Nebraska heads to East Lansing with a perfect record, but Saturday’s Big Ten opener feels bigger than the standings. The Cornhuskers and Michigan State both enter conference play with something to prove, even if nobody is lining up to call this a title-race showdown.
For Nebraska, the early returns under Matt Rhule have been clean and convincing. The Cornhuskers are 3-0 after handling Ohio, Bowling Green and North Dakota at home, and quarterback Anthony Colandrea has already thrown eight touchdown passes. Jamal Rule has added five rushing scores, giving Nebraska a balanced start as it takes the field away from home for the first time this season.
Rhule, now in his fourth year, has seen the program move forward. Nebraska entered the season 19-19 under him, and he’s made it clear he believes this group is different.
"We've felt pretty good about our team since probably January," he said. "I said in the spring when people would come and stop me that this will be our best team.
Well, I'm not that dumb. I can tell when they're good."
Michigan State is trying to build something of its own in Pat Fitzgerald’s first season, and a home win in the league opener would be a useful marker. The Spartans are 2-1, and quarterback Alessio Milivojevic has given them 540 passing yards and three touchdown throws so far.
Last week’s 27-10 loss at then-No. 3 Notre Dame didn’t exactly leave the Spartans empty-handed in the eyes of some fans, since Michigan State was a 28-point underdog and was only down seven at halftime. Fitzgerald, though, wasn’t interested in treating moral victories like progress.
"I fully expect we will play with great effort," Fitzgerald said. "We've got a huge challenge.
Nebraska is playing at a very high level. We have to play much cleaner and much more consistent.
I'm not going to stop saying that until we get there, and once we get there, it won't be good enough then, either. We've just got to get there."
Nebraska beat Michigan State 38-27 in Lincoln last season.
In Other News...
Nebraska Basketball Just Landed The Kind Of Commit Fans Doubt Hoiberg Could Get
Nebraska basketball pulled off a major recruiting win with Dawson Battie, a five-star power forward who is ranked No. 26 overall in the 2027 class and has committed to the Huskers. Battie picked Nebraska over 22 other Division I offers, a decision that gives Fred Hoiberg's program a jolt of credibility on the trail and instantly raises the profile of a class that already includes four-star forward Ty Schlagel.
When Battie signs, he will become the highest-ranked recruit in program history, a milestone that says plenty about where Nebraska is trying to go under Hoiberg. Landing a prospect with that kind of national attention does not solve everything, but it does give the Huskers a centerpiece to build around and a reason for fans to pay closer attention to what comes next in 2027. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraskas 2026 Schedule Is Already Looking More Uneven Than Expected
Nebraskas 2026 slate already has a little more texture to it after a weekend that offered a fresh look at several future opponents. The Cornhuskers non-conference and crossover landscape was part good news, part concern, with most of the early looks going against teams on the schedule while a few others handled their business and kept some momentum rolling.
Michigan State and Maryland were among the teams to come up short, adding to the sense that parts of Nebraskas upcoming schedule may be less intimidating than they looked on paper. Washington and Illinois, though, were on the other side of that equation with wins, a reminder that the balance of next years schedule could swing quickly depending on which version of these teams shows up by the time Nebraska sees them. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska Gets An Unusual Second Chance Against Missouri
Nebraska is getting a rare do-over on Wednesday night, when the Cornhuskers and Missouri meet again at Bob Devaney Sports Center after their original match was stopped at Wrigley Field because of a slippery court. The restart comes with both teams back at 0-0, turning what was once a strange weather-and-surface story into a fresh nonconference test for two programs that already know how unusual this week has been.
For Nebraska, the rescheduled meeting adds another layer to an already busy early-season stretch, with the match set for 6 p.m. and both sides bringing in their records, coaches and rosters to a setting that should feel a lot more familiar than the one they left behind. It is not often a team gets to hit reset in midstream, and the Huskers now have a second chance to settle the match on their own floor rather than keep wondering what might have happened at Wrigley. [Read more 🡒]