The reason Nebraska has a chance to win the Big Ten West, reach bowl eligibility

It might seem hard to believe, but Nebraska has as good a chance as anyone to win the Big Ten West in Matt Rhule‘s inaugural season. The Cornhuskers are one of four teams tied with a 3-2 record at the top of the division along with Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

With four games remaining on the schedule, Steven Sipple of HuskersOnline wrote a column following Nebraska’s third straight win Saturday laying out the case. He joined On3‘s Andy Staples on Sunday to talk about that possibility even more, explained that the defense and a “manageable” schedule are big reasons why.

“If you’re in any division in any form of football and you have the best unit in the division, you probably are gonna be a contender,” he said. “It’s either Nebraska or Iowa that has the best defense in the Big Ten West. You can make a strong case for Nebraska. The schedule, everybody has a manageable schedule in the Big Ten, particularly the four teams in the race in the Big Ten West, but Nebraska’s is certainly manageable. It’s gonna be really close. Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska, really hard to pick.”

The Cornhuskers find themselves ranked fifth in the Big Ten in total defense as well as second in rushing yards allowed per game (79.0). They lost to Minnesota in a nail-biter to open the season, but still have games against both Wisconsin and Iowa to close out the year.

Before that, Nebraska has a pair of winnable against Michigan State and Maryland to set itself up to claim the division crown.

Even if they don’t get there, however, the Huskers appear well on their way to bowl eligibility for the first time since 2016. Nebraska has gone 23-45 over the past six seasons and endured a tumultuous five-year tenure of Scott Frost prior to Rhule’s arrival this season. That alone should be reason for fans to get excited about the future of the program.

“When you frame it up in the context of Nebraska since 2016, it would be a significant achievement for these guys,” Sipple continued. “On the other hand, a lot of people thought this was a six or seven-win team. Not many people were picking them to win eight or nine, but six or seven was a reasonable expectation because of what they had coming back.

“Right away, Matt Rhule and his staff, they said upon taking the job, ‘we look at the talent here (and) it’s pretty good.’ We’re walking into a situation where Nebraska had achieved I think a 3.1 GPA. They had a record GPA. The only reason I bring that up is because it wasn’t a program in shambles. It wasn’t a culture that was just so horrible. It wasn’t great. The previous head coach didn’t do a good job. But they walked into a decent situation.”

Still, Nebraska has overcome plenty of adversity to reach this point. Sipple pointed to the fact that eight offensive starters from the beginning of the year are currently out with injury, including receiver Marcus Washington and running back Gabe Ervin.

Quarterback Jeff Sims also suffered an early injury and lost the starting job to Heinrich Haarberg. The offensive line is also banged up. Yet still, Nebraska has pushed through and managed to find ways to win of late.

“The injuries on offense have been ridiculous,” Sipple said. “…If that were the Niners, it would be a national story. If it was Ohio State, everybody would be talking about it. It’s Nebraska and it flies under the radar, but eight of 11 is ridiculous.”

As Nebraska makes its push in the Big Ten West, it will continue to fight to overcome those struggles and reach its potential. The Huskers next have a game coming up against Michigan State at noon ET on Saturday in East Lansing.