Nebraska opens 2026 the way most Power 4 teams do these days: with a game it should win, not one that tells you everything. Saturday’s matchup with Ohio gives the Huskers a chance to start clean, settle in and show whether the offseason work actually shows up when the lights come on.
There’s no mystery about the bigger-picture gripe here. A Nebraska-Oklahoma opener would have packed a lot more juice into Week 1. Instead, Nebraska gets Ohio University, and the conversation turns to what the Huskers need to prove anyway: quarterback Anthony Colandrea, the rebuilt offensive line, and whether the defense can handle the run and hold up in the red zone.
The talent edge is obvious. Nebraska is ranked 58th by The Athletic, while Ohio sits at 96th, and FanDuel has the Huskers as a 23.5-point favorite.
That kind of gap matters, especially in a season where Matt Rhule enters at 19-19 in Lincoln and the pressure to do more than finish 7-6 is very real. Rhule has said he doesn’t want to hear any talk about the schedule, but the math is still the math.
Nebraska needs to handle the first three home games if it wants a real shot at a successful year.
That’s the simplest path to a Huskers win: more talent, more size, more depth, and a clear offseason focus on the offensive line and defense. If that work translates, Nebraska should control this game.
Ohio, though, has a few things going for it that make this more than a formality. The Bobcats were 9-4 last season and beat Colandrea and UNLV in the Frisco Bowl, 17-10.
In that game, Ohio’s defense held Colandrea to 19-of-30 passing for 184 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. Only five of the 22 Ohio starters return in 2026, but the defensive identity is still there.
Ohio allowed just 22 points per game last season, and that’s the kind of number that keeps an underdog alive.
There’s also the Frank Solich angle. The former Nebraska coach led Ohio for 16 seasons from 2005-20 and went 114-82 with 11 bowl games in the MAC. Matt Rhule put it plainly this week: “I don’t think you can talk about a Nebraska-Ohio football game without talking about coach [Frank] Solich,”
Ohio’s new coach, John Hauser, is the latest change after taking over as interim coach before the Frisco Bowl. He’s defensive-minded, and his defense already showed it could slow down Colandrea and a strong UNLV team to 10 points.
He’s had the offseason to get his team ready, and senior Nick Poulos won the starting quarterback job toward the end of August. At 6-foot-6 and 243 pounds, Poulos brings dual-threat ability, but this will be his first start.
That’s where the upset case lives. First games can get weird, and MAC teams have a habit of making September uncomfortable for bigger programs. If Ohio comes out fast, the sellout crowd Nebraska is presumably expecting can get uneasy in a hurry, and the Bobcats can drag the game into the kind of low-scoring fight that gives them a chance.
So the case for Nebraska is straightforward: more talent, more depth, and a sharper offseason emphasis on the lines and defense. The case against the Huskers is just as clear: Ohio’s defense has already shown it can make life miserable, the Bobcats know how to win close games, and a new quarterback plus a new coach can still make a first Saturday messy.
Either way, Nebraska gets the first real answers of the season now.
In Other News...
Justin Evans Just Became A Powerful Symbol Of Nebraska's New Culture
Justin Evans has become one of the clearer signposts of where Nebraska football wants to go under Matt Rhule, earning recognition from teammates and the coaching staff as the Huskers prepare for the 2026 season. A lineman by trade and now a more complete presence than he was when he first started reshaping his role in 2023, Evans has grown into the kind of steady voice and dependable figure a team wants setting the tone up front. He has also helped anchor an offensive line that brings back several experienced players, which matters for a program trying to build something more durable than one good week at a time.
The clearest measure of that respect came in the teams leadership voting, where Evans drew the most votes ever for an offensive lineman eligible for one of Nebraskas single-digit leadership jerseys. He still cannot wear that number on game days, but the distinction says plenty about how his teammates see him heading into a season that opens with Ohio and carries the usual pressure that comes with a program trying to turn culture into results. For Nebraska, Evans is not just part of the line - he has become a symbol of the line the Huskers want to be. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraskas Blackshirt Debate Is Back And Fans Know Why
Rob Aurich is still sorting out one of Nebraska footballs most recognizable traditions, and that alone has kept the Blackshirt conversation humming around the program. The new defensive coordinator has not decided when or how hell hand out the coveted Blackshirts, the symbolic gear reserved for starting defensive players, and he has made clear that the timing will depend on how the unit develops as the season unfolds.
For Nebraska fans, that uncertainty is part of the appeal and part of the debate. The Blackshirts carry real weight in Lincoln, so every delay invites more questions about the criteria, the rollout, and what Aurich wants to see before making the call. Until he settles on a plan, the speculation figures to keep following the defense wherever it goes next. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Just Gave Nebraska Fans A Very Different Reason To Look Closer
Rutgers opened its season with a home loss to UMass, a result that immediately rippled beyond the Big Ten East because of who was driving the Minutemen offense. Pop Watson, once a Nebraska commit, was sharp from the start and kept Rutgers on its heels while UMass snapped through a matchup many expected the Scarlet Knights to control.
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 🡒]