Nebraska Rights Ship Against Rutgers, Secures Bowl Eligibility

Nebraska football is going bowling.

NU improved to 6-4 with a 31-0 win at Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights fell to 2-8.

The win secures bowl eligibility for Nebraska for a third straight year. This follows a seven-year stretch where the Huskers did not reach that goal.

Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule on the field before the game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at SHI Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The victory also snaps a four-game losing streak, which resulted in the firing of offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen. Glenn Thomas, who had been the OC for Matt Rhule at previous stops, took over the play-calling this week.

Thomas and Nebraska put a heavy emphasis on the run game, doing so on the first seven plays of the game. The eighth play saw Anthony Colandrea hit Jacory Barney Jr. in the end zone, but the wideout couldn't hold on.

Four more runs followed before Colandrea went to work with the pass game. He found Mekhi Nelson for a 10-yard gain. A couple of plays later, he hit Luke Lindenmeyer, who trotted in for the score. That capped off a 16-play, 94-yard drive that took 9:17 off the clock.

Nebraska Cornhuskers tight end Luke Lindenmeyer fights off Rutgers Scarlet Knights defensive back Latrell Noel to score a touchdown reception during the first half at SHI Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In the second quarter, the Huskers used a 10-play drive to go 90 yards in 4:57, culminated by a Colandrea rushing score. Over the last three games, Nebraska has five TD drives of at least 90 yards.

Defensively, the Blackshirts stifled the Scarlet Knights from the jump. Rutgers worked to burn clock and shorten the game, holding it for more than five minutes on their opening drive. Still, that drive ended in a punt after getting to midfield.

Rutgers tallied just 60 yards in the first 30 minutes.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights quarterback Sean Ashenfelder drops back to pass during the first half against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at SHI Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After a Husker punt to open the second half, the Scarlet Knights looked to have some life on offense. Runs of 17 yards and 18 yards put Rutgers into the red zone. But the home side couldn't muster more than that, as Caleb Benning picked off a poorly thrown ball to the sideline, returning it to midfield.

GET READY TO COMPETE

Pick your champion (you can change it later). We’ll email you when brackets open.

No purchase necessary. 50 U.S./D.C. 18+. Entry opens 3PM ET Dec 6, 2026 and closes 8PM ET Dec 18, 2026. Void where prohibited.See for complete details. The College Football Playoff (CFP) is not a sponsor or administrator of this contest.

Four plays later, Nelson rushed for the touchdown, putting Nebraska up 21-0.

Nebraska's offense added points in the fourth quarter with a pass to Carter Nelson and a 41-yard field goal from John Hohl. Rutgers, meanwhile, remained unable to move the scoreboard.

This marks the first shutout for Nebraska since joining the Big Ten. The last shutout came in the 2009 Holiday Bowl against Arizona. The last shutout against a conference opponent was against Iowa State in 2003, with the last one on the road coming in 1997 at Kansas.

Nebraska Cornhuskers wide receiver Nyziah Hunter gains yards after a catch during the first half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at SHI Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Nebraska's offense dominated Rutgers to the tune of 429 yards to 143. The Huskers had 237 yards on the ground. While the Scarlet Knight tallied 101 yards rushing, they only added 42 yards through the air.

Colandrea completed 15 of 22 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns. He added nine carries for 66 yards.

Jamal Rule led the backfield with 22 carries for 103 yards.

Nebraska returns home next Saturday for Senior Day, hosting No. 20 Ohio State. The kickoff time and television designation have yet to be announced.

Nebraska Athletics Postgame Notes

With today’s win, Nebraska improved to 8-0 all-time against Rutgers. The 8-0 series edge ties for the most wins without a loss by Nebraska against an FBS opponent. NU is also 8-0 against Utah State and Wyoming.
Nebraska posted its first-ever shutout in a Big Ten Conference game. The Huskers had their first shutout since Akron last season, their first shutout in a conference game since 2003 against Iowa State and their first shutout in a conference road game since 1997 at Kansas.
NU limited Rutgers to 143 total yards and 42 passing yards. Each of those totals was the fewest for a Husker opponent in the Big Ten era and the fewest overall since 2010 against Kansas, when the Jayhawks had 87 total yards and 42 passing yards.
Nebraska shut out Rutgers in the first half, marking the fourth scoreless first half for an opponent this season. It was the sixth time in 10 games NU has held the opposition without a first-half touchdown.

Nebraska opened the scoring on a 16-play, 94-yard drive that consumed 9:17. It marked Nebraska’s longest drive of the season in terms of plays and time.
The 9:17 TD drive was Nebraska’s longest scoring drive in time since a 9:22 drive for a field goal against UTEP in the 2024 season opener.
Nebraska added a 10-play, 90-yard drive in the second quarter and has five TD drives in the past three games of more than 90 yards.
Nebraska had 237 rushing yards, improving to 6-0 when rushing for at least 150 yards.
Tight end Luke Lindenmeyer had a 15-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter, marking his second TD catch of the season. Lindenmeyer finished the game with three catches for 52 yards.
With his three receptions, Lindenmeyer increased his season receptions total to 35, moving him within three catches of Austin Allen’s NU season tight end record of 38 catches in 2021. Lindenmeyer increased his career total to 69 receptions, moving past Kyler Reed (67) into second place on the NU career list, 13 catches from Mike McNeill’s Husker record of 82 receptions.
Tight end Carter Nelson had a 40-yard reception to set up a Nebraska TD in the second quarter. The 40-yard catch was a career-long, bettering a pair of 24-yard receptions. Nelson added a 13-yard TD reception for his second TD catch of the season and the third of his career.
Quarterback Anthony Colandrea threw for two touchdowns to increase his season total to 18, while rushing for his fifth score of the season. He moved into a tie for 10th place on Nebraska’s season passing touchdowns list.
Defensive tackle Jahsear Whittington had a 6-yard sack in the second quarter, giving him a team-leading 5.5 sacks on the season. Whittington added a tackle for loss in the third quarter, giving him 6.5 TFL on the year.
Safety Caleb Benning had a third-quarter interception to stop a Rutgers scoring threat, marking Benning’s first career interception. He had a 39-yard return on the play.
Cornerback Jeremiah Charles had a fourth-quarter interception for his first career interception. Charles had a 23-yard return on his interception.
Defensive end Jordan Ochoa had a 2-yard sack in the second quarter, marking his second straight game with a sack.
Center and New Jersey native Justin Evans made his 41st career start, tying him with Jeremiah Sirles for the second-most starts by an offensive lineman in program history.
True freshman cornerback Danny Odem III made his first career start in today’s game.
Running back Jamal Rule had a career-high 22 carries for 103 yards, marking his third 100-yard rushing game this season and first in Big Ten play. Rule became just the second Husker true freshman running back to have 100 rushing yards in a Big Ten Conference game, joining Maurice Washington, who had 109 rushing yards against Minnesota in 2018.
Running back Isaiah Mozee had four receptions for 48 yards, tying his career high in receptions.
Jacory Barney Jr. had three receptions for 28 yards. It marked his 36th straight game with a catch, tying him with Jordan Westerkamp for the third-longest reception streak in school history (36 games). Barney also increased his career total to 144 receptions, passing Johnny Rodgers for sixth place on Nebraska’s career receptions list.
Running back Mekhi Nelson had an 11-yard touchdown run in the third quarter for his team-high sixth TD run of the season.

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, following us on Twitter/X, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.

Add us as a preferred source on Google