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Huskers Improve to 5-0 against Creighton in 2025-26 Season After Baseball, Softball Wins

Nebraska has stacked five wins across five sports, turning an in-state rivalry with Creighton into a season-long statement. But in a matchup where momentum rarely holds, the next chapter is always the one that matters most.
Spencer Schubert|
It was a tense ninth inning in Omaha, but Nebraska held on to beat in-state rival Creighton 6-5 Tuesday night.
It was a tense ninth inning in Omaha, but Nebraska held on to beat in-state rival Creighton 6-5 Tuesday night. | Nebraska Athletics

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Nebraska CornhuskersNebraska CornhuskersCreighton Bluejays

Nebraska has spent the 2025–26 school year doing something that rarely happens cleanly across multiple sports in an in-state rivalry. They’ve been winning consistently.

We’re officially through March, and Nebraska is 5–0 against rival Creighton across completed head-to-head matchups spanning volleyball, women’s basketball, men’s basketball, softball and baseball. The wins have come in different cities, different environments and different moments of each team’s season, but NU’s come out on top in every single one of them.

Yet, if you ask anyone inside the rivalry, there’s little appetite to declare anything finished.

“Another game to go play well,” Nebraska baseball coach Will Bolt said Sunday when asked about playing Creighton Tuesday. “I mean, that’s really all it is. Yeah, I’m going to be that guy for that.”

Ahead of Nebraska's game against rival Creighton, NU baseball coach Will Bolt called it "another game to go play well."
Ahead of Nebraska's game against rival Creighton, NU baseball coach Will Bolt called it "another game to go play well." | Amarillo Mullen

That steady and unsentimental mindset has defined Nebraska’s approach across the spectrum over the last several months. It’s also been necessary, because even in a season where the Huskers are unbeaten against the Bluejays, very few of these games have felt easy, including Nebraska baseball’s 6-5 win Tuesday night in Omaha.

The first statement of the 2025-26 season came in Omaha back on September 16. Undefeated and top-ranked Nebraska volleyball outlasted Creighton in five sets, winning 3–2 in a match that felt more like a postseason atmosphere than an early-season nonconference contest.

That match did more than just give Nebraska a 1–0 edge in the season series. It also reinforced something both programs already understood. In this rivalry, venue and rankings often matter less than execution in the moment.

That same theme carried into November, when Nebraska women’s basketball delivered one of the most decisive results of the year, beating Creighton 84–50 in Lincoln. It was a performance built on pace, scoring runs and defensive pressure. The Huskers imposed their identity early and never allowed the Jays to settle in.

By December, the rivalry shifted to men’s basketball, where the NU men made quite the statement with a 71–50 win over a Creighton team that typically has Nebraska’s number. However, this season’s game was played in front of a packed, hostile environment in Lincoln. It also didn’t hurt that Nebraska had a pretty good ball club this year.

“I was telling Fred, I think their role players are really champions in their role, and that’s a little bit harder to accomplish in this day and age,” Creighton men’s basketball coach Greg McDermott said afterward. “Guys don’t necessarily stay in one place.”

It was a telling observation. Nebraska didn’t just win that night because of star power. It won because of cohesion and because the players understood their roles and executed them. Add on the fact that NU’s fan base showed out more than ever this season, and even the CU players knew it was impossible to ignore.

“You know, throughout the season, there’s going to be games like these,” Creighton’s Jasen Green said after his team’s 21-point loss to the Huskers. “Obviously, it’s really tough to come into an environment like this and play in front of a crowd like this. There’s going to be times that stuff like this happens, and we have to be able to rally with each other and help each other through these times.”

At that point, Nebraska held a 3–0 edge in the season series, but the most recent chapter played out twice Tuesday night in Omaha, and the games may have been the most revealing.

On the same windy and chilly afternoon and evening in Omaha, Nebraska softball and baseball both faced their rivals to the east, and both games followed a similar script. Nebraska jumped ahead, Creighton responded, but the Huskers ended up having what it takes to shut the door on the Jays.

In softball, Nebraska earned a decisive 8–2 win, but the final score only tells part of the story. Creighton pushed NU early, matching Nebraska’s first-inning scoring and in turn forcing the Huskers to respond.

“I thought we made it interesting there for a little while, but I love the way we came out offensively and scored,” Nebraska Softball Coach Rhonda Revelle said. “I thought if we could have had maybe one more hit and put up a crooked number in that first inning, it would have been good, but any time you’re scoring in the first inning, you’ve got to feel good about it.”

Creighton’s response to tie the game at two created tension over the middle innings, and it’s that tension that frankly has defined this rivalry over the years.

“They came out swinging and tied it up,” Revelle said. “I was glad that we were able to hold that tie, and when Alexis Jensen came in, she did a really nice job neutralizing them.”

Jensen’s performance became the turning point in a game that could have swung either way early, as she stabilized the middle innings and allowed Nebraska’s offense to create separation in the final frames.

