The Nebraska Football team has been the talk of the Big Ten since Scott Frost arrived on campus. There has been one article after another about how Frost is going to be bringing his vaunted offense to the Huskers. Nebraska also targeted touted defensive back Javin Wright for a visit. There's been more than a little talk that Frost is considered, as the Tampa Bay Times put it, an "offensive mastermind." With all that talk, Cornhusker fans are likely a bit surprised that ESPN put together a list of the most exciting teams to watch in 2018 and the Cornhuskers weren't on it.
Cornhusker fans may also be interested in quarterback commit Logan Smothers.
Florida and Tennesee on the list, Nebraska football off it
The list put together by ESPN's Mark Schlabach is a 10-team list of the schools he feels are the "most watchable." The group has some names that are no-brainers, such as Clemson, Alabama, and Texas A&M. Those schools were pretty darn good last year and will likely only be better in 2018. FAU made the list thanks, most likely, in no small part, to Lane Kiffin and the explosive offense he's brought to the school.
Having West Virginia and Miami on the list isn't raising many eyebrows either. Miami was a resurgent football team last year under Mark Richt.
According to @Mark_Schlabach these are the 10 most watchable #CFB teams in 2018 pic.twitter.com/g928JT3Znx
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) August 29, 2018
The swagger that made that Hurricanes such a power in the late 1980s and early 1990s appears to be back.
West Virginia has had a very good offense for quite a few years. It's quarterback, Will Grier is likely going to be one of the best players in college football this season. They make sense too. What doesn't make a whole lot of sense is the Florida Gators and the Tennessee Volunteers being on the list, but not Nebraska?
ESPN showing a bit of SEC bias by omitting Nebraska football?
It's worth pointing out that while the Cornhuskers went 4-8 a season ago, Tennessee went 4-8 as well, while Florida went 4-7. All three schools are working under new head coaches in 2018. So the two SEC schools being better programs isn't an argument that I feel carries much weight.
ESPN does have a contract with the SEC Network. There are four SEC teams on the 10-school list of most watchable programs.
It might not take the great detective Sherlock Holmes to figure out why two ESPN personalities would weight a list the way they did. Certainly, the Nebraska football team has some things to prove this season. On the other hand, the argument can absolutely be made that seeing whether the Huskers can turn it around in year one would make them one of the most "watchable" and entertaining programs in the country.