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College football rankings: Post-spring Top 25 – Clemson, Alabama vie for top spot

By Cody Williams

SANTA CLARA, CA - JANUARY 07: Tua Tagovailoa #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts against the Clemson Tigers in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Levi's Stadium on January 7, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - JANUARY 07: Tua Tagovailoa #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts against the Clemson Tigers in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Levi's Stadium on January 7, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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IOWA CITY, IOWA- NOVEMBER 23: Quarterback Adrian Martinez #2 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers throws a pass in the second half against the Iowa Hawkeyes, on November 23, 2018 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
IOWA CITY, IOWA- NOVEMBER 23: Quarterback Adrian Martinez #2 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers throws a pass in the second half against the Iowa Hawkeyes, on November 23, 2018 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /
  • Notable Losses: Devine Ozigbo, Stanley Morgan Jr., Tre Neal, Luke Gifford, Dedrick Young II, Aaron Williams
  • Notable Returners: Adrian Martinez, Maurice Washington, JD Spielman, Mohamed Berry, Antonio Reed, Ben Stille, Dicaprio Bootle
  • 2019 Recruiting Class Ranking: 19th

Early on in the 2018 season, the Nebraska Cornhuskers were one of the punching bags of the college football world. Despite adding the vaunted head coach hire of the offseason in Scott Frost, formerly of UCF, the Huskers were looking quite hapless throughout much of the beginning of the season. However, as the season progressed, so too did this Nebraska team as a whole. Their 4-8 final record doesn’t capture the optimism that should be around Frost and his team heading into 2019.

There’s no doubt that Nebraska has some big losses to contend with as wide receiver Stanley Morgan Jr. and running back Devin Ozigbo were the team’s leading receiver and rusher, respectively, in 2018 and are now heading to the NFL. Having said that, quarterback Adrian Martinez will be back for his sophomore season and showed real promise in his first season in Lincoln. On top of that, the Nebraska defense may only be returning six starters from last season, but four of those players ranked in the top-five in tackles for the Huskers last season.

Even better, Frost flexed his ability as a recruiter a bit this past season as he brought in a top-20 ranked class in the country, including Luke McCaffrey — yes, from that family — to back up Martinez, which could be crucial. With all of this, the arrow is pointing starkly up for Nebraska looking to 2019.

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