Optimism is building for Matt Rhule and Nebraska, but two factors will determine how far the hype can actually take them
Matt Rhule has Nebraska on the right track heading into the 2026 season with new quarterback Anthony Colandrea coming to town, but the team’s outlook depends on multiple different variables.
Here’s why I think there’s genuine reason to be optimistic about Nebraska football entering 2026, even if Cornhuskers fans aren’t the biggest fans of mine because I take every opportunity to make fun of their new uniforms.
This is a roster that brings back the No. 3 returning production in the entire country, and that comes with continuity at the coaching staff level. Matt Rhule is coming off a huge extension during the Penn State coaching race, and offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen is back as well. On the surface, that sounds really strong.
But, we have to talk about the most important position in all of football.
The quarterback question for Matt Rhule’s offense
Like many other programs, Nebraska went to the transfer portal for a quarterback. The Cornhuskers brought in Anthony Colandrea from UNLV, a player who has experience at both the Power 4 level at Virginia and the Group of 5 level with the Rebels. The question becomes: what can Holgorsen do to elevate this offense with Colandrea?
I think the defensive side of the ball is going to be strong. I think Nebraska is going to be able to run the football. But, they’ve been needing more from the quarterback position – more playmaking ability – and I believe they got it with Colandrea. Now, I do think it’s going to be a give-and-take. You’re going to have some really bad moments. He’s going to push the ball into riskier spots unlike what we saw with Dylan Raiola, but the upside is the playmaking and more ability to create when the play breaks down. This offense has needed that.
And you may say, Tegan, if you think the quarterback is going to have bad moments, how can you be optimistic? Because Nebraska doesn’t need Colandrea to be a Heisman finalist. They just need him to extend drives and create a few explosive plays per game that Raiola couldn’t. That’s a reasonable ask for a guy with Colandrea’s skill set, and Holgorsen has coached up quarterbacks in air-raid systems for years.
The schedule is the whole problem looking at the 2026-27 season
Now let’s shift gears, because I do think this is a difficult slate if you want to try to get 8-plus wins. That would be on pace with what we’ve seen under Rhule, where Nebraska has increased its win total by one every single season.
The Cornhuskers get to ease into the schedule early, but then it gets ugly. You face off against Maryland, which is a top-2 team in returning production in the entire country. And you still have Indiana, Oregon, Washington, and Ohio State on the schedule. Then you close with a road trip to Iowa.
I find it really hard to get to eight wins here. That stretch alone could produce four losses even if everything else goes right.
The final verdict on what to expect from Nebraska
Nebraska has the returning production, the coaching continuity, and enough new talent at quarterback to be a better team than it was a year ago. I’ll stamp that. But being a better team and hitting eight wins are two different conversations when you’re staring down that schedule.
The ceiling is there if Colandrea provides the spark this offense has been missing and the defense plays up to its talent level. The floor, though, is another 7-win season where everyone says the same things they said last year.
I think Nebraska lands at seven wins, maybe scratches and claws its way to eight if a couple of those toss-up games break their way. The trajectory under Rhule is real, the talent is accumulating, and the foundation is stronger than it’s been in years. But the Big Ten is unforgiving, and this schedule doesn’t care about your optimism.
