Nebraska’s Out; Some Surprises Among the Bowl Qualifiers

Huskers staying home while a number of lower-profile programs move on to the postseason

Author:
Dan McGlynn
Publish date:
Nov 29, 2023 8:36 PM EST

In this story:

Husker fans lamenting what could have been for the Nebraska football team this fall may not be comforted by some of the teams that are bowl eligible.

Many on the list — Liberty, Ohio, Toledo and Troy — have really good records but are not household names. Could Nebraska beat most of these teams?

Probably. But the Huskers, playing a schedule that might have been their easiest since joining the Big Ten in 2011, still managed to win only five games. Of those five, only one opponent finished the season with a winning record (Northwestern). What the list shows is how far the Husker football program has fallen in recent years.

Remember, this is not a list of all the teams that will go bowling this year, just some of the more uncommon ones.

Big Ten Conference

Minnesota (5-7) Same record as NU's but had the best Academic Progress Rate score of the nation's five-win teams.
Northwestern (7-5) A Husker win.

Mid-American Conference

Bowling Green (7-5)
Eastern Michigan (6-6)
Northern Illinois (6-6) Another Husker win.
Ohio (9-3) Frank Solich's former school.
Toledo (11-1)

American Athletic Conference

Rice (6-6). Luke McCaffery has been a starting WR for the Owls this fall. Through 12 games, his numbers are 68 receptions for 963 yards, 14.16 yards per catch, 12 TDs for an average of 80.3 receiving yards per game. Luke started two games at QB for Nebraska in 2020.
UTSA (8-4)

Mountain West Conference

Air Force (8-4)
UNLV (9-3)
Wyoming (8-4)

Sun Belt Conference

Appalachian State (8-4)
Arkansas State (6-6)
James Madison (11-0)
Marshall (6-6)
Old Dominion (6-6)
South Alabama (6-6)
Texas State (7-5)
Troy (10-2)

Conference USA

Jacksonville State (8-4) Jacksonville's starting QB this year was former Husker Logan Smothers.
Liberty (12-0)
Western Kentucky (7-5)

Two newcomers

Two of the teams listed above, James Madison and Jacksonville State, easily met the six-win threshold. But because they are still transitioning to full FBS status, they wouldn't have been bowl eligible if there had been enough eligible teams to fill the 82 bowl slots. There were just 79, however, so those two schools along with Minnesota are in.