The Matt Rhule era is officially underway in Lincoln. Nebraska had some tough years with Scott Frost as the head coach of the program. Frost failed to win more than five games in a season and the Cornhuskers haven’t been to a bowl game since 2016. With Matt Rhule as the new head coach, they have very high hopes for this team in 2023. Will they live up to the expectations? Here is the preview for the 2023 Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Offense
With Casey Thompson transferring to FAU after spring practice, Matt Rhule had to go in a different direction at quarterback. Lucky for him, he brought in transfer Jeff Simms from Georgia Tech to come in and compete for the starting job. Now it looks like Simms will get the keys to the Cornhuskers offense in 2023. With offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield coming in from South Carolina, the Cornhuskers are going to look to control the line of scrimmage and run the football a ton. Good news for Nebraska is that leading rusher Anthony Grant, who rushed for 915 rushing yards and six touchdowns, is returning in 2023. The Cornhuskers are going into a spread option offense that we can see Jeff Simms flourish in.
At the receiver position, they lost Trey Palmer who got drafted in the NFL this past season and they need to replace their only 1,000 yard receiver. They brought in Billy Kemp IV from Virginia to try and help create some opportunities for the Cornhuskers other receivers. Their number one option is Marcus Washington, who was the second leading receiver last season. However, there are several potential guys that are going to contribute on this team. The name to look out for is freshman WR Malachi Coleman who is looked at to be the number one recruit coming in for the Cornhuskers. This offense has the chance to create a change in Nebraska.
Defense
The Cornhuskers have a solid defense group and added some pieces that will help this team become even better in 2023. This defensive line group got a big makeover that have all new faces starting besides Ty Robinson, who started every game last year at the defensive tackle position. Nebraska brings in four star freshman defensive tackle Cameron Lenhardt. They also brought in four star defensive end Prince Umanmielen. These two will be the other two starters on the defensive line for Nebraska. Two talented freshman are going to have growing pains. However, they are going to be essential for this defensive line in 2023.
At the linebacker position, they are led by leading tackler Luke Reimer who is returning for his senior season. They have Nick Henrich coming back at the linebacker spot, who started every game in 2021 and then only played five games last season due to injuries. These two are good, but they brought in MJ Sherman from Georgia to solidify that linebacker group. In the secondary, they bring back a ton of returning starters, including Myles Farmer and Isaac Gifford who were second and third in the team in tackles last season. This Nebraska secondary has the potential to be a good unit. They just need to take it up a notch this year.
Win Total Bet
The Nebraska win total bet is set at 6.5 on the FanDuel Sportsbook, with the odds on the over set at +116 and the under is at -142. Matt Rhule had a terrible first year at Baylor, but I think this Nebraska group is a thousand times better than that first group he had at Baylor. I think this offense has the potential to be good and I think they just get over this win total mark. Take the over 6.5 win total at +116 odds for one unit. Matt Rhule will get this team to where they need to be in 2023. Their defense will be better than last year and with this group that is hungry to show why they are back to playing winning football again. Nebraska is going to make a bowl game in 2023.
Schedule Predictions
Win at Minnesota (1-0)
Loss at Colorado (1-1)
Win vs Northern Illinois (2-1)
Win vs Louisiana Tech (3-1)
Loss vs Michigan (3-2)
Loss at Illinois (3-3)
Win vs Northwestern (4-3)
Win vs Purdue (5-3)
Loss at Michigan State (5-4)
Loss vs Maryland (5-5)
Win at Wisconsin (6-5)
Win vs Iowa (7-5)