Big Ten football media days are upon us, folks. As if the giant inflatable Oregon Duck floating down the White River in Indianapolis didn’t make extremely clear.
Which means it’s time for every coach to take the mic in front of the national media and lay out their vision and expectations for the season. Some do this much better than others.
Second-year Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule is one of the better ones, however. Which is why when he dropped a line about the Huskers making a bowl game into a comment about student academics, it felt way too understated.
Nebraska's Matt Rhule w/a subtle prediction while talking about academics: "When we go to our bowl game, we'll have 30 graduates on our team."
NU's last bowl trip was in 2016— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 24, 2024
Matt Rhule likes what he's seeing in Lincoln. #B1GFootball x #B1GMediaDays pic.twitter.com/wnDNhWcYRa
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) July 24, 2024
Matt, dude, it’s ok to project a bit more confidence. Sure, Nebraska hasn’t won a bowl game since the Obama Administration, but there’s legitimate reason for optimism this year!
For starters, the Huskers made some serious strides towards the end of last season’s 5-7 campaign. Despite losing its last four games of the year, three of those losses came by a combined nine points (at Michigan State, vs. Maryland, vs. Iowa) while the other was settled in overtime (at Wisconsin).
The team also have a stud freshman quarterback in Dylan Raiola — the No. 2 QB prospect in the nation in his class per 247 Sports. In fact, oddsmakers are expecting a bowl game appearance out of Nebraska at a minimum.
At BetMGM, the Huskers win total is set at 7.5 this year after Nebraska failed to reach more than five wins in any season since 2016. With a schedule featuring UTEP, Northern Iowa, Illinois, Purdue, Rutgers, Indiana, Wisconsin and Colorado, getting bowl eligible should be the expectation this year.
Nebraska fans have been waiting nearly a decade to get back to this point, Matt. You can hype it up a bit more.
The Huskers aren’t quite back yet, but there’s no reason not to pretend the road hasn’t been paved for their return.
