Is Year 4 Finally the Year Nebraska Breaks Through?

SMQ is back for Season 4 as the Commander moves to Nashville, George heads to Syracuse, and Bob holds down the fort in Minnesota.

Sunday Morning Quarterback

All right, let’s get one thing straight right out of the gate: we don’t care what the preseason magazines say. We don’t care that they have us 11th in the Big Ten and somewhere in the mid-30s nationally. we have heard that song before. It's Year 4 under Matt Rhule, and once again the national media is waiting for us to prove something before they give us any respect. Fine. Let’s prove it.

Camp is over. Anthony Colandrea is the guy. That’s not a surprise, but hearing Rhule say it out loud Saturday still felt like a statement. The kid is fiery, competitive, and he can make plays with his legs. That’s something we haven’t had enough of. If the offensive line holds up, and it looks deeper with the portal additions, Colandrea could be the difference between another 7-6 season and something that actually feels like progress.

The running back room is still a committee, and committees make us nervous. Mozee looks like the early leader, but until somebody seizes that job and gets 18–20 carries a game, we’re going to keep talking about “potential” instead of production. Potential doesn’t win in the Big Ten.

Defensively, Rob Aurich is preaching “simple, fast, violent.” I like the sound of that more than the old 3-3-5 that left us soft against the run last year. Owen Chambliss coming over from San Diego State is a smart add. But talk is cheap until we see it against Indiana and Ohio State.

The schedule is a meat grinder. Three nonconference home games to open, win those and you’re 3-0 with some confidence. Then it gets real: Michigan State on the road, Maryland at home, Indiana in Lincoln, Oregon in Eugene. That four-game stretch will tell us everything. If Nebraska is 5-2 or 4-3 after that, the Huskers are in the fight. If we’re 3-4, it’s another long November.

I’m not predicting a conference title. I’m not waving the “playoff or bust” flag. What I am saying is this roster is better built than any Rhule team so far. More experience. Better size up front. A quarterback who can create. The question is the same one it’s been for three years: can they finish?

Black Friday at Iowa will decide how this season feels when it’s over. It always does. Until then, go one week at a time. Win the ones you’re supposed to win. Compete like hell in the ones you’re not. And for once, let’s stop talking about next year like it’s already here.

The ball is about to be kicked. I’m ready. Let’s see if they are.

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