Nebraska is 11th in the Big Ten preseason polls and that's great
Or at least it's unique in a way that presents opportunity.
According to two independent1 preseason polls, Nebraska is projected as the 11th best team in the Big Ten this season. Last year, the 11th-place team was Northwestern, 7-6 and 4-5 in conference play, which was the same record as Nebraska (10th), but the Huskers had the head-to-head tiebreaker thanks to its 28-21 October win over the Wildcats.
I’ll never not be snarky about the Big Ten’s decision in 20112 to axe its official preseason poll. It’s a bad choice. Just do the ceremonial thing every other conference does. It’s a two-day news cycle—particularly when the Big Ten is the last power conference to hold its big quote-fest—because from here every team’s fan base focuses on what’s coming out of practice. You’re not above a simple poll of coaches and media, Big Ten, but refusing to do either indicates you believe you are. And who is the audience for such elitism? Maybe it’s out there, but I’ve never met or heard from anyone who thinks the Big Ten’s principled approach on this is a relief.
Anyway, the poll vacuum the Big Ten created was filled by Doug Lesmireses, then a reporter for Cleveland.com who now runs an excellent Ohio State Substack. The unofficial (but mostly official) Cleveland.com poll3 still exists, but Lesmireses carries over his “if you won’t do it, I will” ethos at his current outlet.4
I was a bit surprised—emphasis on a bit—to find that Nebraska landed 11th in both officially unofficial polls. I would’ve guessed 10th and been as surprised with 9th as I was 11th. These aren’t big differences, of course. We’re talking about the mushy middle of the Big Ten, where a couple of field goals might be the entire difference.
That being the case, there’s not much downside for Nebraska being 11th other than the recognition that the Huskers haven’t done enough yet to prove they’ll be better. In fact, maybe even lower would be better, but this’ll do for this season.
