New Huskers Look to Return to an Old Nebraska Identity

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The Nebraska Cornhuskers begin year 4 of the Matt Rhule tenure against an opponent they’ve never faced – the Ohio Bobcats.

Despite never meeting on the field, their histories are intertwined. Nebraska legend Frank Solich became the winningest coach in MAC history after taking over the Bobcats following the end of his tenure in Lincoln. The Nebraska offense in 2026 will look a little more like Solich’s offenses at Nebraska. Nebraska replaces his legacy pocket-passing star, Dylan Raiola, with a more mobile option in Anthony Colandrea. The Nebraska schedule opens with a chance for the Huskers to get their feet under them before a difficult final two months. 

The Bobcats are a solid MAC-level opponent with experience facing Anthony Colandrea. They held his Rebels to just 10 points in the Frisco Bowl. Ohio provides a great opportunity to test Holgorsen’s new offense with Colandrea. However, with the Bobcats’ turnover on their staff and at other key positions, they shouldn’t put Nebraska at risk of starting the season with a loss.

Anthony Colandrea’s Big Opportunity

Perhaps the biggest change for the Huskers since 2025 is at quarterback. Gone is the former prized recruit, Dylan Raiola, replaced by a former three-star from the 2023 class. Colandrea brings experience to the Huskers, having played 33 games over three seasons at Virginia and UNLV.

More importantly, he brings something Raiola lacked – mobility. Advanced metrics praised Colandrea as a runner in 2025. He finished 5th in the country in total EPA* from rushing. He didn’t do this just because of a high volume of carries. He was 2nd in the nation in EPA per carry and 4th in success rate. He brings a new dimension to the offense that Nebraska lacked during the Raiola years. Nebraska’s scoring offense has finished in the top 100 only once in the Rhule era. Anthony Colandrea should help them put up more points in 2026.

*Expected Points Added (EPA): A play-level metric that assigns a value to each play from a drive and its impact on scoring points.

New Nick Poulos

After two decades of stability, Ohio enters its second consecutive season with a new head coach. Veteran quarterback Parker Navarro, along with offensive-minded head coaches Tim Albin and Brian Smith, produced 4 straight 9+-win seasons for the Bobcats. That entire trio is out in 2026, while Ohio’s former defensive coordinator, John Hauser, took over head coaching duties in the Frisco Bowl last year. Under Hauser, the Bobcats held Colandrea’s Rebels to just 10 points in the bowl game.

Hauser begins his first full season as head coach with a veteran quarterback, Nick Poulos. Poulos played two seasons at El Camino Community College before transferring to Ohio, where he played two seasons behind Navarro. He’s appeared in only 14 games over four seasons, with one start at Ohio in 2024 against Kentucky. He went 8-for-19 with no touchdowns and one interception in that game, while adding 25 yards on the ground on five carries. He’s a big boy at 6’6 and 243 pounds, with decent mobility, but Memorial Stadium will be a far tougher environment than anything he’s ever seen. Poulos beat out an experienced FCS quarterback, Matt Vezza, who transferred in from New Hampshire this offseason.

Running Attack

As soon as Dana Holgorsen arrived in Lincoln, Emmett Johnson became his bell cow back. He was the offensive engine for Nebraska in 2025. He made the wise decision to enter the NFL Draft, and Nebraska looked to be entering 2026 with plenty of questions at the running back position. Nebraska thought it addressed its running back depth with a late transfer, Tikey Hayes. However, he was dismissed from the team.

Mekhi Nelson, Kwinten Ives, and Isaiah Mozee all return in 2026 after providing limited relief to Johnson in 2025. True freshman Jamal Rule also looks to factor into the running back rotation in 2026. Holgorsen may deploy a running-back-by-committee approach in 2026. The running backs don’t need to shoulder the entire rushing load in 2026, with Colandrea and backup quarterback TJ Lateef also expected to be prominent components of the running game.

While Colandrea is an elite rushing threat, he finished second in EPA per carry in 2025. I hope Nebraska doesn’t overuse him on the ground. Adrian Martinez was the Huskers' leading rusher in both the 2020 and 2021 seasons. However, that level of usage kept him less than 100% healthy. Colandrea’s rushing ability will help extend drives, but Nebraska needs to be able to run the ball with its backs as well.

Ohio’s running back from last year, Sieh Bangura, finished his Bobcat career as the team’s 5th all-time leading rusher. He led the team with over 1,300 yards in 2025, while Parker Navarro added over 800 more on the ground. Duncan Burne will be the Bobcat’s lead back in 2026. He had a solid season in 2025. Most of his carries gained short positive yardage, with few resulting in losses and even fewer for big plays. Backup quarterback Matt Vezza rushed 150 times at New Hampshire in 2025. He posted solid traditional stats, with 600 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns. 

X Factors

Dylan Raiola wasn’t the only Husker to head west this winter. Mike Ekeler made the surprise switch to USC after leading Nebraska’s special teams resurgence in 2025. Last year, Nebraska finished 16th in the country in net field position, with Archie Wilson pinning opponents deep and Kenneth Williams returning kickoffs for touchdowns. Anthony Colandrea’s playmaking reduces the need for short fields, but it’s never a bad thing when special teams can make the game easier for QB1. 

While I typically focus on the offensive side of the ball in my previews, the Nebraska defense is also making a major change from last season. The Huskers brought in San Diego State defensive coordinator Rob Aurich to lead the Blackshirts in 2026. While the Huskers’ pass defense was strong in 2025, they could not stop the run. Only Arkansas and Rutgers had a worse EPA allowed per carry among Power Conference teams than the Blackshirts in 2025. The Aztecs ranked 22nd in that metric last season. If Nebraska can move into the middle of the FBS in run defense, they could pull off some major upsets in 2026. 

Ohio has long been a respectable MAC team. However, they are experiencing more turnover than at any time during the 20-year Solich-Albin era and more than at any other point in their program’s history. Ohio can pull off an upset against a power-conference opponent. Still, Anthony Colandrea should be well aware of what this team can do after losing to them 8 months ago. The Bobcats will test Nebraska and likely expose some weaknesses that, hopefully, can be addressed before conference play. I still think, though, that Nebraska wins by 20+ points.

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