Though only defensive lineman turned heavyweight extraordinaire Nash Hutmacher participated physically, it was a huge weekend for Nebraska football.
The large lineman easily defeated Mason Ding of Wyoming with a first-period pin. This is an amazing feat given that the lineman didn’t wrestle for Chamberlain High School in South Dakota until the winter of 2020.
You should spend some time watching the footage of the coaches from Nebraska, who were present, going crazy when Hutmacher turns the Wyoming Cowboy onto his back in order to record a pin.
But the weekend’s festivities didn’t end there. On Friday night, wide receiver Isaiah Neyor committed to Nebraska, and on Saturday, running back Dante Dowdell did the same.
If there was one area where Nebraska seemed to have fallen short in the first two cycles of recruiting, or even just the 2024 class, it would have been the skill positions. Nebraska placed a wager on receivers like Zavier Betts and Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda, who had both left the team, coming back. However, neither player would have much of an impact; Betts bailed out during fall camp, and Garcia-Castaneda sustained an injury that ended his season just before it began.
It’s important to note that Neyor missed the all of 2022 due to an injury, so he hardly played in 2023. However, according to people who were aware of his Texas career, the receiver was expected to be a starter for the Longhorns before to the fall camp injury that occurred in his freshman year. When Neyor came back, he found himself in a difficult situation in a talented wide receiver group that had elevated Texas’ quarterbacks all season long, helping the team make it to the College Football Playoff semifinals for the first time.
Neyor, a veteran who was a major asset for the Wyoming Cowboys in the past, returns to Nebraska with a lot of experience and a hunger for chance.
In the cycle of 2024, Dowdell is added as the only running back. In the two recruiting cycles that the Huskers have added running backs, they have only added one. Although the staff has high expectations for Kwinton Ives, it is important to note that he did not play in a season in which Nebraska lost several running backs and that there was no FBS opponent from New Jersey for his services. That’s not to say Ives can’t be surprised, just unlikely.
Conversely, Dowdell was a can’t miss star during that same recruiting season. Although the running back played for Oregon, where the 247Sports evaluation staff had him rated as a four-star and thought he could contribute right away, he ended up ranking no better than No. 4 both last year and most likely this coming season.
As soon as Dowdell stepped through the portal, Nebraska caught his attention because, despite the Huskers’ own running back impasse, all of them had a lot more questions than answers.
Perhaps Nebraska is not finished either. Wake Forest wide receiver Jahmal Banks was on campus, as was Syracuse linebacker Stefon Thompson. It is required of both to act quickly. For a Nebraska school in dire need of a talent infusion at linebacker and receiver, both may contribute to an incredible January debut.
Hi, Dana
The most well-known Dana in this area is really Dana Altman, the current Oregon coach and former Creighton coach who has been a perennial fantasy candidate for Nebraska basketball.
But as Dana Holgorsen goes through his first season without serving as head coach, there is allegedly competition for a place on Nebraska’s football staff. Prior to this, Holgorsen was the head coach of Houston and West Virginia from 2011 until the 2023 campaign.
As one of Mike Leach’s well-known followers of the air raid offense and a colorful member of the coaching fraternity, the 52-year-old coach is well-known throughout Nebraska.
The longtime coach may be considering an on-staff position because the Huskers have discussed changing things up and currently have Josh Martin coaching tight ends as an interim. Alternatively, it’s possible that Holgorsen is searching for an analyst position that would allow him to continue working on football but with less travel and time away.
In any case, it would be a welcome addition for Matt Rhule, who earlier this year made fun of his own offenses during his coaching career, and for Nebraska, which features a brand-new freshman quarterback who is supposed to improve one of the worst offenses in college football.
At last, a compelling championship match
If you’re not one of those SEC super fans who would rather watch rematches between an Alabama team that always gets the benefit of the doubt and a Georgia team that isn’t tested by its own division, you’re probably more intrigued by Monday night’s game than you were a few years ago when the legendary Alabama-Clemson matchups stole the show.
It has been years since Michigan and Washington were contenders for a national championship. Every program has undergone distinct testing. For quarterbacks, both have anticipated first- or second-round NFL draft selections. Everybody has a seasoned squad. Everybody, no matter where they coach, has a football coach that just plain wins games at a very high rate.
This game has a greater spread than a field goal and a lower spread than a touchdown. That appears reasonable.
The favorite Michigan squad has been somewhat of a juggernaut all season, but it has proven in close, late victories against Ohio State and Alabama that it is capable of winning when put under pressure.
Then there is Washington, which has marched to this point this season by converting skeptics into believers and leaving an amazing trail of teams in its wake.
Give me one more spectacular Michael Penix performance as Blake Corum and the Wolverines take to the ground, only to be attacked aerially by Washington’s formidable wide receivers.
With a 31-27 show stopper in Houston, Washington becomes the most unexpected national champion in over ten years, a prediction that is almost certain to be incorrect.
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