Urban Meyer: 'If I was a player, I'd love to go to Nebraska'

The Big Ten is looking to remain atop the college football landscape in 2024 and keep the national championship north of the Mason-Dixon line. The conference is home to at least three programs with a legitimate chance of winning this year’s College Football Playoff: Ohio State, Oregon, and Michigan. But is there a team in the Big Ten that former Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer sees making a lot of noise in the conference this year besides the three listed above?

During a recent appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd, the former Ohio State head coach shared his thoughts on who will be the surprise team in the Big Ten in 2024.

“You stole my thunder. People know this: I’m a Nebraska fan,” said Meyer.

Just before Meyer made his pick, Cowherd said that he leans toward the Cornhuskers as well. With both experts coming to a consensus on Nebraska, the three-time national championship-winning head coach took a moment to highlight why he has Nebraska penned as the surprise team of the Big Ten this year.

“If I was a player, I’d love to go to Nebraska,” Meyer said. “It’s the history, the stadium, and the fans; [they] are incredible. We coached out there, and they’ve been really down for several years. I was shocked when I was on the sideline a couple of times we played against them. You talk about a team that didn’t look like a Nebraska mold.

“I just think he (Matt Rhule) has recruited well. They got the transfer quarterback Dylan [Raiola] that is a really good player. I like their coach. Their coach knows how to win, he’s won at every level. There’s a difference between winning and then winning at every level. And that’s why I got a lot of respect for Matt Rhule. So Nebraska would be my team; they’re not good enough to win it, but they’re good enough to make some noise.”

Nebraska has been filled with surprises this offseason. But arguably, the most significant surprise move of note was flipping 5-star quarterback Dylan Riola from Georgia to Nebraska. That move instantly gave Rhule and the Cornhuskers stability at quarterback, not just for 2024 but for the foreseeable future.

Rhule Is also known for his ability to turn around college football programs quickly. At both Temple and Baylor, his two previous stops at the collegiate level, he turned both those programs into conference title contenders, which earned him an opportunity to coach in the NFL. If Nebraska’s second-year head coach can channel that success from previous ventures, Meyer and Cowherd will have hit the nail right on the head regarding Nebraska being the surprise team of the Big Ten in 2024.