Fresno State has announced (and Nebraska has informally confirmed) that the Bulldogs will travel to Lincoln in 2011 and 2016, with Nebraska heading to Fresno in 2014.  And while it's tough to predict how strong teams will be in the future, especially eight years in the future, one thing is clear.  Nebraska's schedule will undergo a serious upgrade after 2010.

So here's what the Huskers non-conference schedules look like over the next few seasons:

• 2009:  Florida Atlantic, Arkansas State, @ Virginia Tech, Louisiana-Lafayette
• 2010:  Western Kentucky, Idaho, @ Washington, South Dakota State
• 2011: TBA, Fresno State, Washington, TBA
• 2012:  Southern Miss, @ UCLA, TBA, TBA
• 2013:  TBA, @ Southern Miss, UCLA, TBA
• 2014: TBA, Fresno State, TBA, TBA
  
• 2015:  Southern Miss, TBA, TBA, TBA
• 2016:  TBA, Tennessee, Fresno State, TBA
• 2017:  TBA, @ Tenessee, TBA, TBA

Interesting that 2011 does not have a road game; is the athletic department looking for another home and home against a BCS conference for that season?  Or will Nebraska have 4 home games that season?

I welcome games against opponents such as Southern Miss and Fresno State, and that Nebraska is willing to go "2 for 1" against upper-tier mid major schools.  It's good for college football, and good for Nebraska to get away from the cupcake model.  Maybe Fresno and Southern Miss won't be as good when Nebraska plays them, but nobody is going to criticize Nebraska for playing those games if they regress.

Beats the heck out of the Sun Belt Conference.  That's for sure.