ESPN SP+ spring update for Nebraska football, plus more Cornhuskers news

Nebraska football is a top-40 team according to ESPN SP+, plus more Nebraska Cornhuskers news.

Spring football is right around the corner for Nebraska football and the buzz surrounding the Huskers is as palpable as ever.

Yes, we can all talk about being offseason champions again and how it hasn’t translated to on-field success, but heading into Matt Rhule’s second year, with a five-star quarterback in Dylan Raiola has made ending the bowl drought seem inevitable. 

FanDuel recently released its win projections for the 2024 season and the Huskers were projected to win 7.5 games. Part of the reason for that is a favorable schedule, as well as the fact that Nebraska football returns 70 percent of its production from last season.

ESPN also released its first SP+ rankings for the 2024 season and their model, while not super high on Nebraska, has the Huskers ranked 39th at the start of the season.

Now, the S&P isn’t always correct. It projects Nebraska football to have the 6th-best defense, but the 115th-best offense. Based on last season, that’s understandable, but with Raiola and some of the transfer additions, I’d be shocked if the offense was that bad again.

UCLA is ranked two spots ahead of Nebraska. Iowa and Wisconsin are well ahead of the Huskers at 25th and 26th, while Washington, another Big Ten team is 29th. USC is 23rd. The Big Ten has four teams in the top seven with Ohio State (2nd), Oregon (3rd), Michigan (5th), and Penn State (7th).

That puts Nebraska as the 10-best team in the Big Ten. To me, that feels like the floor for the Huskers next season. The ceiling is much higher but even if the Huskers are the 10th-best team in the 18-team Big Ten, that will certainly mean a bowl berth.

Jordy Bahl is out for the season

In a bit of terrible news for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, star softball pitcher Jordy Bahl announced on social media Tuesday that she will miss the remainder of the 2024 Nebraska softball season due to a torn ACL suffered in the first game of the season.

His will > my will.
His plan > my plan.
He > I.

Happy little shotgun rider when He is behind the wheel.🤟🏻

Go big red.❤️ pic.twitter.com/4y06KVM5f0

— Jordyn Bahl (@jordybahl) February 13, 2024

It’s a tough blow for Bahl who returned to Nebraska to play for her in-state school after winning two national championships with the Oklahoma Sooners.

Bahl said she would be back for the 2025 season.

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