Nebraska’s quarterback picture has a name that deserves a closer look, even if it didn’t crack On3’s latest Top 10 list of Big Ten quarterbacks.
Anthony Colandrea won’t get the preseason benefit of the doubt, and Nebraska hasn’t exactly earned much of that lately either. But there’s a real case for him to be one of the bigger surprises in the league in 2026.
The résumé is already there. Colandrea was the 2025 Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year.
Before that, he started 17 games at Virginia. Then at UNLV in 2025, he started all 14 games and put up numbers strong enough to be named the conference’s top offensive player.
Of course, the Mountain West is not the Big Ten. And the Big Ten’s quarterback room in 2026 looks crowded with quality, which makes it tougher for Colandrea to force his way into that top-10 conversation.
So no, he wasn’t a pick for that list.
But that doesn’t mean the idea is far-fetched. Colandrea has a chance to make a real jump and put himself in the mix as one of the league’s better quarterbacks. If that happens, Nebraska gets a little bit of that missing benefit of the doubt back.
Elsewhere in the Nebraska orbit, the program is also hitting a recruiting milestone, with four top-100 recruits part of the conversation. The latest 3-2-1 column also digs into the Big 12’s Monster deal, Nebraska’s transfer numbers, quarterback rankings and more.
Fall camp is also getting closer, and Nebraska’s offensive line is one of the biggest storylines heading into Matt Rhule’s fourth camp in Lincoln. It’s a revamped unit again, and the expectation is that it takes another step forward in 2026.
One player who keeps showing up in the “most indispensable” conversation is Isaiah Mozee, who has gone from receiver recruit to running back. Over the past year, he’s learned the position, added muscle and prepared for the weekly punishment that comes with Big Ten football.
And beyond Nebraska, The Sporting News has updated its 2026 bowl projections, including the full College Football Playoff bracket and every postseason matchup. Bill Bender’s latest predictions are just an early snapshot, but they give a sense of where teams stand with fall camp approaching and rosters mostly set after another busy offseason.
On the national injury front, United States international and AC Milan attacker Christian Pulisic will be out for several weeks after suffering a bone bruise and microfracture in his lower leg, sources confirmed to ESPN. The Athletic first reported the news. Pulisic was hurt seven minutes into the second half of the USMNT’s 4-1 round-of-16 loss to Belgium when he went up for a shot and hit the back of Belgian midfielder Youri Tielemans’ leg.
In Other News...
Jamarques Lawrence Return Hopes Just Got New Life At Nebraska
An Ohio judges injunction against the NCAA has added a fresh wrinkle to the eligibility picture for players trying to squeeze out one more season, including former Nebraska guard Jamarques Lawrence. The ruling gives 24 players a path to five seasons of competition and adds another legal precedent to a growing set of challenges around how the NCAA plans to handle its new five-year framework.
For Nebraska, the timing is notable because the NCAA is still working through how it will codify the rule and which players it intends to leave out. Lawrence does not automatically get another year out of the Ohio decision, but the case gives his side something to point to, much like the recent Douglas County District Court ruling that granted Omahas Isaac Ondekane an extra year after his own injury-related argument. [Read more 🡒]
Matt Rhule Has Nebraska Back In A Conversation Fans Missed
The old Big Eight and SEC powers that ruled the 1990s have spent much of the last decade-plus trying to reclaim that place in the national conversation, and Nebraska is once again at least part of that discussion. Tennessee has already shown under Josh Heupel that a once-proud brand can climb back into the playoff picture, while Nebraska and Virginia Tech have been working through coaching changes and the longer grind of rebuilding. For Cornhuskers fans, just hearing their program mentioned alongside those names again is a reminder of how far the conversation has shifted.
A recent prediction on a college football show pushed the idea even further, imagining Nebraska, Virginia Tech and Tennessee all reaching the College Football Playoff in the same season. It is the kind of thought experiment that says as much about where those programs have been as where they might be headed, and for Nebraska it lands in a season where Matt Rhule has at least restored some stability after years of losing. The Big Ten path is still a steep one, but the fact that the Huskers are being discussed in a playoff context at all feels like a sign of progress. [Read more 🡒]
Matt Rhule Just Got A Telling Big Ten Reality Check
Matt Rhules standing in the Big Ten took a noticeable hit in USA TODAY Sports latest coach rankings, where the Nebraska head coach dropped to No. 9 after sitting at No. 5 a year ago. The slide comes after a season that still had plenty for Nebraska to hang its hat on, including a 6-2 start and a second straight bowl appearance, but the finish left a different impression as the Huskers again spent too much time trying to patch holes up front.
USA TODAYs evaluation points straight at the trenches, where Nebraskas line play on both sides of the ball remains the clearest test of whether Rhule can push the program higher. The offense and defense both had stretches that undercut the bigger picture, even with Emmett Johnson producing a standout rushing season, and the late-season issues gave the ranking a harsher edge. Nebraska now turns the page toward Sept. 5, when it opens 2026 at Memorial Stadium against Ohio on FS1. [Read more 🡒]