Coming off a year in which the U. Nebraska-Omaha football team finished in a four-way tie for second place in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the program is looking for continued success in 2010.
The team returns with 2010, second team All-American MIAA Ken Jones award finalist Mike Higgins at tight end. Running back Levi Terrell, coming off a 2010 freshmen season that saw him lead the MIAA with 159.6 yards per game, is back as well. Significant questions remain, though, about the quarterback position. Greg Wunderlich, with 2,492 passing yards, 21 touchdowns and a 63.9 percent completion rate, has graduated.
Fall camp will begin Aug. 11 and the Maverick coaching staff is hoping that either John Tiegland or Jon Daniels will establish himself as the starter under center.
Tiegland saw some action last year in six games with one start, 356 passing yards, a 51.8 percent completion rate and two interceptions. Daniels did not see any time on the field last year, due to being sidelined under medical redshirt.
“We definitely need more out of our quarterback position this year running the ball,” said Maverick Head Coach, Pat Behrns, when discussing his football team for 2010. “There was maybe too much of a reliance on Tight End Mike Higgins last season,”
Behrns stated he and his coaching staff feel comfortable with either Tiegland or Daniels at the position. Regardless of who ends up winning the job, the starter will have a lot of help from a very talented group of running backs.
Joining Levi Terrell in the backfield are seniors Bryce Hawthorne and Duane Bowen.
Hawthorne racked up 468 yards good for a 6.3 yards per carry average and four touchdowns while Bowen contributed 348 yards on 4.8 yards per carry and seven touchdowns last year. Such a solid selection of options to hand the ball off to should provide Tiegland and Daniels a level of comfort as they ease their way into the job.
Tight end Mike Higgins provides another level of comfort in the passing game. Higgins enters the year coming off a season that saw him chosen as a second team All-American and finalist for the MIAA’s Ken B. Jones award. He caught 50 passes for 848 yards and nine touchdowns. At season’s end, Higgins was among the top 10 for the MIAA conference in receptions per game, yards per catch and total receptions.
It is most likely the offense that will decide the fate of the 2010 season. The defense returns about six seniors that saw significant time last year. Those returning seniors racked up at least 25 tackles each by season’s end in 2009. There are significant contributors coming back, but they’re returning to a squad that gave up just over 24 points a game last year.
In half of the 12 contests last season the defense gave up at least 30 points. The Mavericks were 1-5 in those games, making up for all five of the losses last season. Plus, UNO scored an average of 35 points in those five losses, a total that should have been enough to win most games.
Regardless of the concerns on defense, Coach Behrns said this year will provide an opportunity the team hasn’t had the last few seasons.
“We haven’t been in a position to compete for a conference championship for a few years,” he said. “We feel like we have a real chance this year. If we’re in position to compete for a conference championship, everything else will take care of itself.”
There are significant challenges to achieving a conference championship though. UNO begins the year ranked No. 21 in the USA Today Division II Preseason Poll. However, three other conference teams join them in the initial ranking.
Coming off a National Championship, Northwest Missouri State begins the year ranked No. 1. Washburn will start the season in ninth and Missouri Western is currently ranked at 16.
Northwest Missouri State has had a strangle hold over the MIAA conference for almost five full seasons. The Bearcats enter this year having won 14 in a row, 37 consecutive conference games and four consecutive conference titles.
Northwest also returns a quarterback who was the second most efficient passer in the nation and set school marks in touchdown passes and passing yards last year. In addition to starting quarterback Blake Bolles, the Bearcats will return Jake Soy, the nation’s top receiver in 2009, and seven of their 11 first and second team All-MIAA selections.
Washburn, which finished the season ranked No. 25, also returns the majority of its major contributors from last year. Overall, the Ichabods return 20 starters, eight on both offense and defense, and four on special teams.
Ten of those returning starters earned all-conference first or second team selections last season. Four of the five offensive linemen are back from a squad that set school records for yards per rush, single-season passing yards and total offense.
Missouri Western will return 19 starters from a team that went 6-3 in the MIAA conference, good enough to be tied for second. Unlike Northwest and Washburn though, the Griffons only return one all-conference selection.
Among the three teams, UNO went 2-1 against them last season, with a loss on the road to Northwest Missouri and two upset wins over Washburn at home and Missouri Western on the road.
UNO starts out the year with half of their first six games against ranked opponents, a schedule that should give Behrns and the Mavs a good idea of what kind of football team they have early in the season. By the time the Mavs play Washburn on Oct. 9, they should know how realistic a conference championship is.
Either way, it’s a tough way to start a season for a young football team. One thing that should work to the benefit of such a young team is the first five games. All five are at home.
The Mavericks will not face a team on the road until Oct. 9, when they travel to Topeka, Kan., to face Washburn.
“It is a benefit because we are a young team,” Behrns said. “The first five games should provide some comfort, some familiarity with each other before we go on the road. There will still be quite a learning curve, though.”