3 potential trap games for Nebraska football in 2024

A few prognosticators have talked about the possibility of Nebraska football starting 7-0. The schedule is favorable to start for the Huskers with five of the first six games at home.

There also isn’t a ranked team, according to the Coaches Poll, on the schedule in the first seven games. Colorado will be a challenge. The Buffaloes beat Nebraska handily last season and they still have two of the best individual players in college football.

Winning the first seven games or even getting six wins (bowl eligibility) before Ohio State and the start of a difficult stretch that includes five games against teams that made bowl games from last season won’t be easy.  Three of those last five games come against ranked teams (Ohio State, USC, and Iowa).

While the schedule doesn’t seem that difficult, here are three trap games for Nebraska football, which are all in that opening stretch of the season.

Rutgers (Oct. 5) at home

The Scarlet Knights have been an offseason darling, sort of like Nebraska football. Some have even suggested they could be a dark-horse playoff contender.

The Scarlet Knights would need to win in Lincoln for that to be a possibility. Rutgers is sound on defense and ranked 34th in scoring defense in 2023. The Scarlet Knights also averaged 1.4 takeaways.

Beyond that, they have a 1,200-yard rusher coming back in Kyle Monangai who averaged 5.2 yards per carry last season and earned Big Ten Preseason Honors as one of the league’s best players.

Nebraska football didn’t have any players on that list. Yet, the game is in Lincoln, sandwiched between road games against Indiana and Purdue.

Rutgers will want to turn it into a rock fight and if the Huskers don’t take care of the ball, Rutgers could steal one, although I do think the defense will bottle up Monangai.

The problem with that guy is that you can stuff him all day, and then he’ll break one for 60 and get over 100 yards. Just don’t sleep on Rutgers. Expect a close game.

At Purdue (Sept. 28)

Purdue was ranked last in the Big Ten Media poll before the season, so this might look like an easy win for Nebraska football on paper.

However, Ryan Walters, the head coach, is a really good defensive coach. He’s the reason Illinois had such a stellar defensive unit in 2021. So Purdue will be better on defense. They also have Hudson Card back at quarterback.

Card is capable of having a big day. Walters will be going up against a freshman quarterback in Dylan Raiola and he’ll have to be up to the challenge. Turnovers are the great equalizer and I’m not sure Nebraska can lose the turnover battle and win on the road.

But if Nebraska wins, it will be a good sign that these aren’t the same Huskers from the past few seasons.

At Indiana (Oct. 19)

Curt Cignetti is a first-year head coach for Indiana, but he won big with James Madison and did an impressive job of adding talent to the Hoosiers via the transfer portal which includes former Ohio starter Kurtis Rourke.

Indiana was still picked 17th out of 18 Big Ten teams but every Big Ten game is tough to win, especially on the road. The Hoosiers have a lot of buzz surrounding their program and they should be improved, especially by game seven.

The fans will be desperate for a big win under the new head coach and Nebraska would certainly qualify. Even when the Huskers’ record isn’t that great, teams still get up for Nebraska.

Until it proves otherwise, every conference road game is worrisome for Nebraska and that’s why the Huskers can’t overlook Purdue or Indiana on the road.

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.