Nebraska’s sellout streak is still rolling, and now the opener is officially part of it.
The Huskers announced Tuesday afternoon that Saturday’s 2026 season opener against Ohio is sold out, pushing the program’s streak to 411 consecutive games. That comes after a summer in which the pace of ticket sales drew some extra attention, but Nebraska kept moving inventory and got to the finish line before kickoff.
Matt Rhule has made no secret of how he wants Memorial Stadium to feel on game day. He said Monday that the environment should be a problem for visiting teams from the moment they arrive.
"This should be the hardest place to play in college football," Rhule said Monday. "I know the first thing we do is when we look at the schedule is where are we on the road, and when.
I don't care about the weather, I don't care about the time. The greatest effect of being in another team's stadium is ... just the crowd noise, right?
It will be all of us being connected together as one Husker Nation."
A little more than a week ago on "Sports Nightly," athletic director Troy Dannen said there were still 1,400 tickets left for Ohio and roughly 2,300 to 2,400 remaining for the second game against Bowling Green. He pushed back on the idea that there was reason to panic, saying sales were tracking normally.
"Tickets are moving in what I would say is probably a fairly normal fashion right now. So all the hand-wringing can wait," Dannen said then during his monthly radio appearance with Kyle Crooks. "I think we're going to be in a good place."
Dannen also pointed to Nebraska’s push with mini plans, saying the latest offering had sold 1,500 tickets.
"The way people consume tickets is different - not just in Nebraska, but nationally. Mini plans," Dannen said. "And typically as we get closer to kickoff here, people get an eye on that extended forecast, that tends to be how the single-game tickets move."
Saturday’s opener comes with a steamy forecast attached. The 11 a.m. kickoff against Ohio is expected to play out with a high of 95 degrees.
With Ohio now sold out, the focus shifts to Bowling Green on Sept. 12. Dannen said last week that game will carry an "America 250" theme and end with a drone show.
"Our drone shows are pretty good. This one I think will put to shame any drone show anyone has seen," Dannen said.
Nebraska’s third game, against North Dakota, will also include a postgame country concert from Cole Swindell.
"Really looking forward to just getting things kicked off and getting started," Dannen said. "Since we've played a football game in there, we've had a concert, we've had a baseball game in the stadium, we had another concert this past weekend. So really anxious to get back into the flow and get into some normalcy of life, if you will."
In Other News...
Nebraskas First 2026 Depth Chart Raised A Few Eyebrows Fast
Nebraskas first official depth chart for the 2026 season arrived before the matchup with Ohio, and it did more than just sort out the pecking order for the opener. It also gave a clearer look at where the staff thinks things stand on both sides of the ball, with the chart drawing attention for a few notable changes as the Huskers begin the new year.
The timing matters even more with the program still working the recruiting trail and the pro pipeline at the same time. Nebraska is set to host 2028 quarterback target Owen Herrick, a prospect the staff views as a top name on its board, while seven former Huskers have already landed on NFL practice squads around the league, a reminder that the roster churn never really stops in Lincoln. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraskas NFL Talent Gap Just Got Harder For Huskers Fans To Ignore
As NFL teams trimmed their rosters to 53 players this week, the Nebraska pipeline to Sundays looked thinner than it has in years. Only eight former Huskers who finished their college careers in Lincoln are on active NFL rosters, the fewest in five years, a number that lands at a time when the program is already trying to show it can keep pace with the Big Tens elite talent factories.
The broader picture is even harder for Nebraska fans to miss. The Huskers have had only five players drafted over the past four years, and the program has not produced a first- or second-round pick since 2011, a stretch that stands out next to the draft output of Ohio State and Michigan. Nineteen former Huskers were among the players cut during roster reduction, though a few could still latch on with practice squads, leaving another reminder that Nebraskas next NFL success story is still waiting to fully emerge. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska Defense Faces Early Test Of The Urgency Aurich Demands
Rob Aurich has spent his first weeks as Nebraskas new defensive coordinator pushing urgency and precision, and the opener against Ohio will give the Cornhuskers an immediate chance to see how far the transition has come. The switch to a 4-2-5 alignment has been a central part of the work, and players like Andrew Marshall and Cameron Lenhardt have framed camp around the small details that make a new scheme feel familiar rather than forced.
The bigger question is how quickly that preparation shows up at Memorial Stadium, especially with Nebraska intent on being sturdier against the run and sharper with its overall intensity. Confidence is part of the equation, but so is the kind of clean, disciplined execution Aurich keeps stressing, and this first game will offer a useful early read on whether the defense is ready for a real test. [Read more 🡒]