in the case of 3 teams (and, possibly, a 4th) starting with the letter “N” — “N” stands for “Nervous” and “Not very good”
Let’s consider the “N” teams achieving significant success this decade who should be worrying in 2017.
NORTH CAROLINA
The Tar Heels were so loaded at QB talent in 2015 that the 2nd choice in the 2017 draft, Mitch Trubisky, was riding the pine behind dual-threat Marquise Williams.
Not only do the 2017 Heels have to deal with Trubisky’s loss, but other stars, namely:
1,000+ yard RB Elijah Hood
1000+ yard wide receiver, Ryan Switzer
Three starting offensive linemen, included two who garnered all-ACC honors.
OUCH! North Carolina has not yet achieved the status of a “reload program.”
Their talent exodus reminds me of the Everly Brothers’ last signficant hit (1964’s underrated “Gone, Gone, Gone“)
The only positive thread I can see for the 2017 team is the fact that they get to host the opener against a reeling Cal squad. For the Heels to have a chance to have a successful season, they will need to win September games at Old Dominion and home versus Duke. In other years, this would have happened. In 2017, the Odyssey predicts that Carolina will lose at least one of those games.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Chandler Harnish, Jordan Lynch and Drew Hare, all sterling dual threat QBs, are long gone. The trio catapaulted the Huskies to a decade of glory in the MAC, as they specialized in winning the West and tormenting many good Toledo teams. To elevate themselves above the MAC pack, NIU was heavily dependent on stellar quarterback play. During Hare’s injury-riddled last two years, no QB stepped into the massive void. Au contraire!
Coming off a rare losing season, the Huskies do not appear to have solved their QB woes. Worse, their defensive line shows few signs of shoring up their rushing defense The Huskies gave up 201 yards per game. Unhelpfully, two of their non-conference games are against two of the most rushing-minded teams in the country, Boston College and San Diego State. The Huskies also pay a visit to Nebraska. Even their 4th non-conference foe, Eastern Illinois, while likely not up to their past Jimmy Garoppolo-like standards, may not be an automatic W. Especially if one recalls that NIU succumbed to a supposed FCS morsel last year in Western Illinois. If the 2017 Huskie QBs manage to consistently find receivers, they will probably be disappointed. All-league wideout, Kenny Golladay, is gone and the rest of the wide receivers appear to be mere dinner scraps. Can a solid offensive line overcome all these warts?
Phil Steele strongly disagrees with the Odyssey. He makes NIU the 10th most improved team in the country per his “coveted” Most Improved Team list. Honest to God, Steele uses the term “coveted” on page 258 of his annual. Steele also says that past teams on his Most Improved team list were “blessed.” Hmmm, we think Steele does not adhere to one of the Ten Commandments that addresses worship of false gods.
The Huskies finished 5-7 in 2016, 5-3 in the MAC. The presumption is that Steele believes that the 2017 Huskies will finish at least 7-5 or 8-4. Despite the weakening of the MAC West (WMU no longer has their successful, hypercaffinated head coach, CMU did lose their stellar QB, Cooper Rush, and one has to be skeptical if EMU can catch lightning in a bottle again — no matter how awesome you view Chris Creighton’s coaching ability), the Odyssey respectfully disagrees.
The Odyssey CALLS OUT Phil Steele. We believe NIU’s ceiling is 7 wins and we will not be the least bit surprised if the Huskies do not have a winning regular season. THIS IS IT, Phil!! The Odyssey has the guts to say that a traditional MAC power will struggle and NOT be one of the most improved teams in college football. We further predict that the Huskies will not win more than one of their non-conference tilts against a -conference schedule which is not exactly murderer’s row. In Steele’s own preseason poll, the highest ranked foe is Nebraska (#39). In fact, the Huskers are the only team the Huskies play in 2017 ranked #54 or above! In other words, the Odyssey is making this call in spite of NIU’s cush schedule.
