While there’s been quite a bit of panic about Nebraska falling into some bad habits after getting off to a 5-2 start, one of the newest bowl projections not only has the Huskers getting a bowl bid, but one that would almost certainly mean NU clears the 6 win bar by a decent margin.
USA Today Sports sees a rematch for Nebraska in the latest bowl game projections. The Huskers are now projected to face No. 16 Tennessee in the Music City Bowl. Aside from the game being a rematch of a showdown against the Volunteers when Peyton Manning was at the helm and Tom Osborne won another National Title, it shows a matchup against a Top 25 SEC team that might miss the College Football Playoff by a hair’s breadth.
Of course, it would also be a rematch of the 2016 Music City Bowl, which was the last bowl Nebraska played in until head coach Matt Rhule’s second season in 2024. The Huskers lost that game, and it started a downward spiral. It would be nice if going to the game this year could help fix things and really restart the next generation of NU football.
First, the Huskers need to find a way to win that sixth game, and then they can start looking at getting a better bowl game. One of the best chances to do that comes this weekend. Washington, Illinois, and Rutgers give the Huskers chances to pick up their sixth win and even reach eight for the first time since 2016. Nebraska then faces No. 2 Ohio State and Iowa to close out the regular season.
Nebraska football could reach eight wins before potential Music City Bowl matchup with Tennessee
Meanwhile, Tennessee is 6-2 so far this season and has been in close battles against some of the country's top teams. The Volunteers are 1-1 against top-25 opponents this season, falling to then-No. 1 Texas and dominating then-No. 6 Alabama.
Tennessee fell after beating the Crimson Tide, however, dropping a 27-24 trap game to South Carolina. The team slipped from No. 11 to No. 16 and now faces No. 9 Kentucky this week. No. 15 LSU is also awaiting the Volunteers later this season. Texas A&M and Vanderbilt also remain on Tennessee's schedule.
That said, a Music City Bowl between the Volunteers and Nebraska is a sign the Huskers are taking the next step. Rocky Top might struggle to post many more wins, and the game could be a poor consolation prize for the SEC school.
A glass-half-full look at Tennessee’s season suggests the Aggies and Commodores give the Vols a decent chance to finish 8-4 at worst. If Nebraska wins the rest of the games it’s favored to win, it'll enter bowl season with the same record and a chance to get to nine wins for the first time since (yep, you guessed it) 2016.
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