Where Nebraska Stands in the National College Football Rankings

The Huskers fall in six of seven rankings after their loss to Michigan

Nebraska coach Matt Rhule's team dropped out of the AP poll after losing to Michigan. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Each Wednesday, we’ll take a look at where seven national polls place Nebraska’s football team. After Week Four, the 3-1 Huskers ranked 31.8 in an average of six polls. The Huskers were not ranked in the AP Top 25, nor were they others receiving votes. Last week, the Huskers ranked 29.4 in an average of seven polls.

Nebraska, coming off a 30-27 loss at home to 21st-ranked Michigan, moved up in only one poll — one spot in ESPN’s SP+. Nebraska fell in five other polls of the seven monitored by huskermax.com.

The Huskers’ best ranking is 20th in the ESPN’s SP+ poll. They are 21st in the ESPN Football Power Index. Last week, the Huskers’ best ranking was 17th in the Football Power Index.
The Huskers are on a bye week this week before returning Oct. 4 at Memorial Stadium to play Michigan State.

Nebraska’s odds across the board decreased in ESPN’s FPI odds that include: winning six games; projected wins/losses; winning the Big Ten Conference; making the College Football Playoff; making the national championship game; and winning the national championship game.

The Huskers’ projected win total is 8.5, down from 9.2 last week.

The polls we will monitor all season are:

* Associated Press
* The Athletic
* CBS Sports
* US LBM Coaches Poll
* ESPN’s Football Power Index
* ESPN’s SP+ rankings
* Massey Ratings

Associated Press

The Huskers dropped out of the “others receiving votes” category. Thirty-six teams received votes. Last week, Nebraska had moved up one slot to 34th.

The Athletic

Nebraska dropped five places, going from 39th to 44th. In The Athletic’s preseason rankings, Nebraska was 39th.

CBS Sports 136 Rankings

Nebraska dropped five places from 30th to 35th.

US LBM Coaches Poll

The Huskers are “others receiving votes” at 41st, a drop of five places.

ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI)

The Huskers dropped four places, going from 17th to 21st.

Of six FPI odds for the Huskers, their odds decreased in all six categories.

Here are FPI’s odds for Nebraska (with last week’s odds in parentheses):

Nebraska tight end Luke Lindenmeyer and wide receiver Nyziah Hunter celebrate after a call against Michigan. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

* 99.3 percent chance of winning six games (last week was 99.8)
* 8.5 projected wins to 3.5 projected losses (last week was 9.2 wins and 2.9 losses)
* 1.0 percent chance of winning the Big Ten (4.0 percent chance last week)
* 9.4 percent chance of making the College Football Playoff (25.9 percent chance last week)
* 0.7 percent chance of making the national championship game (2.7 percent chance last week)
* 0.2 percent chance of winning the national championship (1.0 percent chance last week)

ESPN’s SP+ rankings

The Huskers actually moved up a spot, going from 21st to 20th. Moving up is reasonable, given the Huskers played Michigan to the end, and wound up with a one-score loss.

As ESPN writer Bill Connelly says: “It’s a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency … SP+ is intended to be predictive and forward-facing.

“It is simply a measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football. If you’re lucky or unimpressive in a win, your rating will probably fall. If you’re strong and unlucky in a loss, it will probably rise.”

Massey Ratings

Massey Ratings are a compilation of 40 different college football rankings. In the consensus of the 40 rankings, the Huskers ranked 30th, down four spots from last week.

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