“She spins it so well, and when they make contact, we’ve got some nice, easy fly balls,” Revelle said. “When she’s doing that, then getting some swings and misses and getting ahead in the count. She just did some things that just kind of made you think, ‘okay offense go to work and create some separation,’ and then we did, and it was nice.”

Beyond the result, the atmosphere of the rivalry game mattered to the players and coaches as well. After watching how much the state of Nebraska has grown in terms of volleyball, another Husker women’s team is hoping to ride that momentum on the opposite side of the calendar year.

“We’ve known we’re a volleyball state, but we could be a softball state, too,” Revelle said. “It’s a different season, so all those volleyball fans can just come over and spend the spring out here.”

Just hours later on Tuesday, Nebraska baseball took the field and delivered a 6–5 win that mirrored many of the same themes throughout the year. Nebraska built a lead. Creighton surged back, and the outcome hung in the balance until the final innings.

“We’ve played that game before,” Bolt said after his team’s narrow win. “I mean, we’ve played it several times this year where we get the big lead, and you let them crawl back in it with a big number.”

That familiarity mattered after a baserunner got on with no outs in the ninth inning. Nebraska didn’t panic when momentum shifted late.

“J’Shawn’s (Unger) been in that position before,” Bolt said of the late-game jam. “Defensively, we’ve been in that position before. We had all the confidence that we’re going to finish it off.”

The box score supports that narrative. Nebraska’s offense did just enough early to create pressure, and despite Creighton’s push, the Huskers closed the door late with timely pitching and defense.

So, here we are now, five games into the Nebraska-Creighton rivalry for 2025-26. The Huskers are 5-0, and on paper, it looks pretty darn nice for the squads in Lincoln. In reality, it has been something more nuanced.

“Well, I’ll tell you, it’s never easy,” Revelle said when asked about facing Creighton. “There have been so many games, and I don’t even know. I think as a coach, I’ve coached over 100 games against Creighton.”

Nebraska softball coach Rhonda Revelle has seen her fair share of Creighton over her coaching career.
Nebraska softball coach Rhonda Revelle has seen her fair share of Creighton over her coaching career. | Nebraska Athletics

That history shapes everything about this in-state matchup.

“When we first started, we played doubleheaders home and away. It was four games a year,” she said. “I’ve always said this: all bets are off. It doesn’t matter what kind of year a team’s having. When it’s Creighton and Nebraska, there’s just something in the air, and you felt it tonight.”

Even in games Nebraska has won comfortably this season, like the basketball matchups, the environment and intensity were unmistakable. In closer contests, like volleyball and baseball, it’s defined the game entirely.

The mental approach Nebraska has taken across all sports, though, may be the biggest reason it has handled these tighter moments well.

“The message has been similar from August when we first met,” Revelle said. “It’s really about staying present, staying in the moment, winning pitches, because if you do that, when you get to that moment, you’re not too far ahead. You’re not worried about what happened in the past.”

That philosophy paid off once again in Omaha on Tuesday. Nebraska didn’t overreact to early adversity in softball. It didn’t lose composure when Creighton rallied in baseball. The Huskers stayed present, executed and finished.

Although NU is pitching the shutout in the season series, it’s not finished just yet. More matchups remain on the schedule, including additional baseball and soccer games and even a spring volleyball meeting if you really want to dive into the weeds.

In a rivalry where momentum can shift quickly, even spring games can carry weight.

That’s part of what makes this stretch so notable. Nebraska has built its advantage across multiple sports, but it has done so in a way that leaves little room for complacency. Creighton has been competitive in key moments. The Jays are pushing games late and responding when trailing.

The results have not gone Creighton’s way so far, but the margins suggest that future meetings could look different. For Nebraska, the challenge now is maintaining the same approach that built the season lead in the first place.

For Creighton, the opportunity is clear. The next meeting is another chance to change the narrative. Five games into the season series, Nebraska has been the better, more consistent and more effective team in critical moments.

However, as anyone involved will tell you, that doesn’t guarantee anything about what comes next. Remember – when Nebraska and Creighton meet, as Revelle put it, all bets are off.

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Spencer Schubert
SPENCER SCHUBERT

Spencer Schubert is a born-and-raised Nebraskan who now calls Hastings home. He grew up in Kearney idolizing the Huskers as every kid in Nebraska did in the 1990s, and he turned that passion into a career of covering the Big Red. Schubert graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2009, and kickstarted what's now become a 17 year career in journalism. He's served in a variety of roles in broadcasting, including weekend sports anchor at KHGI-TV(NTV) in Kearney, Sports Director at WOAY-TV in West Virginia and Assistant News Director, Executive Producer and Evening News Anchor for KSNB-TV(Local4) in Hastings. Off the clock, you'll likely find Schubert with a golf club in his hand and spending time with his wife, 5-year-old daughter and dog Emmy.

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