Husker Big Red Daily: Nebraska bowl projections, more 5-star buzz and ESPN FPI

Welcome to Husker Big Red Daily, your daily stop for the latest Nebraska football news, recruiting buzz, transfer portal updates, and Huskers headlines. Here’s a quick look at the latest storylines surrounding Nebraska athletics.

Some Nebraska football fans are underwhelmed by the first three seasons of Matt Rhule. However, the head coach has led the Huskers to consecutive bowl trips.

Before Rhule arrived, Nebraska last went bowling in 2016. The Huskers ended an eight-year drought, won a bowl game for the first time in a decade, and made a second straight trip, going to the Las Vegas Bowl last season.

It’s not the College Football Playoff, but it’s progress. It has also been projected to continue via Athlon Sports, which has projected Nebraska football to reach the Music City Bowl against South Carolina.

Against a schedule that features six Big Ten teams that won nine games last season, including three that were in the College Football Playoff, six or seven wins should be viewed as a success. The real turnaround will come with Trae Taylor.

ESPN FPI ranks Nebraska football 30th

That being said, the Huskers are more talented than people realize. The EA Sports College Football 27 video has Nebraska ranked 24th based on talent alone. ESPN’s FPI rankings also have the Huskers ranked 30th.

That feels just right to me. The quarterback, Anthony Colandrea, will be a better fit for the offense, the offensive line will be much improved, and the defense will be closer to what it was in 2023 and 2024.

If all those things are true, as we believe them to be right now, the Huskers should find a way to win seven games. One preseason prediction, not my own, had them getting eight wins.

That would mean knocking off Maryland, Michigan State, and Rutgers, plus maybe Washington and Iowa. It’s very doable and it would be great to see in terms of progress. Rhule needs to show more in his fourth season.

That we can all agree on.

Nebraska is pushing for 5-star Ahmad Hudson

Fred Hoiberg was an active part of Ahmad Hudson’s official visit to the Nebraska football program. That wasn’t the case before, but things have gotten more serious, to the point that Hoiberg is going to watch Hudson the trail.

This is from Robin Washut of Husker Online. It might not change anything long-term in the recruitment, but it’s another sign that Ahmad Hudson is truly in play for the Huskers.

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