Nebraska Football: ESPN FPI shows Huskers no mercy in 2020
Nebraska football has a tough road ahead in 2020.
With the Nebraska football schedule coming out on Wednesday, ESPN laid their FPI predictions on the 2020 season.
ESPN sees a 4-6 win total for Nebraska in 2020.
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It’s interesting to look at each breakdown. The rankings give Nebraska a 66.9% chance of winning the opener at Rutgers. They also have given Nebraska a 69.2% chance of winning the following game against Illinois.
Like I said in my slideshow piece, the middle of the schedule gets murky. Nebraska has a 15% chance of winning against Wisconsin, and a 27.5% chance of winning at Iowa. The Minnesota game tilts slightly in Nebraska’s favor. They are given a 50.2% chance of winning that one.
The rest of the schedule does not fare as well for Nebraska as they are only favored to win the final game of the season against Michigan State.
They are not favored against Ohio State, Northwestern, Penn State, or Purdue. The biggest disparity for them in these rankings come against the Spartans ESPN FPI predicts that they have a 74.5% chance of winning that game.
I’m not a big fan on rankings in general, but these particular ones to tell me something. Nebraska football has a tough schedule, and it’s not going to get easy at any point. Rather, the Huskers will be tested throughout.
It looks as though Nebraska has their best chance of winning at the beginning of the schedule. The opener against Rutgers and the following game against Illinois need to be solid showings by the program. They need to start out strong, and prepare themselves for the gauntlet that is the rest of the schedule. If they can pick up two wins from the get-go that would do wonders for the rest of the way.
Unlike last year however, they need to capitalize on their opportunities. There were a couple of times last year where they just couldn’t seem to hold onto the win. Games against Colorado and Purdue come to mind. The finish against Iowa also pops into my head as well. Nebraska can’t afford to let chances slip away this year. This schedule is very unforgiving, and I don’t expect many easy wins here.
Next. Initial reactions to tough 2020 schedule. dark
Nevertheless, it is exciting to have football again. I can’t wait to see how this addition of the team does, and I hope they have a ton of success this year. it would certainly make for more fun Saturdays in Lincoln.