Parity Helping Drive Nebraska's Preparation for Michigan State

In a world of NIL and a transfer portal, many people think it will ultimately lead to a “rich get richer” society. Big, brand-name programs will stay that way, while the smaller, fledgling programs will slowly fall off.

If that’s the case, it hasn’t happened yet, and we’ve seen examples of it all across college football over the past month. Just this season, Army lost to Tarleton State of the FCS after blowing a 14-point lead. Later this year, they bounced back and beat Kansas State 24-21…in Manhattan!

This is a year where South Florida has upset both Boise State and Florida, Mississippi State knocked off No. 12 Arizona State, Vanderbilt’s undefeated with a win over No. 11 South Carolina and preseason No. 4 Clemson is now 1-3 with losses to Georgia Tech and Syracuse.

Clemson fans have had little to cheer for this season after the Tigers were ranked #4 in the preseason. They're now 1-3 and f — Clemson fans have had little to cheer for this season after the Tigers were ranked No. 4 in the preseason. They're now 1-3 and fresh off a 34-21 home loss to Syracuse. | Ken Ruinard / USA Today Network South Carolina / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The parity through the first month of the season has also grabbed the attention of Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule.

“How does Alabama go from losing the first game to then they beat Georgia, and how does Florida State go from beating Alabama to then losing to Virginia?” he said. “How does Illinois go from giving up 63 points, then turning around and beating USC? I think there’s more parity in college football than ever before. It comes down to your mindset, so are you locked in and focused?”

Nebraska shouldn’t be falling into any traps this week following its loss to No. 21 Michigan back on September 20. The team has spent the majority of its bye week focusing on itself after the setback.

The old narratives about Nebraska football are back after another crushing defeat to a ranked opponent. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

All week, they’ve been hearing the same song from the local and national media. Nebraska’s inability to beat a ranked team is becoming a punchline for hecklers of the team — after all, it’s been more than nine years (Sept. 17, 2016, vs. No. 22 Oregon). They also let Michigan run up and down on them to the tune of 286 yards, with the Wolverines scoring on runs of 37, 75 and 54.

Understandably, those cold, hard truths are leading to some self-reflection time in Lincoln.

“(We’re) making sure that our guys have the best version of ourselves showing up,” Rhule said. “I believe last year, Michigan State coming off the bye, they came out and beat Iowa in Iowa City, which is a hard thing to do.”

Michigan State, like Nebraska, will be looking to bounce back from their first loss of the season back on September 20. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Michigan State’s in the same boat as Nebraska. They also started the year a perfect 3-0 before stumbling on Sept. 20 to No. 25 USC in a 45-31 loss. Despite the setback, Rhule’s still bullish on the Spartans, admitting his team will have a tall task in trying to slow down an offense that has scored at least 31 points in their last three games.

The national narrative is that Michigan State is down due to some key injuries, but you won’t hear that rhetoric from the guys in red.

“Outside the building, you might hear a lot of people say ‘well this team’s this, this team’s that,’ Rhule said. “You really never know which version of the team’s going to show up. You can only control yourself. That’s a good football team. Jonathan Smith is an excellent coach. They’ll have their team ready.”

How it all plays out Saturday in Lincoln remains to be seen, but a month of football hasn’t been enough to sort out the full college football picture just yet. More heavy favorites will fall to underdogs, and a national ranking is not a guarantee that you get to keep it.

Nebraska coach Matt Rhule will be the first to tell you that the "cupcake games" are in the past. He expects each game to be nip and tuck for the rest of the season in the Big Ten. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

It’s Big Ten football from here on out for the Huskers, and Rhule admits that blowouts will be hard to come by for either side due to how competitive the conference is as a whole.

“You (see) a lot more close games going down to the wire, coming down to one play,” he said. “In a game where our game (against Michigan) came down to probably one play, our guys have to make sure that they’re ready to play.”

The Huskers and Spartans kick off at 3 p.m. CDT on FS1.

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