Nebraska Cornhuskers 2026 College Football Preview
Posted July 20, 2026
2025 Recap
Record – 7-6
ATS – 5-8
The first half of the season was quite the success as the Huskers bolted out of the gates to a 5-1 record, with their only loss coming by three points vs Michigan. The second half wasn’t a lot of fun as they could only muster a pair of victories and were blown to bits in the final two regular season games by Penn St and Iowa. Things didn’t get any better in the Las Vegas Bowl as Nebraska left SIN CITY in shambles after a 44-22 beating at the hands of Utah.
Nebraska Cornhuskers 2026 Outlook
OFFENSE
2025 By The Numbers (Big Ten):
- Scoring: 28.7 PPG (#9)
- Total Offense: 370.5 YPG (#9)
- Rushing: 145.9 YPG (#10)
- Passing: 224.6 YPG (#9)
- Sacks Allowed: 33 (#15)
The offense got off to a hot start but they really struggled during Big Ten play, whether it be on the ground vs the tougher competition, or thru the air later in the campaign.
The Huskers have a shiny new QB leading the charge in Anthony Colandrea, who’s thrown for over 7,500 (!) yards during his time with UNLV (2025) and Virginia. He’s a bit of a gunslinger as evidenced by his 49-29 career TD to INT mark, but he was much more careful with the ball at UNLV last season, and the hope is that he can translate that maturity to the Big Ten. Colandrea can really move around as well (649, 10 TD) and that will be a welcome change over the impossibly immobile Dylan Raiola.
Colandrea will have some talented weapons at his disposal as Nebraska boasts a fine 1-2 combo at WR in Nyziah Hunter (617, 14.5, 5 TD) and Jacory Barney (484, 10.8, 5 TD), and don’t sleep on TE Luke Lindenmeyer who could be one of the most productive pass catchers at his position in 2026. Lindenmeyer is an excellent perimeter blocker with great hands who saw the 3rd most snaps of any Husker last year.
CORN did a good job filling the void at QB, but the other big concern is finding a way to replace star RB Emmett Johnson who rumbled for over 1,400 yards last season (5.8 YPC, 12 TD). The Huskers will be relying on the depth pieces from the 2025 squad to step up this year, and they’ve got a pair of talented sophomores in Mekhi Nelson and Isaiah Mozee. It’s impossible to know if they’ve got a true RB1 as we approach press time but we expect to see a productive committee.
After some unacceptable offensive line play and protection breakdowns, Matt Rhule and OC Dana Holgorsen have re-engineered the group, and we think things look promising. They’ve got a great piece to build around in LT Elijah Pritchett and he’ll be joined by some talented transfers that should pop right into the starting five.
DEFENSE
2025 By The Numbers (Big Ten):
- Scoring: 24.6 PPG (#13)
- Total Defense: 329.5 YPG (#9)
- Rushing Defense: 175.4 YPG (#14)
- Passing Defense: 154.1 YPG (#2)
- Sacks: 22 (#15)
The defense took a significant step back from what we witnessed the previous two seasons, but the Huskers pilfered ace DC Rob Aurich from San Diego St, and they’ve got a lot of returning production compared to other teams in the Big Ten.
The defensive line is undergoing plenty of change, both in terms of personnel and the change in scheme to a four-man front. There’s decent size in the unit but it doesn’t appear that there are any game-changing PENETRATORS in the mix. Maybe the new DC can help stimulate the pass rush? A few guys to watch include highly-touted sophomore Williams Nwaneri (6-7, 265) and DT Riley Van Poppel who’ll be a force on the interior. The LB corps looks set with the return of disruptive sophomore Vincent Shavers Jr. (#4 tackles, 7.5 TFL) and tackling machine Owen Chambliss who rolls into town from San Diego St.
CORN did a great job vs the pass last season (#5 Big Ten pass efficiency defense) and allowed a mere 9 TD passes all year. Things still look rosy heading into 2026 as they’ve got several talented dudes to rely upon including a productive CB tandem in Andrew Marshall and Donovan Jones, and veteran safety Dwayne McDougle (55 tackles, 4 INT) who’s another former San Diego St Aztec.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Nebraska had an impressive showing in the Phil Steele special teams rankings last year (#18) and while they lose their Special Teams Coordinator, most of the key players return including PK Kyle Cunanan (16/19 FG) and PR/KR Jacory Barney.
Schedule Analysis
Overall – Don’t look now, but CORN is poised to get off to another hot start with a soft non-conference schedule and winnable contests with Sparty (A) and Maryland (H) to open Big Ten action. Things get a lot more difficult after that as they’ve got some tough opponents to deal with including Indiana (H) and Oregon (A) in back-to-back weeks. They’ve also gotta tangle with Ohio St (H) and Iowa (A) to end the regular season. Yikes.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – at Oregon (Oct 17)
This will be Nebraska’s seventh consecutive week on the gridiron (bye week up next) and they’ll be coming off a physical slugfest with mighty Indiana.
Season Win Total
Market consensus – July 20
Over 6.5 +120
Under 6.5 -150
MEGALOCKS says:
Lean: Over
They’re gonna start the season with a bunch of wins, and they should be able to pick up a few more victories later in the season.
Note – Our official list of season win total investments will be posted in the blog section of the website.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
The “Blackshirts” tradition started in 1964 out of pure necessity — and a bargain. When college football switched to separate units, Bob Devaney’s staff needed a way to tell the offense and defense apart at practice. An assistant went to a local sporting goods store and bought a batch of black pullovers simply because they were ON SALE. Defensive line coach George Kelly began barking orders at his “black shirts,” local media caught on, and a cheap practice shortcut instantly became sacred. CORNFED trivia missiles coming in HOT, bay-bee.
Nebraska hasn’t won more than seven games in a season since 2016 (!) when they went 9-4 under the tutelage of Mike Riley.
MEGALOCKS Forecast:
It seems like Nebraska has tried to reinvent themselves every couple of years for the last decade or so. This time, they’re trying to burst out of mediocrity by bringing in a new starting quarterback and a fresh face at defensive coordinator. We’re pretty sure this team is a better version of Cornhusker football, but we’ve said that before.
The good news is that the schedule will enable them to get off to a hot start, and then they can take it from there. The fans of the GREAT STATE of NEBRASKA deserve better, and let’s hope this is the year when things start turning around — for real. We’ll call for seven or maybe eight wins and hope they can pull a big upset along the way.
GO BIG RED!