Nebraska Will Face Talented Veteran Quarterbacks Throughout its Schedule

The Huskers will see a Heisman Trophy finalist, a potential Heisman finalist, and several multi-dimensional QBs in 2026

Anthony Colandrea, with UNLV, attempts a pass against Ohio University in the Frisco Bowl last season. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

First of three parts

Football purists say games are won in the trenches and they’re not wrong. Nebraska thrived behind that principle for years, if not decades.

Teams need that muscle and ferocity for success, but few teams win without consistently strong quarterback play. With the ball in their hands on every play, a quarterback’s skill and decision-making proficiency can make the difference in many games.

Across the next three days, we’ll analyze each quarterback the Huskers are likely to face in 2026. Included are a 2025 Heisman Trophy finalist, a likely Heisman candidate in 2026, impressive transfers, and dual-threat guys.

It’s the kind of stacked lineup you might expect in the Big Ten, winners of the last three national championships.

Nebraska hopes it has a quarterback to keep up. Anthony Colandrea brings impressive credentials to Matt Rhule and the Huskers. He played a full season at Virginia, and in 2025 was the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year at UNLV.

In 2024, Colandrea completed 61.9 percent of his passes, with 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Last season at UNLV, he threw for a league-best 3,459 yards, with 23 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He completed 65.9 percent of his passes. This could be important: Colandrea gained 649 yards on the ground with 10 touchdowns at UNLV.

Nice numbers — except for the interceptions — but how will they translate to the Big Ten?

Nine of Nebraska’s 12 opponents will have returning quarterbacks in 2026. Only three are newbies: Illinois, Indiana and Rutgers.

New quarterbacks in new places bring uncertainty — for Huskers opponents and the Huskers themselves, who are coming off consecutive 7-6 seasons.

Today, we start with Nebraska’s September opponents.

Ohio University
Sept. 5, 11 a.m. CT
Memorial Stadium
Likely starting quarterback: Parker Navarro

Key stat: Navarro, a senior, played all 13 games last season as the Bobcats went 9-4. He threw for 2,375 yards and 14 touchdowns. Even more “key” — he gained 866 yards on the ground and scored nine touchdowns.

Ohio quarterback Parker Navarro gained 866 yards on the ground last season for the Bobcats. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Fast fact: Navarro orchestrated a close loss at Rutgers, 34-31, and threw the winning touchdown pass in the Bobcats’ 17-10 win over the Big 12’s West Virginia. Ohio plays home games at Frank Solich Field/Peden Stadium. Solich coached Ohio for 16 seasons after coaching six seasons at Nebraska.

Analysis: Navarro went 11-of-15 for 143 yards as the Bobcats defeated Anthony Colandrea’s UNLV Rebels, 17-10, in the Frisco Bowl. So, Navarro can play in big games. Typical of MAC teams, Ohio can be pesky and give Power 4 boys a tussle. Expect that.

Bowling Green
Sept. 12, 6 p.m. CT
Memorial Stadium
Likely starting quarterback: Hunter Najm

Key stat: Najm only played five games as a redshirt freshman. He completed 33-of-66 passes for 473 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions. Not great.

Fast fact: Najm was with Washington State in 2024 but didn’t play a snap.

Analysis: With a game under their belt, the Huskers should have their way with an inexperienced quarterback playing on team that was 4-8 last season.

North Dakota
Sept. 19, 6:15 p.m. CT
Memorial Stadium
Likely starting quarterback: Jerry Kaminski

Key stat: Kaminski, a sophomore, rushed for 607 yards and eight touchdowns last season, to nicely complement his 2,598 passing yards and 26 touchdowns. His 12 interceptions were an issue, though, as the Fighting Hawks went 8-6 last season.

North Dakota Fighting Hawks quarterback Jerry Kaminski threw for 26 touchdowns last season. | Scott Sewell-Imagn Images

Fast fact: North Dakota faces tough peer competition in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Its archrival, North Dakota State, has won 10 national championships since 2011 and is moving up to FBS this season.

Analysis: Last season was Kaminski’s first as a starter. It’s never easy for a FCS team going on the road to play a Power 4 team but it often provides a nice payday.

At Michigan State
Sept. 26
Spartan Stadium
Likely starting quarterback: Alessio Milivojevic

Key stat: Milivojevic completed 64.2 percent of his passes (111-of-173), with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions. He also was sacked 16 times.

Fast fact: Milivojevic was 6-of-7 for 71 yards and one touchdown in relief in the Spartans’ 38-27 loss to Nebraska at Memorial Stadium in October.

Michigan State's Alessio Milivojevic throws a pass during spring practice. He had a touchdown pass against Nebraska in a loss last season. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Analysis: When Milivojevic wasn’t being sacked, he had some bright moments on a bad Sparty team. But he only won one of four games he started down the stretch. MSU hopes his experience — he’s now a redshirt sophomore — along with new and improved coaching lead to a better season than last year’s 4-8 debacle. For Nebraska, this is its first road game, which can be dicey.

Coming Wednesday: The quarterbacks Nebraska will face in October.

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