Nebraska football fans will find out who the Huskers will play in the Big Ten and when next year later today but anyone who was hoping for some big changes from the 2022 format are likely going to be disappointed. Earlier this month, there was talk that 2023 would be the first year that the Big Ten did away with divisions. However, that’s one of the changes that appear to have been shelved for at least one more year.
Instead, it sounds as though the schedule will be more of the same, including the fact that the Huskers will still likely open the regular season against a Big Ten opponent for the third straight year. Considering that the Nebraska football team is 0-2 the last two times they’ve started the year against a conference foe, it’s not hard to understand why some Cornhuskers fans are less than thrilled about that option. That the team Nebraska is likely to kick off the 2023 season against is Minnesota also doesn’t have people thrilled.
Of course, when they kicked off against Northwestern, it didn’t matter that the Huskers opened against a “powder puff.” Nebraska is still the Wildcats’ only win of the season.
ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg took to Twitter to dash cold water on Big Ten fans who were hoping for a very different schedule in 2023.
"“Divisions will remain, and the schedule won’t be markedly different, as league is still catching up on a few oddities from the 2020 year and its impact.”"
It’s not entirely clear what exactly “catching up on a few oddities” means. It could be that teams that have rarely played each other will face off again in 2023. That could actually be good news, as it would seem as though Nebraska would get to play Indiana and Rutgers again.
Of course, knowing Nebraska football’s scheduling luck since joining the conference, it’s entirely possible they’ll have to play Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan next season.