Despite 3-0 Start, Huskers Aren't Where They Want to Be

The Nebraska football team is off to a 3-0 start in Lincoln, signaling the first undefeated non-conference run for the Huskers since......last year.

Hearing that fun stat could dampen a little bit of the excitement surrounding a Nebraska team that's looking to knock off its first nationally-ranked team since Sept. 17, 2016, which will be nine years and three days removed from when NU kicks off against Michigan Saturday.

Nebraska beats Oregon — Nebraska wide receiver Jordan Westerkamp scores a touchdown against No. 22 Oregon in 2016. This was the last time Nebraska defeated a ranked opponent. | Bruce Thorson-Imagn Images

Since that narrow 35-32 win over then-No. 22 Oregon, Nebraska has lost 27-straight games against ranked opponents, and as we all remember, quite a few of those losses came in blowout fashion. Nonetheless, Nebraska fans are right back where they've wanted to be over the last nine years — wondering if this is finally the straw that breaks the camel's back.

The camel in this scenario is Nebraska's ability to come up short in the big moments. While a win over No. 21 Michigan Saturday won't mean they're "back," it would be a shot in the arm, nearly a decade in the making, for a program that could use the win to catapult them back into something much larger.

That's also the sentiment that came from the team after their dominating 59-7 win over Houston Christian this past Saturday. If you didn't know the outcome of the game, you might have been able to mistake moments of the post-game press conferences for Nebraska responding to a loss.

Nebraska coach Matt Rhule and running back Emmett Johnson embrace before a game against Houston Christian. — Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said he's pleased, but not satisfied with another 3-0 start to the season. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Point in case, head coach Matt Rhule was happy with the win, but quick to point out issues that kept popping up as the team looked to finish drives.

"Some of those things are still showing up," Rhule said. "Like the field goal on the first drive and our ability to push the ball through the red zone and things like that, so we're going to continue to have to get better."

Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola echoed that sentiment.

Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola fakes a handoff to running back Emmett Johnson against Houston Christian. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

"Yeah, I mean, there's always more out there when you go back and pause it and say, 'Oh, we should have been there or should have been here," Raiola said. "When it all comes down to it, it's not going to show up as 'he messed up or he missed his guy,' it's going to show up as a missed touchdown or whatever it is."

While the game was well-decided before kickoff against Houston Christian, starting the game with a field goal equates to a 3-and-out on the first drive against Michigan in the next game. It's no secret Nebraska will see a significant jump in competition in Week 4, which means they need to see a jump in their play as well.

"Some things that look good right now aren't going to be good against a different opponent," Rhule said. "We have to keep reacting as the year goes on. If we stay where we are right now, we won't win a lot of games moving forward. We have to improve."

Nebraska running back Dante Dowdell is brought down by Illinois defensive back Miles Scott after a 7-yard gain. — Illinois did just enough to hand Nebraska its first loss of the season in 2024, diminishing higher hopes after a 3-0 start to the year. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Following their 3-0 start to the year in 2024, Nebraska welcomed in No. 24 Illinois. The game started well for NU, which led 10-7 after the first quarter and 17-10 at halftime. The Fighting Illini changed the tune just in time, scoring two touchdowns in a 7-minute window to force overtime. In OT, Nebraska couldn't answer an Illinois touchdown.

The loss didn't cause the Nebraska season to spiral right away; thanks to easier match-ups against Purdue and Rutgers to help Nebraska improve to 5-1, but it did show the Big Red Faithful and the rest of college football where Nebraska was in terms of competing with the blue bloods of college football. A loss to Illinois simply meant don't hold your breath against the likes of Ohio State or Penn State when push comes to shove.

Indiana's Jamier Johnson celebrates his interception of Dylan Raiola in IU's 56-7 blowout win over Nebraska in 2024. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Nebraska, as we all glaringly remember, finished the 2024 regular season 1-5, just barely qualifying for a trip to the Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College. The Huskers know that Saturday's game against the Wolverines isn't just a turning point in the season — it could be a turning point for a program looking to avoid 28-straight losses to nationally ranked opponents.

Because of that, players are watching film each week seemingly as if they lost the game. Defensive lineman Riley Van Poppel still remembers how he felt after Nebraska's narrow win over Cincinnati to start the year.

"I remember watching the film after the fact, and I didn't like what I was seeing from myself," Van Poppel said of his performance against Cincinnati. "I knew I had better because I've seen it before."

His unhappiness with himself as weened a little bit thanks to two dominating wins over lesser opponents, but even in the win over Houston Christian on Saturday, Van Poppel's attention was on the last drive of the first half where HCU drove the ball from their own 25-yard-line to the Nebraska 34-yard-line before stalling out thanks to a fumble that led to a punt.

Nebraska defensive lineman Riley Van Poppel forces a fumble from Houston Christian's Jake Weir. — Despite another dominant defensive showing against Houston Christian, defensive lineman Riley Van Poppel voiced some frustrations on areas to work on. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

"We weren't happy with how that last drive went," Van Poppel said. "Similar to last week's drive, we just weren't happy with it. We know we've got to play better as a defense.

Over the past two weeks, Nebraska has outscored its opponents 127-7, but Michigan will be coming to Lincoln a little bit more battle-tested. The Wolverines are 2-1 on the year with a 24-13 road loss to then-No. 18 Oklahoma. The Sooners have since climbed to No. 11 nationally, and Michigan bounced back from that loss with a resounding 63-3 win over Central Michigan this past Saturday.

Both teams open up Big Ten play on Saturday, and for the first time this season, Nebraska is not favored to win. Vegas has Michigan as early 3.5-point favorites, but that line may move a little depending on out-of-state bets wagered on the game.

As Nebraska gears up for its conference opener, it seems at least early on that they're in a good headspace with the No. 21 team in the country coming to town.

"Super excited with what we have, but there's a lot to work on," wide receiver Dane Key said following the win over Houston Christian. "We've got to come ready this week to work because a lot of the little things we messed up on these past three weeks — they won't fly this week or the weeks to come after that."

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