Nebraska Football: Cornhuskers could be a ‘chaos team’ in 2022

For the Nebraska football team, the expectations for the Huskers are all over the place. Some fans think that Scott Frost and his revamped coaching staff and roster should win 10 or more games. Others believe that the team is going to be lucky to top out at six wins. What should be agreed upon is that the 2022 season is going to be very interesting to watch.

Earlier this week, CBS Sports analyst Tom Fornelli wrote an article where he identified five programs that could be designated as “Chaos Teams” in 2022 because of the mess they could make of their opponents’ seasons, among other reasons. Fornelli rattled off Auburn, South Carolina, Stanford, BYU and … Kent State.

Obviously, there are more than five teams in college football who could create some chaos, but there are few that seem to be such a perfect fit for the title than the Nebraska football program. That’s because the Huskers can create chaos, really, no matter how the season goes.

If the Cornhuskers end up actually turning things around in 2022, it’s not remotely hard to see how they could create some chaos, not just in the Big Ten but on the national stage. In fact, should Frost and his team really be ready to make a turnaround the first piece of chaos could come as early as Week 3 of the season (remember that Northwestern’s game is technically considered Week 0)

Oklahoma is considered a consensus pre-season Top 10 team this year, as they have been for quite a while now. The Sooners were Number 3 in the country when the two teams did battle in Norman last year, and the Huskers took OU all the way to the wire before losing 23-16. If Frost and company can actually take the next step and take Oklahoma down in Lincoln this fall, it’s going to send some shockwaves throughout college football.

Thanks to Nebraska football’s schedule being quite a bit softer after they take on the Sooners, the Huskers could also create a bit of chaos by having a reach chance at being 7-0 before they play Purdue. Finishing 9-4 overall and 6-3 in the Big Ten last year, Purdue is no longer an “automatic win” in the eyes of Cornhuskers fans. Purdue finished just one game back of first last year. An NU win in West Lafayette wouldn’t only continue sending shockwaves through college football because the Huskers would be 8-0 but there’s a non-zero chance it could also be the Boilermakers’ first loss of the season.

Then there are the last three weeks of the regular season when NU takes on Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa. The Wolverines are coming off a stellar season and are ranked in the preseason Top 10. Not only could the Nebraska football team create some chaos by upending Jim Harbaugh’s boys, but it could put a fork in Michigan’s run toward the Big Ten title game. It’s important to note that the Cornhuskers wouldn’t need to even be posting a good season otherwise in order to have a very big impact in that regard.

The same could be said of Wisconsin and Iowa’s chances at the B1G West title. The Nebraska football team could see itself rising into the ranks of title contenders thanks to a fresh approach and fresh players, but even if its own season isn’t going all that well, there’s plenty of chances to play spoilers.

A win against either Wisconsin or Iowa or both could shake up the Big Ten West standings in a big way, especially if things don’t go as hoped against Minnesota or Purdue. The division is looking like it could be wide, wide open this year and every misstep anyone who wants to go to the B1G Conference championship might make could have an impact both on the conference and on the national stage.

Nebraska football might even be a more powerful Chaos Team in 2022 precisely because it’s been down for so long. While there are certainly people out there that are expecting improvement, most arent’ expecting anything drastic either way. The Huskers could come out and surprise (really in either way) and create all sorts of chaos all over the sport.