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Jeff Hill, M.D. |
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Lisa Runco and Chad Kelsay |
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Rob Zatechka, M.D. |
No — not the 2009 Nebraska Cornhuskers — who are indeed back, too, and will kick off their season Saturday at home against the Florida Atlantic Owls.
We’re talking about the UNMC Husker Pick’em Panel members, who are back for a second season and ready to offer predictions each week on the Nebraska football season.
Each Friday (or Wednesday) before a Nebraska football game, our Big Red panel will weigh in on that week’s match up, offer up a winner, a score and a short thought on how the game will play out.
Our panel members are:
- Jeff Hill, M.D. , associate dean for admissions and student affairs in the College of Medicine, who played split end for the Cornhuskers in the early 1970s and was a member of the 1970 and 1971 national championship teams;
- Rob Zatechka, M.D., an instructor in the department of anesthesiology, who played offensive line for the Huskers in the 1990s and was part of the “The Pipeline,” a fabled offensive front that powered the Cornhuskers to the national title in 1994; and
- Husker superfan Lisa Runco, an administrator for internal medicine chairman Lynell Klassen, M.D., who religiously attends the weekly Big Red Breakfasts in Omaha and returns with detailed notes that she distributes to other Huskermaniacs.
Like last year, Runco’s co-pilot this season will be Chad Kelsay, who played defensive end for the Huskers from 1995 to 1998, including the 1995 and 1997 national title teams.
The panelists finished as such last season:
- Dr. Zatechka, 12-0
- Dr. Hill, 11-1
- Team Runco/Kelsay, 10-2
Below, our panelists discuss Saturday’s game with Florida Atlantic.
Dr. Hill says, “The Huskers will win easily. This will be a game to see where are the problems and weaknesses.” NU 35, Florida Atlantic 7
Team Runco/Kelsay says, “A definite win! Or at least it better be. Florida Atlantic does have some talent on offense, including arguably the best quarterback in the Sun Belt Conference and good, athletic receivers and tight ends. It will be interesting to see how our inexperience at linebacker plays out. (Defensive tackle Ndamukong) Suh and the boys up front should dominate. If this happens and there’s minimal time to throw, the pass rush could hide some deficiencies at linebacker and defensive back. It also will be interesting to see how new quarterback Zach Lee performs as a starter. If our front four on defense plays well, we should expect an easy win.” NU 31, Florida Atlantic 17
Dr. Zatechka says, “FAU has an experienced quarterback and a lot of speed and athleticism across the board so don’t be surprised if they give the Huskers some early fits on Saturday. Their speed on defense particularly could pose some problems early on as Nebraska’s offense knocks off the rust and re-establishes their timing. Nebraska’s depth and better understanding of coach Bo Pelini’s system in year two should wear down the Owls and I expect them to end up winning solidly.” NU 35, Florida Atlantic 17