Nebraska is playing Minnesota on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Now, that’s not exactly a 100% sure thing, given the Gophers’ COVID-19 issues, but Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck said on Monday that his team is on track to play and “planning†on it.
In 2020, that’s a pretty good start.
After that? It’s even foggier. But, we’re breaking out the crystal ball anyhow.
Let’s take a look at what could happen both for the Big Ten’s Dec. 19 crossover weekend and where the Huskers stand in the quest to make a bowl game.
First, Dec. 19
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For all the uncertainties — and pretty much everybody seems to be in the dark at this point — there is a relatively simple path forward.
Nebraska coach Scott Frost said Monday to “count me in the group that doesn't know much" about that weekend, which was originally designed to be a championship weekend of crossover matchups from the Big Ten title game on down the line, No. 2 in the West vs. No. 2 in the East, and so on.
Instead, it could end up looking different. The bottom line here is that several roads lead Nebraska to end up playing Rutgers.
Ohio State vs. Michigan is already off this week and Purdue canceled practice on Tuesday. This is already going south quickly. But we press on, nonetheless.
Let's go out on a limb and say somehow, someway, Ohio State gets to the Big Ten title game. If the Buckeyes don't, there will be a lot more movement, too.Â
So, in this scenario, the Big Ten title game remains Northwestern vs. Ohio State.
No. 2s: Iowa vs. Indiana.
so that they can continue one of college football’s oldest rivalries. That game was canceled back on Nov. 21, and a rematch makes sense. Let’s do it.
Now, we need an East-only game to even the numbers. Maryland missed outings against both Michigan State and Michigan. For these purposes, either would work.
The three teams left in the West: Nebraska, Purdue and Illinois. Both Purdue and Illinois have already played Rutgers. Purdue could become a question mark itself if the Boilermakers don't play this weekend.Â
Either way, this leaves the Huskers as the logical choice to play Rutgers. Then Illinois and Purdue play some combination of Penn State and either Michigan or Michigan State.
Seven games (or six), one rivalry preserved, no rematches. Roughly even seeding in an extremely jumbled year. Maybe a couple on Friday to spread out the television inventory.Â
If both Michigan and Purdue end up unable to play, you've still got six on each side. Obviously, this gets more complicated if there is an odd number of available teams.Â
One other note: Rutgers has already played four home games and Saturday vs. Minnesota will only be Nebraska’s third. NU could — and we should emphasize could — be in line for a Dec. 19 home game against the Scarlet Knights.
On to the bowl picture
The bottom line here is that a win Saturday against Minnesota would put Nebraska in great shape to go bowling. It wouldn’t be automatic, but it might get the Huskers pretty close.
Two outcomes that would help: The Buckeyes making the College Football Playoff and Indiana (or Iowa, theoretically) making a New Year's Six bowl.
If the Big Ten gets two into those games, then there are five other bowls with conference ties. Again, this is all subject to change given the number of bowls that have already been canceled.
The simplest way to think about it is, if Ohio State and Indiana are in the NY6, then Northwestern and Iowa slot into the Outback and Citrus Bowls.
The Big Ten has three others left: the Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Dec. 30 in Charlotte, North Carolina), the Music City Bowl (Dec. 30 in Nashville) and the Guaranteed Rate Bowl (Dec. 26 in Phoenix).
Going into this weekend, there are a whopping 10 teams with exactly two wins in the Big Ten. So, essentially, there are 10 teams fighting for three spots. Among those two-win teams, NU lost to Illinois but beat Penn State and Purdue.
The number of three-win teams after this weekend will be significantly smaller (anywhere from seven all the way down to three).
If you're a three-win team going into the Dec. 19 weekend, you like your chances.Â
All of this is a long way of saying that, if Nebraska takes care of business against the Gophers, it will be in something ranging from good to great shape to play in a bowl game after likely facing Rutgers on Dec. 19.
Now, it being 2020, let's see how completely this picture can be obliterated in the next 11 days.