Huskers Up Three Spots in College Huddle's Latest Big Ten Football Rankings

Nebraska trending up after dominating Wisconsin.

Nov 23, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule and athletic director Troy Dannen walk off the field after defeating the Wisconsin Badgers at Memorial Stadium. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

The Nebraska football team is currently ranked #11 in the latest Big Ten football rankings put out by The College Huddle. That’s up three spots since last week, after the Huskers’ decisive win over Wisconsin on Saturday. Nebraska was #7 in the initial conference rankings, and got as high as #4 after beating Colorado handily. Iowa – the Big Red’s next opponent – comes in at #6 in this week’s rankings. 

Nebraska’s 44-25 win over Wisconsin has all of Husker Nation feeling like the season is back on track. The Huskers had lost four in a row, and bowl eligibility was in jeopardy for the eighth consecutive season. Interestingly, the two units that have been the most inconsistent this year–the offense and special teams–led the way with arguably their best performances of the season on Saturday. 

The offense put together the most complete game we’ve seen, with quarterback Dylan Raiola completing 28 passes on 38 attempts for 293 yards and a touchdown. The Huskers also rushed for 180 yards, with Emmett Johnson leading the way with 85 rushing yards (Johnson was also the team’s leading pass catcher with 85 receiving yards). On the special teams side of things, Jacorey Barney returned a kickoff for 45 yards, and kicker John Hohl was 3-for-3 on field goal attempts. If both of these units can continue trending upward, that will bode well for Nebraska as they head into the Iowa game and a bowl game. 

On the defensive side of the ball, the defense has been less dominant than we’ve been accustomed to over the last two games. USC scored 28 points on the Blackshirts, and Wisconsin scored 25. Both teams had missed or blocked field goals that would have made those totals even higher. Both teams put up over 400 yards. The defensive backfield in particular has been a concern, with opposing receivers seemingly wide open way too often. And there have been way too many missed tackles in recent games. The Husker D will need to tighten things up going into Iowa. 

Oregon comes in 1st in the College Huddle rankings, with Ohio State at #2, Penn State #3, Indiana at #4, and Illinois rounding out the Top 5. Iowa is #6, while Wisconsin fell to #13 (down from #10) after the loss to Nebraska. Last year’s college football national champion Michigan comes in at 8th in the rankings. As for the Huskers’ other former Big Ten West foes, Minnesota is #9, Northwestern is #17, and Purdue brings up the rear at #18. 

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:

Week 13 Big Ten rankings from The College Huddle. / Eric Boggs

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