“We had intense discussions about the last four in and first four out,” Rasmussen said. “Obviously you’re trying to get the right teams in, and you know that when you put a team in, you’re moving somebody out.
"We had long discussions - I’ve been on the committee five years, and we have never had the length of discussions we had over the last four in and first four out.”
While Rasmussen didn’t discuss Nebraska specifically, he essentially addressed the Huskers’ situation while answering a question about St. Mary’s, who also missed the cut despite going 28-4 this season.
Rasmussen pointed to the fact that while the Gaels’ had an impressive overall record, all but four of their 28 wins came against teams ranked in the third and fourth quadrants.
Looking at Nebraska’s resume, it went just 1-6 vs. Quadrant 1 opponents, including 0-5 away from Pinnacle Bank Arena. The Quadrant 2 record wasn’t much better at 2-3, and again, with just one win coming on the road.
Of Nebraska's 22 victories, only six came against teams with overall winning records (Boston College, UTSA, Michigan, Maryland, Indiana, and Penn State).
“It’s a debate and it’s a discussion about the quality of wins, the quality of opportunities, compared to the quantity of opportunities,” Rasmussen said. “You’re right, there are teams that had more opportunities… We just didn’t feel like there was enough of a resume to put St. Mary’s in.
“Middle Tennessee (24-7) was the same way. They played some great non-conference games, they just didn’t win those games.”