Nebraska Football: Best and worst case scenario for Cornhuskers in 2018

Nebraska football has some question marks surrounding the team heading into 2018, but what are the best and worst-case scenarios?

Nebraska football fans have been waiting all offseason for Sept. 1. The Cornhuskers had a forgettable 2017 season in Mike Riley’s final season, going just 4-8 after a 3-2 start to the year. The head coach was in over his head and the athletic department decided to make a change.

That change has been for the better seeing as Nebraska was able to land former Cornhusker gunslinger and UCF head coach Scott Frost.

Yes, Frost is headed back home after leading the Knights to an undefeated season and Peach Bowl win over Auburn. They were self-proclaimed national champions but Frost decided to pass up another season with McKenzie Milton to take his dream job with his alma mater.

The Cornhuskers can only improve from here, but they’ll have to figure out the quarterback situation. Will they go with Tristan Gebbia or Adrian Martinez?

Let’s take a look at the best and worst case scenarios for the Cornhuskers in 2018.

Best-case scenario

The ceiling for this Nebraska team may be 8-9 wins, but that’s not the worst start to Scott’s tenure as head coach. If he can lead the Cornhuskers to an 8-4 or 9-3 season and put pressure on Wisconsin in the Big Ten West, that would be an extremely successful season.

Sept. 1: vs. Akron — W
Sept. 8: vs. Colorado — W
Sept. 15: vs. Troy — W
Sept. 22: at Michigan — L
Sept. 29: vs. Purdue — W
Oct. 6: at Wisconsin — L
Oct. 13: at Northwestern — W
Oct. 20: vs. Minnesota — W
Nov. 3: at Ohio State — L
Nov. 10: vs. Illinois — W
Nov. 17: vs. Michigan State — W
Nov. 23: at Iowa — W

While I think beating Northwestern, Michigan State and Iowa would be extremely difficult, it’s possible in the best-case scenario.

Worst-case scenario

The 2018 season could go either really well or terribly for the Cornhuskers. The have a schedule with Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Ohio State and Wisconsin. Don’t forget tough road games against Northwestern and Iowa. Here’s what the worst-case scenario would look like.

Sept. 1: vs. Akron — W
Sept. 8: vs. Colorado — W
Sept. 15: vs. Troy — W
Sept. 22: at Michigan — L
Sept. 29: vs. Purdue — L
Oct. 6: at Wisconsin — L
Oct. 13: at Northwestern — L
Oct. 20: vs. Minnesota — W
Nov. 3: at Ohio State — L
Nov. 10: vs. Illinois — W
Nov. 17: vs. Michigan State — L
Nov. 23: at Iowa — L

As you can see, with the difficulty in the Cornhuskers’ road schedule, the worst-case scenario could be an ugly one. A 5-7 season is possible, but they could take one against Purdue and maybe steal one at Northwestern or Iowa.

Frost has his work cut out for him if he wants to lead Nebraska back to bowl eligibility, and that includes facing three of the four powerhouses in the Big Ten East.