Calculating Nebraska football wins needed for College Football Playoff berth

It might seem far-fetched to suggest that Nebraska football could be a contender to make the 2024 College Football Playoff. But with a new 12-team format and a Husker squad that features a five-star quarterback, plus an elite defense, anything feels possible.

Head coach Matt Rhule told Joel Klatt this week, that Nebraska football will contend for the playoffs. Klatt talked about having meaningful games in Lincoln again, with playoff implications and Rhule said “It’s just a matter of when” that will happen.

With five of the first six games at home, maybe it will happen in 2024. Nebraska football should easily get at least six wins to make a bowl game. Yet, some have suggested that Huskers could start 7-0, including national college football analyst Andy Staples.

How many wins are needed for Nebraska football to contend for College Football Playoff?

Kelley Ford puts together ratings and power rankings for college football and released the number of wins each college football team would need to compete for an at-large playoff berth.

How many regular season wins does your team need to be in conversation for a CFP at-large bid?

*Order within the tier matters. Georgia’s 9 wins would be more impressive than Vanderbilt’s, which would be more impressive than Arkansas’, etc. pic.twitter.com/wuXepya3oG

— Kelley Ford (@KFordRatings) July 3, 2024

It’s interesting because some teams would be able to make the playoff with nine wins according to Ford’s analysis. Nebraska football would need 10 wins though and it still wouldn’t be a guarantee. 10 wins for Nebraska wouldn’t be as impressive as 10 wins for Michigan based on both schedules.

Where would Nebraska football wins come from?

Nebraska gets Colorado, and Wisconsin, but has to play at Iowa, at USC, and at Ohio State. There are also games against Illinois, Rutgers, Indiana (away), Purdue (away), UCLA, UTEP, and Northern Iowa.

So essentially, Nebraska football would need to win all of its seven home games and get three of five on the road. That’s doable but would mean beating Iowa or USC on the road because I don’t see the Huskers having the firepower to win at Ohio State.

So that’s the path to the playoff this season. It’s not that unrealistic but as many Nebraska fans will point out, the Huskers need to worry about getting six wins first — something they haven’t done since 2016.

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