LINCOLN, Neb. — The bowl drought is over for Nebraska, but an end to its streak of losing seasons is not secure. The Huskers, at 6-6, need a victory in the postseason to avoid an eighth consecutive sub-.500 finish.
Nebraska was selected on Sunday to face Boston College, 7-5, in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Dec. 28.
Get ready for the first meeting between the Huskers and the Eagles, who are led by former Penn State and Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien. The bowl game will mark Nebraska’s first since a visit to Nashville for the 2016 Music City Bowl — and an end to the longest streak without a postseason game among Power 4 teams.
Here are 10 things to know about the Huskers’ postseason return.
Revisiting New York: Nebraska traveled to New York for its third of 53 bowl games. In December 1962 at the close of coach Bob Devaney’s first season with the Huskers, they ended a seven-year bowl drought by playing in the Gotham Bowl. Nebraska beat Miami 36-34 — the first of 26 bowl victories for Nebraska — at the old Yankee Stadium, which was replaced by the current home of the storied MLB franchise in 2009.
The Gotham Bowl, a financial failure, was never again played after 1962. Postseason college football returned to the Bronx in 2010. The Pinstripe Bowl has been contested every year since except 2020.
Big Red in the Big Apple 🍎🗽
🏟️ @PinstripeBowl
📅 12.28
📍 Yankee Stadium
🕚 11 AM CST
📺 @ABC#GBR x #WhatsNExt! pic.twitter.com/cMkjeSAZzG— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFootball) December 8, 2024
Matt Rhule’s roots: The second-year Nebraska coach was born in New York in 1975 and lived in the Big Apple until his family moved to Pennsylvania in Rhule’s teen years. He said in 2021 that he grew up “dreaming of being Bill Parcells,” the former New York Giants and Jets coach. Rhule coached the Giants’ offensive line in 2012 for Tom Coughlin before Rhule was hired one year later to his first head-coaching post at Temple.
In 2020, before the Carolina Panthers hired Rhule from Baylor, he was considered a favorite for the open position with the Giants.
Pack a coat: Bowl trips for Nebraska and its fans traditionally provide relief from the winter cold. Aside from its 1962 visit to New York, the Huskers have not played in the postseason at a destination north of Santa Clara, Calif. Thirty-four of its 53 bowl games were played in California, Texas, Arizona or Florida.
Nebraska’s Gotham Bowl was played in frigid weather that contributed to a sparse crowd. Still, the Pinstripe Bowl features a postseason flavor. The teams are scheduled to visit Radio City Music Hall, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum and the New York Stock Exchange.
Big Ten success: This year marks the 10th consecutive Pinstripe Bowl featuring a participant from the Big Ten. Big Ten teams have won seven consecutive and eight of their nine appearances. Rutgers beat Miami 31-24 last year before a crowd of 35,314. The largest crowd to attend a Pinstripe Bowl was 49,012 in 2014 when Penn State beat Boston College 31-30 in overtime.
BC is back: This appearance will mark Boston College’s third since 2014 at Yankee Stadium. The Eagles also were beaten in the 2017 Pinstripe Bowl, 27-20 against Iowa. The Eagles this year finished 4-4 in the ACC. They’ve won three of four games, losing only to College Football Playoff participant SMU, since a three-game losing streak in October.
Boston College ranks 22nd nationally in rushing defense and 20th in turnover margin. First-team All-ACC defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku leads the FBS with 16.5 sacks.
O’Brien against Nebraska: The 55-year-old Boston College coach lost twice against Nebraska and Bo Pelini while at Penn State in 2012 and 2013. O’Brien, after seven years in the NFL, spent two seasons as offensive coordinator at Alabama. He received consideration in 2022 from former Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts in the search to replace fired coach Scott Frost. O’Brien coordinated the offense last year for the New England Patriots before landing back in college with Boston College.
The meeting between O’Brien and Rhule will mark the second in college football this year between former NFL head coaches. The first came in Nebraska’s October victory against Rutgers and Greg Schiano.
A jump start on 2025: Rhule said last week that he doesn’t expect any bowl game opt-outs at Nebraska, other than the players who enter the transfer portal. Defensive lineman Ty Robinson, a projected NFL Draft pick in April, for instance, expressed to Rhule that he wants to play in the bowl game.
That said, Rhule plans to use this month on the practice field to prepare young players for next season. The Huskers will practice this week and next week in Lincoln and host potential transfers on official visits during the weekend ahead. Rhule said that Nebraska expects to add as many as 15 players from the portal.
An eye on the portal: While attention turns to Boston College and the bowl plans, managing the roster consumes plenty of time in December. The portal opens on Monday for non-graduates to enter. Since the end of the regular season, 13 Huskers have declared their intentions to hit the portal — running backs Gabe Ervin and Emmett Johnson, wide receiver Dae’Vonn Hall, linebackers Stefon Thompson, Mikai Gbayor and Princewill Umanmielen, defensive linemen Jimari Butler, James Williams, Kai Wallin and Vincent Jackson, defensive backs Mason Jones and Dwight Bootle and quarterback Daniel Kaelin.
There will be more. If Nebraska adds 15 transfers, more than 40 additional players must exit for the Huskers to meet the 105-player limit in effect for 2025.
No impact on redshirts: Nebraska completed the regular season with seven true freshmen who burned redshirt seasons by playing in more than four games — quarterback Dylan Raiola, wide receivers Jacory Barney and Carter Nelson, linebackers Willis McGahee and Vincent Shavers, defensive end Keona Davis and defensive back Mario Buford.
Bowl games have no impact on the four-game rule. As a result, defensive backs Donovan Jones and Amare Sanders and second-year defensive lineman Riley Van Poppel, all of whom have played in four games, can participate in the bowl game and maintain their redshirt status.
Arrival of early enrollees: Most of Nebraska’s early enrollees in recent years got to Lincoln in January. This year, more than half of the Huskers’ 20-player signing class will arrive this month. Recruits who’ve graduated from high school are allowed to participate in pre-bowl practice sessions, though they cannot play in the game. Rhule said that his chief of staff, Susan Elza, has been working on a plan to take the early enrollees with Nebraska’s travel party to the bowl game.
(Photo: Vincent Carchietta / USA Today)
