CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2025 Nebraska

7–⁠6 (4–⁠5 Big Ten), coached by Matt Rhule.

Schedule and results

Nebraska in 2025, game by game: won vs. Cincinnati 20–17; won vs. Akron 68–0; won vs. Houston Christian 59–7; lost vs. No. 21 Michigan 27–30; won vs. Michigan State 38–27; won at Maryland 34–31; lost at Minnesota 6–24; won vs. Northwestern 28–21; lost vs. No. 23 USC 17–21; won at UCLA 28–21; lost at Penn State 10–37; lost vs. Iowa 16–40; lost vs. No. 15 Utah 22–44+68−27Won 20–17 vs. Cincinnati+3CincinnatiWon 68–0 vs. Akron+68AkronWon 59–7 vs. Houston Christian+52Houston Christi…Lost 27–30 vs. No. 21 Michigan-3No. 21 MichiganWon 38–27 vs. Michigan State+11Michigan StateWon 34–31 at Maryland+3MarylandLost 6–24 at Minnesota-18MinnesotaWon 28–21 vs. Northwestern+7NorthwesternLost 17–21 vs. No. 23 USC-4No. 23 USCWon 28–21 at UCLA+7UCLALost 10–37 at Penn State-27Penn StateLost 16–40 vs. Iowa-24IowaLost 22–44 vs. No. 15 Utah-22No. 15 Utah
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28vsCincinnatiW 20–⁠1756%
Sep 6vsAkronW 68–⁠077%
Sep 13vsHouston ChristianW 59–⁠788%
Sep 20vs21MichiganL 27–⁠3046%
Oct 4vsMichigan StateW 38–⁠2765%
Oct 11atMarylandW 34–⁠3145%
Oct 17atMinnesotaL 6–⁠2441%
Oct 25vsNorthwesternW 28–⁠2162%
Nov 1vs23USCL 17–⁠2147%
Nov 8atUCLAW 28–⁠2152%
Nov 22atPenn StateL 10–⁠3734%
Nov 28vsIowaL 16–⁠4044%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs15UtahLas Vegas BowlL 22–⁠4425%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Utah 44–⁠22 in the Las Vegas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 10th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 99th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 8: 25
Record
7–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠5 tied for 10th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 25
Points
373–⁠320
Coach
Matt Rhule
Elo
1507 −10 this season
SP+ rating
6.2 No. 46 of 136; offense No. 56, defense No. 44, special teams No. 69
SRS
2.5 No. 59 of 136 in FBS
Returning
47% of last season’s EPA, No. 47 of 134
Recruiting class
No. 22 roster talent No. 20 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Dana Holgorsen and Glenn Thomas
Defensive coordinator
John Butler
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense70th of 136
  • Defense86th of 136
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted61st of 136
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted75th of 136
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0946%1.1070th of 136
Defense0.1443%1.2686th of 136
Opponent-adjusted0.10 off
0.11 def		45% off
42% def		—61st off
75th def

Passing and running

Pass successDepth of targetDeep throwsLine yardsStuffed
Offense49%8.9 yds12%3.4011%
Defense40%10.3 yds19%3.3013%
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.9own 3213% allowed
Defense4.4own 2814% caused

CORE rating -7.0, 91st of 136 (offense -1.6, defense 5.5).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsDylan Raiola QB2,000 yds
Passing touchdownsDylan Raiola QB18 TD
Rushing yardsEmmett Johnson RB1,451 yds
Rushing touchdownsEmmett Johnson RB12 TD
Receiving yardsNyziah Hunter WR617 yds
Receiving touchdownsDane Key WR5 TD
TacklesJavin Wright LB86 tkl
SacksJavin Wright LB3 sacks
InterceptionsDeShon Singleton DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2025 class

Cortez Mills Jr. WR★★★★No. 113
Dawson Merritt LB★★★★No. 121
Christian Jones LB★★★★No. 157
T.J. Lateef QB★★★★No. 240
Malcolm Simpson DL★★★★No. 272
Isaiah Mozee WR★★★★No. 320
Jeremiah Jones ATH★★★★No. 373
Kade Pietrzak DL★★★★No. 385

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2025 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.916
Running backs14.00.896
Receivers24.00.924
Offensive line43.30.882
Defensive line34.00.900
Linebackers33.70.919
Defensive backs23.50.884
Athletes and specialists43.30.879
Whole class203.60.896

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2026

The 2026 draft
Rd 5Emmett Johnson RBKansas City Chiefs

Roster 125

The 2025 roster

125 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2025 line; 74 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 15

The 2025 portal
Dane Key WR★★★★from Kentucky
Williams Nwaneri DE★★★★from Missouri
Elijah Pritchett OT★★★★from Alabama
Rocco Spindler OL★★★★from Notre Dame
Dasan McCullough LB★★★★from Oklahoma
Nyziah Hunter WR★★★★from California
Andrew Marshall CB★★★from Idaho
Marcos Davila QB★★★from Purdue
Jamir Conn CB★★★from Southern Illinois
Justyn Rhett S★★★from Georgia
Marques Watson-Trent LB★★★from Georgia Southern
Gabe Moore DL★★★from Mississippi State

And 3 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 40

Princewill Umanmielen DE★★★★to Ole Miss
James Williams DE★★★★to Florida State
Dante Dowdell RB★★★to Kentucky
Malachi Coleman WR★★★to Minnesota
Hardley Gilmore IV WR★★★to Kentucky
Isaiah Neyor WR★★★no new school on file
Jimari Butler DE★★★to LSU
Daniel Kaelin QB★★★to Virginia
Jaylen Lloyd WR★★★to Oklahoma State
Nate Boerkircher TE★★★to Texas A&M
Stefon Thompson LB★★★to Florida State
Arik Gilbert TE★★★to Savannah State

And 28 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2025 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2025 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Indiana9–⁠016–⁠01
Ohio State9–⁠012–⁠25
Oregon8–⁠113–⁠24
Michigan7–⁠29–⁠421
USC7–⁠29–⁠420
Iowa6–⁠39–⁠417
Illinois5–⁠49–⁠4
Washington5–⁠49–⁠4
Minnesota5–⁠48–⁠5
Nebraska4–⁠57–⁠6
Northwestern4–⁠57–⁠6
Penn State3–⁠67–⁠6
UCLA3–⁠63–⁠9
Rutgers2–⁠75–⁠7
Wisconsin2–⁠74–⁠8
Michigan State1–⁠84–⁠8
Maryland1–⁠84–⁠8
Purdue0–⁠92–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.