With the college football season finally here, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit has unveiled a bold prediction for Nebraska.
Believe it or not, Herbstreit has the Cornhuskers making it to the Big Ten Championship. He revealed his prediction for the program while talking about Ohio State’s ceiling for this fall.
“My sense is that Ryan Day is a master motivator. Remember when they lost to Clemson at the end of the ’19 season and they felt they could have won and should have won, they were on a mission, even through COVID, to get Clemson. And they ended up playing them and dominating that game,” Herbstreit said, via 247Sports. “I kind of sense the same thing with Michigan and the way they last up in Ann Arbor. It really fueled this team in the offseason. So they get Michigan at home. I think Michigan’s gonna have a great year, but coming to Columbus I think will be tough. I think Ohio State will win the East. And then I think, look at this, I got Nebraska. Remember they were 3-9 last year, all nine losses within one possession. They found ways to lose games. I think Scott Frost can have a great year with Casey Thompson at quarterback.”
Last year, Nebraska owned a 3-9 record. That’s obviously not a great mark, but it is a bit misleading.
Nebraska had one-possession losses to Oklahoma, Michigan State, Michigan, Minnesota, Purdue, Wisconsin and Iowa. If Scott Frost’s squad can tighten things up late in games, it could be a fun year for the program.
Herbstreit brought up a great point about marquee transfer Casey Thompson providing Nebraska a spark at quarterback. In 2021, he completed 63.2 percent of his passes for 2,113 yards with 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions while at Texas.
If Thompson can have similar success at Nebraska, that will almost certainly improve the team’s win total.
Nebraska kicks off the season this Saturday against Northwestern. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. ET.