One Game for the Huskers or Something More?

“This was one game.”

Those were the words of Husker legend (as a player) Scott Frost, after Nebraska’s dominant 2021 victory over Northwestern. That one game would be the last win for the 2021 Huskers. It would also be the last FBS win for Scott Frost at Nebraska.

The 2026 Huskers’ 31-0 win over Rutgers comes at a similar point. Fan engagement is waning after the four-game losing streak. However, the Huskers delivered a dominant win. Nebraska has two opportunities to show it’s more than just one game.

Establishing the Run

In my preview, I noted that Nebraska was undefeated when rushing for 150+ yards but winless when held below that mark. Glenn Thomas clearly got the memo, as the Huskers rushed for 74 yards on the opening drive, then added 163 more to reach 237 on the ground for the day. It was the second time Nebraska surpassed 230 rushing yards in a Big Ten game since that 2021 blowout (the Huskers rushed for 231 against Iowa in 2025). Glenn Thomas kept things simple, putting the ball in his star’s, Jamal Rule, hands. Rule set a career-high for carries in Piscataway.

More important to the ground game was Nebraska’s rushing success rate. 58% of Nebraska's carries were successful (i.e., positive EPA*). For reference, only 11 teams in the country have a rushing success rate greater than 50% right now. This was the 4th-highest rushing success rate in a game for the Huskers over the last two seasons (2025 Maryland, Houston Christian, and 2026 Bowling Green were higher). When it comes to big, explosive plays, some luck helps. Stacking positive plays can be sustained, and it builds confidence for the offense and offensive line.

EPA = Expected Points Added, attributing points on the scoreboard to a per-play basis. Positive EPA means the offense won the play; negative EPA means the defense won the play

Nebraska vs Rutgers Advanced Metrics — Nebraska was dominant on both sides of the ball in its win over Rutgers | Game on Paper

Defensive Domination

Rob Aurich showed he deserved his contract extension in this game. Yes, it was a bad opponent, with injuries at quarterback and to their superstar receiver, but the Blackshirts had their best game in the Big Ten era. Rutgers managed only 143 total yards, the fewest by a Big Ten team against the Huskers since at least 1995. They also recorded their first road shutout since 1997 against Kansas.

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The Huskers' offense gave Rutgers two short fields, giving Rutgers a chance to score if they could get 48 yards or 55 yards on those two drives. However, Caleb Benning came up with a big interception to end Rutgers' biggest threat of the day. The Blackshirts forced a turnover on downs after the other short field. With the defense playing that well, the offense can afford to be aggressive and try to extend drives on 4th down.

The advanced metrics loved the Blackshirts in this game, too. Nebraska held Rutgers to an EPA per play of -0.37, which ranks among the bottom 15 games played in the 2026 season between FBS teams. From a net success rate* perspective, Nebraska won by 25.8%. In the last two seasons, Nebraska had wider margins only against Houston Christian, Akron, and Bowling Green. This game was a dominant performance on both sides of the ball. From Rutgers' perspective, this loss was their second-worst margin in net success rate over the last two years (2025 Oregon, -29.7%).

*Net success rate = percentage of Nebraska’s successful plays – percentage of Rutgers successful plays

Bowl Eligible but Still Lacking

For the third consecutive season, Matt Rhule has Nebraska bowl-eligible. While that’s progress compared with the Scott Frost and Mike Riley eras, this team could’ve accomplished so much more. Nebraska was just a few plays away from three more wins and playoff contention.

Despite the dominant win, Nebraska still made plenty of mistakes. The Huskers committed more penalties and lost more yards to those penalties than Rutgers. They also burned two timeouts in the first half to avoid further penalties. If they had saved those timeouts, Nebraska might have had a scoring opportunity right before halftime. These are mistakes you wouldn’t expect a team to make this far into the season.

If Nebraska can turn this “one game” into one or two more wins this season, the 2026 season could still be an argument for progress over the last two seasons. However, mental mistakes make it hard to expect Nebraska to win those games. If Matt Rhule can turn “one game” into a few wins, the 2027 offseason feels much better for Nebraska fans.

Today, it’s worth enjoying this one game.

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