Calculating Nebraska football wins needed for College Football Playoff at-large bid

The Nebraska football team has a lot of excitement flying around it this year. There’s an expectation that Dylan Raiola is going to wake up the sleeping giant that is the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

The question is, just how good could the Huskers be? Could they be so good that they’re actually headed to the college football playoff? While that answer won’t be known until the season starts, it looks like we’ve at least got the number NU will have to get to in order to really entertain a playoff berth.

Kford ratings have come up with the number of games that every team in FBS would need to win in 2024 in order to be “in the conversation” for the College Football Playoffs based on their metrics. It turns out the Nebraska football team will need to get to 10 wins, which, while difficult, doesn’t look impossible. 

Where will the 10 wins come from for Nebraska football

Securing 10 wins is no small feat, especially for a team that hasn’t reached the six-win mark since 2016. However, a path to this goal does exist, starting with a promising 3-0 start to the conference schedule. The only significant hurdle in this path is Colorado. But should the Huskers overcome this, their path becomes clearer.

The first four Big Ten games are all imminently winnable as well and NU could feasibly start 7-0 with wins over Illinois, Rutgers, Indiana and Purdue. And that’s where things get tougher. 

Can the Nebraska football team find three wins in the final five against Ohio State, UCLA, USC, Wisconsin and Iowa? It seems unlikely, but it also doesn’t seem impossible. And should they pull that off, they should definitely be in the conversation as an at-large bid to the College Football Playoffs. Buckle up!