The 2016 Nebraska Cornhuskers went 9–3 in the regular season to clinch an appearance in the Music City Bowl against Tennessee, a game they would lose 38–24. Even with the disappointing result, the Huskers, in their second year under coach Mike Riley, improved by three wins and reached a bowl for a ninth consecutive season.
At the time, it was unthinkable that the Huskers would wind up being the face of bowl game futility among major conference programs, and yet that is exactly how things played out. Riley was fired in 2017 as Nebraska finished 4-8. Scott Frost, a former Huskers quarterback fresh off of an undefeated season at UCF, topped at at five wins in 2019, going just 16–31 in five seasons. The team improved in 2023, its first under Matt Rhule, but finished 5–7, missing a bowl for the seventh season in a row. That streak was the worst among any program in a Power 4 league.
