Nebraska’s season opener against Ohio has the Daily Nebraskan’s senior sports staff leaning hard toward the Huskers, with every prediction calling for a Nebraska win at Memorial Stadium.
Alex Berry sees the biggest margin, with Nebraska rolling 45-20. He points to the Huskers returning home after a quiet offseason and taking the field as a 23.5-point favorite.
Berry notes that Ohio enters under first-year head coach John Hauser, who had served as the interim head coach in the 2025 Frisco Bowl, where Ohio beat Nebraska quarterback Anthony Colandrea and UNLV. Even with Ohio coming off a 9-4 season and the MAC’s top rushing offense in 2025, Berry says the Bobcats lost most of their production, including their top two rushers and all four of their top receivers.
That, he argues, should make life difficult for junior Duncan Brune against a Big Ten defense. On the other side, Berry expects Nebraska’s veteran quarterback, receiving core and offensive line to do damage against a MAC opponent.
His take: Colandrea and Nyziah Hunter hook up for two touchdowns, and Colandrea adds 75-plus rushing yards.
Eli Rodriguez is also expecting a comfortable Nebraska win, picking the Huskers 31-14. With Saturday, Sept. 5 bringing the opener inside Memorial Stadium, Rodriguez expects a sell-out crowd to be fired up for the first look at the “new” Nebraska team.
He frames Colandrea’s matchup with Ohio as a chance for revenge after last season’s meeting with the Rebels, while also noting that Hauser brings a winning record into his first year leading the Bobcats. Rodriguez quoted Hauser describing Nebraska’s receivers as “explosive,” then said the key will be how Colandrea connects with them in live action.
He also pointed to Colandrea’s senior-year numbers - over 3,500 passing yards and 33 total touchdowns, including 10 rushing scores - as a sign that he’s ready for this next step. His stat line predictions: Colandrea with three total touchdowns, Nyziah Hunter with 70-plus receiving yards and a touchdown, and Jacory Barney Jr. with 50-plus total yards.
Matthew Malloy went with Nebraska 38-14, and while he thinks the Huskers should cover the 23.5-point spread, he also expects Ohio to make things interesting early. Malloy said the Bobcats have rallied behind Hauser and have given Big Ten teams trouble in recent meetings, but he still sees Nebraska’s offense finding enough success to score at least four times.
He also highlighted Colandrea’s loss to Ohio in last year’s Frisco Bowl as extra motivation in his Nebraska debut, especially if the quarterback can connect with Hunter and the rest of the receiving group and get help from the new three-headed backfield. On defense, Malloy says the pressure falls on Rob Aurich’s Blackshirts, though he still expects Ohio to be limited to two scores or fewer.
He singled out transfer senior linebacker Owen Chambliss and returnee senior defensive edge Cameron Lenhardt as players to watch. His take: the Blackshirts force three turnovers, Colandrea runs for 80-plus yards, and sophomore Isaiah Mozee keeps the RB1 conversation alive by scoring.
Kyler Cox rounded out the predictions with Nebraska 34-10. He described the opener as the payoff to an offseason marked by less hype and more quiet confidence, while also acknowledging Ohio as a team that impressed in 2025.
Still, Cox made clear he sees this game as one Nebraska controls from start to finish. He expects the Huskers to lean on the run game, which he says will spotlight the progress made by new offensive line coach Geep Wade’s unit.
He also anticipates a healthy dose of Colandrea-designed runs and a productive night from the running back room. Defensively, Cox believes Rob Aurich’s group should mostly shut down an Ohio offense that has lost nearly all of its production from a year ago, aside from a preventable first-half touchdown.
He pointed to Owen Chambliss and Vincent Shavers Jr. as leaders of a linebacker corps he believes will help deliver Nebraska’s first win of 2026.
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For Nebraska fans, the relevance is obvious. Watson finished 19 of 22 for 197 yards and three touchdowns, a reminder of the arm talent the Huskers once had in their recruiting database, while Rutgers quarterback Dylan Lonergan never found rhythm and was eventually replaced late after a rough night. It was the kind of opener that leaves both Rutgers looking for answers and Nebraska followers wondering what might have been. [Read more 🡒]