The Nebraska football team is getting a ton of love despite a 4-8 record in the 2018 season. The team is getting a bit of extra love from one publication in particular. Athlon released its "way too early" Top 25 rankings for the 2019 season and the Huskers made the list. As a matter of fact, the Cornhuskers are well inside the Top 25. That despite the fact that the team hasn't won more than four games in a season since 2016.

Nebraska football impressing with late-season swing

While there are bound to be some people who are irate at the fact the Huskers are ranked 19th in Athlon's list, there is at least some ability to see why they placed Nebraska that high.

After a 0-6 start to the season, Scott Frost and company went 4-2 to close out the year. That included a win over Michigan State and a near upset of Rose Bowl champion Ohio State in Columbus.

There is also an argument to be made that the team is loading up on talent that is going to be able to make quite the impact come next season. Wandale Robinson is just one example of a player who not only will get some playing time as a freshman but could end up starting more games than not. The Nebraska football team showed in 2018 that the staff has no problem having true freshmen get big-time playing time. That's good news for a team that doesn't have a ton of talent when it comes to the upperclassmen.

Bringing in a class that has been inside the Top 20 when it comes to recruiting rankings can reload and build up quickly.

Cornhuskers still need to prove it

While the Nebraska football team is likely going to have some fun when Wandale Robinson hits the field, there are bound to be plenty of people who are a bit annoyed a team that has gone 8-16 in the last two years is being ranked in an early Top-25.

Those that are angry the Huskers are ranked that high on Athlon's list can take solace in the fact that there's zero chance the actual AP or Coach's preseason rankings include Nebraska.

Athlon explains in part why it thinks the Huskers are going to be in the Top 25 and points directly to an offense that was very, very good for most of the year, even when they were losing games.

"Despite a few key losses on offense, this unit will be one of the most explosive groups in the Big Ten next fall." While the defense is still going to be a question mark, the team showed that when the offense is on, it can be damn near unstoppable. A weaker regular season schedule might be enough to get the Nebraska football team into the Top 25 at some point next season.
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