a surprise contender, or are they a year or two away?
Christian Hackenberg has taken a lot of heat during his time at Penn State, but I’m convinced he’s still a good quarterback. Just about every program wanted him coming out of high school, and the skillset is still there. What has the problem been so far for Hackenberg? The offensive line in front of him has been a catastrophe, and that hasn’t allowed Hackenberg to show off his skills. With an improved line this year, look for Hackenberg to be much better.
Penn State has a tremendous group of wide receivers. The Nittany Lions have a nice combination of possessions receivers as well as downfield threats. I expect the line and quarterback play to be better this year, and that means guys like DaeSean Hamilton and Geno Lewis will shine. Chris Godwin is a very good sophomore who could have a breakout season also.
The entire defense could be seen as a strength, but I think the strongest unit is the Penn State secondary. Six of their top eight guys return from a unit that was very good last year. Remember, Ohio State had a lot of trouble moving the ball (especially through the air) on Penn State last year.
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The Nittany Lions secondary is elite.
The running game is a weakness for Penn State. Penn State averaged 2.9 yards per carry last year which is just atrocious. They should be better this year, but it is still a weak spot. Akeel Lynch shows signs of being a good back, but the consistency hasn’t been there yet.
The offensive line should be better, but it is still one of the weaker parts of this team. Since they have been so bad the last two years, this is a unit that will have to prove it before I can rate them highly at all. Opponents sacked Hackenberg a stunning 44 times last year! If they don’t improve in a big way, Penn State will struggle.
I’m calling for a big improvement this year from Penn State. Their schedule is one of the easiest in the Big Ten. While I don’t see them winning at Michigan State or Ohio State, the Nittany Lions have a lot of very winnable games at home this year. I really like the Nittany Lions season win total over.
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They are a notch below Ohio State and Michigan State, but Penn State is quickly improving.
| Regular Season | |||
| Date | Time | vs | |
| 9/5/15 | TBD | @TEM | |
| 9/12/15 | TBD | BUFF | |
| 9/19/15 | 8:00 PM ET | RUTG | |
| 9/26/15 | TBD | SDSU | |
| 10/3/15 | TBD | ARMY | |
| 10/10/15 | 12:00 PM ET | IND | |
| 10/17/15 | 8:00 PM ET | @OSU | |
| 10/24/15 | TBD | @MD | |
| 10/31/15 | TBD | ILL | |
| 11/7/15 | TBD | @NW | |
| 11/21/15 | TBD | MICH | |
| 11/28/15 | TBD | @MSU | |
The 2015 College futures betting season is here in full force! If you like to bet on NCAA football, you are in the best possible place for online betting. CappersPicks.com has NCAAF odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find College football lines up for early games as well.
More Posts:
Check out our Updated College Football Odds.
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The Illinois Fighting Illini were outscored by an average of 8.1 points per game, but they found a way to pick up six wins and go bowling. They were beaten 35-18 by Louisiana Tech in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.
The Indiana Hoosiers seem to be slightly more competitive under Kevin Wilson, but the bottom line results haven’t been there. Indiana hasn’t been to a bowl game in Wilson’s four years.
Randy Edsall just got a three-year extension, so he’ll be at Maryland for a while. The Terrapins have gone 7-6 in two straight seasons, but things will be much tougher this year since they return only 6 starters on offense and 4 starters on defense.
The Ohio State Buckeyes put together an amazing run and won the inaugural College Football Playoff last year. There were several times throughout last season where most people (including myself as a Buckeyes fan) essentially wrote off the Buckeyes’ chances of winning it all, but they came together and played excellent football late in the year.
The Michigan State Spartans have accomplished a lot in the last few years. Mark Dantonio has turned this team into a perennial power. Michigan State has won at least 11 games in four of the last five years. The Spartans must replace defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi, and that’s definitely a big loss.
