Three Games That Will Define the Season for Nebraska Football in 2024

As week one nears, we look at the most pivotal contests on the Huskers' schedule this season.

Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Nebraska can win every single game on its schedule in 2024*. The operative word here is can. Recent history would suggest we can just as easily lose quite a few games on this schedule. While optimism is high heading into Year 2 of the Matt Rhule era, the Huskers are still in a position where they shouldn’t be taking any team for granted. To paraphrase something Coach Rhule has said multiple times over this offseason, we’re a 5-7 team until we’re not. 

*(OK, do I believe we are going to take down Ohio State? Not really. But I’m anxious to see how the Huskers match up with OSU, and we should absolutely be competitive in every other game).  

Hopefully, 2024 is the season we look back on and say the boys in red got over the hump and started winning close games, stopped turning the ball over so much, and got back to not just a bowl game, but also to relevance. Relevance in the conference, yes, and maybe even relevance in the national college football conversation. To do that, the Huskers are going to have to win the type of close games we haven’t won very often in recent years. 

We recently did a Common Fan podcast episode looking at three games that will define the season in 2024. For the episode, Matt, Geoff and I each had our own lists of games; today I'll try to boil it down to just the top three. 

Colorado. When we did our episode, I actually didn’t have Colorado on my list. My thinking was, it’s not a conference game, and even with a loss in this one, it’s only our second game of the season and you would think we will bounce back quickly with a win the following week (Northern Iowa) before rolling into the more favorable part of our conference schedule. 

I think I was wrong. How could Colorado not be on the list? It’s year 2 of the Coach Prime show. We’re coming off three consecutive losses to the Buffaloes, and last year’s turnover and mistake-filled debacle left a particularly bad taste in Husker fans’ mouths. This one is so important to the Nebraska fan base, and the crowd at Memorial Stadium on September 7 is going to be out for blood. I do believe a loss here will not be catastrophic; even with a loss, the Huskers will still have the entire conference schedule in front of them, and will still have plenty to play for. But I think a win against Colorado would provide a massive psychological boost to the fan base as well as the team.

Husker fans want to believe these are two programs heading in opposite directions. Matt Rhule has established a solid foundation; his culture is built on substance, hard work, no shortcuts. Coach Prime and his revolving-transfer-portal-door of a program are all flash, capable of the occasional highlight reel play but ultimately a house built on sand, poised to crumble at the first sign of distress. That may be true, but Nebraska needs to prove it on the field. 

Illinois. During our recent interview with Tim Brando, he pointed to this one as an important early game for Nebraska (it’s game four on the schedule). His point was, if Nebraska can beat Illinois to get to 4-0, or at worst 3-1, then our odds of getting back to a bowl game (and possibly up to eight or more wins) are very good. 

There are probably bigger games on the 2024 schedule. There are certainly games that will move the needle more for Husker fans when it comes to excitement and anticipation. But this one is important. Yes, Nebraska handled Illinois in a sloppy game in Champaign last year. Can we prove we’ve moved past the Illini as a program? The Huskers are 1-3 against Illinois over the last four seasons, and Head Coach Bret Beliema, who seemed to have Nebraska’s number when he was at Wisconsin, is 2-1 against the Huskers since taking over for the orange and blue. Beliema’s teams tend to be physical and well-coached. They actually had a bit of a bounce-back after playing Nebraska last season, winning three of their next four. We shouldn’t take this one lightly. 

Think about it this way: imagine if Nebraska were to lose this game. It’s the first conference game of the season against a team that Nebraska fans historically hold in low regard (rightly so). It’s the kind of game we believe we absolutely should win every year. In a season when optimism is so high that the Huskers will finally turn a corner, we need to win this game. 

Iowa. Not every Husker fan will acknowledge Iowa as being on par with our rivals from days gone by. Many will say they’re not in the same conversation as Oklahoma or even Colorado. That’s fair enough, but no team in the last decade gets the Big Red blood boiling like the Hawkeyes do. 

They’ve won eight out of the last nine against Nebraska, which is painful to even write. What’s frustrating about this is, these are always close games. We’ve been in position to win many of them. It’s been arguably Iowa’s best decade of football in its entire history, combined with the worst stretch of Nebraska football since the 1950s (and maybe ever), and we still could have won several of the Thanksgiving weekend contests against the Hawkeyes.

And, let’s face it. The winter/offseason period is often disproportionately defined by how the last game of the year goes. I would argue this is always a season-defining game for both teams, regardless of how their respective seasons have gone up to that point. If the Huskers are already bowl-eligible by the time the Iowa game rolls around, a loss might not sting as bad as in years past. But a win would be a huge exclamation point on what many hope and believe will be a massive turning point of a season for our beloved boys in red. 

Honorable Mention

OK, I tried to stop at three, but there are two other games I think will hold significant weight for the Huskers this year. 

USC. Head Coach Lincoln Riley is projecting confidence as he prepares for his first year in the Big 10. I’m not buying it yet. This team was absolutely atrocious on defense last year. They were one of the poorest tackling teams I’ve ever seen. Furthermore, history has shown that most teams have an adjustment period after moving to the Big 10. Nebraska travels to LA to battle the Trojans on November 16. How will they be handling the wear and tear of their new conference at that point in the season? What if the Huskers truly are resurgent in Year 2 under Matt Rhule? You know Husker fans will travel to this one. What if this is a Nebraska team rolling into La La Land with a head of steam and a friendlier-than-expected crowd against a USC team in the midst of more-than-expected Big 10 bumps and bruises? It’s certainly an opportunity for a statement game for the Big Red. 

Wisconsin. When Nebraska moved to the Big 10, I thought Wisconsin was much more likely to emerge as our rival than Iowa. We were on par with where the Badgers were as a program at that time, plus there was the Barry Alvarez connection. Two top 25, defensive-minded programs with a historical connection in Alvarez and a mutual respect for each other. It felt like there would be great battles for years to come. In reality, we haven’t been good enough to keep this one interesting. Nebraska is 1-11 against Wisconsin since joining the conference. We’ve been blown out a few times, but more often than not these have been competitive games (two of which went to overtime). In keeping with our trend of recent years, the Huskers have found multiple, painful ways to lose to the Badgers. Where is Wisconsin headed under 2nd year coach Luke Fickell? Is this going to be a program we can start beating for crying out loud? I can’t wait to find out. 

NOTE: This article originally ran in the Common Fan Newsletter on August 7, 2024.

---

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, following HuskerMax on X, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.