Nebraska Finally Has the Jimmys and Joes

Four years into the Matt Rhule era, Nebraska finally looks like a team built to compete in the Big Ten.

The Cornhuskers (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) are coming off an 18-point victory over Michigan State (2-2, 0-1 Big Ten) in which fans turned off the television feeling that NU was clearly the better team.

That hasn't happened enough since 2011, as Nebraska has gone just 57-72 in conference play since transitioning from the Big 12 (.442). However, it finally appears the Big Red has a roster capable of getting the program back to where it belongs.

Rhule said it himself in August: “It's definitely our best team; there's no doubt.”

The fourth-year head coach knew he had something special brewing in Lincoln back then, yet chose to maintain the under-the-radar approach until his program went out and proved it on the field.

After a Week 4 matchup with Michigan State, they finally did. Now, to be fair, the Spartans aren't the cream of the crop. Even so, four weeks into the season, the Huskers are beating their opponents by an average of 30.5 points per game while outgaining them by an average of more than 249 yards.

Not only are they handling business, but they're also exceeding expectations. NU is 4-0 against the spread in 2026, despite ranking 97th nationally in penalties per game. The margin for error for Nebraska under Rhule has never been so large, and a significant reason for that is the players they've added to their roster in recent years.

Every Nebraska fan will point to the Huskers' five-star quarterback commit, Trae Taylor, when discussing how good the Big Red's recruiting has been. However, Rhule's success in talent acquisition started long before that.

Since arriving in Lincoln, Rhule has put together four high school recruiting classes as Nebraska's head coach. In 2023, NU signed the nation's 25th-ranked high school class before following it up with the 18th-ranked haul in 2024. The Huskers' 2025 class finished 22nd nationally, before a 2026 haul that ranked 75th.

Averaged out, those classes ranked 35th nationally over the last four years. That's tied with Iowa for seventh in the Big Ten.

Big Ten High School Recruiting Classes (2023-2026)

Team	2023 Rank	2024 Rank	2025 Rank	2026 Rank	Average
1: Ohio St.	4	5	4	4	4.25
2: Oregon	9	3	5	3	5.0
3: USC	8	17	13	1	9.75
4: Michigan	17	16	6	12	12.75
5: Penn St.	14	15	15	64	27.0
6: Washington	26	47	23	13	27.25
*T-7: Nebraska	25	18	22	75	35.0
T-7: Iowa	42	32	40	26	35.0
9: Maryland	36	38	25	43	35.5
10: Illinois	37	49	46	24	39.0
11: Minnesota	46	36	47	28	39.25
12: Rutgers	57	37	30	36	40.0
13: Michigan St.	22	42	57	45	41.5
14: Wisconsin	59	23	27	79	47.0
15: Indiana	69	66	49	29	53.25
16: Purdue	70	27	87	55	59.75
17: UCLA	38	92	44	66	60.0
18: Northwestern	47	80	66	52	61.25

*Nebraska's rankings are in bold; rankings provided by 247Sports.

As far as portal rankings go, NU has largely been just as successful.

Headlined by MJ Sherman, Billy Kemp, Elijah Jeudy, and Ben Scott, the Huskers' 2023 portal haul ranked 32nd nationally. The following season, Nebraska added players like Ceyair Wright, Dante Dowdell, Isaiah Neyor, and Jahmal Banks, and the class finished ranked 33rd.

The 2025 portal cycle saw the Huskers add players such as Williams Nwaneri, Elijah Pritchett, Nyziah Hunter, and Andrew Marshall. That has been Rhule's highest-ranked portal class, finishing the cycle 22nd overall. Rhule's staff followed it up in 2026 by adding players like Owen Chambliss and Anthony Colandrea, with the class finishing the cycle ranked 32nd.

Averaged out, the Big Red's last four transfer cycles rank sixth in the Big Ten, with an average class ranking of 29.75.

Team	2023 Rank	2024 Rank	2025 Rank	2026 Rank	Average
1: Indiana	10	10	13	1	8.5
*2: Oregon	NA	5	4	36	15.0
3: Wisconsin	5	12	63	14	23.535
4: Illinois	35	19	40	19	28.25
*5: Washington	NA	20	11	55	28.67
6: Nebraska	32	33	22	32	29.75
7: Rutgers	36	37	9	52	33.5
*8: UCLA	NA	67	23	11	33.67
9: Minnesota	20	22	37	56	33.75
10: Maryland	12	52	33	40	34.25
11: Michigan	17	43	14	65	34.75
12: Penn St.	34	45	34	34	36.75
13: Ohio St.	39	54	10	58	40.25
14: Iowa	16	58	51	41	41.5
*15: USC	NA	21	58	47	42.0
16: Purdue	53	31	68	23	43.75
17: Michigan St.	41	57	21	61	45.0
18: Northwestern	31	64	53	35	45.75

*Former Pac-12 teams rankings are only available from 2024-present; rankings are provided by On3.

Matt Rhule looks on during the second quarter in the game against Michigan State. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

While the recruiting rankings have seemingly always been there for Nebraska to field a winning team, one uber-important change happened over the offseason heading into 2026. The Huskers went from being one of the youngest teams in the Big Ten to one of the most experienced rosters in college football.

Rhule and company seemingly emphasized size and experience over everything else, and it's working out exceedingly well. Nebraska's offensive line has a combined 129 collegiate starts, while averaging a stature of roughly 6-foot-5, 322 pounds.

Defensively, the Big Red's four-man front stands roughly 6-foot-3, 276 pounds, and has a combined 43 starts. By Game 5 of last season, NU's starting defensive line, albeit a three-man front, had just 12 combined career starts.

Heading into this weekend's Maryland game, the Huskers' top offensive group has totaled 258 starts, amounting to 21.5 years' worth of starting experience. Add a defense with another 184 starts, and you're looking at a completely different team from just a season ago.

While talent acquisition is beginning to bear fruit, Rhule has also managed to hang onto the pieces he needed over the years. As a result, a once-underexperienced roster is beginning to show its age at the best possible time. Football isn't a beauty contest; it's football. In this sport, especially in the Big Ten, experience matters.

Nebraska is finding out just how much as the season goes on. Though NU still has eight games to prove us right or wrong, it appears as if there are finally enough horses in the stable, paired with enough experience, to get the job done.

Four of the Huskers' eight remaining opponents are ranked, yet only one of them, Indiana, has more collective snaps played than the Huskers. Heading into the remainder of the year, NU has an edge in either recruiting metrics, experience, or both against every opponent. It's something they'll need to continue taking advantage of.

With a preseason win total set at 6½, Nebraska has put itself in position to surpass that mark. Getting to eight wins doesn't seem out of the question now.

Entering Week 5, the Big Red still has everything it wanted on the table as the Terrapins come to town. Now, we'll see if the recruiting battles won and experience gained can continue to make a winning impact for the Big Red.

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