Greg McElroy warns historic college football program of potential Week 1 upset

ESPN's Greg McElroy is taking a season-opening look at the traditional power that is Nebraska football-- and he doesn't love what he sees. The Huskers open Thursday in Kansas City against Big 12 foe Cincinnati and McElroy dropped the upset hammer on Nebraska in the Always College Football Podcast.

McElroy's Doubts

McElroy praised Nebraska's offense, particularly after former West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen began calling plays down the stretch of last season. He noted the Huskers as a team with the ability to take a step forward in the Big Ten... but then dropped the doubt hammer.

I look at this matchup against Cincinnati and I think this one is very, very dangerous. Cincinnati, out of the Big 12, disappointing season last year. They bring back their quarterback, Brendan Sorsby, who I think does a really good job. They have always been a team that's excellent running the football. With Scott Satterfield, they're going to try to stretch you on the defensive side with horizontal runs, perimeter runs, that are very difficult to defend. And one thing that people struggle with early in the season is tackling. This style of offensive attack is going to force your defenders to tackle at angles that are very difficult to simulate. I think this is a very tough game for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Greg McElroy

Cincy strengths

Indeed, Sorsby is an obvious returning benefit. The junior threw for 2,813 yards last year and ran for 447 yards himself. Scott Satterfield's 5-7 squad rushed for 184 yards per game and 5.2 yards per carry, both figures that seem to support McElroy's observation. Running back Tawee Walker is a transfer from Wisconsin who rushed for 864 yards there last season. Cincy is slated to return three-fifths of last year's offensive line.

Husker hang-ups

Meanwhile, Nebraska did a nice job defensively against the run a season ago, but does replace most of its front seven after graduation or transfer. In several games, the Huskers struggled against the run and found themselves on the losing side as a favorite. For instance, Illinois upset Nebraska as a 7 1/2 point underdog based on 166 rushing yards. Likewise, UCLA won as a 7 point underdog over Nebraska after running for 139 yards (and 4.6 yards per carry). The Huskes, as McElroy notes, are currently a 6 1/2 point favorite over Cincinnati.

Nebraska was just 1-4 last season when opponents rushed for four yards per carry, but was 6-2 when holding opposing ground games under that threshhold. Satterfield's Cincinnati teams have topped four yards per carry in 18 of his 24 games, even with two sub-par seasons. The pieces do align for McElroy's ground-based call-out to be proven correct.