5 SEC Teams Nebraska Football Needs to Schedule Home-and-Homes With Immediately

Nebraska athletics director Troy Dannen says he has been in contact with an SEC AD about adding a future non-conference home-and-home series. Who could it be? Here are five intriguing options.

Nebraska linebacker Jimmy Williams in action against Auburn in 1981. This was the last time an active SEC team made the trip to Lincoln for a regular-season game. | Nebraska Athletics

Nebraska football could be looking for its next big non-conference opponent.

The Huskers are set through 2028 and have Power Four opponents in 2029, 2030, 2031, 2033, 2034, and 2035. But in 2032 and from 2036 on, there are plenty of openings. Nebraska athletics director Troy Dannen said discussions have already begun.

"Doing another home-and-home with an SEC, it's important," Dannen said on Sports Nightly Tuesday. "I think we continue to have, and I think you will see, a need and desire to want to upgrade non-conference schedules."

Could those upgrades mean more than one Power Four opponent in the non-con over the next several years? Unlikely. But the SEC's new scheduling rules go into effect in 2026. That's when the league will play a 9-game slate and require at least one non-conference game against Notre Dame or another Power Four team.

The last time Nebraska played an SEC team in the regular season was Auburn in 1982, and the last SEC team to travel to Lincoln was the Tigers in 1981.

Nebraska I-back Monte Anthony carries the ball against LSU in 1975. This was the first-ever regular-season game between Nebraska and an active SEC opponent. | Nebraska Football Media Guide

The Huskers have only played six regular-season games against active SEC times all-time, going 4-1-1. All six of those games came between 1975 and 1982.

Shoutout to Husker historian and all-around good dude Dave Feit for the assist on the above stats.

With those talks already underway and the SEC needing to have games that meet the requirements, here are five SEC options for Nebraska to jump on board with and get scheduled.

1. Tennessee

Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Peyton Manning tries to get his teammates pumped up for the fourth quarter of the Orange Bowl against Nebraska at Pro Player Stadium. | Knoxville News Sentinel-USA TODAY NETWORK

GET THIS GAME BACK ON THE SCHEDULE!

Back in February, the schools had a difference in opinion on moving the games again or canceling the series outright, opting for the latter. The two were set to play in 2026 and 2027. It is time to just get the Huskers and Volunteers back on each other's schedules.

Nebraska leads the all-time series 2-1. The Huskers were victorious in the 1998 Orange Bowl and 2000 Fiesta Bowl, but it was the Vols in the latest meeting in the Music City Bowl in 2016. The two programs have never met in the regular season.

2. Missouri

Nebraska Cornhuskers running back Roy Helu Jr rushed for a single-game program record 307 yards the last time the Huskers and Missouri Tigers played in 2010. | Bruce Thorson-Imagn Images

Since Nebraska left the Big 12 in 2011 and Missouri joined the SEC in 2012, the two teams have never met on the gridiron. That needs to change.

The Huskers and Tigers have played football against each other 104 times, with Nebraska holding a 65-36-3 edge. The last two meetings went to NU, with a 27-12 win in Columbia in 2009 and a 31-17 victory in Lincoln in 2010.

This game also comes with a trophy, the Victory Bell, that was put up for grabs in every meeting since 1926.

3. Texas

Nebraska Cornhuskers defender Lavonte David tackles Texas Longhorns receiver Malcolm Williams in 2010 at Memorial Stadium. Texas won 20-13 in the latest meeting between the two programs. | Bruce Thorson-Imagn Images

Wear Red. Be Loud. Beat Texas.

The first two have been in effect for decades, but that last one hasn't happened since a 1999 victory in the Big 12 Championship game. As a matter of fact, the Huskers have not beaten the Longhorns in a regular-season game since 1960, and haven't taken a matchup in Lincoln since 1933.

Still, even with Texas on a six-game winning streak in the series, the two haven't met since 2010. If you ask Husker fans old enough to remember the original Big 12 but young enough to not know the heyday of the Nebraska-Oklahoma series, Texas is right up there with most-hated opponents.

4. Alabama

Nebraksa defensive back Jim Pillen vs. Alabama in 1977. | Nebraska Football Media Guide

Alabama is one of the few SEC teams that Nebraska has faced in the regular season. The two met for a home-and-home in 1977 and 1978, with the home team winning each contest. Add in the two Orange Bowls (1966, 1972) and the 1967 Sugar Bowl, and the Tide holds a 3-2 all-time advantage.

More than that, Nebraska and Alabama are tied by a shared history from NU's athletics director and UA's football coach. Troy Dannen was the AD at Washington at the same time Kalen DeBoer was taking the Huskies to the national title game. DeBoer rebuffed Dannen's offer for a bigger contract, instead taking the job in Tuscaloosa. A couple of months later, Dannen was in Lincoln.

5. Ole Miss

Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin has a major connection to Nebraska. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

One of the top names being thrown around during the last coaching search, Kiffin's connection to Nebraska goes all the way back to his beginning. His life beginning, actually, as he was born in Lincoln in 1975.

That's when his dad, another Nebraska native, Monte, was the defensive coordinator for NU. The Kiffins would leave for Arkansas in 1977, but Lane has continued that connection to the Cornhusker State with posts to his social media, especially around the time of Monte's passing in 2024.

On the field, the Huskers and Rebels have met just once in history. Ole Miss was victorious in the 2002 Independence Bowl, 27-23.

BUT WHERE IS OKLAHOMA?!

Don't fret, Husker fans. There is no need to add a team to the list when they are already on the schedule. Nebraska will head to Norman in 2029 before hosting Oklahoma in 2030.

What about another old Big 12 foe in Texas A&M?

No.

Nebraska Future Non-Conference Opponents

• 2026: Ohio, Bowling Green, North Dakota
• 2027: Northern Illinois, Miami (OH), Northern Iowa
• 2028: UTEP, South Dakota State, Arizona
• 2029: Nevada, at Oklahoma
• 2030: South Dakota State, Oklahoma
• 2031: at Arizona
• 2033: Cincinnati
• 2034: Oklahoma State
• 2035: at Oklahoma State

Nebraska Football 2025 Schedule

• Aug. 28 (Thursday) vs. Cincinnati (Kansas City) 8 p.m. ESPN
• Sep. 6 vs. Akron 6:30 p.m. CDT BTN
• Sep. 13 vs. Houston Christian 11 a.m. FS1
• Sep. 20 vs. Michigan 2:30 p.m. CBS
• Oct. 4 vs. Michigan State 11/2:30/3
• Oct. 11 at Maryland TBA
• Oct. 17 (Friday) at Minnesota 7 p.m. FOX
• Oct. 25 vs. Northwestern TBA
• Nov. 1 vs. USC TBA
• Nov. 8 at UCLA TBA
• Nov. 22 at Penn State TBA
• Nov. 28 (Black Friday) vs. Iowa 11 a.m. CBS

Home games are bolded. All times central.

Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to kalebhenry.huskermax@gmail.com.

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