Nebraska Football’s Bowl Projections Ahead of Week 3

It may be hard to believe, or for some hard to forget, but Nebraska has not played in a bowl game since 2016.

The 2016 Music City Bowl against Tennessee was the last time that the Huskers played a postseason contest. To make matters worse, Nebraska lost that game to the Vols, 38-24. But this season, the Huskers’ postseason outlook is very different.

ESPN writers Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach both released their updated bowl projections and both included Nebraska in the postseason. This is not a surprise considering that the Huskers are ranked No. 23 in this week’s AP Poll and have looked very good at the start of the year. But it is still a sign of the team’s improvement in coach Matt Rhule’s second season.

Bonagura has the Huskers facing off against LSU in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl. The Huskers are 5-0 all-time against the Tigers but have not played them since 1987. This would be an interesting matchup of two storied programs if this game was to come to fruition. It would also be a great quarterback matchup between Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier. However, it would be another trip to Nashville after Husker fans went there in 2016, but maybe enough time has passed for a return trip to be an interesting possibility.

Schlabach has Nebraska against Oklahoma in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa, Florida. This would be a reunion of an old Big 12 (and Big Eight, Big Seven, Big Six) rivalry that the Sooners lead 47-38 in the all-time series. The two most recently played in 2021 and 2022 in a home-and-home series in which the Sooners won both games.

Both of these matchups could be interesting games for the Huskers and their fan base to participate in. The LSU game would be an opportunity to defeat a perennial SEC power and the Oklahoma game would be a chance to re-connect with an old rival. However, if the Huskers’ season continues to go well, their sights could be set higher than these bowl games.

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