The 2025 Nebraska football team started this season with a win, but they looked sloppy against Cincinnati at a neutral site game, which they played at Kansas City. They won 20-17, and a win is a win, but they struggled to get things going consistently. They are massive favorites against Akron back home this week, but that does not mean head coach Matt Rhule is looking ahead to next week.

Matt Rhule talked with Sam McKewon of the Omaha World-Herald about his feelings about Akron heading into Week 2. Despite being big favorites, he clarified that this matchup still makes him uptight because Akron has nothing to lose as a massive underdog.

“You really have nothing in the world to lose and everything to gain,” Rhule said of what he’d tell teams when they were big underdogs. “And you have many players on your team who believe they should be playing at the highest level and know they’re good players.”

Rhule told his team in meetings that he’s “uptight” about hosting the Zips this week. Rhule said Akron’s offense, coordinated by head coach Joe Moorhead, is as creative as you’ll find, while the defense has a good set of blitz packages.

“We don’t ever want to play the brand, we want to play the man,” Rhule said. “That’s kind of always our message. That’s whether we’re playing Ohio State or Kent State. We want to play the guy lined up in front of us and play to a standard where we’re trying to attack that man.

“That’s something we were not great at last year.”
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The 2025 Nebraska football team has much to like as a potential breakout candidate this season. They have a solid schedule, many returning productions, a new offensive coordinator, and a trustworthy coach. Those ingredients should lead to a step forward, but how big a step depends on execution.
The biggest key for the Cornhuskers is Dylan Raiola under center. He has a lot of talent, but needs to find consistency after struggling near the end of last season, after starting red-hot. Hiring Dana Holgorsen as the new offensive coordinator must also pay off and help Raiola realize his potential in this Nebraska football offense.