Do you remember how many conferences games Nebraska football won last year? I’ll remind you if you forgot, it’s one. Last season, they won one game in the Big Ten, a 56-7 victory over the 3-9 Northwestern Wildcats. The Huskers haven’t been to a bowl game since the Music City Bowl in 2016. They won three games last season and have finished either the last or second to last in the Big Ten West division every season since 2017. Yet, ESPN’s football power index or FPI somehow is projecting the Huskers to win the Big Ten West.
According to the four-letter network, Nebraska has a 29.2% chance to win the West division in 2022. They put Nebraska at a 93.5% chance of winning approximately six games and becoming bowl eligible. As much as anybody, I would love to see the Huskers take that big of a leap in Scott Frost’s fifth season in Lincoln. Yes, there is a new office of coordinator, new assistant coaches, and a new quarterback, but to assume that this team can and should take that giant leap when they have not played for a conference championship since 2012 (The dreaded 31-70 Beat down at the hands of the Wisconsin Badgers) seems unrealistic.
It certainly is fun to think about Nebraska playing for a conference championship but let’s pump the brakes a little bit before we decide to buy our tickets and book our hotel rooms in Indianapolis.
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