Five Reasons to Believe Nebraska Football can Exceed Expectations This Season

Nebraska football has been college football's longest-running "wait until next year" story. Expectations have always surrounded the Huskers ever since the "good ole days" when the scarlet and cream were led by legendary coaches Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne. Nebraska has always had lofty goals.

The 2025 season didn't go as well as many had hoped, but back-to-back bowl games for head coach Matt Rhule and company have shown progress within the program. There is some turnover within the program on the defensive side of the ball, as well as a new starting quarterback. However, there is hope that Nebraska can exceed the outside expectations given to them for the 2026 season.

What are those expectations? As of mid-July, Vegas has the win/loss total at 6.5 for the Huskers. However, can Nebraska compete at a higher level, winning games against good opponents and becoming one itself and obviously making a bowl game in the process? Here are five reasons Nebraska can do so.

Colandrea Leads an Experience Offense that Could Make the Next Step

Former five star quarterback and two-year starter Dylan Raiola is gone to Oregon and the Nebraska landed former Virginia and UNLV senior quarterback Anthony Colandrea, who is expected to be the starting signal caller in 2026. Colandrea brings veteran experience and major production at the quarterback position, which brings expectation of him to deliver on the field.

Along with the ability to find receivers in the pass game generally accurately, he has shown he can escape the pocket while under pressure and make plays for an offense. Colandrea has a solid group of weapons around him.

The Huskers bring back veteran receivers Nyziah Hunter and Jacory Barney Jr., as well as UCLA transfer receiver Kwazi Gilmer. Besides those three, Colandrea will have players like Quinn Clark and Cortez Mills behind the top three. He will also have multiple different options at running back that could make an impact, especially true freshman Jamal Rule, who Colandrea has been high on since the spring.

Offensive Line Has the Opportunity to No Longer be a Rebuild Project

2025 was an up-and-down season for the Nebraska offensive line. It was solid at run blocking, as their jobs were much easier with a breakout star like running back Emmett Johnson. However, their job in pass protection didn't go as well, with Nebraska quarterbacks being sacked 33 total times. Some of that was due to the lack of escapability with quarterback Dylan Raiola.

Offensive line coach Donovan Raiola was fired and Nebraska hired Georgia Tech offensive line coach Geep Wade for the position. On top of it, the Huskers retained senior left tackle Elijah Pritchett and senior center Justin Evans for the 2026 season, plus added plug-and-play guys with guards Paul Mubenga (LSU) and Brendan Black (Iowa State) and tackle Tree Babalade (South Carolina).

Additionally, the depth behind the main five starters are solid, with Gunnar Goutulla, Tyler Knaak, Grant Brix and others. It is expected that the offensive line will make a major impact on the offense and it will ease the transition with a first-year Nebraska starting quarterback with Colandrea.

New DC Rob Aurich Transforms to Defensive Scheme That Fits Better

When you talk about Nebraska, historically, you always either talk about the offensive run game or the defense. Especially in the Big Ten, you've got to be able to stop both the passing game and the running game. The Huskers did fairly well against the pass the past few seasons but struggled against the run. A lot of that had to do with the 3-3-5 defensive scheme, that is more susceptible to struggles against downhill running.

The former defensive coordinator at San Diego State, Rob Aurich, comes in, switching up the defensive scheme to a 4-2-5 to help "shore up" the run game. Switching to a four-man defensive front will ease the pressure on the inexperienced defensive line and allow for two "true" edge rushers. It then allows the linebackers to patrol the second level and protect against both the run and pass. Then, you can have your five best defensive backs on the field to continue to be solid against the pass.

Players like defensive tackle Riley Van Poppel and edge rushers Williams Nwenari, Cameron Lenhardt and Anthony Jones will be able to benefit from a four-man front. San Diego State senior transfer linebacker Owen Chambliss and safety Dwayne McDougle also have experience in this type of scheme and should be able to help out from a player standpoint in their position groups.

However, with the type of schedule Nebraska has this fall, results will be needed quickly. Luckily, with three home non-conference games to start the season and opponents in the mid-to-low end of the Big Ten to start conference play helps will help.

Time will tell, but this defensive change seems to be good and the Huskers will benefit from it when it comes to exceeding expectations.

Roster Continuity and Coach Stability Could Play into Huskers Favor

Something that is becoming rarer as the NIL and Transfer Portal era moves along, Nebraska has managed to keep its roster together going into 2026. The Huskers have the third-highest percentage of returned production at 69 percent, just behind Notre Dame and Maryland. Nebraska also has a top-30 oldest roster in the country.

Veteran experience could be key for the Huskers to make the next step. With that, Rhule has stabilized the ground a little bit on his end, with his coaching extension from last season and back-to-back bowl appearances after Nebraska missed the postseason for seven straight seasons. Even more so with the type of 2027 high school recruiting class he and his staff are building up, which ranks in the top 20 according to most outlets at this time.

Schedule is Set Up for a Fast Start

Despite the schedule being considered one of the more difficult schedules within the Big Ten, the Huskers have an opportunity to start off fast. Nebraska opens up against the Ohio Bobcats and Bowling Green out of the MAC and then against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks out of the FCS.

All three are not pushovers, but the Huskers have a favorable chance of starting 3-0 before opening up conference play. Nebraska starts out on the road at Michigan State, who are led by former long-time Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald. The Huskers have a decent shot at being the favorites in this one, along with their second conference opponent with the Maryland Terrapins, back in Lincoln.

Nebraska has a real shot at starting 5-0 before taking on the reigning national champion Indiana Hoosiers at home and the Oregon Ducks in Eugene. That puts them only one win away from bowl eligibility and two from exceeding Vegas' expectations. Even if Nebraska loses to both Indiana and Oregon as expected, it will have multiple chances to do so with three straight toss-up games against Washington at home, at Illinois and at Rutgers before facing off against Ohio State at home and on the road at Iowa.

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