It's looking like a bowl game is assured for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, even at 5-7, as there are not enough teams with a 6-6 record to fill the bowl requirements. Minnesota, Illinois, Kentucky, Old Dominion and East Carolina were among teams that lost this weekend that could have knocked Nebraska out of contention.
Nebraska is a top candidate as 5-7 teams will be selected based on their APR ranking, and the Huskers have the highest APR of available teams.
The question now becomes: where will Nebraska go?
Nebraska is going to drop a ways down the selection process, but based on our projections, the Huskers have a shot at getting into the Pinstripe, Foster Farms, or QuickLane bowls. Below is a snippet of how the selection process works with regards to those choices:
NEW ERA PINSTRIPE BOWL (Bronx, N.Y.)
1. Goal is to have eight different teams participate in eight years, with minimum of six different teams over eight‐year agreement.
FOSTER FARMS BOWL (Santa Clara, Calif.)
1. Will feature at least five different Big Ten schools over six‐year agreement.
QUICK LANE BOWL (Detroit, Mich.)
1. Will select a bowl‐eligible team, subject to conference approval.
Note the emphasis on rotating teams, i.e., Nebraska wouldn't get to go to Santa Clara, California year after year even if it was determined to be the best destination possible (removing the idea that the Huskers' record wouldn't get them into a better bowl).
Salt Creek and Stadium laid out some possible scenarios for Nebraska and the rest of the Big Ten:
HYPOTHETICAL BOWL ORDER IF OSU CHOSEN FOR AT-LARGE:
- Playoff: Iowa/MSU
- At Large: Ohio State
- Rose: Iowa/MSU
- Citrus: Northwestern or Michigan
- Outback: Northwestern or Michigan
- Holiday Bowl: Wisconsin
- Music City: Penn State
- Pinstripe: Indiana
- Foster Farms: Nebraska (APR, fan base over Minnesota, Illinois)
- Detroit: No team or Illinois (Played in Dallas in 2014)
- Armed Forces: No team or Minnesota
HYPOTHETICAL BOWL ORDER IF OSU NOT CHOSEN FOR AT-LARGE:
- Playoff: Winner of Iowa/MSU
- Rose: Loser of Iowa vs MSU/Ohio State
- Citrus: Loser of Iowa vs MSU/Ohio State
- Outback: Northwestern or Michigan
- Holiday Bowl: Northwestern or Michigan
- Music City: Wisconsin
- Pinstripe: Indiana (Penn State 2014)
- Foster Farms: Penn State
- Detroit: Nebraska (APR, fan base over Minnesota, Illinois)
- Armed Forces: No team or Minnesota (Illinois played in Dallas in 2014)
The most logical destinations for Nebraska are Foster Farms in Santa Clara or the Quick Lane bowl in Detroit.
The obvious choice for Nebraska fans would be warm, sunny Santa Clara, but given that the preference is to rotate teams, maybe it's best the Huskers get shuffled into Detroit.
If Nebraska gets selected to a bowl in Santa Clara, Detroit, or the Bronx, would you go?