Joel Klatt explains why he has Nebraska ranked inside his Top-25 preseason rankings

Joel Klatt feels really good about the Nebraska Cornhuskers coming out of this offseason and into 2024.

Klatt ranked the ‘Huskers at No. 23 in his Preseason Top-25 during an episode of his show on Monday. He did so not just because of their team but because of where Matt Rhule feels that they are heading into his second season in Lincoln. They’re already on their way in their head coach’s opinion and Klatt thinks more people would believe that as well if they had just handled a few more of their games that were up for grabs last fall.

“I’m high on this program. It’s one of the reasons why I sat down with Matt Rhule over the offseason for ‘Big Noon Conversations’” said Klatt. “It was a really great conversation with Matt Rhule. He said in our conversation that he feels like he’s ahead of schedule at Nebraska.”

“It’s a team that went 5-7 last year. Now, just on it’s face, that doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence. However, if you just dig a little bit on what Nebraska was last year? You’ll see that they lost four of those games by exactly three points and they turned it over 15 times in those games,” noted Klatt. “Think about that. Those can easily become wins – easily. Now you’re talking about an eight-win team in his first year. Don’t we feel a whole lot different about that?”

Again, Nebraska is much closer than some might think. They lost those four games by a margin of a field goal, including three of those coming over their final four games where each of the four losses came by a touchdown or less. That kept them one win shy of bowl eligibility in a streak that has now reached seven seasons.

Now, the Cornhuskers bring back 17 starters for their lineup. They’re also set to improve their quarterback play in some sense, especially if the choice is the five-star freshman in Dylan Raiola.

“By the way, of those 15 turnovers? 13 of them were by the quarterback. So now you’re going to get a new quarterback,” Klatt said. “Let’s just for sake of argument say it’s Dylan Raiola. I understand it’s a true freshman that you don’t know exactly how he’s going to play but man this guy is talented.”

“Entire offensive line is back by the way,” added Klatt. “If they get those turnovers fixed than I think the ‘Huskers could be pretty good.”

Klatt also likes how the slate looks for Nebraska in ’24. The front portion of it lays out in a way where that bowl streak could possibly come to an end before their first bye week. From there, it could only further become their best finish in nearly a decade.

“Schedule sets up nicely for them,” noted Klatt. “If they get by Colorado, they should be, minimum, 8-1 after a trip to Ohio State.”

Nebraska is one of those brands where there’s been a lot of preseason excitement followed by much in-season disappointment over the last few years. However, this time feels different with what this year could end up being for the Cornhuskers.

“Watch out for them,” said Klatt.