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The Nebraska Cornhuskers football program has seen a few important changes over the past year.
It hired Matt Rhule as its next head coach after he spent three seasons with the Carolina Panthers. Rhule, a former offensive coordinator for the Temple Owls, helped turn around the Temple and Baylor football programs before moving on to the Panthers. It brought in a few high-potential transfers, including Georgia Tech quarterback Jeff Sims and Georgia linebacker MJ Sherman.
Rhule went over his mindset in August, just a few weeks before the Cornhuskers kick off against Minnesota at 7 p.m. CDT in Minneapolis.
“I don't want to take shortcuts,” Rhule said, via Associated Press Sports Writer Eric Olson. “I don't want to build something (where) we show everybody a little bit of hope this year, but the next year we take a step back. I want to win, but right now I can't think about the games. I expect us to do everything right. I expect guys to show up and be on time. So it's just this mindset of everything matters, everything counts.”
What are some bold predictions for the Nebraska Cornhuskers heading into the 2023 season?
Nebraska makes a bowl game
Nebraska last competed in a bowl game in 2016, when the Cornhuskers fell to the Tennessee Volunteers in the Music City Bowl. Now-Washington Commanders safety Joshua Kalu and now-Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Lamar Jackson each recorded eight tackles in the 38-24 loss at Nissan Stadium.
Nebraska must overcome a few tough opponents as they move through their 2023 football campaign. The Cornhuskers will face Michigan, who went 13-0 before losing to the TCU Horned Frogs in the Fiesta Bowl, in September. They will take on the Luke Fickell-led Wisconsin Badgers in November. Fickell, a former co-defensive coordinator for the Ohio State Buckeyes, spent the last six seasons as the head coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats before being hired to coach Wisconsin in November.
If they are able to jump out to a decent start and win games over Minnesota, Colorado, Northern Illinois and Louisiana Tech, they will have a solid chance at making a bowl game for the first time in seven seasons. Colorado has undergone a few massive changes of its own, hiring Jackson State coach Deion Sanders in December after going 1-11 the season before.
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Jeff Sims has a breakout season
Sims, a former four-star prospect from Jacksonville, Fla., transferred to the Nebraska football program after spending three seasons with Georgia Tech. He recorded a total of 1,115 passing yards and five passing touchdowns in the seven games he played for the Yellow Jackets in 2022. He threw for as many as 314 yards during a 27-10 loss to UCF in December.
Rhule had high praise for the former Yellow Jacket at Big Ten Media Days.
“It's not really about who has the best arms,” Rhule said in July, via KLKN-TV Sports Anchor Lauren Michelson. “It's about who has the best brain, the best mindset, the best feel for the game, who has the mental strength to overcome the physical beating that you take.
“So I think Jeff has all those things. I think Jeff's an NFL player if he will just continue to develop.”
If Sims can work well with Nebraska's newer and returning receiving options, he will have the opportunity for a breakout season with the Cornhuskers and to help boost an offense that took 11th place in the Big Ten after it scored 22.6 points per game, according to BigTen.org.
