Add Paul Finebaum to the list of analysts who believes the B1G brought the hammer down on Nebraska.

On Saturday, the B1G released its full schedule for the 2020 season, an eight-game slate with a “Champions Week” on Dec. 19 to close out the year, giving each teams a ninth contest against a cross-division opponent. Perhaps the team that was the biggest loser from the newest schedule was Nebraska.

The Huskers will play Ohio State and Penn State in their crossover games this fall, opening the year on Oct. 24 with a road trip to Columbus. They are the only team in the West to draw two of the three ranked teams from the East (Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan).

Many found Nebraska’s schedule to be a form of punishment from the B1G for its frequent push to reinstate the football season. Finebaum is among the believers.

“Yes,” Finebaum told WJOX’s The RoundTable when asked if the B1G punished Nebraska. “It’s a good program, from a historical standpoint it’s a great program. But it’s still hard for me to get fired up about Nebraska in the B1G. I think the B1G, while some of the schools grudgingly appreciate Nebraska for being out there first and screaming and hollering, I doubt seriously they cared about that at the B1G headquarters. I think they were looking around while doing the schedule and saying ‘Who could we punish the most?’ And I think the answer was 13-1 it was Nebraska. So it was ‘Let’s knock them out early, send their fans home.'”

In the first four games of the season, Nebraska will play three teams that were ranked in the preseason Associated Press Poll:

  • Oct 24: at Ohio State
  • Oct. 31: vs. Wisconsin
  • Nov. 7: at Northwestern
  • Nov. 14: vs. Penn State

That means that five of Nebraska’s eight opponents were ranked in in the Associated Press preseason poll in 2020. In B1G West matchups, the Huskers will play Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.

Scott Frost will be entering his third year as the head coach of the program. And it may be his most difficult year yet.