Huskers Down Two Spots in College Huddle's Latest Big Ten Football Rankings

Nebraska slips after being crushed by Indiana.

Oct 5, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola (15) runs against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during the second quarter at Memorial Stadium. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

The Nebraska football team is ranked #8 in the latest Big Ten football rankings put out by The College Huddle. That’s down two spots since last week, after the Huskers’ lopsided loss to Indiana on Saturday. Nebraska was #7 in the initial conference rankings, and got as high as #4 after beating Colorado handily. Ohio State – the Big Red’s next opponent – comes in at #2 in this week’s rankings. 

Nebraska’s 56-7 loss to Indiana seemed to come as a surprise to everyone. The Hoosiers were favored by around seven points going into the game, and Matt Rhule said afterward he did not expect the lopsided loss. There has been quite a bit of consternation in the fan base and on social media since Saturday. The midweek press conferences – during which offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield raised eyebrows about Nebraska’s commitment to the run game, and also seemed to struggle with a question about the Huskers’ desired yards per play – has been the topic of much discussion. 

Interestingly, there has not been nearly as much criticism about defensive coordinator Tony White’s defense. The 56 points given up by the Blackshirts represents the most given up during the Matt Rhule era, as they tackled poorly and struggled to make stops all afternoon. Perhaps White is getting the benefit of the doubt, as his units have been reliably good since he got to Nebraska. White was also more decisive in his answers during the press conference, diagnosing what he felt he did wrong during the Indiana game and suggesting his crew would learn from it. Given their strong performance so far this season (Indiana game notwithstanding), Nebraska is still in the top 25 nationally in total defense (#18), scoring defense (#19), and rushing defense (#16). It will be interesting to see where those numbers end up. 

The road doesn’t get any easier as Nebraska travels to Columbus to take on the Buckeyes this weekend. Ohio State is coming off a one-point loss to Oregon (currently #1 in the College Huddle poll), and they’ve had a bye week to ruminate on that loss as they await the Huskers. Nebraska follows that one up with UCLA at home, before ending the season with the final stretch of being at USC, home against Wisconsin, and at Iowa. Expectations in Husker Nation are not particularly high for the Ohio State game, but every other game on the schedule is winnable for the Big Red, and how those final four games play out will likely define the season. 

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. Interestingly, last year’s college football national champion Michigan is all the way down to 11th in the conference rankings, after losing to Illinois over the weekend. Iowa and Wisconsin are both trending up in the poll, coming in at #6 and #7 respectively. All other former Big Ten West foes come in at the bottom half of the rankings, with Minnesota at #10, Northwestern #17, and Purdue bringing 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 8 rankings from the College Huddle. / Eric Boggs

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