Nebraska Thread

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“In three years at Georgia Tech, we ran a version of counter 497 times.”

Geep Wade is looking forward to implementing the run schemes and creativity he used at Georgia Tech now here at Nebraska.

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In order to get an accurate assessment of teams heading into 2026, Athlon asked coaches in the Big Ten to talk anonymously about their opponents.

Note: These scouting reports come directly from coaching staffs, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Athlon’s editorial staff.


NEBRASKA

“They’re in a ton of denial with the quarterback situation. Dylan Raiola is as good as they get as a player and as a person; losing him, I thought he was their last hope. He was the pin that was holding that thing together.”

“I don’t imagine they’re gonna do anything special. I think five wins, maybe six wins at the most (this) year. If they hit seven, I’d be shocked.”

“(Head coach) Matt Rhule has some great aspects. He can make you run through a wall, but there’s just always so much turnover with his staff. I know that it’s a tough environment for those coaches to be in. Rhule makes it like that on purpose because he doesn’t want you to get comfortable. I don’t want to say his model isn’t going to work, but I don’t know.”

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This week in Husker history

1906: A November game at Chicago of the Western Conference is set.

1911: Former Nebraska center Sidney Collins admits he accepted money but says the cash went toward college expenses. Meanwhile, plans for improvements to Nebraska Field move forward. | Full story

1936: Elmer Dohrmann ends his sophomore year as a varsity letterman in four sports. He would finish with a school-record 11 letters: three each in football, basketball and baseball, plus two in track.

1951: Longtime Lincoln sportswriter Cy Sherman, who gave the Cornhuskers their name at the turn of the century, dies at age 80. 

1961: Broken Bow back Kent McCloughan, named the state high school athlete of the year, decides to enroll at Nebraska.

1966: Husker football quarterback Bob Churchich finishes the baseball season with a .383 batting average, tops in the Big Eight.

1976: The Nebraska-Oklahoma game is moved to the Friday after Thanksgiving for a national telecast.

2001: Former Husker star Irving Fryar retires as the fifth-leading receiver in NFL history.

2011: Quarterback Cody Green requests a release from his scholarship. He would end up transferring to Tulsa

2021: Text messages from August 2020 confirm that Ohio State, like Nebraska, considered pursuing an independent schedule after the Big Ten’s initial decision not to play football in the fall.

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1976: The Nebraska-Oklahoma game is moved to the Friday after Thanksgiving for a national telecast.

Is Iowa - Nebraska now an after-thought for Cornhusker fans?

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absolutely not an afterthought
especially since the series is decidedly lopsided in Iowa's favor

but, it's also not Oklahoma
because, the game is not for the high stakes of a conference championship and/or national title chance

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Lincoln to Host NCAA Baseball Regional for the First Time Since 2008

Nebraska baseball is in the top 16 nationally and will host three other teams during the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

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This week in Husker history

1951: Alonzo Yont, a back for Nebraska in the early 1890s, reflects on more than half a century of change in the game – forward passes, freer substituting, more padding – and isn’t so sure it’s an improvement. Diagramed above is the sort of wedge play that was prevalent during Yont’s time.

1971: Six Husker football players and one basketball player are commissioned as Lincoln police officers for the summer.

1996: Tommie Frazier is named Big Eight Male Athlete of the Year as the conference approaches its sunset.

2001: Warren Alfson, All-America guard on the Huskers’ 1941 Rose Bowl team, dies at age 86. Alfson is believed to be the first player to redshirt at Nebraska and perhaps the first in all of college football.

2016: The university’s payments to Bo Pelini’s former assistants at Nebraska are expected to exceed $1.9 million.

2021: Walk-on running back Jaquez Yant earns a scholarship after a breakout spring.

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This week in Husker history

1961: Omaha Central running back Gale Sayers opts for Nebraska after initially choosing Iowa State (but the choice wouldn’t stick).

1966: Nebraska’s games against Missouri and Oklahoma are selected for ABC telecasts.

1986: Former Husker tight end Junior Miller tries to get his NFL career back on track.

2001: Boyd Epley looks back on when Nebraska was a pioneer in summer conditioning.

2006: Crews begin installing the 117-foot-wide DiamondVision screen at the north end of Memorial Stadium.

2011: The Kansas City Royals select Husker quarterback signee Bubba Starling with the No. 5 pick in the Major League Baseball draft. It would be another two months before he signed with the Royals and made it official he was choosing pro baseball over college football.

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This week in Husker history


1906: Nebraska’s football schedule is nearly complete, and it includes a Thanksgiving Day game against Cincinnati.

«1936: Nebraska first baseman Paul Amen, also an end on the Huskers’ football squad, is selected for a likely spot on the U.S. baseball team for the Berlin Olympics.

