Heading into Matt Rhule's fourth season as head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, the same expectations that have been attached to this program since his arrival, all of a sudden seem to have become non-existent. Don’t get it twisted, this is exactly what the Huskers need.
After starting the 2025 season 6-1, the Huskers would flake out to finish 7-5, followed up by a New Years Eve blowout from Utah 44-22, that’s when Rhule knew that he needed to make some changes.
Out with the old, in with the new seems to be the philosophy that Rhule adopted this past offseason and on paper, it hasn’t gone unnoticed.
Bringing in a new offensive line coach (Geep Wade), new defensive coordinator (Rob Aurich) and a plethora of transfers to many positions (Anthony Colandrea, Kwazi Gilmer, Owen Chambliss, etc.), the Huskers rank #3 in the nation in experience, making this Rhule’s most mature team he’s had.
For the opposition, first year head coach John Hauser and the Ohio Bobcats are coming off an impressive 9-4 season, but lost a total of 24 players to the transfer portal, eight of them being potential starters for the Bobcats this season.
Graduate senior Nick Poulos was named the starting quarterback for the Bobcats after serving as the backup for the past two seasons. Duncan Brune and Victor Rosa are expected to be co-starting running backs with Eian Pugh, Dom Dorwart and Preston Bowman are the weapons at wide receiver.
Defensively for the Bobcats, Kurt Mattix returns to the program after a one year stint at Charlotte with a new role, defensive coordinator. Mattix will run a 4-2-5 defensive scheme, sharing the same schematic philosophy as Aurich.
Key #1: The running game
The Huskers are going to have to hope and pray that they receive as glorious of a season as we saw from Emmett Johnson a year ago. Johnson, who was selected in the fifth round of the NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, ran for 1,451 yards last season, ranking him fourth in the nation.
Sophomore Isaiah Mozee, junior Mekhi Nelson and true freshman Jamal Rule are all listed as co-number one running backs for the Huskers, with the room as a whole turning many heads in fall camp.
Blocking shouldn’t be an issue for the running game, the Huskers completely revamped their offensive line this past offseason with additions like Brendan Black and Paul Mubenga to complement a projected top 5 center prospect in next year's NFL Draft in Justin Evans.
Key #2: The Defensive Line
The Huskers defensive line was atrocious in 2025, ruining the chance at a true top 25 defense in the country.
While the blackshirts defense finished with the #3 ranked passing defense in the nation, the run defense allowed close to 2,300 yards on the ground, finishing 96th nationally.
Not only do the blackshirts need to improve greatly in the run game, they need to start racking up sacks and pressures. Nebraska recorded just 22 sacks last season, their lowest total since 2022.
Nebraska hit the portal hard on the defensive line, bringing in Pitt transfer Jahsear Whittington, UCLA transfer Anthony Jones Jr. and Boston College transfer Owen Stoudmire.
Key #3: Put this game away early
It’s the non conference season opener for the Huskers, who haven’t had a problem with these types of games in the past. The Huskers have won non conference group of six games by an average of 37 points under Rhule.
The Huskers would love nothing more than to get the opportunity for their underclassmen and backups to get game experience, not to mention the fact that temperatures are expected to reach as high as 96 in the capital city.
Prediction:
It may be a slow or sluggish start for the Huskers with them breaking in new philosophies and schemes, it also might not have an effect on them at all.
Offensively, the Huskers are loaded with talent and speed and defensively, Aurich is legit, his San Diego State defense ranked right around 12th in the nation last season in total defense.
We should expect to see fireworks in this one, the Huskers have something to prove this season and the Bobcats should not be a poise an issue to this team.
Nebraska: 45 Ohio: 17
