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Steven M. Sipple: Hardly anyone’s discussing it, but Huskers reaching a bowl would be a boon | Column







Nebraska freshman QB Logan Smothers (8) handles the ball with Jaquez Yant on an option play in the third quarter Oct. 2 at Memorial Stadium.




If I’m not mistaken, Nebraska still has a chance to become bowl eligible.

Hardly anybody’s talking about it, though. That’s my read, anyway. 

Perhaps it’s because many people feel Nebraska, with a record of 3-5 overall and 1-4 in the Big Ten, retains only a scant chance to win three of its final four regular-season games. Six wins would assure the program’s first bowl appearance since the 2016 season. 

At any rate, Nebraska football fans should care about this subject. I hope Scott Frost, the Huskers’ fourth-year head coach, cares deeply about it, because achieving bowl eligibility could greatly benefit his program. 

“As a coach, it gives you a lot more time to learn about your football team,” says former Nebraska defensive line coach Rick Kaczenski, a regular on “Early Break” (93.7 FM), alluding to all those bowl practices in December. “It gives you time to, you know, beat the hell out of your young guys and figure out what kind of mettle they have to them.” 

Nebraska’s roster is youthful. Out of 85 scholarship players, 49 are freshmen or redshirt freshmen. The Huskers have only eight seniors. 

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Think about how important the month of December could be to players such as freshman quarterbacks Logan Smothers and Heinrich Haarberg. 

Think about how important it could be to all those members of Nebraska’s 2021 recruiting class who toil on the scout team and never see action in games. 



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