Nebraska’s slow start in Scott Frost’s first year at the helm now feels like a lifetime ago.

The growing pains were rough in 2018 as the Cornhuskers lost their first six games of the season. However, they turned things around by going 4-2 to finish the season.

Now, heading into 2019, expectations are beginning to rise. Adrian Martinez is a legitimate dual-threat quarterback and a catalyst on offense, the team has playmakers around him, and the defense should be much improved from last season.

Many analysts are high on Nebraska in what looks to be a wide-open B1G West division, and ESPN’s Football Power Index is also looking at the Cornhuskers favorably. The FPI currently favors Frost’s squad in 10 of their 12 contests with Ohio State and Minnesota the two games predicted to give Nebraska the biggest problems.

Here’s how ESPN’s FPI is projecting every game on Nebraska’s schedule this fall:

  • August 31: South Alabama: 98.3% win probability
  • September 7: at Colorado: 64.3% win probability
  • September 14: Northern Illinois: 91.1% win probability
  • September 21: at Illinois: 75.3% win probability
  • September 28: Ohio State: 42.0% win probability
  • October 5: Northwestern: 72.7% win probability
  • October 12: at Minnesota: 39.5% win probability
  • October 26: Indiana: 72.3% win probability
  • November 2: at Purdue: 64.3% win probability
  • November 16: Wisconsin: 66.6% win probability
  • November 23: at Maryland: 64.1% win probability
  • November 29: Iowa: 51.4% win probability