Saturday Blitz
Fansided

Nebraska football: No, the Cornhuskers aren’t back

By Christopher Mangum

Sep 25, 2021; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers running back Rahmir Johnson (14) runs with the ball during the second quarter against the Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 25, 2021; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers running back Rahmir Johnson (14) runs with the ball during the second quarter against the Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next

Nebraska football was once a powerhouse in college football, but since joining the Big Ten, the Cornhuskers have barely had a sliver of success.

Nebraska football is a program with a rich tradition of winning, or at least once upon a time they did. Since joining the Big Ten in 2011, Nebraska has been underwhelming time and time again, and 11 years later, that trend should remain the same.

Nebraska in the Big Ten

Since joining the Big Ten in 2011, a conference in which they are out-matched in basketball, football, academics, and more, Nebraska has strung together wildly embarrassing seasons. Ten in a row, to be exact.

Ten years ago, Nebraska put together their last 10-win season to date, and at the time, things were indeed looking up for the Cornhuskers. After finishing the regular season with a 10-2 record,
After joining their new conference, Nebraska was on its way to a Big Ten Championship game in only two seasons. With Ohio State and Penn State banned from post-season play that year, Nebraska’s opponent for the Big Ten title would be Wisconsin.

The Badgers, who had already lost to Nebraska earlier that season and ended with a 7-5 record, came into the match-up with shallow expectations. After all, Wisconsin was not supposed to be there, and Nebraska was trending towards being an elite program.

Yet this theory was proven to be embarrassingly wrong. The only thing that I can think of that is more embarrassing than thinking Wisconsin did not have a chance would be the absolute beating the Badgers dealt Nebraska in their first and only Big Ten title game.

When it was all said and done, Wisconsin, who boasted a 7-5 record, rolled the Cornhuskers by 70-33. It is notable to point out that Wisconsin barely squeaked pasted Northern Iowa (FCS) and Utah State that same season and was not supposed to be there in the first place after finishing in third place in their division.

After being defiled in their conference title game, the Cornhuskers would see a repeat offense against Georgia, losing the Capital One Bowl by 45-31. With the history of Nebraska football, 2012 was definitely a disappointing season. Yet it wasn’t; in fact, 2012 was Nebraska’s best performance since joining the Big Ten conference.

Since the Huskers’ 10-4 season in 2012, Nebraska has seen six losing seasons in the past nine years, sprinkling three 9-4 seasons. No way Nebraska fans are content with the coaching in Lincoln, right? They consider themselves a blue-blood, so there is no chance that they think 3-9 is good enough… Right?

Home/Nebraska Cornhuskers