Are there any sleeper teams in the Big Ten Conference this season? Well, through three weeks of the college football season, we have seen some surprises, one of them being the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Prior to the season, Shane Shoemaker of ClutchPoints compiled a list of dark horse contenders for the College Football Playoff, and he named the Nebraska Cornhuskers as one.
Nebraska
The Cornhuskers haven’t had a winning season since 2016. That makes them perfect dark horses for the College Football Playoff in Year 2 under coach Matt Rhule.
Typically, it’s the third year for teams under Rhule that have made them double-digit game winners. But in his previous stints at Temple and Baylor, the transfer portal wasn’t in existence. Plus, Year 1 at Nebraska for Rhule was better than any at those other schools as the team just barely missed out on making a bowl game last year.
All the hype with this year’s team comes not only from Rhule’s coaching expertise but also from highly touted freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola. That will be a lot to ask of a young quarterback in the Big Ten, who’ll have to go to Ohio State, USC, and Iowa. This is an interesting Nebraska team that, if they can figure it out offensively, could make some noise.
Dylan Raiola entering as the quarterback is a big boost for Nebraska, and he began with some Big Ten Conference honors in just a few starts.
Nebraska is now 3-0 with a tough tp-25 showdown against Illinois on Friday.