Nebraska Football: Will the Huskers be competing for conference titles by 2019?

It took Scott Frost two seasons to take 0-12 UCF to conference champions. Will the timeline be similar for Nebraska Football?

I recently debated a friend whether or not Nebraska Football could appear (not necessarily win) in the Big Ten title game by 2019. This timeline would give the new coaching staff two years to make it to Indianapolis. This is the same amount of time it took the same coaching staff to get it done at UCF. I argued that this is an achievable feat for Nebraska, and I’ll explain why, but first I want to address the opposition.

I get it. This isn’t the AAC, It’s the Big Ten. A new coaching staff is taking over. A new scheme is being implemented. A new quarterback will start. The defense is as worse as it’s ever been. These things are all true. However, given a full year to adjust and bring in a couple of recruiting classes, all these things can and will look better by 2019.

Nebraska doesn’t have to win every game to make it to the conference championship. They just have to finish atop the West Division. The West Division is a much different animal than the East. There is no Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, or Michigan State in the West. This fact alone increases Nebraska Football’s odds of winning their division by 2019.

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Not to say that winning the West Division is an easy task. There is still a Wisconsin, a Northwestern, and an Iowa in the West. These three teams represent most of the challenge Nebraska must overcome to get to a Big Ten championship game. This is a challenge that can very realistically be tackled within the next two years.

In the past three seasons, Nebraska is 1-8 against these three teams. That is a frightening statistic at face value but keep in mind that five of those losses were one-score games. When it comes down to one score, it’s often the pride and camaraderie that prevails. These intangibles seemed lost during the Mike Riley era, but Nebraska Football has already started to rediscover them under Scott Frost. This may subsequently lead to winning these close games.

Scott Frost is bringing tangible assets as well. His scheme will look different from anything that’s been seen at Nebraska, but it will have some familiar elements for the Nebraska Football faithful. UCF ran the ball 53 percent of the time in 2017 and with much success, which will give the “run the goddum ball” folks something to look forward to. This more balanced attack will present a mixture of tradition and progressiveness at Nebraska and has potential to yield immediate results on the field.

Perhaps the biggest reason in favor of Nebraska heading to Indianapolis in 2019 is their schedule. The Huskers will host Northwestern, Iowa, and Wisconsin in Memorial Stadium, giving them the home-field advantage when they need it most. If the Huskers can pull off those home games and pick up a couple of road wins between Illinois, Purdue, and Minnesota, they’ll have their eyes set on Indianapolis.

So if the Nebraska football team makes it to the Big Ten title game by 2019, can they take the trophy home? My brain says no. The opponent from the East would likely be Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, or Michigan State. It’ll likely take longer than two years for Nebraska to close that size and talent gap. Then again, my heart says it’s college football and anything can happen.