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...
Nebraska Freshmen Could Be Thrust Into Key Roles Right Away
Nebraskas 2026 recruiting class was built with clear purpose, and the early buzz around it is tied to the places the roster needed help most. The Huskers signed 12 recruits in the cycle, with the defensive line and tight end spot among the priorities, and a few of those newcomers already look positioned to push for snaps when the season opens.
Defensive tackle Dylan Berymon, tight end Luke Sorensen and cornerback Danny Odem are the names to watch, each bringing the kind of size, pedigree or upside that can get a freshman on the field faster than expected. Whether the immediate path is in the trenches, in the passing game or in the secondary, Nebraska may not be able to afford to wait long on all of them. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska Is Suddenly In Position For A Huge California Recruiting Win
Nebraskas push into California got a notable boost this week with the addition of Vincent Shields to its early list of priorities. The 4-star offensive tackle from Murrieta Valley High School has drawn offers from multiple major programs, but the Huskers recent official offer helped put them squarely in the mix as he sorts through the schools at the front of his recruitment.
Shields is already giving Nebraska serious consideration, which is meaningful for a program trying to keep momentum in the 2028 class under recruiting coordinator Geep Wade. The next step for the Huskers is getting him on campus for a fall gameday visit, a chance to make a stronger impression while a few familiar West Coast powers have yet to fully enter the picture. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska May Have Found The Defensive Fix Fans Have Been Waiting For
Nebraskas latest defensive reset comes with a familiar name to coordinators who have tracked the Mountain West and beyond. Rob Aurich, who previously called the shots at Idaho and San Diego State, has been hired to run the Cornhuskers defense, giving the program a coach with a track record of getting his units to play well in stretches against FBS competition. His arrival also brings a different kind of continuity, since he is expected to have a few players around him who already know what he wants from the system.
For Nebraska, the appeal is straightforward: the defense needs to get sturdier against the run and generate more sacks, two areas that have shadowed the unit and helped make this hire feel important before a snap has been taken. Aurichs recent work suggests he can build something more dependable, and his presence gives the Cornhuskers a chance to blend fresh ideas with some schematic familiarity as they try to stabilize a side of the ball fans have been waiting to see fixed. [Read more 🡒]