In what will be their third year under Matt Rhule, the 2025 season could be a pivotal one for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Rhule is 12-13 since coming to Lincoln. Typically, Rhule-led teams thrive in their second seasons, and while it was an improvement from 5-7 in his first year to 7-6, ending a seven-year bowl drought last season, expectations are always high for the Cornhuskers.
All things considered, the job Rhule has done so far at Nebraska shouldn't go as unnoticed as it does. This is a program that has gone from being one of the most prestigious in college football to a mere laughingstock. They won three national titles from 1994 to 1997, yet they've had just two winning seasons in the past 10 years.
Add in Rhule's track record, former five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola heading into his second season, and a parched fan base, and this has all the makings of a letdown. Or, it could be the best season by a Cornhuskers team in over a decade.
Nebraska beats Michigan
To truly feel like the Matt Rhule era is gaining traction, the Cornhuskers need a signature win this season. Last year, silencing Colorado in front of a rowdy home crowd was about as good as it got. Other than that, they lost to every ranked team they faced and went 3-6 in the Big Ten.
The Cornhuskers will open against the Big 12's Cincinnati, followed by two non-Power Four teams in Akron and Houston Christian. Then No. 14 Michigan comes to Lincoln.
No, this isn't the Wolverines' national championship-caliber team from two seasons ago. But it's still a solid team and one that has owned the Cornhuskers in their last four meetings.
It's time for Nebraska to flip the script — in more ways than one. This would be the biggest win of Rhule's tenure to date and a sign of life he's instilling within the program.
Dylan Raiola takes the next step
Once Dylan Raiola decided to flip from Georgia to Nebraska, the hype quickly began — without even touching the field or throwing a pass. Raiola's decision was significant because it perhaps proves that the Nebraska program isn't set to be buried just yet.
That said, the pressure was automatically on the young quarterback to deliver last season. And while there were times where he shined, there were also moments where he didn't. In 13 games, Raiola completed 67.1% of his passes for 2,819 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.
As much as he looked like Patrick Mahomes, he wasn't yet.
One reason to believe Raiola will take the next step in his sophomore season is offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen. The two have created quite a bond leading up to the season, with Holgorsen saying Raiola has the best IQ of any quarterback he's coached.
“He's intelligent and highly competitive,” Holgorsen said via USA Today's Matt Hayes. “He understands run checks and coverages, and fronts and protections, better than anyone I've been around. One hundred percent, it's not even close.”
Nebraska has a way better record in one-score games
Last year's record is what it is, but records don't always tell the whole story. In five of Nebraska's six losses, the games were decided by one score. Somehow, after a 56-7 thumping by No. 16 Indiana, they kept every other game close — yet still lost five out of their last seven to finish the season.
Overall, they were 2-5 in one-score games. This is where Nebraska needs to make strides this season — that's what teams making progress do. Though it's still likely there will be a close loss here or there, Nebraska will begin winning the close games instead of losing them starting this year.
Nebraska wins eight games
Winning eight games would only be a one-game improvement from last season, but when you consider the current college football landscape, that might actually be pretty good. With conferences like the Big Ten and SEC now loaded up with teams, losses are likely to become more prevalent than ever, with the competition getting steeper. No longer will eight wins be considered just a “progress” season — it may be a good season.
It's a fairly manageable ride for the Cornhuskers getting to November, but that's where it gets dicey. They start the month off hosting USC, then the following week head to UCLA, followed by a road trip the next week against No. 2 Penn State, before ending with Iowa at home to close out the regular season.
All of those teams could very well be ranked at that point. There might not be any Oregons or Ohio States in there, but that's still a difficult stretch to end the season on.
