Now that the Nebraska football team is 5-1, it's officially time to look at how the second half of the season could go. The most interesting part is that one of the Huskers' final games of the year just got a massive shift with an injury to Drew Allar.
When the Huskers' schedule was released, most fans circled the game against Penn State on November 22 as its toughest of the year. After all, the Nittany Lions made noise in the College Football Playoffs last season and were considered one of the top National Title contenders this season. They started the season 3-0, went to overtime against fellow Natty hopeful ... and then things went sideways.
Nebraska football's dark-horse playoff path gets a significant shift with Drew Allar's injury
James Franklin and Co. lost to the Ducks. Then they were the victims of the biggest upset of the season by a 0-4 UCLA squad that had just fired their head coach. And then on Saturday, Penn State lost to another huge underdog in Northwestern. Adding injury to insult, starting quarterback Drew Allar suffered an injury, and his team expects him to miss the rest of the season.
Allar suffered the season-ending injury late in the fourth quarter of Saturday's latest loss to the Wildcats. Allar ran the ball and was hit by two Northwestern players, with one defender hitting him high and one hitting him low. Allar immediately grabbed his ankle and had to be helped off the field.
With Penn State falling to 3-3, their playoff hopes were over, even if Allar wasn't hurt. However, Nebraska's 5-1 record and a schedule that (for now) doesn't have a Top 25 opponent makes them at least a dark-horse candidate for the playoffs.
Next up is a Friday night trip to Minnesota. The Golden Gophers are 4-2 but haven't looked all that impressive at any point this year. Then the Cornhuskers come home for a game against Northwestern, and then they face off against USC on November 1. The Trojans have likely replaced Penn State as the toughest team left on the schedule.
Suppose the Huskers can use home-field advantage to topple Lincoln Riley and company. In that case, they'll go to UCLA, then Happy Valley, and finish the year against Iowa.
Indeed, the schedule isn't anything close to a cakewalk. The Nebraska football team's schedule so far this season has offered plenty of tests, and other than a close loss to Michigan, the Huskers have passed them all. Facing off against Penn State without a future NFL quarterback under center makes that test easier, no matter how anyone slices it.