5. Nebraska (4-6)
Wins: at Rutgers, Illinois, at Purdue, Michigan State
Losses: Wisconsin, at Iowa, Minnesota, at Ohio State, at Northwestern, Penn State
Does 4-6 get you bowling in 2020? That’s probably not a question that Nebraska fans are itching to have answered, but it seems like a plausible scenario here. (And it wouldn’t be the first time in the past six years that the Cornhuskers qualify for postseason play and finish with a losing record.)
The Scott Frost hire led to a ton of heightened expectations. His second season — following a 4-8 debut — most certainly did not. So caution is the best approach when tabbing a blue blood to reclaim its past glory, especially after being fooled so many times before. Can the Huskers win in Kinnick Stadium, which will likely not be as much of a house of horrors for visitors without a packed house? It’s definitely possible, but it also hasn’t happened since the Bo Pelini era. Ditto for the game at Northwestern, which has built up 15 years of goodwill under Pat Fitzgerald, and which took Nebraska to the final play last season — amid the Wildcats’ worst campaign since 2002.
It should be said that in a wayward season like this one — with Wisconsin and Minnesota replacing All-Americans and with Iowa taking a good look at itself in a mirror — the opportunities might be there for someone else to assume top dog status in the West. And if that’s the thinking, then sure, Nebraska might be better positioned than the rest of its brethren. I have just been burned one too many times in the past and am not ready to make that leap just yet.
