The Nebraska football team doesn’t play Ohio State next year. Because of that, it’s possible some Husker fans haven’t been paying attention to what’s going down in Columbus these days. In particular, they may not have been paying attention to the fact that CJ Stroud might stick around and forego the NFL Draft this year.
Should Stroud decide to stick around, it would certainly send ripples through the college football and NFL worlds. It would also of course, send some serious ripples through the Big Ten.
The Buckeyes are the kind of team that people assume will always be pretty good. They will always at least be contenders for the Big Ten crown. However, if Stroud goes pro, Ryan Day and company were at least going to have to rebuild a bit and find a new QB1. If he sticks around though, and the fact that he hasn’t declared for the NFL Draft just yet, despite having only one day left to do it, has some thinking he will could be a difference maker.
It turns out that CJ Stroud could even play a big part in the Nebraska football team winning the Big Ten West. Yes. I actually heard your eye-rolls. But it’s not crazy.
CJ Stroud officially has less than 48 hours to decide if he is going to enter the NFL Draft or stay at OSU.
— NFL Rookie Watch (@NFLRookieWatxh) January 15, 2023
A decision that could potentially have a HUGE impact on this year’s Draft 👀 pic.twitter.com/C0Ys8Acs2D
First of all, it’s worth noting that the Nebraska football team, as bad as it was this year, was in the race for the Big Ten West fairly late in the season. The division was wide open. It stands to reason that it could be pretty wide open in 2023. And that might mean that losses outside the division will be big.
While Ohio State (and possibly CJ Stroud) don’t play the Nebraska football team in 2023, they will play Purdue, Wisconsin and Minnesota. In each one of those games, Huskers fans will be able to openly root for the Buckeyes and hope that they can put a dent in division rivals’ records.
Meanwhile, NU’s schedule against the Big Ten East is eminently navigatable. Yes, Michigan is on the schedule and will certainly cause some consternation. But the other out of division teams are Michigan State and Maryland. Both decent squads, but not world beaters.
Nebraska Football Could Get Assist From CJ Stroud
At this point I feel like I need to say that I am not claiming that the Huskers have an easy road to the Big Ten West title. Obviously, a lot has to go right.
Matt Rhule has to put together a squad that can actually win the majority of its own games before it’s time to start thinking about winning the division. And in the last six years, winning the majority of their games has not been a Nebraska football staple.
Having said that, contention in the Big Ten West is never going to be out of the question because of how the teams beat up on each other, and get beat up by the East. While Nebraska football would need a ton to go right to compete for the division title, CJ Stroud sticking around could definitely be one of those things.