If the Odyssey is wrong in this regard, we will employ all possible humility, admit we were wrong and profusely congratulate Phil. Further, if we prove right, we absolutely promise not to anoint ourself as a God. There are already too many Gods in the world.
NEVADA
This year’s Wolfpack edition will again be a far, far cry from the 2010 WAC champs that finished 11th in the final AP poll. Colin Kaepernick will never be a pariah in Reno! Nevada does return one major weapon in running back James Butler. Butler amassed 1,336 rush yards in a run-first offense. New coach Jay Norvell is revamping everything but downtown Reno. Norvell is installing an Air Raid offence. We hope Butler does not become diminished in the process. New defensive coordinator, Jeff Casteel, is installing a new 335 defense that he previously employed under the noted eye of defensive guru, Rich Rodriguez, at both West Virginia and Arizona (yes, the Odyssey occasionally stoops to sarcasm. We apologize). This defense is geared to give higher priority to pass-first attacks but opponents will not forget that last year’s version of the Wolf Pack was the worst rushing defense in I-A ball last fall, surrendering a whopping 298 yards per game. Against this D, opponents will call their first rushing play before they get off the bus. How bad is the 335 against the run? You could ask Brad Bielema to reminisce about his good ole days at Wisconsin that he now must crave (BB is 10-22 in SEC conference games. He had it so, so good in Madison!) One of Bielema’s offenses gleefully ran the ball for 357 yards, which included 28 successive rushes, in a 48-28 smashmouth laugher in Ann Arbor against one of Rodriguez’ lightweight 335 D’s in RichRod’s last year at the helm.
In the short-term, we fear Norvell’s first Wolfpack squad will suffer from a “square peg, round hole” syndrome when a new coach installs systems which woefully match existing personnel. When Rodriguez fatefully took over the Maize and Blue in 2008, he installed his run-based option office despite having two QB’s who could run most of the day in the shade of the same phone booth (Does anybody remember Stephen Threatt?). Thankfully, for suffering Michigan fans, Denard Robinson subsequently came to Rodriguez’ rescue on the offensive side. Last year, Bronco Mendenhall’s 2-10 pratfall at Virginia in his flawed debut was partly due to the changing of the guard. His strong desire to run was not negated by a terrible O line and his installation of his preferred 3-4 defense. OOPS!
The Odyssey makes a second call which flies in the face of Steeledom. Phil calls for Nevada to come in 2nd in the anemic Western division of the Mountain West, currently comprised of San Diego State and 5 high school teams. Our prediction is that transition woes will keep the Wolfpack from finishing either first or second in this tissue-soft configuration.
NEBRASKA
We are sorely tempted to add Nebraska to the list of 2017 “N” disappointments. After all, when a traditional power is heavily reliant on a QB transfer from Tulane of all places, can despair be far away? However, Tanner Lee has lots of potential and has impressed some pro scouts. Because of anemic Green Wave offensive lines, he was treated like a human piñata in New Orleans. Lee was sacked so much, I was sadly reminded much of the last time a human being endured endless and needless physical abuse in New Orleans. The great Archie Manning was rendered mediocre by no semblance of an offensive line during his decade as the Saints QB. We suspect Tanner Lee will have a better fate in Lincoln.
We are calling for Nebraska to have a disappointing year record-wise (7-5 or 6-6 is our call) but that will partly be the byproduct of a tough schedule. Even if their game at Oregon proves not to be imposing, the Huskers have the bad luck of drawing both Penn State and Ohio State from the East. The schedule offers few salvations. Well, there is a home game against Northern Illinois (ba da ding!)and an opener against an Arkansas State team which lost their entire offensive line . Another reason for pessimism in Lincoln is their November 4 home date against another “N” school, Northwestern, which has the feel of a trap game. While we project many “N” schools to disappoint, the Odyssey projects the Wildcats to be one of the two national sleepers of the year if the Wildcats can ignore the injury bug (always an issue at the depth- challenged private school).
Mike Riley is such a nice guy that we hope we are wrong in calling for a disappointing record in Huskerdom.