The Nebraska football team might have finished 4-8 last season, but it appears they are getting quite a bit of official love this preseason. We're still a ways off from even playing the spring game, but ESPN's latest preseason FPI shows a Cornhuskers team that is going to be quite a bit better and quite a bit stronger than the 2018 version. While the Huskers might not be in the Top-25 in these preseason rankings, they show that Scott Frost and company have taken steps to make themselves a power in FBS again.

Nebraska football gets love, especially on the offensive end

Since the new coaching staff has been in Lincoln, there has been a lot of talk about how the culture is changing. Players from other teams have even started to take notice at the way fans are cheering a team that has gone 8-16 the last two seasons. Even while the Cornhuskers have been building for the future, they are building for the present as well.

That building has been quite quick when you measure it against other FBS schools that had two straight horrendous seasons. The latest pre-season ESPN FPI rankings show a Nebraska football team that clocks in at number 35. That's a pretty big bump for a team that finished 62nd in the final 2018 season rankings.

It should come as no surprise that the main reason the Huskers were able to climb the ranks is because of their offense. Their preseason ranking is judged to be number 20, while they finished 62nd last season. That rating might actually surprise some, considering just how well they performed towards the end of the year.

Perhaps the oddest rankings in ESPN's pre-season FPI is that it believes the Nebraska football team's defense is going to get a little bit worse.

That is likely why the team is outside the Top 25 because the rating has them sliding down a few spots. The Blackshirts finished the 2018 season with a defensive efficiency rating of 44.8 and are now sitting with the same rating clocking in at 52.

Nebraska football remains a bit of a mystery

One rating that is substantially improved, despite a lack of obvious improvement among the personnel, is the special teams unit.

Garnering a rating of 23 in the preseason FPI, the Cornhuskers finished with 51.5.

While the Huskers are not going to be ranked in the preseason Top 25 using this rating system, it's clear the team is going to be quite a bit better than it has been the last two years. Now Nebraska football fans need to sit back and see what happens.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED