Nebraska is bowl-eligible for the first time since 2016 after a 44-25 win over Wisconsin on Saturday. The win snapped a four-game skid for the Cornhuskers after a 5-1 start to the season.
Nebraska jumped out to a 21-10 halftime lead and didn’t look to get the blueblood program back to the postseason. Quarterback Dylan Raiola completed 28 of 38 passes for 293 yards and a touchdown and running back Dante Dowdell ran for three scores in the win.
The Cornhuskers lost last weekend to USC — their ninth consecutive defeat with bowl eligibility on the line. Eight of those losses came within the last two seasons. Nebraska improved to 3-5 in Big Ten play, matching its conference win total from last season.
The postseason drought extended across three coaches, dating back to Mike Riley’s last year in 2017. Nebraska started this season 3-0 with wins over UTEP, Colorado and Northern Iowa before falling to Illinois 31-24 in overtime. The Cornhuskers won their next two games over Purdue and Rutgers before dropping their last four to Indiana, Ohio State, UCLA and USC.
The Cornhuskers went 9-4 during the 2016 campaign and lost in the Music City Bowl to Tennessee in the penultimate season of Riley’s tenure. Nebraska followed that up with a 4-8 showing the final season of the Riley era before hiring Scott Frost away from UCF to become the program’s new coach. The Cornhuskers have a chance to add to their win total when out the regular season against Iowa on Nov. 29.
