Dana Holgorsen is out, Glenn Thomas is in charge of the play-calling, and Nebraska heads to Rutgers with a chance to make a clean, simple statement. The matchup sets up well on paper: Rutgers is battered, undermanned, and not especially dangerous right now. The real question hanging over the Huskers is whether they can shake off the “shell shock” from their last 4 games.
A big part of that conversation starts with how Nebraska has been lining up. SMQ has been digging into the offense, and the recurring theme is Holgorsen’s preference for 11 personnel - one running back, one tight end, and three wide receivers. That’s a perfectly valid look, but in the Big Ten it can also feel like bringing a knife to a sledgehammer fight.
Nebraska has the kind of body type that should let it lean into something heavier. The offensive line is big.
The tight ends are big. The running back is big.
So why not use it? Put two tight ends on the field.
Maybe add a fullback. Run 12 personnel.
Run 22 personnel. Dust off the I-formation if that’s what it takes.
Eric Ingersoll gives the Huskers exactly the sort of option that can change the tone of an offense. At 6-foot-7 and 265 pounds, he’s the kind of tight end you can put on the line and let work.
The point isn’t to turn Nebraska into a throwback for nostalgia’s sake. It’s to build a run game that makes defenses adjust and, maybe even more importantly, keeps the offensive line from having to pass protect on nearly every meaningful snap.
Of course, the problems haven’t come down to formation alone. Nebraska’s offense has been tripping over itself with false starts, holding penalties, and other mental mistakes that kill drives before they ever get rolling.
Luke Lindenmeyer gave a revealing answer this week when he said some of the mistakes that have shown up on Saturdays have also been happening in practice. The assumption, apparently, was that those issues would disappear once the lights came on.
If that sounds backwards, it is. And it helps explain why Nebraska has found so many different ways to lead late, rack up yards, and still end up losing.
Thomas now has a chance to simplify things, bring some physicality back into the offense, and make the whole operation look a little less frantic.
Rutgers is in rough shape, too. Greg Schiano is coming back in 2027, but 2026 has been a disaster. The Scarlet Knights will be without standout receiver KJ Duff, who is out for the season after ankle surgery, and quarterback Dylan Lonergan is also out for this game.
That should leave Nebraska with a clear path to control the line of scrimmage, shut down the run, and force Rutgers into having to beat them through the air. The Blackshirts do have their own issue, though: Owen Chambliss and Andrew Marshall are both out for this game.
Even so, there’s no real excuse for Nebraska to lose here. Matt Rhule’s buyout makes a coaching change a very expensive move, but another head-scratching defeat would only turn up the volume on the questions around his leadership.
Bob sees Nebraska winning 27-17, though not without making life harder than it needs to be. Jay has it 31-14, with the Huskers handling things more convincingly if they can remember the direction they’re supposed to be going.
If a nor’easter shows up, the whole thing could get uglier and lower-scoring. Either way, the formula is the same: get bigger, get more physical, and stop giving away yards with stupid penalties.
In Other News...
Fred Hoiberg Just Landed The Kind Of Recruit Nebraska Never Gets
Nebraska basketball has added a recruit it almost never gets, signing five-star forward Dawson Battie and giving Fred Hoiberg a centerpiece for the 2027 class. The 6-foot-8 forward from Texas is now the highest-rated prospect in program history by composite score, a notable milestone for a program that has spent years trying to climb into a different recruiting tier. He joins four-star wing Ty Schlagel in a class that already looks like a meaningful step forward for the Huskers.
Hoiberg has made a point of emphasizing fit as much as talent, and both Battie and Schlagel were described as players who match the system and the culture Nebraska is trying to build. Batties decision matters not just because of the ranking attached to him, but because he chose Nebraska over several top programs, the kind of competition the Huskers usually have trouble winning. For a program looking to turn recruiting momentum into something more lasting, this is the sort of signing that can change the conversation, even if the real payoff is still down the road. [Read more 🡒]
Boise State Brings A Dangerous Early Test For Nebraskas Defense
Nebraska heads to the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls on Friday with an early chance to find out how real its defensive edge is against a Boise State team that has looked every bit the part of a dangerous nonconference opponent. Both teams are 3-0, and the Cornhuskers bring a No. 25 AP ranking into a matchup that has the feel of a measuring-stick game before the schedule gets even busier.
Boise State has already made a habit of piling up points and sits atop the Pac-12 in several statistical categories, which is exactly the kind of profile that can stress a Nebraska defense still trying to establish its identity. The Cornhuskers also have South Dakota waiting next, so this stretch offers a quick read on where Nebraska stands and how much margin it has before the seasons first real tests start to stack up. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska Wrestling Leaves Stillwater With One Troubling Question
Nebraskas trip to Stillwater on Nov. 13 turned into a rough measuring stick against one of the sports standard-bearers. No. 2 Oklahoma State handled the No. 3 Cornhuskers 27-6 in a dual that tilted early, leaving Nebraska with little margin to work with and not much time to regroup before another ranked test arrives.
Meyer Shapiro was one of the few bright spots for Nebraska, showing plenty of fight even in defeat, but the larger concern is how the Huskers respond after getting pushed around by the Cowboys. They get a quick chance to reset against No. 24 Penn on Nov. 21, with that dual set for ESPN+ and another opportunity to show whether Stillwater was a one-night setback or a warning sign. [Read more 🡒]