ESPN wants to remind fans that Nebraska football is likely going to struggle

The first pre-season FPI has been released by ESPN and the results are not pretty when it comes to what it thinks Nebraska football is going to do in 2018.

ESPN recently released its first FPI of the 2018 season and it’s not a pretty picture for the Nebraska football team. Optimism surrounding the spring game has not erased the national perception that the Huskers are going to struggle to make a bowl in 2018.

At the moment, the sports website has our FPI sitting at 3.9, which is ranked 50th in the nation. Those same metrics have the Cornhuskers with the 28th best schedule in the country.

That’s actually a bit low compared to what some other sites have said about their schedule. Bleacher Report even gave it the honor of calling it the most difficult schedule in the country.

That FPI and the strength of schedule means that the Cornhuskers are projected to win between 5.5 and 6.5 games this year. That’s certainly in line with most other organizations have predicted.

That’s also in line with what you would expect from a team that went 4-8 last year, is replacing the entire coaching staff, getting a new quarterback and a new offensive and defensive gameplan.

Husker fans, on the other hand want to believe that the arrival of Scott Frost means that we’re going to see a turnaround the likes of which they saw at UCF. The thing most forget is that UCF was going up against a much easier group of opponents the last two years.

That easier schedule allowed for the Knights to get some momentum and some confidence and let it carry them all the way to an undefeated season last year. Fans also forget that Frost’s first season at UCF, though much better than 0-12 was not that of a juggernaut.

Read on to see how ESPN believes the Nebraska football schedule is going to break down.