ESPN's FPI predictions update for Nebraska heading into Big Ten play

Before the season began, ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) predicted moderate success for the Huskers in the second year of Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule's tenure.

Before the season started, ESPN had Nebraska ranked 41st in its FPI rankings and gave the Huskers a 69.3 percent chance of reaching six wins and making the program's first bowl game since 2016.

After evaluating three non-conference games, let's look at how FPI's assessment of Nebraska's season has changed. Nebraska is currently 3-0, so Nebraska is now ranked 25th in the FPI rankings and has a 95.8 percent chance of winning six games. FPI also gives Nebraska an 11.8 percent chance of making the expanded College Football Playoff. Nebraska's expected record is now 8-4 according to the FPI rankings. A number of early-season game predictions have gone in different directions depending on how the first three weeks of the season have gone.

As a reminder, FPI is “a measure of team strength intended to be the best predictor of a team's performance for the remainder of the season” and “represents how many points a team is above or below average. In the preseason, these components consist entirely of data from previous seasons, such as returning starters, past performance, recruiting rankings and coach tenure. ESPN's preseason rankings also give special consideration to teams with returning quarterbacks.

Here's how ESPN analyzes the Nebraska football team predictions game by game in 2024.