The Nebraska Cornhuskers are bowl eligible for the first time since 2016, ending the longest drought in the Power Four. Nebraska earned its sixth win of the season Saturday with a dominant 44-25 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers.
As soon as the clock hit zero, the Cornhusker faithful in Lincoln stormed the field to celebrate the long-awaited moment.
Nebraska fans RUSH Memorial Stadium after becoming bowl eligible for first time since 2016
The Cornhuskers didn’t just end their bowl-eligible drought, either. They also snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Badgers, as well as a four-game losing streak that began in Week 8, and a nine-game losing streak when entering a matchup with five wins.
Under second-year coach Matt Rhule, Nebraska came into the weekend 0-8 when trying to win a sixth game to become bowl-eligible.
Nebraska started its season on a strong note, jumping out to a 5-1 record, including a marquee win over Colorado. Its only loss in that span came in overtime against a ranked Illinois team. However, the Cornhuskers dropped four in a row in Big Ten play: 56-7 to Indiana, 21-17 to Ohio State, 27-20 to UCLA and 28-20 to USC.
Following the loss to UCLA, Rhule handed the offense over to former Houston and West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen. True freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola said last week after the USC loss that he felt the offense had found its rhythm again, while also promising Husker Nation that they’d get that elusive sixth win.
“We’re only going to keep building on it these next two weeks, and we’ll get the win next week and get us to a bowl,” Raiola told reporters in the postgame presser.
Raiola delivered on both promises. Nebraska scored a season-high 44 points against Wisconsin, marking the first time since 2021 that the Cornhuskers scored 40+ points in multiple games within a season. And after their final regular-season game next week against Iowa, they will be headed to a bowl.
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