National media drinking Nebraska football kool-aid

Nebraska football fans talk a lot about drinking the Kool-Aid. It probably has something to do with the fact that the Huskers haven’t had a winning season since 2016, yet fans still think the program is poised for huge things.

It’s been that way for numerous offseasons. We all thought that Adrian Martinez and Scott Frost were going to get Nebraska football back to a bowl game. Hell, many of us thought they would win a Big Ten West title.

They didn’t though. That’s why being a Kool-Aid drinker isn’t always a good thing. But Matt Rhule has said he doesn’t care about the past. He wasn’t here for that and he’s the biggest reason national media members like Joel Klatt and USA Today have Nebraska ranked in their post-spring top-25 rankings.

USA Today updated their rankings recently and Nebraska football checked in at No. 25. Here’s what they wrote about the Huskers via 247 Sports: 

“While Matt Rhule hasn’t yet announced his starting quarterback, all signs point toward the Huskers handing the reins over to five-star freshman Dylan Raiola after a splendid spring performance.”

National media is buying the Huskers in 2024

Raiola was special during the spring game. He looked like a seasoned veteran and not anything like a true freshman. If that carries over to the regular season, these national experts will be right to rank Nebraska football in their top 25.

The Huskers had an elite defense last season. They also had one of the best rushing attacks in the Big Ten. Turnovers were the issue and Raiola should cut back on those significantly.

Combine that with the fact that Rhule’s team took second-year jumps at Temple and Baylor, and a three or four-win improvement doesn’t seem that far-fetched. Heck, some people are even talking about Nebraska football being 7-0 going into Columbus for the Ohio State game.

Nebraska has a legitimate chance to be 7-0 going to Ohio State and with them having not made a bowl since 2016 I love everything about it

— J.D. PicKell (@jdpickell) June 1, 2024

It doesn’t seem impossible, which tells you how far things have come or how delusional we are once again. Hopefully, it’s the former and not the latter.

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