As the calendar hurtles towards the 2025 season, Nebraska football fans are hoping that the Huskers can take the next step. And it appears there are people from all over the country that thinks Matt Rhule definitely has his team pointed in the right direction.
While the next step after making their first bowl game in almost a decade ins’t necessarily appearing in the playoffs, there are a few analysts who believe it’s not out of the question for the Huskers. That includes one analyst who happens to cover the Michigan Wolverines.
Chris Breiler of Sports Illustrated came up with three teams that he thinks are “dark horses” to make the College Football Playoffs next season. The Nebraska football team happens to be one of those teams.
Nebraska football named a dark horse of the college football playoffs
“With the return of starting quarterback Dylan Raiola, along with a somewhat favorable schedule that avoids matchups against Ohio State and Oregon, the Cornhuskers could certainly achieve 10 wins in the regular season. During his time at Temple, head coach Matt Rhule achieved his first breakthrough season in year 3, helping the Owls reach 10 wins. During his time at Baylor, Rhule took the Bears from a one win season to an 11 win season in year 3. Given the weapons he has in Lincoln, it wouldn't be all that surprising to see Rhule produce the same result at Nebraska in 2025.”
The Huskers are mentioned alongside USC and Illinois. It’s worth pointing out that while USC struggled in 2024, they had several close losses that could have had their season going in a completely different direction. Meanwhile, Illinois was a contender for the playoffs for most of the season, finally falling short thanks in large part to a loss to Minnesota towards the end of the season.
The Nebraska football team won’t see Illinois in 2025, but they do face off against USC, meaning that they’ll have a chance to give their playoff hopes a boost should the dark horses really be in the running.