Nebraska football finished 2022 with a disappointing 4-8 record and fired former head coach Scott Frost just three games into the season. Their lone wins came against North Dakota, Indiana, Rutgers, and Iowa in the season finale. The low point occurred in Week 3, when the Cornhuskers fell to Georgia Southern 45-42, resulting in Frost’s firing. In this post, we’ll be making some 2023 Nebraska football predictions with a season preview, including a look at win totals and more.
FanDuel Sportsbook has set the price on Nebraska’s win total at 6.5, with the under juiced to -142. The Cornhuskers are also +6000 to win the Big Ten, which ranks just outside the top half of the conference. After last year’s disaster, bookmakers seem to expect a team flirting with bowl eligibility in 2023. With that said, let’s dive into some Nebraska football predictions, with a season preview and roster overview.
2023 Nebraska Football Predictions & Season Preview
Nebraska Football 2023 Season Preview: Coaching Staff
Nebraska hired former Carolina Panthers and Baylor head coach Matt Rhule to take over the program. Before taking his talents to the NFL, Rhule previously turned around the Temple and Baylor programs. In his final college season, Rhule turned in an 11-3 record with Baylor. Now taking over Nebraska, Rhule hired Marcus Satterfield to coordinate the offense. This hiring has already received criticism, but Satterfield most recently held the same position with South Carolina. On the defensive side, Rhule brought in Tony White to hold down the coordinator position. White most recently coordinated Syracuse’s defense from 2020-2022.
Nebraska Football 2023 Season Preview: Offense
Quarterback
The Huskers lost former starting quarterback Casey Thompson to the transfer portal this offseason. However, they also added Georgia Tech transfer Jeff Sims as his replacement. Thompson played decently last year, but apparently Sims came out ahead after spring ball. At Georgia Tech, Sims completed 110 of 188 attempts (58.5%) for 1,114 yards (5.9 yards per attempt), five touchdowns, and three interceptions. He stands 6-3, 210 pounds and previously had more success in prior seasons. In 2021, he threw for 1,468 yards (7.8 YPA) and completed 60.1% of his passes. Passing aside, Sims adds an element with his legs that most other quarterbacks cannot. He has 1,152 career yards on 277 carries with 11 scores on the ground. Sims finished as the 14th graded quarterback in the ACC last year. Behind him, Nebraska has been bled by the portal. They do return Chubba Purdy as the presumed backup. Purdy did play a bit last year, throwing 48 passes for 147 yards and three interceptions. While his passing needs work, Purdy can scramble. He logged 73 yards on 24 attempts last year. Wyoming transfer Caden Becker could be the third string after everyone else transferred. Becker hasn’t played any college snaps yet. Overall, this quarterback room has a solid starter, but their depth took a hit this offseason.
Running Back
Nebraska returns their leading rusher Anthony Grant, who rushed for 909 yards on 221 carries. The 5-11, 200 pound back also caught 18 of 21 targets for 104 yards. Grant averaged 2.57 yards after contact and averaged a forced missed tackle on 23.5% of his attempts. Behind him, Nebraska lost Ajay Allen to the transfer portal. He actually began the year ahead of Grant, but an injury occurred. The new backup now looks like Rahmir Johnson. Johnson rushed 19 times for 85 yards last year. Gabe Ervin Jr. could also play this role. He carried 20 times for 94 yards last year before injury. These backs have all proved serviceable in the past, which gives Nebraska pretty good depth at this position.
