Nebraska Football running out of opportunities to become bowl eligible

By Leigh Oleszczak | Nov 2, 2019

LINCOLN, NE - OCTOBER 26: Head coach Scott Frost of the Nebraska Cornhuskers walks off the field after the loss against the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium on October 26, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /

Eight games have come and gone and Nebraska football sits at 4-4 on the season with four games left to play. They need two more wins to make a bowl game and they’re running out of chances to get those two wins.

Coming into the 2019 season, a lot (and I mean A LOT) of Nebraska football fans thought that 2019 would blow 2018 out of the water in terms of wins and improvement from this program under Scott Frost. Many were expecting to see the team we saw from late October until the end of the season take the field each week this year.

Well, that hasn’t entirely been the case, as the Cornhuskers have struggled immensely in just about every facet of the game to this point.

Offense has been wishy washy with three different quarterbacks taking snaps, the offensive line being terrible, and the entire unit as a whole being ravaged by injuries. It hasn’t been pretty.

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On defense, injuries have also been an issue, but the run defense and lack of tackling have been prominent issues. Indiana was able to run all over the Huskers last weekend and that is something other teams will continue to do to this defensive unit.

Special teams was bad last year and while it’s been great having Barret Pickering back, it’s still something that’ll worry fans for the duration of the season.

All of those things set aside, Nebraska is 4-4 and can still make a bowl game, but their chances are slimming down. Their Saturday morning game against the 2-6 Purdue Boilermakers is a game the Huskers HAVE to win if they want to make it to a bowl game.

The reason why it’s a winnable game is because after that, Nebraska faces Iowa, Maryland, and Wisconsin. Yes, the games against Iowa and Wisconsin are in Lincoln, but neither of those games scream victory to even the most optimistic of fans. Both the Badgers and Hawkeyes have been ranked throughout the season and should be able to beat Nebraska.

That leaves Purdue and Maryland as the games Nebraska must win. The Terrapins were actually ranked early in the season, but have since fallen back down to earth. Both of those games are on the road too, and Nebraska is not a great road team.

At the very least, Nebraska fans expected a bowl game appearance this year by their Cornhuskers. Not making a bowl game in back to back seasons would be unacceptable and while Frost shouldn’t be let go just two years in, the seat might get a little hot for the former Nebraska quarterback should he not lead this program to a bowl game in back to back seasons.

Get a win against Purdue this weekend and the chatter dies down a bit… for now.

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