Nebraska to play SEC team in early bowl game projection

Nebraska head football coach Matt Rhule said during Big Ten Media Days that his team has the confidence to break the bowl-less game streak this season.

The Cornhuskers haven't played in a bowl game since 2016, when they lost to Tennessee in the Music City Bowl, 38-24. The last time the Huskers won a bowl game was the previous year on Dec. 26, when they defeated UCLA 37-29.

Action Network's Brett McMurphy released his "Week 0 Bowl Projections" this week and has Nebraska in a bowl game, pitted against a team making its debut in the SEC in 2024.

The Cheez-It Citrus Bowl is predicted to have a matchup of Nebraska and Texas Longhorns on Dec. 31.

The Longhorns are favored to win by an enormous -26.5 line. They're ranked No. 4 overall by ESPN and the Associated Press heading into the season.

Last season, Texas took home the Big 12 Conference title in the conference's final season due to the NCAA merger, going 12-2 overall and losing the College Football Playoff/Allstate Sugar Bowl to Washington 37-31.

The Huskers and Longhorns haven't played one another since they both were in the Big 12, with Texas winning 20-13 on Oct. 16, 2010. Nebraska was ranked No. 5 in the nation at the time.

Texas owns the all-time series record, with Nebraska losing four out of the 14 total matchups dating back to 1933. Texas also has a six-game winning streak against Big Red.

Another game — painfully — comes to mind for Huskers fans when talking about these two teams playing each other: the 2009 Big 12 Championship Game , when Colt McCoy was the quarterback for the Longhorns.

Related: Former NFL QB, 2-time Heisman finalist to debut on NBC broadcast team for Colorado-Nebraska

Texas hit a last-second, 46-yard field goal by Hunter Lawrence to win 13-12, punching their ticket to the BCS National Championship Game.

The game was controversial due to McCoy throwing a ball out of bounds and the time initially winding down to zero. Nebraska players stormed the field and began to celebrate, until officials reviewed the play and determined there was still one second left on the clock.

According to Pro Football Focus, Nebraska's projected win total for 2024 is 6.4 while Texas' is 8.9.