Surprising playoff projection pairs Nebraska with a fellow Blue-Blood

The hype around the Nebraska football team is hitting a fevered pitch. Less than two weeks away from the Huskers' season opener, more and more analysts are predicting NU might be a dark-horse College Football Playoff contender.

Josh Pate is the latest to put the Cornhuskers in the field come this winter, and he believes they'll take on a fellow Blue Blood. Should the analyst's predictions come true, it's one of those picks that is quite interesting for no other reason than that despite the two programs being among the most storied in the sport, they haven't squared off all that often.

Nebraska football in the playoffs against Notre Dame according to Josh Pate

Pate released his official predictions for the CFP slate. However, unlike some other experts, he only predicted who would make it and didn't go so far as to predict how the matchups would play out. The analyst picked Nebraska to make the playoffs as the No. 11 seed and take on No. 6-seeded Notre Dame in the first round.

Pate's prediction lines up and goes one step further with others that have said the Huskers are going to be good enough to make more than a bowl game, thanks in large part to a more manageable schedule outside of tilts with Michigan and Penn State.

With NU coaches singing the praises of Dylan Raiola and his mates on the offensive side of the ball, there's an expectation the Cornhuskers will have an explosive attack that could overcome the likes of Iowa and USC on their way to the top third of the Big Ten.

The Nebraska football team is one of four B1G teams to make the field, according to Pate, who also has Penn State as the top overall seed, Oregon as the No. 4 seed, and defending champion Ohio State as the No. 7 seed in the College Football Playoffs bracket.