Year one of the Matt Rhule era in Lincoln didn't go the way that Nebraska football fans wanted, but there is still a sign of hope among the fan base. The Cornhuskers finished the season with a 5-7 (3-6) record and they narrowly missed out on a bowl game. It looked like Nebraska might pick up win number six last weekend against Iowa after a late interception set the Cornhuskers up nicely, but they quickly threw a pick of their own to end their chances of pulling out a win. Because of that loss, Rhule and his Nebraska team will now shift their focus to the 2024 season, as their 2023 campaign is done.

Next season may be a bigger challenge for the Nebraska football team as the Big Ten is adding USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington to the mix. Every team is going to have a more difficult schedule, and that doesn't fare well for the teams that struggled this season. The Cornhuskers will get their season started on August 31st, but before that, Nebraska has their Spring Game, and they just announced the date.

We will get our first look at the 2024 Nebraska football team on April 27th as that is when the Cornhuskers will play their Spring Game, according to a tweet from Michael Bruntz. No matter what happened the year prior, Nebraska fans always show out for the Spring Game.

This fan base understands that the rebuild of the program will take some time, but Rhule certainly needs to show in year two that progress is being made. At the very least, Nebraska needs to make a bowl game next year. The Cornhuskers haven't been to a bowl game since 2016, and that is unacceptable for a program of that caliber.

The good news for Nebraska is that they might actually be favored in their first seven games. There are some tough matchups on the schedule, but they are all in the final weeks of the season. The toughest game in the first seven weeks is probably a home game against Rutgers.

It's going to be interesting to see how Rhule and Nebraska do in 2024, and we will see the team in action for the first time in late April.