Hard to finish in the top 25 when 8 of 14 SEC teams take up the bottom half of the top 25 and 3 more sit above that.
And yet we would have been in the top 25 the last two years if we had simply beaten two of those SEC teams.
Or that unranked 8 - 5 Wisconsin team last year.
Or that unranked Minnesota team this year.
Our record against ranked teams suggest Nebraska has not been treated unfairly in the polls.
As much as folks around here love to blame some entity called "the media" I think pollsters are anxious to have Nebraska back in the picture. We have been one win away from being relevant the past five seasons. That's the hump we have to get over.
I'm not going to place all the blame on the media, obviously this year its because the teams we beat ended up not doing great and the teams we lost to are pretty good but not mind blowing either. We cant control our opponents record but we can control the outcome when we play them. Turnovers and injuries were huge this year. Focus against UCLA and Minnysoda was clearly the issue.
Really the point I was making was even if we finish 10-3 we will be hard pressed to get back into the top 25, strange as that may sound. Our schedule has no respect. We need a good bowl matchup and a win. Make a splash at the end of the year, even a small one, to boost some perception heading into next year. I started thinking the preseason rankings matter less and less but after this year I think they are more important than ever moving towards the playoff.