Matt Rhule’s Best Nebraska Team Might Surprise People This Fall

But a backbreaking Big Ten schedule will challenge the Huskers.

Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule speaks during Big Ten Media Days in Chicago last month. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In less than four weeks, Nebraska will kick off its 137th college football season with a home game vs the Ohio Bobcats on Sept. 5th.

Husker head coach Matt Rhule has been saying he believes this year’s team is his best at Nebraska. He says his team is bigger, faster and stronger than the previous three years at NU. Perhaps even more important is that the depth is much better this year.

Nebraska is coming off back-to-back 7-6 seasons and ended last year with three blowout losses.

Needless to say, Rhule had to make some off -season changes. He fired his defensive coordinator (John Butler) and hired Rob Aurich from San Diego State as his new DC. Aurich brought with him a new defensive scheme (4-2-5). Rhule also replaced his special teams coordinator (Mike Ekeler) with former Husker placekicking great Brett Maher.

Rhule used the portal to upgrade his quarterback room, offensive and defensive lines, linebackers and secondary. The additions are ample reason for Rhule’s optimism going into this fall.

Maybe the biggest off-season catch was UNLV dual-threat quarterback transfer Anthony Colandrea. Husker offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen might have his prototypical QB in Colandrea.

The running back room looks good (although it's green), the receivers look explosive and the O-line looks strong and deep. The defensive line looks to be better than last year’s version as does the linebacker corps. NU’s secondary will have a great deal of talent and depth.

The big question mark might be special teams. Last year’s coordinator, Mike Ekeler, took Nebraska from 86th in the nation to number 3. But Ekeler has moved on to Southern California. Brett Maher is in charge at Nebraska this season. It’s hard to imagine special teams being as good in 2026 as they were in 2025.

Let’s look at this fall’s schedule and see how Nebraska fares this fall.

September

5th

Ohio (Last year’s record 9-4) (Win)

MAC Conference

Head Coach: John Hauser (First year as HC)

This is the program former Husker head coach Frank Solich resurrected after he was fired by NU in 2003.

12th

Bowling Green State University (4-8) (W)

MAC Conference

Coach: Eddie George (2nd)

Yes, that is the same guy who won the Heisman in 1995 when he was a running back at Ohio State. Husker QB Tommie Frazier should have won it that year.

19th

North Dakota (8-6) (W)

Missouri Valley Conference (FCS)

Coach: Eric Schmidt (2nd)


25th
@ Michigan State (4-8) (W)

Coach: Pat Fitzgerald (First)

This will be Pat Fitzgerald’s first year at MSU, but he’s no stranger to the Big Ten. From 2006 to 2022, he was the head coach at Northwestern.

This is supposed to be a rebuilding year for MSU. So this might be a winnable game for Nebraska, But this won’t be a “gimmie” for NU. Why? Because as most Husker fans remember, Fitzgerald was NW’s head coach in 2022 when his Wildcat team beat Nebraska 31-28 in Dublin, Ireland. Anyone remember the botched onside kick NU attempted? What made matters worse was that was Northwestern's only win in a -11 season.

October

3rd

Maryland (4-8) (W)

Coach: Mike Locksley (8th)

This should be a win for the Huskers. Locksley, who has had back-to-back 4-8 seasons, is in the hot seat this fall. A win over NU could help save his job.

10th

Indiana (16-0) (Loss)

Coach: Curt Cignetti (3rd)

These two teams will likely come into this game with 5-0 records. The Hoosiers ended up national champs last year. Gone is the 2025 Heisman winner, QB Fernando Mendoza, who was the number one overall pick in this year’s NFL draft. Taking his place this fall will likely be former three-year starting TCU QB transfer Josh Hoover. Despite losing eight total starters to the NFL draft this year, Indiana and Curt Cignetti have found replacements via the portal. Can the Hoosiers be upset in Lincoln this fall?

Indiana had two narrow regular-season wins last year in their road to a NC. The Hoosiers beat Old Dominion 27-14 and escaped Happy Valley with a 27-24 win over Penn State.

The Hoosiers follow the Husker game with a home game against Ohio State on the 17th and a road game at Michigan on the 24th. Maybe NU can catch the Hoosiers looking ahead. If not, this will be Nebraska’s first loss of the year.

Either way, Memorial Stadium will be the noisiest place on earth that day.

17th

@ Oregon (13-2) (L)

Coach: Dan Lanning (5th)

The big question in this game is, will former Husker QB Dylan Raiola see any action? If so, how will Nebraska react? Not to worry. NU gets its second loss.

24th Bye Week

This will be a great time for the Huskers regroup after two straight losses.

31st

Washington (9-4) (W)

Coach: Jedd Fisch (3rd)

This might be a winnable game for NU. It’s in Lincoln and NU will be coming off a bye week. With the win, the Huskers become bowl eligible with a 6-2 record. The win also could end its long drought of losses to ranked teams.

November

7th

@ Illinois (9-4) (W)

Coach: Brett Bielema (6th)

NU picks up a rare November victory to go 7-2.

14th

@ Rutgers (4-8) (W)

Coach: Greg Schiano (7th)

Nebraska gets its second November win to mark Matt Rhule’s first eight-win season at Nebraska.

21st

Ohio State (13-2) (L)

Coach: Ryan Day (9th)

Memorial Stadium will be rockin’ but the Buckeyes will prevail. Huskers are 8-3.

27th

@ Iowa (9-4) (L)

Coach: Kirk Ferentz (26th)

Husker fans would likely trade all their 2026 wins for a win over the Hawkeyes. Iowa has had NU’s number for years, and that won’t change this time. Huskers end the regular season with a respectable 8-4 record.

And that’s that.

---

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.