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Memorial Stadium is the place to be for Husker fans on Saturday night. Nebraska Football will host the Red Sea Rising event, which will include the second annual Battle of the Boneyard 7-on-7 Tournament, presented by adidas, and an exciting special announcement to cap the evening.

Fans still have time this week to claim a free ticket to be a part of the exciting day by visiting Huskers.com/tickets. Action in the 7-on-7 tournament will take place throughout the day with the championship rounds inside Memorial Stadium in the evening.

Gates to Memorial Stadium will open at 6 p.m. and fans are asked to enter at Gate 20 on the East side, with an ADA accessible entry at Gate 15A. Fans will be seated in sections 2-10 in the East Stadium.  Parking in many campus lots around Memorial Stadium will be free and is available on a first-come, first-served basis.  Lots will be accessible after 3 p.m.

Concessions will be available in East stadium stands, and the first 500 fans will receive a free t-shirt, courtesy of adidas.

The Battle of the Boneyard will conclude with the championship rounds beginning in Memorial Stadium at approximately 7 p.m.

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“In three years at Georgia Tech, we ran a version of counter 497 times.”

Geep Wade is looking forward to implementing the run schemes and creativity he used at Georgia Tech now here at Nebraska.

It always seemed to me that Brian Ferentz feared running counters and misdirection plays. He seemed to want to telegraph everything. Has Nebraska had that too? 

I don't think the need to telegraph every play has been as big a problem at Nebraska, as it was at Iowa, but then I don't follow Nebraska as carefully as Iowa. With Nebraska I am more of a big picture person. The failures across recent coaching staffs I have seen are turnovers, especially at crucial moments. Turnovers seem to be built into Cornhusker identity.

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Dana Holgorsen is pretty good all around, I think playcalling is fine.
Biggest issue for the offense IMO has been a smallish and ineffective O-line

Turnovers and lack of Redzone TDs have been killers

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Nebraska Cornhuskers

Head coach: Matt Rhule (fourth year, 19-19 overall)

2026 projection: 37th in SP+, 6.0 average wins (3.3 in the Big Ten)

I was very curious how the new era of player movement would impact the Matt Rhule Culture-Building Machine. At previous stops, the third year was when everything came together for Rhule.

Rhule's first year at Temple and Baylor: 3-21 record, 84.0 average SP+ ranking

Rhule's second year: 13-12 record, 71.5 average ranking

Rhule's third year: 21-7 record, 34.0 average ranking

At Nebraska, he had engineered solid improvement, with the Huskers improving from 5-7 to 7-6 and from 66th to 47th in SP+. But Year 3 didn't see a breakthrough -- instead, the Cornhuskers basically replicated their 2024 numbers: 7-6 and 46th. The offense took a lovely step forward despite losing starting quarterback Dylan Raiola to injury, but the defense backslid after the departure of coordinator Tony White.

Things obviously aren't going poorly -- two straight winning seasons after nine straight sub-.500 seasons is by definition solid -- but Rhule and the Huskers enter Year 4 with a strange sense of stagnation. Coordinator Dana Holgorsen has made the offense fun, and Rhule just replaced Raiola with a flawed but incredibly enjoyable transfer (UNLV's Anthony Colandrea). But Rob Aurich will be NU's fourth defensive coordinator in five seasons, and Rhule will be awfully reliant on transfers for a defensive turnaround. Culture building isn't what it used to be, and we'll see if Rhule can guide Nebraska higher up the ladder.

Colandrea really is fun. He has pretty scramble-heavy tendencies, but he doesn't take nearly as many sacks as Raiola, and he was a far better big-play seeker last season, albeit in a conference with worse defenses than the Big Ten's. His nine career multi-INT games suggest he can trust his own abilities too much at times, but he'll have fun with receivers Nyziah Hunter and Jacory Barney Jr. With 1,400-yard rusher Emmett Johnson off to the pros, a couple of sophomores (Mekhi Nelson and Isaiah Mozee) will need to take charge at RB, but with three returning linemen and some exciting additions up front -- guards Brendan Black (Iowa State) and Paul Mubenga (LSU) and tackle Tree Babalade (South Carolina) -- the line should pave the way nicely.

Fresh from engineering a massive defensive course correction at San Diego State, Aurich takes over a defense in which (a) a number of newcomers will be asked to come up big and (b) many of last year's best players were young. Sophomores such as ends Williams Nwaneri and Kade Pietrzak, corner Donovan Jones and safety Rex Guthrie could enjoy breakout seasons, but probably not without help from linebackers Owen Chambliss (SDSU) and Dexter Foster (Oregon State), corner Victor Evans III (Florida International) and safety Dwayne McDougle (SDSU).

This is clearly going to be a solid team, but unless Colandrea has another gear or Aurich is an absolute magician, a ranking in the 30s feels about right.