Nebraska Cornhuskers 2025 Football Preview, Prediction, Betting Ideas

Nebraska Cornhuskers

2024 Record:7-6

2024 over/under: 7.5 (under hits)

Opening word: Let's just get the shtick out of the way. Yes, Matt Rhule won double-digit games in his third season in charge of Temple and Baylor. This happens to be his third year in charge of Nebraska, so there I participated in the bit.

Looking back at '24: We all had our popcorn ready when Colorado visited Lincoln in week 2 of last season. The nation's first real look at Freshman phenom Quarterback Dylan Raiola, squaring off against the Deion Sanders-led Buffaloes. When we saw the ferocity that the defensive line played with against the Buffs, leading to a comfortable 28-10 victory, people took notice. It wasn't until a trip to Bloomington that we started to see some real freshman growing pains, a 56-7 shellacking at the hands of Indiana saw Raiola throw 3 interceptions. It would be remiss not to mention that the following week, Nebraska had a fourth-quarter lead in Columbus against the eventual national champion Buckeyes. Better execution offensively down the stretch could have seen them walk out of there with a victory, as the defense stymied an electric Ohio State offense to only 285 yards on the day. A three-game slide ended in a change at offensive coordinator, with Dana Holgorsen replacing Marcus Satterfield. Under Holgorsen's offense, Nebraska went 2-2. The performance that gives Cornhusker fans much hope is the 44-25 drubbing of Wisconsin, where Raiola threw for 293 yards and a touchdown. The win also qualified Nebraska for its first bowl appearance since 2016. As I said in the opener, year three of Matt Rhule is almost written in lore, so let's dive into the Cornhuskers and see if this team is capable of living up to the double-digit success he has had in years past.

Program Trends:

Recruiting ranking Big 10:

2026(summer):17th

2025: 6th

2024: 6th

Returning production ranking Big 10:

2025: 1st

2024:9th

Portal rankings BIG10

2025: 12th

Program indicators: Matt Rhule has upped Nebraska's recruiting profile; that much is for sure. Getting five-star Raiola was just one of many big recruiting battles the Cornhuskers have won in the past few cycles. Christian Jones, a four-star linebacker from Omaha, is a nice addition for 2025, as well as four-star receiver Cortez Mills, who has already impressed in the spring; he could play a role in the offense this fall. A couple of things I don't love, this team lost a bit in the portal. Former defensive coordinator took a pair off the defense with him to FSU, as well as guys heading to the SEC, and likely to contribute at their new homes. Also, the current recruiting class has some work to do. Of course, the narrative is that Rhule is being selective, but for Nebraska to get back to the heights of competing for the conference, they will need to keep stacking big-time classes together.

Key Roster Departures: Nebraska had two players drafted and a couple more UDFA signings who were very influential. Ty Robinson and Nash Hutmacher were one of the most formidable defensive line duos in recent Nebraska history. John Bullock and Isaac Gifford are both Nebraska natives who are off to the league as UDFAs. Losing that kind of character and care for the program is always tough.

Offense: Holgorsen, a disciple of the Mike Leach coaching tree, will now have had a full off-season with Raiola to dial in the offense. Let's see what step Dylan Raiola takes. He threw the most interceptions in the conference last season (tied with Chiles with 11 interceptions) and was tenth in passer rating. Needless to say, he could improve. The offensive line will be blended with decent returners and some transfers. Justin Evans and Henry Lutovsky are the returning linemen who graded out highly. Rocco Spindler was a massive addition from Notre Dame, and Elijah Pritchett started at Alabama a year ago; all told, the line should be solid. Jacory Barney is the WR everyone is talking about post-spring. He caught 55 passes a year ago as a freshman. He will be joined by Dane Key, a transfer from Kentucky. Key put up 1,870 yards and 14 touchdowns in his career with the Wildcats, impressive given the abhorrent QB play over there the last few seasons. If he meshes with Raiola, watch out. Emmett Johnson is the running back to look out for, with 908 all-purpose yards a year ago, and he is a chess piece that Holgorson will often utilize in this offense.

