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Nebraska Football: Program places high in preseason ESPN SP+ rankings

By Danny Jaillet

COLLEGE PARK, MD - NOVEMBER 23: Adrian Martinez #2 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers drops back to pass against the Maryland Terrapins on November 23, 2019 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MD - NOVEMBER 23: Adrian Martinez #2 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers drops back to pass against the Maryland Terrapins on November 23, 2019 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images) /
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Nebraska football gained some respect in these rankings.

Say what you want about preseason rankings. Especially when it comes to Nebraska football, you can’t guarantee anything. Much of the media hyped up Nebraska football last year, saying that they’d be a top-25 team. We heard talk of Adrian Martinez being a Heisman candidate and we also heard that Nebraska would be able to get to a bowl game.

Of course, none of that came to fruition. Even still, analytical rankings hold more value to me than anything else. That’s why Nebraska being ranked 25th in Bill Connelly’s 2020 SP+ rankings is still something noteworthy.  Nebraska is sandwiched between Washington at No. 24 and Florida State at number 26. Those are both programs with recent track records of success.

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The fact that there are also 130 teams in this group of rankings is notable for Nebraska. Connolly obviously feels that the Cornhuskers are in the upper echelon of teams heading into 2020. The recent 2020 recruiting class is certainly something that works in their favor. In addition, the returning freshman class of 2019 and others should make for an exciting year.

I have high hopes for Nebraska as well. At the very least, I think it will be a fun season and more enjoyable than last year. There were a lot of things that served as learning opportunities for Nebraska in 2019.

Even still, I want to see what they can do on the field before I make any bold predictions about them. Obviously, there is going to be a lot of hype surrounding this team, particularly at the media days in July. This team has a lot of talent, there is no doubt about that. However, it will be a question of how it all comes together. If it comes together nicely, then that will be great news for all involved. However, I think will take a while before this Nebraska football team gels in 2020. The tough schedule certainly does them no favors, and it will certainly be a period of growth for many of the players.

In any event, it is encouraging to see Nebraska football high up in rankings. Even still, I’m not holding my breath as to how they will do in 2020. We’ll just have to wait and see. It seems like football season is so far away. It will be interesting to see how much hype this program garners as we get closer to the beginning of the season. Hopefully, some of the media pundits have learned from last year.

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