Pro Football Focus not bullish on the Huskers.
Team ranking and projected win total (they don't correlate perfectly because of divisions, non-conference schedules):
- Ohio State 10.4
- Iowa 8.4
- Wisconsin 8.2
- Indiana 7.1
- Michigan 7.0
- Minnesota 6.8
- Michigan State 6.3
- Northwestern 6.8
- Penn State 7.2
- Illinois 5.1
- Maryland 5.5
- Nebraska 5.1
- Purdue 4.9
- Rutgers 4.3
Conference Championship Appearance Probability: 3%
Conference Championship Win Probability: 1%
Projected Win Total: 5.1
Nebraska is one four-year streak of losing records and no bowl game appearances and, according to our projections, that is likely to continue in 2021. The offense is the prime culprit, as the defense should be in the top half of the Big Ten performance-wise this fall.
The Cornhuskers' defense ranked in the top five in passing efficiency allowed last year and returns its three most valuable players from, according to
PFF WAA, in the versatile JoJo Domann, interior defensive linemen and pass-rush leader Ben Stille and cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt.
Quarterback Adrian Martinez did improve in 2020 after posting a poor 47.2 passing grade in 2019, and he made a multitude of plays in the ground game, too, but the offense still wasn’t efficient in either facet. The Cornhuskers failed to generate positive expected points added per pass play, ranking third-to-last in the Big Ten in explosive pass play rate. The addition of former FCS star receiver Samori Toure and 2020 four-star recruit Zavier Betts will help some, but it’ll take all three maximizing their full potential in order to get Nebraska out of the Big Ten's basement.