3 thoughts on Nebraska football with three games to go

In some ways, I didn’t mind that Nebraska football had a bye week. It was good to take a break from it, at least for one weekend.

Of course, we will all be pining for Husker football soon enough. There are just three games left. Hopefully, the Huskers will get four.

Matt Rhule really needs that to happen. It would give this program extra (bowl) practices and remove a gigantic monkey off the back of everyone connected to Nebraska football.

The Huskers have three winnable games. Some will debate that but USC, Wisconsin, and Iowa are fall flawed — almost as much as the Huskers are, which should make this stretch even more interesting.

Here are three thoughts with three games to go.

Matt Rhule will be on the hot seat without another win

Nebraska football fans love to debate the problem for all the losses. Some blame Rhule. Others say he was left such a mess by Scott Frost that he’s doing just fine.

Whatever your side you’re on in that debate, there’s no debate that another 5-7 finish will put Matt Rhule squarely on the hot seat going into the 2025 season.

Rhule would have an 0-8 record in November. The Huskers also paid a lot of money for a quarterback not to improve their record.

Rumors about the head coaches job and stall recruiting momentum and it can all start to go downhill. The pressure will be unimaginable and I just don’t see him surviving three losing seasons.

The 5-star has to 5-star

We’ll see if hiring Dana Holgorsen will make a difference over the last three games. It certainly can’t hurt. If the offense continues to sputter, maybe he could be promoted to offensive coordinator.

The man knows how to build an explosive passing offense. Maybe that will bring some benefit this week or maybe the Huskers can find something to help Raiola get some confidence back.

But it’s hard to see them winning one of these last three games — or making a bowl game — unless Raiola is better than he has been over the last four games (1 TD, 6 INT).

The offense is averaging 18 points per game in Big Ten play. Nebraska has to be better and get Raiola comfortable again. Running the ball better will help, immensely, but the five-star quarterback has to start playing like a five-star.

Buckle up for a nervous November

Nebraska football is an 8.5-point underdog going into the USC game. That doesn’t mean anything, as we learned against UCLA, but the Huskers might have to win as a double-digit underdog, against a 4-4 team, in order to clinch a bowl berth.

Iowa is the only one of the three that has clinched a bowl game. All three opponents have four losses, just like the Huskers and I feel like Nebraska football fans should get prepared for three nail-biters.

That’s the way it played out last season down the stretch and it feels like it will be a repeat. Hopefully, the Huskers can figure out how to win a close game and finally end the longest bowl drought of any Power-4 college football team (8 years).

For More Nebraska content, follow us on Twitter, like our Facebook Page, and Subscribe to the Husker Big Red YouTube Channel. You can also find our podcast on Apple or Spotify.