Saunders
Heisman Trophy Winner
Nebraska
In 2020, Nebraska looked good for a while against Ohio State, beat Penn State ... and got blown out by Illinois. It's been "two steps forward, two back" for Scott Frost's entire tenure.
2021 Projections
Projected SP+ rank: 30th
Average projected wins: 7.0 (4.9 in the Big Ten)
Likely wins: Fordham (99%), Buffalo (86%), Northwestern (85%), at Illinois (79%), Purdue (67%)
Relative toss-ups: at Michigan State (65%), Michigan (53%), at Minnesota (45%), Iowa (43%)
Likely losses: Ohio State (31%), at Wisconsin (26%), at Oklahoma (17%)
The Huskers are projected favorites in six of their first seven games ... and one of their last five. Recommendation: Start quickly.
What we learned about Nebraska in 2020
There might be hope for the defense. NU jumped from 63rd to 38th in defensive SP+ thanks to the combination of disruptive run defense and strong red zone execution. There were still weaknesses -- a nonexistent pass rush and the resulting inefficient pass defense -- but it was a start.
Nine starters return, but linebacker Will Honas, NU's best pass-rusher, is potentially lost for the season (knee). End Ben Stille and LB JoJo Domann are solid run defenders, while safeties Marquel Dismuke and Deontai Williams and corner Cam Taylor-Britt give the secondary potential. But until the pass rush improves, cracking the top 30 will be difficult.
What we didn't learn about Nebraska in 2020
Will it ever click for Adrian Martinez? In two years under Frost at UCF, McKenzie Milton went from solid true freshman starter to one of the best players in the country. That set an unfair bar for Martinez, who became the day-one starter when Frost arrived in Lincoln. He hasn't cleared it.
Martinez has battled injuries and inconsistency -- in 20 games in 2019-20, his passer rating was above 140 10 times and below 105 seven times -- and with the departure of leading rusher Dedrick Mills and leading receiver Wan'Dale Robinson, he'll again deal with uncertainty in the skill corps. There's efficiency potential with receivers Zavier Betts and Levi Falck, tight ends Austin Allen and Travis Vokolek and USC RB transfer Markese Stepp, but big plays were minimal last year. A few chunk plays and easy scores would work wonders for a team that has lost six of its past eight one-score games.
Will it ever click for Frost?After what he had done at UCF, Frost, the former NU quarterback, coming home to turn the program around felt like one of the most no-brainer hires of the past decade. Three years in, he's got a 0.375 win percentage. As long as you're still employed, you can still turn things around, but Frost probably shouldn't wait much longer.
Nebraska's history in one chart
1. When Bob Devaney arrived in 1962, NU had enjoyed one winning season in its past nine years. In 11 seasons he would win two national titles with seven top-10 finishes.
2. After going 12-8 in 1967-68, Devaney promoted Tom Osborne to offensive coordinator to spruce things up. They went 42-4-2 with two national titles over the next four years.
3. Osborne was the obvious choice when Devaney retired in 1972. He would engineer 14 top-10 finishes in his first 21 seasons but constantly fell short of a national title ...
4. ... until 1994. His Huskers broke through to win the title that year, won a second with one of the best teams ever in 1995, then won a third in 1997, his final season.
5. Osborne successor Frank Solich enjoyed three top-10 finishes in six years, but he was fired. NU has zero top-10s since and hasn't finished ranked at all since 2012.
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Can we ever turn it around or will we be another 'minnesota' - a has been? :dunno 
