Nebraska’s Anthony Colandrea Gets an Average Ranking Among Big Ten Quarterbacks

New Nebraska quarterback Anthony Colandrea, unproven in the Big Ten, in ranked 11th among the 18 projected starters in the conference by CBS Sports.

Colandrea is a transfer from UNLV. He played 14 games in his one season for the Rebels after transferring from Virginia, where he played 19 games over two seasons. So, he has experience. He has thrown a ton of passes in games that counted. He led the Mountain West Conference with 3,459 passing yards in 2025.

Colandrea’s experience shows in his career stats.

* Games played: 33
* Completions: 627
* Attempts: 983
* Completion percentage: 63.8
* Touchdowns: 49
* Interceptions: 29
* Yards gained: 7,542
* Yards gained per attempt: 8.3 (led the Mountain West)

Colandrea also brings a running threat to the table. He gained 649 yards on 127 attempts (5.1 yards per attempt) and 10 rushing touchdowns in 2025. For his career, Colandrea rushed 328 times for 1,151 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Nebraska could need another ground threat. Its running back room will be without NFL-bound Emmett Johnson and his 1,451 rushing yards, 76.4 percent of the Huskers’ 1,897 ground yards.

After two seasons of Dylan Raiola, who was burdened by a lack of mobility, Nebraska’s offense will look different with Colandrea. His legs will gain yards on scheduled plays, extend plays, help cut down on sacks — a major Nebraska problem last season, with 33.

How Colandrea’s play translates to superior competition in the Big Ten — home of the last three national champions — will be one of the Huskers’ great unknowns going into the pivotal 2026 season.

What CBS Sports said about Colandrea

CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli wrote about Colandrea: “Perhaps TJ Lateef wins this job, but I don’t think the Huskers go into the portal to get Colandrea from UNLV if they expect that to be the case.

“Colandrea has plenty of experience from his time at UNLV and Virginia, and honestly, he feels like a better fit for a Dana Holgorsen offense than Dylan Raiola did. That doesn’t mean he’ll be better than Raiola, but it means he could be.”

The rankings

Three of the CBS Sports’ top-4 quarterbacks are projected from the top three teams in the conference — Oregon, Ohio State and defending national champion Indiana. No surprise there, given a quarterback’s importance in the college game.

Nebraska will face six of the projected top-10 quarterbacks in the conference. The Huskers also will play the projected 16th, 17th and 18th-ranked quarterbacks.

Here are Fornelli’s rankings, and when they face Nebraska.

1. Dante Moore, Oregon

Nebraska visits the Ducks on Oct. 17, the Huskers’ seventh game of the season. Moore surprisingly returned to Eugene after he was projected to be a top-5 pick in the NFL Draft. If you want intrigue, Raiola transferred to Oregon after last season.

2. Julian Sayin, Ohio State

The Buckeyes visit Memorial Stadium on Nov. 21, the Huskers’ 11th game of the season. Sayin, who completed an FBS-best 77 percent of his passes last season, was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.

3. Jayden Maiava, USC

Maiava is a talented passer who led the Big Ten with 3,711 passing yards. He helped defeat the Huskers last season, 21-17, at Memorial Stadium.

4. Josh Hoover, Indiana

The defending national champions visit Memorial Stadium on Oct. 10, Nebraska’s sixth game. Hoover, who is replacing Heisman Trophy winner and likely No. 1 overall draft pick Fernando Mendoza, is a transfer from TCU, where he was a three-year starter.

Josh Hoover will replace Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza as the Indiana starting quarterback. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

5. Demond Williams, Washington

Williams and the Huskies will visit the Huskers on Oct. 31, Nebraska’s eighth game. Williams completed 69.5 percent of his passes for 3,065 yards and 25 touchdowns.

6. Rocco Becht, Penn State

Becht is a transfer who followed new PSU coach Matt Campbell from Iowa State.

7. Bryce Underwood, Michigan

Talented quarterback who was wildly inconsistent last season. With a new coaching staff and a dedicated quarterback coach, Michigan hope for big things from Underwood in 2026.

8. Katin Houser, Illinois

The senior transferred to the Illini from East Carolina after starting his career at Michigan State. Houser completed 65.9 percent of his passes for 19 touchdowns last season for ECU in the American Athletic Conference. Illinois plays host to Nebraska on Nov. 7, the Huskers’ ninth game.

Maryland quarterback Malik Washington nearly led the Terrapins to an upset over Nebraska last season. | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

9. Malik Washington, Maryland

As a true freshman, Washington completed 27-of-37 passes in a 34-31 Huskers victory at College Park. He is the centerpiece of a Terrapins program that started last season 4-0 and finished 4-8. Maryland visits Memorial Stadium on Oct. 3, Nebraska’s fifth game and first home Big Ten game.

10. Colton Joseph, Wisconsin

The transfer from Old Dominion could be the main player to determine whether Luke Fickell gets another season as the Badgers’ coach.

11. Anthony Colandrea, Nebraska

How Colandrea goes, so goes the Nebraska offense? Often, that is the case.

12. Nico Iamaleava, UCLA

Talented runner and passer who struggled as the Bruins struggled to a 3-9 season in 2025. Same as Underwood, perhaps he will benefit from a new coaching staff.

UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava nearly led the Bruins over Nebraska at the Rose Bowl last season before losing, 28-21. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

13. Drake Lindsey, Minnesota

Solid quarterback who helped the Golden Gophers to an 8-5 season that included a 24-6 beatdown of the Huskers on a fateful Friday night in Minneapolis on Oct. 17.

14. Aidan Chiles, Northwestern

The transfer from Michigan State is talented both as a runner and passer but he had injury issues last season. Northwestern has a new offensive coordinator in Chip Kelly, once an offensive guru.

15. Ryan Browne, Purdue

Browne is trying to help the Boilermakers again become a factor. It’s not an easy job in the challenging Big Ten.

16. Dylan Lonergan, Rutgers

Fornelli acknowledged that Lonergan might not be the starter in September, as AJ Surace might win the job this summer. Lonergan, a Boston College transfer, will face the visiting Huskers on Nov. 14, Nebraska’s 10th game. Lonergan rode the bench for two seasons at Alabama before playing at BC in 2025. At BC, he completed 190-of-284 passes for 12 touchdowns and five interceptions as the Eagles went 2-10.

17. Alessio Milivojevic, Michigan State

He played in nine games behind Aiden Chiles, who had injury issues. Milivojecic completed 111-of-173 passes for 1,267 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions. He will be playing under a new head coach in Pat Fitzgerald and new system. The Spartans’ first Big Ten game in 2026 will be against visiting Nebraska on Sept. 26. That will be the Huskers’ fourth game — and first Big Ten game, too, in 2026.

Iowa quarterback Jeremy Hecklinski warms up before the Hawkeyes' game against Iowa last season. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

18. Jeremy Hecklinski, Iowa

The Huskers’ season finale will be in Iowa City, on Black Friday, Nov. 27. Hecklinski threw only two passes in 2025, completing both for 8 yards. This will be his second season at Iowa after one season at Wake Forest, where he didn’t attempt a pass in his one game. The Hawkeyes struck paydirt in 2025 with transfer Mark Gronowski, who led Iowa to a 9-4 season that included a 40-16 win at Memorial Stadium.

How Colandrea stacks up against his fellow Big Ten quarterbacks could help determine the Huskers' season. Successful seasons usually go hand-in-hand with successful quarterback play. Colandrea was the 2025 Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year at UNLV, so we know he can play. How well? An intriguing question in what could be a fascinating Nebraska season.

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