:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/14119059/153103692.0.jpg)
The Big Ten released the 2015 football schedule, which reverses the 2014 schedule with some shuffling of the order. Most importantly, the Wisconsin game in Lincoln moves from November to October 10th.
I'm calling it. Go ahead and plan for your kids' soccer game or a dentist appointment for Saturday morning, October 10, 2015. ABC or ESPN will be in Lincoln for a primetime affair between the Huskers and Badgers. The rest of the schedule:
2015 Nebraska Football Schedule
Sept. 5 BYU
Sept. 12 South Alabama
Sept. 19 at Miami, Fla.
Sept. 26 Southern Miss
Oct. 3 at Illinois
Oct. 10 Wisconsin
Oct. 17 at Minnesota
Oct. 24 Northwestern
Oct. 31 at Purdue
Nov. 7 Michigan State
Nov. 14 at Rutgers
Nov. 21 BYE
Nov. 27 (Fri.) Iowa
Dec. 6 Big Ten Championship Game
All told, it is a better schedule than 2014's. A home game with BYU replaces Florida Atlantic to open the season, which is an upgrade. Swapping Southern Miss for Fresno State is probably a wash, as is the South Alabama (1-A) swap with McNeese State (1-AA).
The home Big Ten schedule is incredibly more fan friendly than 2014: Wisconsin, Northwestern, Michigan State, and Iowa. Yes, there is no Michigan or Ohio State on this list, but it is a solid representation of the middle of the Big Ten. And for those of you who think "Black Friday" is a Nebraska tradition, well, Iowa comes in the day after Thanksgiving. Hopefully, the Big Ten is going to talk to the networks about moving this game to the afternoon where it belongs.
Nebraska plays 11 weeks in a row from Labor Day weekend until the middle of November. The bye week is the weekend prior to Thanksgiving, so Nebraska will have 13 days to prepare for the Hawkeyes, while Iowa only gets 6 days after their home game with Purdue. (The complaining from the east side of the Missouri River commences in 3...2...1...)
While the 2015 schedule isn't as good as the 2011 and 2012 home schedules, it is an upgrade over 2014. And rest assured, we'll no doubt see Michigan and/or Ohio State back on the Nebraska schedule in 2016.