Wide Receiver
Nebraska lost their alpha receiver Trey Palmer to the NFL Draft this offseason. They also lost Oliver Martin and Alante Brown. They do return second leading receiver Marcus Washington. Washington stands 6-2, 190 pounds and caught 31 of 48 targets for 471 yards last year. He played outside 80.3% of the time and logged 1.61 yards per route (29th). The team also returns Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda. IGC stands 6-0, 185 pounds and initially came over from New Mexico State. He has been in and out of the portal multiple times now, but he did catch four balls for 120 yards in last year’s opener. In 2021 with New Mexico State, he logged 37 receptions for 578 yards. The favorite for the final starting position looks like Virginia transfer Billy Kemp IV. Kemp stands 5-9, 172 pounds and caught 16 of 28 targets in an injury-riddled season last year. The season prior, Kemp logged 74 receptions for 710 yards with Virginia. He has played in and out of the slot in his career and logged 2.10 yards per route in 2021. Nebraska also landed Baylor transfer Josh Fleeks. Fleeks stands 6-1, 204 pounds and had his best season in 2019. He caught 25 balls for 262 yards, but he excels primarily on special teams. Fleeks has also dabbled at running back throughout his career, which could be his position for Nebraska this fall. From there, Zavier Betts also returns after not playing last year. The 6-2, 200 pound receiver caught 20 balls for 286 yards (1.95 yards per route) in 2021. Finally, Nebraska recruited four-star receiver prospect Malachi Coleman at the receiver position. He will hit campus this summer.
Tight End
Nebraska lost Travis Vokolek and Chance Brewington at tight end. However, they added Arik Gilbert in the transfer portal. The 2020 elite recruit has barely played since his freshman year at LSU with a pitstop to Georgia along the way. He caught 35 balls for 368 yards that season, posting a 1.27 yards per route. He stands 6-5, 255 pounds with elite upside, if he can get back onto the field this year. Behind him, Nate Boerkircher and Thomas Fidone look like the next men up. Boerkircher stands 6-5, 230 pounds and caught six balls for 52 yards last year. He blocked on 148 of his 224 snaps. Fidone didn’t see any snaps last year. This position hinges entirely on the status of Gilbert, which remains far from a sure thing.
Offensive Line
Nebraska lost center Trent Hixson, guard Broc Bando, and Hunter Anthony along the offensive line. Only Hixon was an average caliber player. Nebraska also had to use a ton of offensive linemen last year due to injury. Their left tackle should be Teddy Prochazka, who only played in three games last year due to injury. Right tackle Bryce Benhart returns after playing 643 snaps last year. The interior should be some combination of Ethan Piper, Nouredin Nouili, and Turner Corcoran. Piper played 527 snaps last year primarily at left guard. Nouili was suspended all last year after a failed drug test, but he played 473 snaps in 2021 and played well. Corcoran played guard and tackle last year, but is probably better suited to guard. He has been awful as a starter and provides little except experience. Corcoran is a candidate to hit the bench. At center, Nebraska added Arizona State transfer Ben Scott. Scott played much better in 2021, but the two-year starter with Arizona State should provide an upgrade. They also added Georgia transfer Jacob Hood. Hood was a four-star tackle prospect from the 2021 class, but he never cracked the rotation at Georgia. Finally, they added Jacob Hood from Georgia. Hood is 6-8, 350 pounds, but he didn’t crack the Georgia rotation either. Honestly, this group probably upgrades by getting some of last year’s atrocious players out of the lineup.
Nebraska Football 2023 Season Preview: Defense
Nebraska ranked 102nd on defense in 2022. This included the 120th-ranked run defense, 45th-ranked pass rush and 92nd-ranked secondary. The Cornhuskers lost most of their front seven, but return a full secondary. To help fill the void, the Huskers brought in three transfers and three four-star recruits all in the front seven.
Defensive Line
Along the edge, Nebraska projects to rely heavily on transfers. The team lost Garrett Nelson and Caleb Tannor this offseason. MJ Sherman comes in from Georgia after playing 47 snaps with the Bulldogs last year. He was a 2022 four-star recruit, who spent three season with the program before coming over. Chief Borders also transfers in from Florida. Like Sherman, Borders was a 2021 four-star recruit, who failed to crack the rotation in his first few years. Players like Blaise Gunnerson and Jimari Butler will also be expected to play more. However, neither played more than 100 snaps last year.
Nebraska will the running a 3-5 defense this year, so they won’t need quite as much defensive line depth. The team did lose a few defensive tackles like Colton Feist, Devin Drew, and Stephon Wynn. However, they return their most important player from last year’s unit in Ty Robinson. Robinson played 583 snaps, logging 24 tackles, four tackles for loss, and a pair of sacks. Behind him, Nash Hutmacher will be expected to play more after 204 snaps. The Huskers also landed Texas A&M transfer Elijah Jeudy. Jeudy only played 12 snaps last year, but he previously entered the program as a four-star recruit. Overall, this group looks a little sharper than the edge group.
