The CFP Era · 2014–present

Nebraska

Twelve seasons in three acts · Big Ten

66–79Record
45.5%Win %
0National titles
2024Peak season
55Avg. percentile
21NFL draftees

The three-act trajectory

Within-season power percentile against the FBS cohort, season by season.

FOUNDINGTRANSITIONEXPANSION0255075100141516171819202122232425Peak of the era2024 · 7–6Steepest fall2017
Source CFB Zeitgeist · power ratings
Founding2014–2020

The four-team Playoff era. The bracket is small, the margin for error none.

40–43 · avg percentile 59
Transition2021–2023

The last seasons before expansion — NIL arrives, the portal opens, the four-team format ends.

12–24 · avg percentile 46
Expansion2024–present

The twelve-team Playoff. A wider field changes what a season has to prove.

14–12 · avg percentile 58

Defining games

Coaches of the era

Bo Pelini2014–2014
Mike Riley2015–2017
Scott Frost2020–2021
Mickey Joseph2022–2022
Matt Rhule2023–2025

Roster of the era

21 players drafted into the NFL across the CFP era.

314
415
116
117
219
220
321
222
224
125

Entering Year 13

The 2026 season opens the next chapter of the expansion era under Matt Rhule. See the 2014–2025 program page →