Nebraska Ends Non-Conference Play At 3-0.

The Huskers took care of North Dakota in fine fashion Saturday night in Lincoln winning 34-7.   As Matt Rhule said during the week before the game, North Dakota was going to be Nebraska’s toughest opponent in the non-conference schedule.

Some fans weren’t buying it.  How could an FCS level opponent be more of a challenge than the previous two MAC teams the Huskers faced this month?

After all, weren’t the Hawks allowing over 23 points per game on defense?  The Huskers were going to easily lay at least 40 or 50 points on them, right?

Well, no.  Matt Rhule was right.  The Hawks did put up a good fight.  But Nebraska took control of the game early and was never seriously threatened.

Jamal Rule ran, Anthony Colandrea passed (and ran), the Husker O-line blocked, the receivers caught passes and the Husker defense recorded five sacks for the night.

Nebraska looks like a team that’s getting better each week.

And remember, Rhule hired a few new coaches in the off season including O-line coach Geep Wade, running game coordinator Lonnie
Teasley, D-line assistant Corey Brown, edge rusher coach Roy

Manning, defensive coordinator Rob Aurich, safeties coach Tyler Yelk
and special teams coordinator Brett Maher. (Maher is in his third year
with Nebraska but first year as the ST Coordinator.)

All those new faces had to blend together and be able to coach as one unit this fall.

Rob Aurich brought with him from San Diego State a 4-3-5 defensive scheme.  The Husker defense had to learn it in the off season and be able to implement it this fall.

And did I mention there is a new quarterback and a new starting running back who also had to find their way?

Considering all the off season changes, Nebraska needed to have a less challenging non-conference schedule this fall. 

And they got one.  A game with the Tennessee Volunteers was replaced with a home game with Bowling Green University.

So the Huskers stand at 3-0 through the first quarter of the 2026 season.

This Saturday, the “real” Husker schedule begins.  Each week will be a battle, with many games going down to the wire.

The next three games (Michigan State, Maryland and defending national champion Indiana) should tell us more about just how good Nebraska is.

Hang on to your hat everybody,  It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

So should Husker fans at least sip the Kool Aid? 

The Huskers seem to be more talented and deeper at every position this year.  Clearly, this is Matt Rhule’s most talented team he’s had in his four seasons at Nebraska.

This team is fun to watch on both offense and defense.  If the Husker special teams can stop beating themselves, they are going to be explosive.

So go ahead and sip the Kool Aid.  It tastes great in September.

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