Linebacker
At linebacker, Nebraska lost Ochaun Mathis and Ernest Hausman. However, they return more experience here with Luke Reimer and Nick Henrich returning. Reimer played 630 snaps with the Huskers last year and led the team with 86 tackles. Despite these numbers, Reimer still had his struggles against the run. He did defend five passes, which is nice to have from a linebacker. Henrich only played 306 snaps, recording 37 tackles. He also had his struggles against the run, making this a concern for Nebraska again this year. It should be noted that Henrich only played in five games last year due to injury. He started in 2021, but his numbers were equally as poor that year. With almost no experience behind these two, Nebraska projects to rely on their veterans.
Defensive Back
While Nebraska lost most of their front seven, they return almost all of their top corners. Quinton Newsome led this position with 864 snaps last year. He also led the team with ten pass breakups, along with 44 tackles. Nickel corner Isaac Gifford played 665 snaps last year and broke up three passes himself. Gifford was targeted exactly half as much as Newsome, but his coverage numbers still hold up. Finally, Malcolm Hartzog returns after 479 snaps last year. Hartzog defended two passes and logged three interceptions to go along with 22 tackles. There isn’t much depth here with a few depth departures, but the starting group remains solid.
At safety, Nebraska returns Marques Bufford and Myles Farmer. Farmer played 828 snaps last year and ranked second on the team with 73 the tackles. The do-it-all safety also broke up four passes and recorded an interception. Bufford 695 snaps last year and logged 59 tackles. In the pass game he broke up three passes and notched a pair of interceptions. To go along with this starting pair, Nebraska added Corey Collier from Fl0rida. Collier only played 13 snaps last year, but he is a former four-star recruit from the 2021 class. Ultimately, the secondary should be the strength of Nebraska’s football, which is a concern in the run-heaviest conference in football.
2023 Nebraska Football Schedule & Predictions
Nebraska Football 2023 Schedule
The Huskers play a non-conference schedule consisting of Colorado, Northern Illinois, and Louisiana Tech. Theoretically, Nebraska should come out of those games 3-0. From the Big Ten East, they draw Michigan, Michigan State, and Maryland. This is an average draw to pair with the usual suspects in the Big Ten West. The only thing that stands out there is a November road trip to Madison.
Nebraska Football Futures Bet & Prediction
With a win total of 6.5, Nebraska just needs to pick off four conference opponents if they can take care of their non-conference. Northwestern is a complete disaster and Purdue will undergo a coaching change. Aside from that, the Big Ten provides very few easy games. For that reason, the under comes in as a slight value here in the betting markets.
Best Nebraska Football Futures Bet: Under 6.5 Wins (-142 at FanDuel)
You can read the rest of Matt Gajewski’s 2023 college football season previews and predictions below!
- Alabama Season Preview & Predictions
- Arkansas Season Preview & Predictions
- Auburn Season Preview & Predictions
- Baylor Season Preview & Predictions
- Florida Season Preview & Predictions
- Georgia Season Preview & Predictions
- Iowa Season Preview & Predictions
- Iowa State Season Preview & Predictions
- Kansas Season Preview & Predictions
- Kansas State Season Preview & Predictions
- Kentucky Season Preview & Predictions
- LSU Season Preview & Predictions
- Michigan Season Preview & Predictions
- Mississippi State Season Preview & Predictions
- Missouri Season Preview & Predictions
- Oklahoma Season Preview & Predictions
- Oklahoma State Season Preview & Predictions
- Ole Miss Season Preview & Predictions
- South Carolina Season Preview & Predictions
- TCU Season Preview & Predictions
- Tennessee Season Preview & Predictions
- Texas Season Preview & Predictions
- Texas A&M Season Preview & Predictions
- Texas Tech Season Preview & Predictions
- Vanderbilt Season Preview & Predictions
- West Virginia Season Preview & Predictions
