The 2024 college football season is just around the corner. The Nebraska Cornhuskers are just finishing up fall camp and will continue to prepare for their week one matchup against the UTEP Miners. With a generally easy first half of the season, it makes you wonder what the toughest games for the Cornhuskers will be this season. So, here are the five toughest games on the schedule for Nebraska.
Toughest Nebraska football games in 2024
1. @ Ohio State (Week 9)
Any game against the Ohio State Buckeyes is difficult but this year is different. The Buckeyes are projected to have one of the best defenses in the country with a reloaded offense. Not only that, Ohio State has the second-highest odds of winning the national championship. According to odds from FanDuel, the Buckeyes have +400 odds to win the national championship, only behind the Georgia Bulldogs, who have +280 odds. Nebraska will have a tough time going into Ohio Stadium but it will test where coach Matt Rhule and his staff have this program. If the Huskers can manage to keep the game close, that will tell a lot about where the program is heading in the future.
2. @ USC (Week 12)
It’s not very common where Nebraska will have a road game in November where the weather will most likely be in the 60s and sunny. The Huskers will travel to the West Coast to take on the USC Trojans for the first time as conference opponents. The Trojans are coming off a disappointing season but were able to beef up a lackluster defense with new defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn. With this game being in LA, it should be no surprise that USC will be the favorite going into the game. Nebraska has a shot at taking down the Trojans as this year would be the year to do so. However, with it being the Huskers’ first trip to the West Coast in a while, this will be a tough game for them.
3. @ Iowa (Week 14)
You knew this game was going to be on this list. With only one win over the Iowa Hawkeyes in the last eight seasons, something has to go right for the Huskers. Unfortunately, Nebraska blew its chances for a bowl game last season against the Hawkeyes, losing on a walk-off field goal, silencing the Memorial Stadium crowd. Now the Huskers will have to travel to Kinnick Stadium for the annual Black Friday game, where Nebraska won the last matchup there in 2022 (First win over Iowa since 2014). The Hawkeyes’ shot at being competitive for the Big Ten conference will come down to any improvement on the offensive side of the ball. You already know that Phil Parker’s defense will be one of the top units in all of college football. However, the question is whether will new offensive coordinator Tim Lester be able to revive any offensive ability in 2024. Regardless, this game will be good and come down to the wire, as it has for the past few seasons.
4. Colorado (Week 2)
The week two matchup between Nebraska and the Colorado Buffaloes might be one of the biggest games within the first three weeks. The rivalry tensions between the two schools are the highest it’s been since the Big Eight conference days, which makes the week two matchup even bigger than it was just a season ago. Then you add that the game is being played under the lights at Memorial Stadium, who knows what will happen? This is a pivotal game that will affect what goes on for the rest of both team’s seasons.
5. Wisconsin (Week 13)
The Freedom Trophy game has not gone well for the Huskers since the berth of the trophy game in 2014. Nebraska has not beaten the Wisconsin Badgers since 2012. To make things worse for Husker nation, the last three matchups were within one score, with the closest being in 2022 when Nebraska led for a majority of the game before Wisconsin scored a go-ahead touchdown in the final minute that led to the Badgers winning 14-13. As usual, this game will be decided in the trenches and will come down to the wire most likely. The question is, will Nebraska be able to overcome its blunders against the Badgers in the past or will they overcome it?
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