Breaking Down The 2012 Nebraska Football Schedule (Southern Miss.)
By Jimmie Allen
Nebraska fans will never forget September 11, 2004. The Cornhuskers, and new head coach Bill Callahan were shocked in a stunning upset by Southern Mississippi, 21-17 in Lincoln. The Golden Eagles are coming back to Lincoln, on September 1 to open the 2012 football season.
Bill Callahan has left Lincoln, and Nebraska fans are hoping he has taken all shocking upsets with him. The win over the Huskers has helped propel Southern Miss. to consistent relevance in college football.
The Eagles, have done well. In 2011 they finished the season 12-2. They capped the season off, by defeating, Nevada 24-17 in the Hawaii Bowl, and finished the season ranked No. 22 in the country.
They have also done well in recruiting. In 2008, the Eagles were able to keep 5 star wide receiver prospect DeAndre Brown in his home-state of Mississippi. Theye were able to fight off SEC foes Mississippi, and Mississippi State.
The Golden Eagels, have made some changes recently. Head coach, Larry Fedora has recently taken the job at North Carolina. Fedora went 34-19, as the Golden Eagle head coach. He pulled the strings to one of the most prolific offenses in the country for four years.
With the departure of Fedora, the Golden Eagles did a complete 180, and hired a defensive minded coach in, Ellis Johnson. Johnson, 59 has been widely regarded as one of the best defensive minded coaches in the country. He has not been the most successful head coach, but plans on changing that as he takes over his first major college football job.
Johnson, will have to break in a lot of new faces. Sophomore Arsenio Favor, looked to have won the quarterback battle coming out of spring camp. Junior Chris Cambell will look to challenge him in the fall.
The Eagles have suffered key losses in the wide receiving core. William Spight, Ryan Balentine, Kelvin Bolden, and Lamar Holmes all have left the team. 6-foot-5, 210 lb. junior Dominique Sullivan will look to be the go to target for whichever quarterback wins the job.
The good news for the Eagles is they return 3 starters on the offensive line.
Johnson will need all of his defensive tricks he can pull out of his magical bag of defense. He only returns 3 starters on the defensive side of the ball
With the loss of All-Conference players, Cordarro Law on the defensive line, and Marquese Wheaton, in the defensive backfield, there will be some big shoes to fill.
There is a lack of experience on the defensive line, but not a lack of talent. In the Golden Eagles, 3-4 scheme redshirt sophomore Sasman McCullum will look to fill the void left by Law.
Junior-to-be Jacorius Cotton, will captain the defensive backfield, and look to take over where Wheaton left off.
Prediction: Nebraska: 31
Southern Miss.: 17
By Jimmie Allen
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