Nebraska Football Is Finally Getting Old. Now It’s Time to Take the Next Step

Every season, there comes a point where a team has to stop talking about potential and start showing what it can actually do.

For Nebraska, that time might be coming in 2026.

The Huskers have spent the last few seasons being one of the younger teams in college football. Young players have been thrown into important roles, mistakes have been made, and the hope has always been that those same players would eventually grow into the veterans Nebraska needed.

Now, that time has arrived. Nebraska is getting old, and that could be exactly what the Huskers need to finally take the next step.

Get old. Stay old.

Nebraska center Justin Evans during the 2025 game against Cincinnati — Senior center Justin Evans | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

There is a reason the phrase "get old and stay old" has been around college football for so long.

Young players give you potential; older players give you experience.

A player can have all the talent in the world, but there is no replacement for going through a full college football season. Playing on the road in the Big Ten. Dealing with injuries. Playing in close games. Learning how to handle adversity.

Nebraska has had plenty of young players get that experience over the last few seasons. Now those players are becoming juniors and seniors.

That is important.

When you look at Nebraska's projected starting lineup heading into 2026, the difference is obvious. Of the 22 projected starters, 19 are juniors or seniors. That's 86.4% of the starting lineup.

Obviously we don't know who exactly the starters will be in week one against Ohio, but the only projected starters who aren't juniors or seniors are sophomore running backs Isaiah Mozee, Mekhi Nelson, sophomore defensive lineman Williams Nwaneri and sophomore defensive lineman Jahsear Whittington.

That's a completely different look from a team that has spent the last few years relying heavily on young players.

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Look at the teams that have had success

This is where things get interesting, looking back at the starting lineups from the last three College Football Playoff national champions.

Michigan in 2023. Ohio State in 2024. Indiana in 2025.

All three had 18 of their 22 starters classified as juniors or seniors. That's 81.8%.

So while Nebraska's projected starting lineup is slightly older at 86.4%, the Huskers are right in line with the profile we've seen from the three most recent teams to win it all.

That's not enough to say experience guarantees success but it's certainly worth paying attention to. Especially when Nebraska is coming off a season in which youth was one of the defining characteristics of the roster.

Does this mean Nebraska is going to compete for a national championship? Absolutely not, but having an experienced roster is exactly what they need to take the next step in the Matt Rhule era.

This is what development is supposed to look like

Matt Rhule addresses the team at practice on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. | Nebraska Athletics

When Matt Rhule was hired at Nebraska, he preached Nebraska becoming a "developmental program" and to accomplish that there was always going to be a process.

Recruit players, develop them, get them on the field, let them learn. Then, hopefully, keep them around long enough to become veterans.

That's the part Nebraska is finally getting to. The Huskers aren't relying on a bunch of freshmen to suddenly become stars.

They're bringing back players who have already played Big Ten football. They're adding experienced transfers to positions that needed help. And they're giving those players another year in the program to grow.

Get old. Stay old.

Look at the teams that have had success

This is what development is supposed to look like

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