Nebraska’s 2026 season has the feel of a proving ground. After opening 2024 at 3-0 and 2025 at 5-1, the Cornhuskers still finished 7-6 both times, and that kind of ending won’t satisfy anyone in Lincoln this time around.
With more talent on the roster than they’ve had in a while, Nebraska needs a season that actually means something. These three games look like the ones that will tell the whole story.
The first checkpoint comes right away in the Big Ten. Nebraska should have no trouble getting to 3-0 with Ohio, Bowling Green, and North Dakota on the schedule to open the year, but the real test is what happens when conference play begins.
The Huskers have lost their first conference game every year since 2019, and that pattern has become impossible to ignore. Michigan State is viewed as one of the weaker teams in the league, but Pat Fitzgerald is not someone you can sleepwalk through, especially in a hostile conference setting.
A win there would push Nebraska to 4-0 and set up a likely 5-0 start with Maryland next on the slate.
That’s where Week 6 gets interesting. Nebraska and Indiana could both be 5-0 when the Hoosiers come to Lincoln, and that turns the matchup into a huge Big Ten game with playoff implications.
If the Huskers are sitting at 5-0, they won’t be thinking about settling for 8-4 or better. They’ll want to beat Indiana.
Nebraska hasn’t beaten a ranked team since 2016, but the last two seasons showed it can still bother top-level opponents. In 2024, a young Nebraska team lost 21-17 to eventual national champion Ohio State on the road in a game it could have won with cleaner execution.
In 2025, Nebraska may have beaten USC if Dylan Raiola had not fumbled and gone down with a season-ending injury.
That’s why the Indiana game carries so much weight. Nebraska can be a tough place to play, and the Huskers have enough talent to make life miserable for a team like that.
If they find a way to win, it changes the entire conversation around Matt Rhule’s program. Nebraska would be back in contention.
The Huskers are clearly the underdog, especially after their 56-7 loss at Indy in 2024, and the reminder from that game is simple: overlooking Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers cost them badly. That mistake can’t happen again.
Even if Nebraska gets past Indiana, the road trip to Oregon is a brutal follow-up. That environment raises the degree of difficulty again, but the bye week before Washington at home gives Nebraska a chance to reset.
And that Washington game could be enormous. The Huskies might be ranked and possibly undefeated, helped by a schedule that is easier than Nebraska’s.
That sets up a game in Lincoln with real postseason stakes.
It’s the kind of matchup Nebraska cannot let slip away. Washington is not at the same level as Indiana, Oregon, or even Ohio State, which the Huskers host in Week 12.
Nebraska still has to go to Illinois, host Ohio State, and travel to Iowa, so it can’t afford to treat the Washington game like a bonus. Playing USC close last season was not enough.
This one has to be won.
Rhule has already shown Nebraska can hang in tight games and make things difficult for elite opponents, something Scott Frost never managed. The Huskers are bringing back a lot and adding transfers such as QB Anthony Colandrea, LB Owen Chambliss, and WR Kwazi Gilmer.
The talent is there. The ceiling is there.
Now it comes down to what Rhule and Nebraska can actually turn it into in 2026.
In Other News...
Former Nebraska Standout Put His NFL Push On Hold For One Reason
Ceyair Wrights NFL push hit pause during Bengals fall camp, but not because of an injury or a roster move. The former Nebraska standout stepped away from Cincinnati to chase an acting opportunity, a decision Bengals coach Zac Taylor said was tough for Wright because it comes down to two real passions for him: football and acting.
Wright is no stranger to the screen, either, with prior work that includes a role in the Space Jam remake and a run on Grown-ish. For Nebraska fans who watched him develop into a standout, the football part of the story is still very much alive, with Wright planning to return after his acting project wraps in October. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska Fall Camp Is Already Revealing Who Could Define This Season
Midway through fall camp, Nebraska is starting to get a clearer picture of which players could shape the season once the real games arrive. With one scrimmage already in the books and another coming up, the staff is using every practice rep to sort out the Huskers biggest personnel questions, and a handful of names keep surfacing in that conversation. Andrew Marshall, Anthony Colandrea, Elijah Pritchett, Owen Chambliss and Justin Evans all figure to matter in different ways, whether through past production, projected roles or the expectation that they can raise the ceiling of the roster.
What makes this stretch of camp so important is that the Huskers are not just looking for depth, they are looking for players who can define the identity of the team. Some of the evaluation is rooted in what those veterans and newcomers have already shown, while some of it is still projection, which is exactly why the next scrimmage matters. Nebraska still has time to refine the picture, but the current read is that a few key contributors are beginning to separate themselves from the pack. [Read more 🡒]
Former Huskers Are Already Turning Heads In Early NFL Battles
The NFL preseason is still young, but a handful of former Nebraska players have already found ways to make an impression. Emmett Johnson, now with the Kansas City Chiefs, got steady work in his preseason debut and showed the kind of versatility that helped him stand out in Lincoln, while Ty Robinson and Garrett Nelson both showed up on defense with sacks for their new clubs.
For Nebraska fans, it is the sort of early August development worth keeping an eye on because it gives the program another quick reminder of how many Huskers are trying to carve out roles on Sundays. Some alumni were active in games, others did not see the field, and these opening reps are only the first step in battles that will stretch through the rest of the preseason. [Read more 🡒]