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...
Tom Izzos Plan For Michigan States Future Is Starting To Show
Tom Izzos long view for Michigan State is becoming easier to see, and it starts with how aggressively the Spartans are working the 2027 class. The latest move was a scholarship offer to Kamsi Awaka, a 6-foot-10 center from New Jersey who already has a growing list of major suitors, including Arizona, UConn and Florida. He is one of several high-end targets Michigan State has identified early, as Izzo continues to put real emphasis on building the next wave rather than waiting for the cycle to come to him.
The Spartans have now extended nine scholarships for 2027, a sign that this is not a token effort but a true priority for the programs future. Awaka is part of a broader board that includes players like Jaydn Jenkins, and the competition is already thick enough to show how ambitious Michigan States approach is. The next step is obvious enough, even if the finish line is not, because the Spartans are trying to turn early offers into actual momentum before other bluebloods can close the gap. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Camp Opens With Key Roles Still Up For Grabs
Michigan State is opening official training camp with plenty of the lineup still in motion, and the first real days of practice figure to matter as much as any preseason projection. Pat Fitzgerald and his staff have a handful of decisions to sort through before the opener against Toledo, with starting jobs still unsettled at wide receiver, linebacker, tight end and punt returner.
The most crowded discussion is at receiver, where Chrishon McCray is part of a group trying to claim spots and establish some early separation. Jordan Hall is among the other players in the mix at different positions, while the staff is also waiting on NCAA eligibility confirmation for Rodney Bullard Jr., a wrinkle that could affect how the room settles once camp gets moving in earnest. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Faces Fall Camp Battles That Could Define Its Season
Michigan State opens training camp with a roster that looks a lot different from the one that finished last season, and the turnover is already shaping the most important conversations in East Lansing. There are more new faces than familiar ones, which means the Spartans are still sorting out where several players fit, especially on offense, where lineup changes and position uncertainty are part of the daily backdrop. Add in a handful of injuries and the presence of transfers and freshmen pushing for snaps, and camp is less about fine-tuning a known product than figuring out what the starting group will even look like.
Some of the biggest battles are tied to situations that have yet to settle, which keeps the offensive line and a few skill spots in flux as practice gets underway. Michigan State has players competing for starting roles at multiple positions, and the staff may need to make temporary adjustments while it waits on health updates and eligibility matters to clear. For a team trying to stabilize after so much roster change, the next few weeks could determine not just who starts, but how far this group can go once the season begins. [Read more 🡒]