Nebraska has a big game on Saturday. Having endured six straight losing seasons, the Huskers looked like a good bet to reach a bowl game for the first time since 2016 after starting 5-3 with games against Michigan State and Maryland upcoming.
But the Huskers lost both teams, and now sit at 5-5 heading into a closing kick of at Wisconsin (7:30 p.m. ET Saturday, NBC) and No. 16 Iowa on Black Friday (noon ET, CBS).
Wisconsin has defeated Nebraska nine times in a row. Nebraska managed to defeat Iowa to close last season, but before that Iowa had taken seven in a row from the Huskers.
Win one of the next two, and Matt Rhule's debut season will be a success. Lose them both, and 2023 will be as bitterly disappointing as the six years that came before it, if not more so.
Heading into this critical stretch, Rhule waxed poetic about his chosen profession.
"This is a life we’ve chosen. This world, to me, is always like the mafia. You get hired, eventually you get whacked, and you live as much as you can in between," Rhule said, via Mitch Sherman of The Athletic.
Rhule and the Cornhuskers will try to live as much as they can against Wisconsin on Saturday.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.