When Nebraska was in the Big 8 and Big 12, the Huskers had some truly impressive rivalries. There were Oklahoma, Colorado, and Kansas State. Even Iowa State and Missouri were fun rivalries for the Huskers, though most of those games, outside of the Sooners’ series, were one-sided.
When the Cornhuskers moved to the Big Ten, they lost almost all of those rivalries. These days they face former Big 12 teams now and then, but it’s nothing like it used to be. Instead, there have been some pretty fun rivalries that have popped up in the Big Ten. They might not have the same kind of history, but it looks like there are more than a few series that are going to be interesting to watch change and evolve over the years.
So how are Nebraska’s rivalries in the Big Ten ranked?
Nebraska’s best ranked Big Ten rivalries prove old grudges aren’t required
4. Northwestern
Nebraska vs Northwestern may not be the most obvious rivalry out there, but NU vs NU does hold some cache. It also helps that the two teams were in the same division every year when divisions were a thing in the Big Ten.
Since the Huskers joined the conference, they are just 8-6 against Northwestern. A series being this even is one of the things that makes it one of the best. There’s also the tidbit that no matter who wins, the score is rarely lopsided. Nebraska has won the last two matchups, taking that 8-6 advantage and holds an 11-7 edge overall.
3. Minnesota
There was a time when Nebraska and Minnesota were a better rivalry than this. Since joining the Big Ten, the Huskers are 5-9 against the Golden Gophers. They are also 0-6 in the last six meetings.
One of the odd things about this rivalry is that, unlike Northwestern, the games, no matter who wins, tend to be blowouts more often than not. Things have gone even worse for the Huskers in this rivalry, considering they started their stint in the conference with two straight wins over Minnesota. In other words, they’re just 3-9 in their last 12 against the Gophers. That allows them to jump ahead of Northwestern in rivalry ranks.
2. Wisconsin
This rivalry is a rivalry both because Nebraska and Wisconsin have the same school colors and because the Badgers used a former Husker coach in Barry Alvarez to rebuild their program after decades of being an also-ran in college football.
It is not a rivalry in the sense that it’s remotely two-sided. Since joining the Big Ten, the Huskers are just 2-11 against the Badgers. The good news here is that NU posted the latest win in this series. The bad news is that Nebraska followed up its first win (30-27) against Wiscy by losing 70-31 later that year in the Big Ten title game. Because of the poor record, this is a game that NU fans get fired up about every time they play.
1. Iowa
Like Minnesota, this is a series where the Cornhuskers started really well when they first joined the conference. They went 3-1 against the Hawkeyes just after coming to the Big Ten. However, they have lost often since then. Interim head coach Mickey Joseph is the only Nebraska coach to beat Kirk Ferentz in 12 years.
Nebraska and Iowa also really, really dislike each other, which is why this rivalry jumps to the front of the list. NU dislikes the Hawkeyes so much that Bo Pelini was fired after winning in OT against Ferentz because the AD at the time thought the Huskers were becoming too much like Iowa.
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