Author: TJ Birkel

Things move so fast in college football these days, it’s hard to believe that it’s been less than a week since the news broke that two year starting quarterback Dylan Raiola would be entering the transfer portal. After the decommitment of his younger brother Dayton, and the firing of his uncle (and Nebraska’s previous offensive line coach) Donovan, this probably wasn’t a huge surprise to most Nebraska fans.  The Raiola era coincided with Rhule’s first few years of trying to bring the Nebraska football program back to national prominence. It had a bit of a roller coaster feel, and arguably…

It’s official: Nebraska will play Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl on December 31. After much speculation and reporting that this would be the Huskers’ likely destination and opponent, it was confirmed on Sunday. After a disappointing end to the regular season, the Big Red will have the chance to end the 2025 season on a high note. With that in mind, here are four thoughts on Nebraska’s Las Vegas Bowl matchup versus Utah. Vegas, Baby! You have to assume plenty of Husker fans will be interested in traveling to Sin City for this one. Personally, I can only take…

The Nebraska football team got trounced by Iowa on Black Friday, losing 40-16 in a completely embarrassing and unacceptable performance. The Huskers were only down by eight coming out of halftime, but they completely unraveled in the 2nd half in a scene that was all too familiar to any fan who has been paying attention for the last decade. The Big Red was doomed by poor play calling/game management, poor execution, and special teams mistakes. We cover it all in the topline takeaways.  CHEERS TO THAT Emmett. Johnson. This game was so bad that I contemplated putting the “CHEERS TO…

The Nebraska football team will head into its season finale against Iowa with perhaps a bit more uncertainty than anyone would have hoped for. After starting 5-1 for the second consecutive season, the Big Red has once again run into some roadblocks in the back half of the schedule. After the 37-10 pounding at the hands of Penn State, the Huskers have a chance to right the ship heading into the bowl game, in what has become a massive game against the Hawkeyes.  How well does this Nebraska team match up against Iowa? Nebraska has struggled to stop the run…

Nebraska football is 7-3, its best record through 10 games since 2016. The Huskers have certainly not been perfect this season, but the team is making strides in its long climb from the swamp to the stars. The final two games plus the bowl game will go a long way toward informing how fans feel about whether or not Matt Rhule’s rebuilding project is on track.  This week on the Common Fan Podcast, we talked to Mitch Sherman of The Athletic and the Locked on Nebraska Podcast. Mitch provided some fantastic insights into Matt Rhule’s comments about increased resources for…

After a much-needed bye week, the Nebraska football team will travel to Happy Valley on Saturday to take on a beleaguered but talented Penn State squad. It was announced over the weekend that the game will kick off at 7pm and air on NBC. While the night game on the road–right before a short week heading into the Black Friday showdown with Iowa–presents some challenges, it’s another opportunity for the Big Red to shine under the lights on national television. With that in mind, we look at four questions for Nebraska football heading into Penn State week.  What can we…

The Nebraska football team is back on track after an exhilarating win over UCLA at the Rose Bowl this past Saturday night. The Huskers are now 7-3, their best record through 10 games since 2016. The Big Red will finish the season by playing at Penn State–a team that is both deeply flawed and immensely talented–and hosting Iowa at home on Black Friday. With optimism buzzing anew after true freshman quarterback TJ Lateef’s strong performance, we look at four questions for the Nebraska football team headed into the bye week.  How high can this offense fly under TJ Lateef? Against…

The Nebraska football team bounced back in a major way on Saturday night, taking the fight to the UCLA Bruins from the outset. The Huskers scored on their first drive of the game and, other than a 2 minute, 13 second period of time when it was tied 7-7, led for the rest of the game. True freshman TJ Lateef shined in his first start as a Cornhusker, playing confident and fearless and showing off his athleticism in leading the Big Red to victory. The win is a major shot of momentum for Matt Rhule’s program, and a major bounce…

Nebraska is coming off one of the toughest, most gut punch losses in recent memory (and friends, that is saying something). After losing to both USC and UCLA last season, the Huskers will look to get at least one against the state of California as they travel to LA to take on the Bruins at the Rose Bowl on Saturday night.  I talked to Kevin Balaji, host of the Bruin Source Podcast, to get the UCLA perspective on the upcoming game.  INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN BALAJI, HOST OF THE BRUIN SOURCE PODCAST UCLA has had a wild ride this season, from…

The Nebraska football team lost a heartbreaker to USC, extending their streak of losses to ranked teams and prolonging the agony of a fan base dying for a breakthrough win. They played well in so many ways, but still fell short against the Trojans. The Huskers will try to get up off the mat against UCLA on Saturday, in what looks like it will be a perfect night at the Rose Bowl. The game against the Bruins represents the first of two away games, before the Big Red closes out the regular season against Iowa in Lincoln on Black Friday.  …