Nebraska Football Ranked 8th in Big Ten in Initial College Huddle Rankings

The Nebraska football team opens the season ranked #8 in the Big Ten football rankings put out by The College Huddle. The rankings were completed before Thursday night, when four Big Ten teams kicked off their seasons and the Huskers held on for a thrilling 20-17 win over Cincinnati.

Ohio State comes in 1st in the College Huddle rankings, with Penn State at #2, Oregon #3, Indiana at #4, and Illinois rounding out the Top 5. The top four, of course, is made up of the four teams that represented the Big Ten in last year’s college football playoff, which welcomed 12 teams for the first time in its history.

Nebraska’s first conference opponent, Michigan, comes in at #6 in the poll, with optimism high that the Wolverines will improve upon their 7-5 regular season in 2024. Of the Huskers’ other conference opponents, Iowa is ranked #7, USC is #9, Minnesota is #11, Michigan State is #12, UCLA is #14, Maryland is #16, and Northwestern is #17.

Other former Big Ten West foes come in at the bottom third of the rankings, with Wisconsin at #13 and Purdue dead last in the conference at #18.

By halftime of Nebraska’s game against Cincinnati, it felt like the Huskers were pushing the Bearcats around, and were firmly in control of the game. While the Huskers led 13-3 at the midway point, the game turned into a back-and-forth battle after halftime. Malcolm Hartzog ultimately came through with a massive interception to secure the win for the Big Red.

In the preseason, several national analysts listed the Huskers as a potential playoff contender, with everyone from Phil Steele, Joel Klatt, and Josh Pate suggesting Nebraska was anywhere from a dark horse to firmly in the playoff conversation. Several reasons were cited for the optimism surrounding what’s happening in Lincoln, including the fact that Dylan Raiola is in year two under center, as well as continuity among the coaching staff.

Certainly, Matt Rhule’s record as a program builder and a turnaround artist is also a major reason college football watchers from across the country believe Nebraska is a program on the rise. Rhule exuded quite a bit of confidence during the offseason, and he seems to have his culture firmly in place. We’ll see if Nebraska’s white-knuckle win on Thursday night will impact that perception.

The College Huddle is the largest fan-led online college sports podcast community, made up of one podcast from each fan base represented. The Common Fan Podcast is the Nebraska representative for The College Huddle.

Full conference rankings are as follows:

College Huddle Week Zero 2025 | Eric Boggs

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