Conditions are favorable for Nebraska football in 2024

Coach Matt Rhule said his "urgency is on high" right now. It should be as the Huskers have the experience necessary to take a big step forward.

Courtesy Nebraska Athletics

The Missouri Tigers had modest outside expectations set for them in 2023. The SEC media picked them sixth in the seven-team East Division. The sportsbooks set their regular season win total at six.

Missouri went 11-2 last season, its losses coming by 10 at home to No. 23 LSU (it was a three-point game before a pick-six with 34 seconds left) and by nine on the road at No. 1 Georgia. The Tigers finished second in the East, capping the season with a 14-3 win over Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.

The expectations were modest for a reason. Based on what we collectively knew about Missouri, coming off a 6-7 season in 2022, it looked like a solid program that might top out at solid again in 2023. There was nothing about the Tigers that said a five-win improvement was coming.

But there was one measurable trait that indicated conditions were favorable for a jump in Columbia. It’s a trait TCU had in 2022, when it went from unranked to the CFP Championship game.

It’s a trait Nebraska has in 2024.