There's a ton of excitement around the Nebraska football team's prospects for the 2024 season and it's only February. Imagine the excitement level when the season actually comes around. One analyst's predictions indicate that Husker fans are in for a very fun season.
If Brett McMurphy's "way too early" bowl projections are accurate, the Nebraska football team is going to snap its seven season streak of missing out on the postseason. Even better than that is the fact that the Nebraska Cornhuskers are going to some small nothing game like the 68 Ventures Bowl.
McMurphy's latest has Matt Rhule, Dylan Raiola, and company headed to the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl to face off against Ole Miss. It would be a welcome sight to see Nebraska go to any bowl, but getting projected to the Citrus Bowl likely means that 2024 is going to be a legitimately successful season rather than just barely getting 6 or 7 wins.
Of course, it appears that McMurphy doesn't believe the Huskers have much of a shot of winning the Citrus Bowl over Ole Miss. Not only does he have a "way too early" prediction for who will play in the game, but also has the Rebels as 14-point favorites.
My Never-Too-Early @CFBPlayoff & Bowl projections. 12-Boise at 5-Texas, 9-PennSt at 8-Mizzou; 11-Michigan at 6-Oregon; 10-Bama at 7-ND. Byes: 1-UGA, 2-OhioSt, 3-FSU, 4-Utah. Alamo: USC-KansasSt; Vegas: Tennessee-Arizona; Holiday: Clemson-Washington https://t.co/3acezUIhZw
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) February 14, 2024
It seems likely that for at least one year, NU fans won't mind losing in a bowl game. Just getting back there is going to be a sign of progress. A sign that the culture Matt Rhule has talked about installing is actually taking root.
Nebraska footbal bowl projection has some historical significance
It's not lost on me that should McMurphy somehow hit the bullseye on this game, it would mean that the Huskers might not be returning to the scene of the crime, but they're going up against a perpetrator of sorts.
In 2002, the Nebraska football team lost to Ole Miss and Eli Manning in the Independence Bowl. It was the first .500 or worse season since 1961. It was the beginning of a bad road. It would seem like perhaps the upswing had begun if they went up against the Rebels next December.