[Husker] Post season projections

[Steve Reichenbach]

The line in the Big 12 Championship game opened with OU +6.  The line
went to 5.5 and may go lower based on computer projections.  Sagarin
projects OU by 4.57 on a neutral field.  At home, NU would be only a
1.88pt underdog.  While Arrowhead won't be Memorial Stadium, the
Huskers should have most of the crowd behind them.

USA Today and College Football News projects NU in the Holiday Bowl
against California, which still has to play at home against Stanford
(1-10).  OU is penciled in for the Fiesta and the Cotton will take
Texas.  Sagarin has Cal as the #4 team (in predictor), while NU is
#19.  Sagarin has NU an 8.8pt underdog against Cal (on a neutral
field).  If NU beats OU and plays Boise State, Sagarin would have NU a
0.46pt underdog.

CBS Sportsline has NU in the Cotton against Auburn, Texas A&M in the
Holiday against Cal, and Texas in the Alamo against Iowa.  Sagarin
would have NU a 0.16pt favorite against Auburn.

The rumored replacement for Iowa State is Central Michigan's coach,
Brian Kelly, whose team faces Solich coached Ohio (champions of the MAC
East) for the MAC title.  Ohio is a 2pt underdog, according to the
betting line.  Sagarin has Ohio favored by 1.29pts on a neutral field,
but the game is in Ohio and Sagarin has the homefield advantage another
2.69pts.  So, Ohio has a real shot at winning the MAC (and a betting
man might like Ohio on its home field with nearly the spread nearly
6pts different than the computer projection).  ISU has a news
conference to announce their new head coach on Monday.  (I'd been
fearing it would be Pellini, who has been doing a great job since he
was let go by NU.)  Considering where Ohio has gone in two years under
Solich, it'd be difficult to more successful coaching stories this
year.  Here's hoping Solich coaches Ohio to the MAC title, giving ISU's
next coach a vision of losses to come.