Nebraska heads into fall camp with more uncertainty than certainty, and that’s not hard to see. The Huskers added 16 players through the transfer portal and brought in six new assistant coaches since last fall, so plenty of the key jobs on this roster belong to new faces.
With the season opener against Cincinnati on Sept. 5 getting closer, Nebraska has a short list of issues it has to sort out fast. The answers to those questions will go a long way toward deciding whether this team takes a step forward or stays stuck in the middle.
The first concern starts up front on offense, where Nebraska never found enough stability in 2025. The Huskers finished No. 82 nationally in total yardage gained, a disappointing result for an offense with Dana Holgorsen calling plays.
Pass protection was a major reason why. Nebraska quarterbacks were sacked 33 times, too often leaving drives buried before they could really get rolling.
That has to change. Nebraska doesn’t need to become a top-25 offense overnight, but it does need to stop handing defenses easy wins with negative plays.
Since 2022, the Huskers have allowed 124 sacks in 50 games, an average of 2.48 per game. Geep Wade’s Georgia Tech line gave up just nine sacks in 13 games in 2025, and if that kind of protection shows up in Lincoln, the offense should move in a better direction.
The defense has its own reset to manage, and it begins with the run game. Terry Bradden lasted only one season as defensive line coach before being let go, and his group was part of a defense that finished No. 100 nationally against the run in 2025. That was a steep fall from Nebraska’s No. 9 ranking in 2023 and No. 8 mark in 2024.
The Huskers don’t have to become a top-10 rushing defense this fall, but they do need to get back to being a unit offenses have to respect. Last season, the top 10 teams in rushing defense went 108-31 overall, which says plenty about how much it matters to control the ground game. For a program that wants to play physical football, getting back to that standard up front could swing a few games.
Nebraska also has to figure out how to run the ball without Emmett Johnson, the Big Ten Running Back of the Year. There isn’t one player on the current roster who can simply replace him, but the Huskers can still be more efficient on the ground than they were a year ago.
They finished 82nd nationally in rushing yards per carry at 4.2 in 2025. Back in 2023, when Nebraska ranked No. 2 in the Big Ten in rushing offense, it averaged 4.4 per carry.
That difference may not look dramatic, but it would have pushed last year’s average into the top 65. Quarterback mobility should help some in 2026, but the bigger boost needs to come from a rebuilt offensive line.
No projected starter on that unit is listed under 6-foot-2, 315 pounds, so this group should at least be hard to move around. If Nebraska can run it more efficiently without leaning on one featured back, the offense will be in a much better spot.
On the other side of the ball, Nebraska’s pass rush needs a jolt. The Huskers finished 2025 with just 22 sacks in 13 games, by far the fewest under a Matt Rhule-led team. New defensive coordinator Rob Aurich’s San Diego State defense had 32 sacks last season, and first-year defensive line coach Corey Brown helped Miami (OH) get to 41.
Williams Nwaneri, the former five-star edge rusher, led Nebraska’s defensive linemen with only 2.5 sacks in 2025. San Diego State, by comparison, had four different defensive linemen finish above that number on their own.
Nebraska probably won’t have three players pile up six or more sacks this fall, but it does need a front that can disrupt quarterbacks more often. That kind of pressure changes games, and the Huskers didn’t create enough of it last season.
The quarterback situation is another major piece of the puzzle. Transfer Anthony Colandrea gets the first shot at the job after an all-conference season at UNLV, and Nebraska needs more from the passing game after ranking No. 68 nationally in passing yards per game in 2025.
But the bigger issue is not just production - it’s how that production looks. Last season, Nebraska’s downfield passing game never really clicked, even with a blue-chip pocket passer running the offense for the second straight year. The play-calling itself seemed to reflect that reality, because the Huskers simply could not count on stretching the field.
That’s where the receiving group comes in. Jacory Barney, Nyziah Hunter and UCLA transfer Kwazi Gilmer give Nebraska a group with real upside.
Whether Colandrea is the one delivering the ball or someone else ends up in charge, the Huskers have to threaten defenses vertically more consistently. If they do, this offense has a chance to become something more than average.
In Other News...
Nebraska Is Finally Giving Anthony Colandrea The Offense Fans Wanted
Anthony Colandrea looks set to be Nebraskas starting quarterback, and the early signs suggest the Huskers are trying to make the offense fit him instead of forcing him into a rigid system. Colandrea has already praised Dana Holgorsen for adjusting the scheme to include elements from his time at UNLV, a notable shift for a program that has spent plenty of time searching for the right formula under center.
For Nebraska, that matters because Colandrea arrives with a track record of production and a style that can change how the whole offense feels. The same momentum around the program is showing up on the recruiting trail, too, with the Huskers offering defensive lineman Simon Nuamah and expecting him on campus, while the schedule ahead also gives Nebraska a pair of familiar MAC matchups in Ohio and Bowling Green as the 2026 slate starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Three Nebraska Wild Cards Could Reshape Fall Camp Fast
Fall camp is about to give Nebraska a clearer look at a few players who could matter a lot by the time the 2026 season rolls around. Janiran Bonner, Dawson Merritt and Carter Nelson all missed spring practice because of injuries, but each still sits in the group of wild cards who could change the feel of the roster if they get on the field and stay there.
Bonners versatility gives the staff plenty to think about, Merritt brings the kind of linebacker upside that keeps coaches interested even after a stop-start injury path, and Nelson remains one of the more intriguing developmental pieces on the roster after moving from wide receiver to tight end. The common thread is health, and Nebraska will spend camp finding out whether these three can turn potential into something more concrete before the season starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska's Offense Is Drawing Real Belief From Its New Quarterback
Anthony Colandrea has spent spring practice getting a closer look at what Nebraska wants to be on offense, and the early impression is a confident one. The quarterback said he likes the way Dana Holgorsen has blended concepts from his previous stop at UNLV into the Huskers system, with Colandrea pointing to a group of receivers and an offensive line that give the unit a chance to do more than just get by.
There is still a learning curve, though, and Colandrea did not gloss over it. He talked about the jump from the Mountain West to the Big Ten and the challenge of facing a defense that has been complex throughout camp, but he also said the offense is starting to get more comfortable with the system. For a Nebraska attack looking for a cleaner identity, that kind of belief from the new quarterback matters, even if the real proof is still ahead. [Read more 🡒]