2026 Nebraska
5–2 (2–2 Big Ten), coached by Matt Rhule. The season’s Wikipedia article records 5–1, over six games to the seven on file here. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Bowling Green 56–7Sep 12
By 49 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to Oregon 14–17Oct 17
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 | vs Ohio | W 49–21 | 46% |
| Sep 12 | vs Bowling Green | W 56–7 | 76% |
| Sep 19 | vs North Dakota | W 34–7 | 73% |
| Sep 26 | at Michigan State | W 31–13 | 55% |
| Oct 3 | vs Maryland | W 48–23 | 79% |
| Oct 10 | vs 7Indiana | L 17–20 | 33% |
| Oct 17 | at Oregon | L 14–17 | 31% |
| Oct 31 | vs Washington | Preview | 58% |
| Nov 6 | at Illinois | Preview | 51% |
| Nov 14 | at Rutgers | Preview | 64% |
| Nov 21 | vs Ohio State | Preview | 31% |
| Nov 27 | at Iowa | Preview | 33% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
- Record
- 5–2
- Conference
- 2–2 tied for 10th in Big Ten
- AP now
- Unranked
- Points
- 249–108
- Coach
- Matt Rhule
- Elo
- 1598 +93 this season
- SP+ rating
- 16.9 No. 14 of 138; offense No. 22, defense No. 20, special teams No. 88
- SRS
- 16.7 No. 13 of 138 in FBS
- Returning
- 46% of last season’s EPA, No. 59 of 136
- Recruiting class
- No. 88 roster talent No. 22 in FBS
- Offensive coordinators
- Dana Holgorsen and Glenn Thomas
- Defensive coordinator
- Rob Aurich
- Offense
- Spread
- Defense
- 4–2–5
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.23 | 45% | 1.40 | 24th of 138 |
| Defense | -0.03 | 35% | 1.27 | 17th of 138 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.21 off 0.06 def | 47% off 37% def | — | 11th off 38th def |
Passing and running
| Pass success | Depth of target | Deep throws | Line yards | Stuffed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 48% | 7.9 yds | 15% | 3.10 | 17% |
| Defense | 35% | 7.7 yds | 10% | 2.90 | 18% |
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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 5.0 | own 29 | 14% allowed |
| Defense | 2.2 | own 29 | 20% caused |
CORE rating 15.4, 16th of 138 (offense 8.3, defense -7.1).
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 yards | Anthony Colandrea QB | 1,569 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Anthony Colandrea QB | 14 TD |
| Rushing yards | Jamal Rule RB | 391 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Jamal Rule RB | 5 TD |
| Receiving yards | Kwazi Gilmer WR | 492 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Kwazi Gilmer WR | 7 TD |
| Tackles | Owen Chambliss LB | 46 tkl |
| Sacks | Jahsear Whittington DT | 3.5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Dwayne McDougle S | 2 INT |
Top recruits in the 2026 class
| Danny Odem III CB | ★★★★ | No. 51 |
| Claude Mpouma OT | ★★★★ | No. 168 |
| Dylan Berymon DL | ★★★★ | No. 238 |
| Luke Sorensen TE | ★★★ | No. 634 |
| Nalin Scott WR | ★★★ | No. 804 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2026 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Running backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.877 |
| Receivers | 4 | 3.0 | 0.876 |
| Offensive line | 3 | 3.3 | 0.892 |
| Defensive line | 1 | 4.0 | 0.916 |
| Linebackers | 1 | 3.0 | 0.859 |
| Defensive backs | 1 | 4.0 | 0.978 |
| Athletes and specialists | 1 | 3.0 | 0.800 |
| Whole class | 12 | 3.2 | 0.884 |
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.
Roster 116
The 2026 roster116 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2026 line; 56 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 17
The 2026 portal Brendan Black OL | ★★★★ | from  Iowa State |
 Anthony Jones DE | ★★★ | from  UCLA |
 Anthony Colandrea QB | ★★★ | from  UNLV |
 Dwayne McDougle S | ★★★ | from  San Diego State |
| Kwazi Gilmer WR | ★★★ | from UCLA |
| Owen Chambliss LB | ★★★ | from San Diego State |
 Paul Mubenga OL | ★★★ | from  LSU |
 Tree Babalade OT | ★★★ | from  South Carolina |
 Jahsear Whittington DL | ★★★ | from  Pittsburgh |
 Jasin Shiggs S | ★★★ | from  Towson |
 Owen Stoudmire DL | ★★★ | from  Boston College |
| Will Hawthorne LB | ★★★ | from Iowa State |
And 5 more, lower-rated or unrated.
Transfers out 19
 Dylan Raiola QB | ★★★★ | to  Oregon |
 Keona Davis DL | ★★★★ | to  Miami |
| Brian Tapu OT | ★★★ | to  San José State |
| Houston Ka’aha’aina-Torres OL | ★★★ | to  Michigan |
| Malcolm Hartzog S | ★★★ | to  Arizona |
| Marcos Davila QB | ★★★ | to  Abilene Christian |
| Caden Vermaas S | ★★★ | to  Rice |
| Kenneth Williams RB | ★★★ | to  Michigan State |
| Roger Gradney LB | ★★★ | to  Southern |
| Maverick Noonan DE | ★★★ | to  Fresno State |
| Braylen Prude S | ★★★ | returned to  Nebraska |
| Brice Turner WR | ★★★ | no new school on file |
And 7 more, lower-rated or unrated.
2026 Big Ten standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA | 4–0 | 6–0 | |
| Ohio State | 4–0 | 6–1 | |
 USC | 3–1 | 6–1 | |
| Indiana | 3–1 | 6–1 | |
| Iowa | 2–1 | 5–1 | |
 Northwestern | 2–1 | 5–1 | |
| Oregon | 2–1 | 4–2 | |
 Minnesota | 2–1 | 4–2 | |
 Wisconsin | 2–1 | 4–2 | |
| Nebraska | 2–2 | 5–2 | |
 Purdue | 2–2 | 3–4 | |
 Michigan | 1–2 | 4–2 | |
| Illinois | 1–2 | 3–3 | |
| Rutgers | 1–2 | 2–4 | |
| Washington | 1–3 | 4–3 | |
 Penn State | 0–4 | 3–4 | |
| Michigan State | 0–4 | 2–5 | |
| Maryland | 0–4 | 2–5 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.