Husker Big Red Daily: Where Nebraska ranks in Big Ten preseason poll, looking ahead to media days

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It’s time for Nebraska football and other Big Ten programs to meet with the media this week at the annual Big Ten Media Days.

Coinciding with that is the annual release of the Cleveland.com Big Ten Preseason Media Poll. It shouldn’t surprise Nebraska football fans to find out that the Huskers were picked 11th.

Ohio State was chosen as the favorite to win the league, followed by Oregon and Indiana. USC and Michigan rounded out the top five, with Penn State, Illinois, Washington, and Iowa making up the rest of the top nine.

Nebraska is entering the fourth season under Matt Rhule, who says this is his “best team.” The Huskers are also facing their most difficult schedule, with six of the top nine teams in the Big Ten on it, with all six of those teams winning at least nine games last year.

The Huskers will need to sweep non-conference play, beat Maryland, Michigan State, and Rutgers, even though two of those three games are on the road, then find a way to beat a team like Washington, Illinois, or Iowa.

If Nebraska fails to beat any of those teams, it will be hard to argue that a third straight six-win season is a sign of progress, even if it leads to another bowl game. Rhule can’t afford to miss a bowl game. The momentum has to keep moving forward, so at the very least, six wins are needed in 2026, although it feels like a 7-8 win team.

Big Ten Media Days preview

Justin Evans, Luke Lindenmeyer, and Andrew Marshall will represent Nebraska along with head coach Matt Rhule at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. The Huskers will be speaking on Thursday, along with Michigan, Indiana, Maryland, Northwestern, and Washington.

The coverage will start on Tuesday at 10:30 CST 0n the Big Ten Network. Coverage will begin on Thursday at 11:30 CST. Nebraka is the fourth team speaking that day, right after Michigan.

It will be interesting to see what the tone is from Rhule. Nebraska has been much more low-key this offseason. The Huskers are coming in under the radar, which feels like a good place to be.

Former Huskers in Chiefs camp

Emmett Johnson isn’t the only Nebraska football player trying to earn his way onto the Chiefs’ 53-man roster. DeShon Singleton is also trying to make the team in Kansas City, and helped himself on Sunday wth an interception. That’s not a bad way to start training camp.

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