Following a 27-20 loss to the UCLA Bruins this past weekend, the Nebraska Cornhuskers bowl projections for this postseason have taken a significant hit.
After being projected to the Pinstripe Bowl for the past several weeks, the latest bowl projections from USA TODAY have the Huskers projected to face the Western Michigan Broncos in the GameAbove Sports Bowl (formerly known as the QuickLane Bowl) in Detroit.
Nebraska and Western Michigan have only met once, in 2008, when the Huskers won 47-24 at home.
In this week’s projections, the Big Ten is projected to send four teams to the 12-team playoff: the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Oregon Ducks, the Penn State Nittany Lions, and the Indiana Hoosiers. Ohio State, Penn State, and Indiana are all projected to play in the opening round, with matchups against Boise State, Texas, and Alabama, respectively, while Oregon receives a first-round bye.
Both the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes are projected to win in the first round with Penn State then facing Oregon in the CFB quarterfinals and Ohio State moving onto face BYU.
Ohio State and Oregon are projected to win their quarterfinal matchups and face each other in the semifinals. The current national championship game projection is Georgia vs. Oregon.
Find below a list of every Big Ten affiliated bowl and USA TODAY’s predictions.
GameAbove Sports Bowl
Opponent Conference Affiliation: MAC
Date: Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024
Time: 2:00 p.m. CT
Network: ESPN
Projection: Nebraska vs Western Michigan
Pinstripe Bowl
Opponent Conference Affiliation: ACC/ND
Date: Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024
Time: 11:00 a.m. CT
Network: ABC
Projection: Syracuse vs Michigan State
Guaranteed Rate Bowl
Opponent Conference Affiliation: Big 12
Date: Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024
Time: 4:30 p.m. CT
Network: ESPN
Projection: Texas Tech vs Wisconsin
Music City Bowl
Opponent Conference Affiliation: SEC
Date: Monday, Dec. 30, 2024
Time: 1:30 p.m. CT
Network: ESPN
Projection: Michigan vs South Carolina
ReliaQuest Bowl
Opponent Conference Affiliation: SEC
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024
Time: 1:30 p.m. CT
Network: ESPN
Projection: Iowa vs Mississippi
Citrus Bowl
Opponent Conference Affiliation: SEC
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024
Time: 2:00 p.m. CT
Network: ABC
Projection: Minnesota vs LSU
Duke’s Mayo Bowl
Opponent Conference Affiliation: ACC/ND
Date: Friday, Jan. 3, 2025
Time: 6:30 p.m. CT
Network: ESPN
Projection: Virginia Tech vs Illinois
This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: Nebraska’s bowl projection takes significant hit following loss to UCLA
