Nebraska football lost a close and hard-fought game Saturday at Ohio State. 

It would have been the biggest victory of the season for the Huskers and also the biggest victory of head coach Matt Rhule’s tenure in Nebraska. However, the Huskers could not close the deal and lost the game 21-17. Even though the Huskers did not win, they still handled themselves well on a national stage, much better than they did in the 56–7 blowout to Indiana a week earlier.

That performance could also bode well for the Huskers’ bowl prospects. ESPN writers Mark Schlabach and Kyle Bonagura have updated their bowl projections after Week 9. Each writer has a very different opinion on where the Huskers will be playing their postseason football.

Schlabach has Nebraska playing in the Rate Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona against Cincinnati. The Bearcats are 5-3 after going 3-9 in head coach Scott Satterfield’s first season. This season, Satterfield has the Bearcats playing much better football. 

Bonagura predicts the Huskers will play in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte, North Carolina, against Duke. This is the same prediction he has had for the last few weeks. A matchup with the Blue Devils would be solid. Duke is 6-2 and is playing well under head coach Manny Diaz in his first season.

These two potential bowl destinations are very different from each other. One one hand, the Huskers could be playing in Phoenix and in warmer weather, or they could be in Charlotte for a cold-weather bowl. However, whichever destination Nebraska ends up playing in, it would still be the Huskers’ first bowl game since 2016. Assuming the 5-3 Huskers get at least one more win and become bowl-eligible, that is something to be excited about.

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