Nebraska football has a tough schedule in 2021 but there are some winnable games for the Cornhuskers this season. They’ll face two non-Power-5 programs and Nebraska should be favored in both of those games. The Huskers also face three Big Ten teams struggling worse than they are.
While things haven’t gone Nebraska’s way the past few years, they’ve been competitive in many of their games but have lost close calls. Had just a few of these games swung a different way, the Huskers might have had winning records and been in a different situation right now. That’s why these five games are so important because the team needs to take advantage of their winnable games.
Here are five of the most winnable games for Nebraska in 2021.
Winnable Games for Nebraska Football – No. 5: Purdue Boilermakers
Since Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011, they’re 5-3 against Purdue with two of Purdue’s victories coming in the past three years. It’s been more of a rivalry than what Nebraska has with Wisconsin or Iowa, that’s for sure.
One of Nebraska’s three wins last year came against the Boilermakers in a close game. The Huskers won 37-27 and ended a two-game losing streak against Purdue, who won just two games last year.
This season doesn’t look all that promising for the Boilermakers but they’ve always put up a good fight against the Cornhuskers. That being said, Nebraska is a better team than Purdue and they need to act like it this season, especially with a tough schedule ahead of them. They host Purdue on Oct. 30.
Winnable Games for Nebraska Football – No. 4: Michigan State Spartans
The last time the Huskers faced Michigan State was in Scott Frost’s first season at the helm and it was a game in which many felt Nebraska was finally turning things around and heading in the right direction. The Cornhuskers won that game 9-6 (yes, that was the final score) on a snowy day in Lincoln and despite the low score, it was a really great moment for this team.
Unfortunately, Nebraska hasn’t taken off like many had hoped they would after that but they have a chance to take down the Spartans again this year when the two meet in Lansing on Sept. 25. It’ll be the Huskers’ fifth game of the season and their second conference game of the year.
Michigan State’s offense was atrocious last year, averaging just 18 points a game, which, unsurprisingly, made them the worst offense in the Big Ten per the Big Ten’s official website. Nebraska was third to last, averaging 23.1 points per game. The Spartans were also ranked as the worst defense in the Big Ten too, with Nebraska sitting in the middle of the pack in those same rankings.
Needless to say, the Blackshirts need to show up big for this game and keep the Spartans’ offense looking putrid. The offense needs to take advantage of the weak MSU defense and if Adrian Martinez doesn’t have a big game in this one, a quarterback controversy could begin in Lincoln.
Winnable Games for Nebraska Football – No. 3: Buffalo Bulls
The Huskers welcome in the Buffalo Bulls on Sept. 11 for what will be their second non-conference matchup of the season. Buffalo would have been lower on this list had Lance Leipold remained as their head coach this year. Instead, he’s off to coach the hapless Kansas Jayhawks.
Leipold turned Buffalo into a good team, as they were a top-25 team at one point last year and won a bowl game. They’re no slouch as an opponent, even hailing from the MAC, where they were second in both total offense and total defense, per the MAC’s official website.
This could be one of those non-conference opponents who gives Nebraska more trouble than people are expecting. Yes, Buffalo’s numbers were inflated a bit last year due to mostly playing games in their non-Power-5 conference but facts are facts and this was a very good team last season.
Losing their head coach and having to play in what’s surely going to be an energized Memorial Stadium will hopefully be too much for the visiting Bulls.
Winnable Games for Nebraska Football – No. 2: Illinois Fighting Illini
Nebraska opens their 2021 season against Illinois on Aug. 28 and it’s a good Week 1 opponent for them because they should be able to take down the Fighting Illini, even with the game taking place in Champaign. This matchup was supposed to take place in Ireland but unfortunately, that couldn’t happen due to the pandemic.
The Huskers lost an ugly matchup to Illinois last season in which Luke McCaffrey threw three interceptions, giving way to Martinez to step in and try to salvage the game. It was a blowout loss for Nebraska and they’ll look to get back on track and being the better team.
Starting the season 1-0 is highly important for Nebraska. If they win this game, they’ll have two winnable games after this and the opportunity to start the season 3-0 is there for the taking. It’d be their best start under Frost.
Illinois had the second-worst total offense and total defense last year, averaging just 20.1 points per game while surrendering 34.9 points per game. That’s something the Huskers need to take advantage of.
The Fighting Illini have been able to keep up with Nebraska in recent years but the Cornhuskers are the better team here and they need to act like it when this game takes place in a few months.
Winnable Games for Nebraska Football – No. 1: Fordham Rams
A late addition to the Huskers’ schedule came a few weeks ago, as it was announced that the Fordham Rams would be coming to Lincoln for a showdown with Nebraska on Sept. 4. This replaces the game Nebraska had scheduled against Southeastern Louisiana and this week was initially supposed to serve as an early bye-week since the Huskers were supposed to be playing in Ireland in Week 1.
The Rams didn’t play last fall, as the Patriot League held their season in the spring and Fordham went 2-1 in their three games played. They finished the season ranked second in total offense, averaging 20 points per game while sitting fourth in defense, allowing an average of 17 points per game.
The level of competition isn’t great in the Patriot League and the Huskers should be a much faster team than what the Rams are used to dealing with. As a result, this is the most winnable game on Nebraska football’s 2021 schedule.
These five games are ones where Nebraska is likely to be favored. They might have a tough time against Buffalo, but with a new coach taking over there, that tips the scale in the Cornhuskers’ favor. No game is easy but these five games are the ones Nebraska has the most realistic shot at winning.