Where does Nebraska rank in the annual Big Ten preseason poll?
Stephen Means of Cleveland.com highlighted how the media group assumed responsibility for organizing the poll when the Big Ten dropped it 15 years ago. Beat writers from all 18 Big Ten teams were invited to participate, as were some who cover the entire league or have a national perspective. A total of 24 voters participated.
Each writer was asked to vote 1-18, with first-place votes worth 18 points, second-place votes worth 17, and so on. Penn State sits atop the rankings with 435 points, and the defending national champions, Ohio State, finished close behind them with 431.
James Parks of Sports Illustrated pointed out how if Penn State's offensive continuity gets them into the playoff, then the Nittany Lions may make another deep run. With returning quarterback Drew Allar and star running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton, Penn State is looking to make a run for the championship.
Nebraska nestled into eighth with 277 points, 10 points behind Iowa and eight points ahead of USC. Parks mentioned that this is head coach Matt Rhule's third year with the Huskers, which is typically when he starts turning things around with his college teams.
Rhule's third year certainly holds such possibilities with Dylan Raiola back under center after his freshman year, and with Dana Holgorsen now at the helm as offensive coordinator.
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