Defense: John Butler takes over duties from Tony White, who departed for Florida State. White was at the helm of four straight top 25 defenses by yards per game allowed metrics, two at 'Cuse, and two at Nebraska, so his departure is nothing to turn your nose at. Butler has extensive experience primarily as a secondary coach in the NFL and College. Replacing the force off the defensive line will be the number one question on defense. A couple of names to watch, Williams Nwaneri was a five-star recruit who transferred over from Mizzou. At the same time, Jaylen George comes over from East Tennessee State, where he was an all-conference performer at the lower levels. Riley Van Poppel is a returning player with intrigue; however, after redshirting last year, he only posted one tackle vs Boston College in the bowl game, so he's got big shoes to fill. One player who had a big day that fans can absolutely get excited about is Vincent Shavers, six tackles and 2 tackles for loss in the Bowl. Throw in his classmate Willis McGahee IV and Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year Marques Watson-Trent, and this linebacker corps should be solid. The secondary returns many contributors from a year ago; Ceyair Wright will likely be the mainstay. With Jamir Conn and Andrew Marshall both transferring up from FCS, will either provide value at the Big 10 level? Dehson Singleton and Malcolm Hartzog will anchor the back-end. Singleton was second in the team in tackles, while Hartzog led the team in interceptions.

Roster: There is undoubtedly a lot to like about this roster. There are lots of solid, if not spectacular, options everywhere outside of the defensive line. Raiola's development on offense and the gelling of the new pieces on the offensive line will be crucial. I wonder about this roster's game-changing ability. Is there a star at WR? Who will put pressure on the quarterback on defense? Does this team have an actual lockdown CB? Is the QB really that guy? These are all questions I'm pondering entering 2025.

Statistical pulse: Nebraska was second from the bottom in the Big 10 in opponent passer rating as well as passing touchdowns; they gave up 23 on the season. They were fifth in rushing yards allowed per game and tackles for loss in the conference. Losing those two monsters off the defensive line might be very problematic. Nebraska only scored 75% of the time once entering the red zone, second worst in the conference. Holgorsen will look to clean that up.

Schedule: A huge opener against Cincinnati in Arrowhead will be a significant table setter for both the Cornhuskers and the Bearcats. Michigan comes to town to open Big 10 play. USC and Iowa are the other two massive home games in Lincoln. A trip to Penn State will likely be a loss, but Nebraska misses Ohio State and Oregon as well as sneaky teams like Indiana and Illinois, so all told, the schedule is manageable by Big 10 standards.

Prediction: The meme-like chatter of Matt Rhule's year three has many people looking at this group as a sneaky playoff dark-horse. I see why people would think that. Raiola in year two, a lot of solid pieces at most spots on this roster, and a manageable draw in the Big 10. However, for all the accolades of the defense over the last few years, the defense loses too many influential pieces in my eyes. It's a bit concerning that the new coordinator managed the secondary last season, which on paper was not exactly buttoned up. Now, Butler is in charge of the defense that loses the two behemoths to the NFL, James Williams to Florida State, and Jimari Butler to LSU. This team will absolutely be competitive once again, but a playoff contender? I don't see it. Question marks on the defensive line and just a fine secondary don't scream playoff contender to me. Michigan, Penn State, Minnesota, and Iowa are the types of teams that can feast on this defensive line. Throw in a test with USC, and 7-5 would be a solid year for Matt Rhule and company. Matt Rhule, year three folks!

Game to circle: Nebraska at UCLA on November 8th. Nebraksa will be coming off five games on the bounce with no bye, while the Bruins will be coming off a bye. UCLA is a team I want earlier in the season rather than later. If Nico and company are rolling like the way the 2024 iteration of the Bruins closed the season, I don't like this spot one bit for the Cornhuskers.

Actionable: Nebraska under 4.5 conference wins (Draftkings +105). Plus money on this? Northwestern and Maryland on the road I will not argue. But every other matchup is sneaky, year two of Jonathon Smith at Sparty will be no cake walk. Minnesota and UCLA are both ones that you’d much rather have gotten at home. Iowa has won nine of the last ten matchups vs Nebraska.