Nebraska is a bigger College Football Playoff contender than you think

While star quarterback Dylan Raiola is only a freshman, the Nebraska Cornhuskers are looking like a sneaky threat to make the College Football Playoff. And that's not just my word for it. The oddsmakers are starting to back that theory up.

Head coach Matt Rhule's squad has only lost one game this season, falling to still-ranked Illinois in overtime. While the program is set to face off against top 25-ranked Indiana and top 10-ranked Ohio State on the road in the next two weeks, the program has an extremely easy schedule to close out its regular season thereafter.

If the Cornhuskers were able to go 1-1 in their next two games, it stands to reason that they could win 10 games this season. The program would need to make sure that they avoid any upsets but they would certainly be in the discussion to make the Playoff with that resumé, one boosted by a win over either Ohio State or even Indiana.

The defense led by defensive coordinator Tony White has only let up more than 10 points once this season. Additionally, the Cornhuskers have only allowed 266 total yards per game with their rushing defense being a huge reason for their success on that side of the ball. With Raiola and a stud defense, it's clear that Nebraska is a bigger CFP contender than you might think.

Nebraska is a legitimate College Football Playoff contender

Indiana and Ohio State, as mentioned, present the biggest roadblocks for the Huskers. Nebraska will quite likely see the best offenses and defenses on their schedule over the next two weeks. However, for Rhule's team to be considered as a viable CFP contender, being competitive or winning one of those matchups should be a prerequsite.

The Hoosiers, who are far less battle-tested than the Buckeyes, might be the easiest target to earn a signature win against on the road. But if they could pull that off, a 10-2 Nebraska team could still be an at-large threat for the Playoff.

Having said that, the Cornhuskers would surely need some help beyond their own results to make that happen. Their overall lacking strength of schedule could play against them and allow teams with equal or even worse records to jump ahead of them in the rankings if they simply have better wins they can showcase.