Sipple: NU offense will have to carry team early

COLUMBUS -- A bruising offensive line and a full stable of running backs should get Nebraska off to a good start to the 2008 football season as a defense with some question marks jells before early-season showdowns with Virginia Tech and Missouri.

That was the preseason forecast from Lincoln Journal Star sportswriter and Columbus native Steve Sipple during Tuesday’s Columbus Rotary Club luncheon attended by a full house of Husker fans eager for the kickoff of Head Coach Bo Pelini’s first year on the NU sideline.

Nebraska will win a lot of games early by outscoring opponents while working to plug some “big holes” on a defense that proved pretty leaky last season, said Sipple, who has been covering the Huskers for more than a decade.

Sipple said Pelini and his assistant coaches are focused on restoring the physical ground game of the Huskers glory years before former coach Bill Callahan’s installation of the West Coast passing offense.

He said the offensive line, with veterans like Jacob Hickman, Matt Slauson, Mike Huff and Keith Williams, is strong and deep. Running backs Marlon Lucky, the Big 12’s leading returning rusher, Roy Helu Jr. and Quentin Castille give NU depth in the backfield.

“It’s a hard-edge offensive line that will play with some nastiness. Coaches want the line to play one step past the whistle without drawing penalty flags,’’ Sipple said. “Marlon Lucky looks fabulous right now.”

Sipple said the team’s offensive prowess, with returning starter Joe Ganz calling the signals at quarterback, will toughen up the defense as preseason camp and early-season practices continue.

Nebraska will need to patch some defensive holes.

The interior defensive line is a weakness, with defensive tackles Kevin Dixon kicked off the team and senior Ty Steinkuhler nursing a sore back, and there will be some growing pains among the young linebackers, Sipple said.

The defense is “great athletically, but light on experience,’’ Sipple said. “You don’t know how the guys are going to react in pressure situations. That’s why Tom Osborne hired Bo, to manage those (defensive) holes and inject energy.”

Sipple said he didn’t want to strike too glowing of a preseason forecast before the Huskers step on the field for their first game.

“August is a strange month ... everything looks positive,’’ Sipple said. “August can be kind of misleading, and I don’t want to build them up too much right now.”

He said he could see the Huskers winning eight to nine games this season.

Game day will be when the rubber meets the road.

“Game day tells you all you really need to know. We’ll see how they react if they’re down 21-7 in the opener against Western Michigan (Aug. 30),’’ Sipple said.

He said the Broncos are a junior and senior-dominated team that won’t be intimidated by the sea of red when they visit Lincoln, Sipple said.

The Huskers offense “will wear ’em down and pull away, but there could be some anxious moments in the game,’’ he said.