Nebraska is headed into Big Ten Media Days with a familiar number next to its name in the preseason poll: 11th.
That’s where the Huskers landed in the Cleveland.com Big Ten Preseason Media Poll, released alongside the annual buildup to the league’s media week. Ohio State was picked to win the conference, with Oregon and Indiana following behind. USC and Michigan completed the top five, while Penn State, Illinois, Washington, and Iowa filled out spots six through nine.
For Nebraska, the timing matters. Matt Rhule is entering his fourth season in Lincoln and has already called this his “best team.”
The challenge, though, is staring the Huskers right in the face: this is also their toughest schedule, with six of the Big Ten’s top nine teams on the slate. All six of those teams won at least nine games last season.
That leaves Nebraska with a clear path, even if it’s not an easy one. The Huskers need to take care of non-conference play, then beat Maryland, Michigan State, and Rutgers.
Two of those three Big Ten games are on the road. After that, they’ll still need to find a way past at least one team in the next tier - Washington, Illinois, or Iowa.
If that doesn’t happen, it becomes tough to sell a third straight six-win season as real progress, even if it ends with another bowl trip. Rhule can’t afford to miss postseason play, and the standard here is simple: keep moving forward. At minimum, six wins are needed in 2026, though this roster feels more like a 7-8 win group.
Nebraska’s turn in Chicago comes Thursday, when Rhule will be joined by Justin Evans, Luke Lindenmeyer, and Andrew Marshall. The Huskers are scheduled to speak alongside Michigan, Indiana, Maryland, Northwestern, and Washington.
The Big Ten Network’s coverage begins Tuesday at 10:30 CST, with Thursday’s coverage starting at 11:30 CST. Nebraska is fourth on the docket that day, just after Michigan.
One thing worth watching is how Rhule frames his team. Nebraska has kept a lower profile this offseason, and the Huskers are arriving with less noise around them than usual. That can be a useful spot to occupy.
There’s also a little Nebraska flavor showing up in Kansas City. Emmett Johnson is trying to earn a place on the Chiefs’ 53-man roster, and DeShon Singleton is in that same fight. Singleton helped his case Sunday by picking off a pass, a solid way to open training camp.
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Chambliss gives Nebraska a versatile linebacker presence, Whittington adds another edge option to the pass rush, and McDougle helps reshape the back end of a defense that needed more answers in too many spots. The bigger question now is whether those additions can translate into the kind of physical, reliable defense Nebraska has been chasing, especially with Aurich already leaning on familiar ties to bring pieces of his system with him to Lincoln. [Read more 🡒]