Why Nebraska needs to get bowl eligible

Two of the top college football experts for On3, Andy Staples and J.D. PicKell, sat down and had a chat on the Andy Staples On3 Podcast. The duo discussed a variety of topics, including the surprising season the Nebraska Cornhuskers are having in head coach Matt Rhule’s first year leading the program.

Nebraska has already eclipsed its 2022 win total and has put together a solid year. But what would really put a bow on this season is if Nebraska can find a way to finish the year bowl-eligible. This is something that Staples believes is achievable but must happen in Week 12 against a struggling Wisconsin Badgers squad.

“I think Nebraska should be fine,” said Staples. “They do need to win this week; they need to beat Wisconsin, which is not having a great couple weeks.

“Nebraska needs to get bowl-eligible. I’m not sure I like them to get bowl-eligible against Iowa, even though they won with an interim staff last year against the Hawkeyes. Like, they need to win this weekend and get that number six.”

Nebraska sits at 5-5, just one win away from being bowl-eligible. This is a complete 180-degree turnaround from how the last few seasons have gone under the previous regime led by Scott Frost. The expectations surrounding Frost were high, given his impressive coaching performance at his previous stop, UCF. Unfortunately, the Cornhuskers’ former national championship-winning quarterback failed to have a winning season during his time as head coach.

PicKell sees Nebraska’s success as vindication

In his first year, Rhule is knocking on the doorstep of doing something Frost could not in his four years leading the program. For those who have followed Rhule’s college coaching career, that is surprising, given how his teams have struggled in his first year running the show. For PicKell, the school’s administrator brass led by athletic director Trev Alberts should be patting themselves on the back for this hire, especially if they can finish 2023 in a bowl game.

“If you can do that in your first year for Matt Rhule, historically, his first year has been awful. And because he’s taken over such rebuilds at Temple and Baylor, those programs were in very different spots. So if you’re Nebraska and you get bowl eligible, I think you feel very validated over the last couple of years with preseason hype around Scott Frost there. Like: ‘Hey, we got the guys. We just needed the right driver for this whole thing.’”

For what it’s worth, PicKell is of the mindset Rhule might have made it to the school one season too late. When discussing the incoming crop of former Pac-12 programs, the college football expert did highlight how much more optimistic the picture would look if Rhule was the head coach for last season’s team and was in his second year in the program.

Regardless of what the future may hold for Nebraska football, 2023 has been a successful campaign. Rhule has already matched the Cornhuskers’ highest win total in the last seven seasons, and he did so while navigating the program’s quarterback woes. If he can get Nebraska bowl-eligible this season, that would be the sprinkles on top of their sunday. But as Staples pointed out, the best opportunity to capture their sixth win will be this Saturday against Wisconsin.